From Blood and Ash

Noisy Deadlines reviewed From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Twisty tale, I got hooked till the end (spoiler ahead!)

5 stars

Content warning This whole review contains spoilers!

I just couldn't put this book down! I enjoyed following the story through only one point of view (the female main character). I liked the level of suspense and how aspects of the worldbuilding are unveiled slowly. All is told through the point of view of The Maiden, our main character Poppy. She is a guarded figure in the realm, nobody can interact with her. So she doesn't know the world outside and we as readers are there with her discovering nasty secrets about the kingdom. The romance was interesting. It's not really enemies to lovers in the beginning, it's more like stranger-bodyguard romance (Hawke) that turns into enemies to lovers. This book had some plot twists that got me by surprise. I was expecting a typical “enemies to lovers” romance trope plot, but it actually had some surprising elements I was not expecting. The romance is not "happily ever after". I was not fully prepared for the ending. I was shocked by the final plot twist ( SPOILER: Hawke was disguised as a royal guard all this time just to capture Poppy, and he is an Atlantian, aka "The Dark One" who basically wants to destroy Poppy's kingdom). Hawke turns out to be a ruthless, brutal killer. It's a very complicated relationship, and it got me curious to read the second book in the series.
But I still enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would.

bangiebangs reviewed From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Review of 'From Blood and Ash' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Warning, I realized in the middle of book 3 of the series that this is not yet finished - #5 comes out in the summer, so... spare yourself the agony if you prefer to read completed series.

With that out of the way: I really like this one! Would have been 5* if the first 130pp or so weren't soooo slooow. I get that we need to get to know this new world, but it felt excessive. I got seriously bored around page 100, and was really glad when things picked up shortly after.

The world-building is pretty neat! So is the pacing (if you ignore said first 130 or so pages). It's a dark(ish) fantasy that really delivers on all the favorite tropes we love, though that also makes the first book's "big reveal" pretty obvious, and I had guessed this very early on. That doesn't make this any …

Warning, I realized in the middle of book 3 of the series that this is not yet finished - #5 comes out in the summer, so... spare yourself the agony if you prefer to read completed series.

With that out of the way: I really like this one! Would have been 5* if the first 130pp or so weren't soooo slooow. I get that we need to get to know this new world, but it felt excessive. I got seriously bored around page 100, and was really glad when things picked up shortly after.

The world-building is pretty neat! So is the pacing (if you ignore said first 130 or so pages). It's a dark(ish) fantasy that really delivers on all the favorite tropes we love, though that also makes the first book's "big reveal" pretty obvious, and I had guessed this very early on. That doesn't make this any worse, though, since the journey is really nice.

Spice, would say 3.5/5 for the first book (that also goes up in book 2).

Recommended for anyone who loves sweeping worlds and some interesting takes on fantasy realms (no fae here, at least not in so many words...). Slight warning if you're sensitive to purity cults/ strong mention of religion and religious indoctrination... that's definitely a thing here.

Kat reviewed From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Unique vampire Takes

5 stars

If you love enemies to lovers romance novels, then you will love this series; indeed it is about the fantasy (one of the best takes on vampirism ever, if you ask me), but also the author doesn't neglect the humanitarian side of the coin; nearly every page has the main character questioning her choices; Poppy is intelligent, beautiful, and confident... all traits in female characters that I absolutely adore.

Bee reviewed From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Review of 'From Blood and Ash' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Jennifer L. Armentrout is an author whose work I had always wanted to read,but for some reason? I hadn't ever gotten around to doing so.

So when I (finally) read From Blood and Ash, I knew that my expectation of the unknown would be hard to match but I wasn't disappointed. But, in truth I was left craving more about Poppy and her life as the Maiden and her place in a world she knew so little of but the glimmers she had found were filled with wonder and pain.

It has everything that you could want from Armentrout, and a fantasy novel in general.
Our heroine, Poppy is fierce and she is determined to be more than what is expected of her, her natural curiosity made wonder what further adventures she will experience when she escapes her gilded - or not so gilded cage. (I love how she loses …

Jennifer L. Armentrout is an author whose work I had always wanted to read,but for some reason? I hadn't ever gotten around to doing so.

So when I (finally) read From Blood and Ash, I knew that my expectation of the unknown would be hard to match but I wasn't disappointed. But, in truth I was left craving more about Poppy and her life as the Maiden and her place in a world she knew so little of but the glimmers she had found were filled with wonder and pain.

It has everything that you could want from Armentrout, and a fantasy novel in general.
Our heroine, Poppy is fierce and she is determined to be more than what is expected of her, her natural curiosity made wonder what further adventures she will experience when she escapes her gilded - or not so gilded cage. (I love how she loses comforts every time she gets in trouble not because she suffers of course, but her indifference to the simplicity of her rooms.)

The characterization and world building that Armentrout creates in Blood and Ash is truly phenomenal and I was unable to put the book down as I was constantly wanting to know what would come next. You truly come immersed in the world Poppy lives and feel yourself drawn to each and every character be they friend or foe of our heroine.

There were moments in the book where emotion got the better of me as I read, and sadness for Poppy induced tears to fall. I truly challenge others to not feel the choking of emotion to not gain a grasp and this too highlights just how wonderful Armentrout's writing is - that you cannot help but feel for those she writes about.

I do feel the need to mention..

There are moments of violence in the book that can cause upset for people so I do caution you if reading events can cause a trigger for you but.. it it relevant and makes Poppy's rebellion again her Ascendance make further sense.

If you have wondered about this series, get yourself a copy. You will not be disappointed.

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