From Blood and Ash Series by Jennifer L Armentrout

• From Blood and Ash

• A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

• The Crown of Gilded Bones

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

The entire kingdom’s futures rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Popppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

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This series is a weird mixture between modern and old world fantasy mixed with some sprinkles of romance but of the whole, not nearly as focused on romance as I was lead to believe. It’s an intriguing story with an interesting world in something I’ve never quite seen before, however, it does leave something to be desired. I’m just not sure what. These books are long. Like 600 pages each long where a lot of that is just reading Poppy’s daily life. Interesting to be sure as she leads such a sad broken and lonely life at first but was it absolutely necessary to the plot? I’m not so sure. I enjoyed the story because I like the characters and the hierarchy of the world in this book fascinates me. Past wars, a diluted and fuzzy history, and lies all around are a great way to pull a reader in. I just feel like it’s missing that addictive quality that is around in a lot of romance/fantasies lately. Overall I enjoyed it and I will continue on with this series but it’s definitely one I need to be in the mood for to get through.

On the pacing:

The first book was the hardest to get through I found. For more than half the book we are kept in the dark alongside the heroine, not even knowing what her role as Maiden means which seems pretty crucial to the plot. I get why it was done but I think there could have been a less frustrating way to handle it. Tell us a fake reason for what being the Maiden means instead of just telling us she’s special but not why. That really irked me and made me not want to pick it up when it was time to read a book. However, I absolutely loved the banter between Hawke and Poppy. The Library ledge scene will be something I got back and read multiple times because it just made me happy. The second book progressed a lot more quickly for me just because I was no longer constantly angry at not knowing what’s going on and the relationship progressed nicely. There was also a lot more action which I loved. However, once again there was a length to the second book that needn’t have been there. Book three was similar to book one for me, a lot of the good action happens right at the start and then the book really slows down. It had a marvellous ending but at what cost?

What I liked:

I really enjoyed the world building and the intricacies of the history of this make believe world. I also liked the focus on “the winners writing history” because it truly reflects how easy it is to warp the truth and have generations of people believing false histories (Nineteen Eighty-Four anyone?). The lore of the Atlantians was fascinating and, for those that have read it, probably familiar to those of us who went through the supernatural/fantasy phase in 2008. The relationship between Poppy and her partner was very special as well. I like how this author managed to balance the hot possessive/protectiveness with healthy relationship qualities. Unlike a lot of love interests that have those qualities, he didn’t try to quell her desire to fight and throw herself into dangerous situations. I liked how it could show that not locking away the heroine does not have to equal not caring about her safety. It was a good balance of love and fear. Poppy was everything I wish Bella Swan had been when I was young, she’s a much better role model. Your world crashes around you? Use that as motivation to kick ass. As much as the relationship is a focus of this story, Poppy is her own person and her relationship doesn’t define her story or her character.

What I didn’t like:

The modernization of this fantasy world. I was yanked back to the present soooooo many times while reading this book. Fantasy worlds with warriors should NOT have modern electricity and running water. Nor should modern slang be included in the dialogue. Things that don’t exist in this world being thrown into slang terms made zero sense and put real cracks in the world building for me. Also, the constantly changing genealogy of the Atlantians and Ascended. I get that lots of it is due to the truth being covered up but there’s only so many “oh THAT’S WHY” reveals we can do in a row before it gets old. Now that we’re three books in, this part should no longer be a question and we should be moving onto the more serious intricacies ie. A LITERAL WAR.

Overall, I’m glad I read it and I’m definitely going to read the sequel. Yeah I had some holdups with this story but the plot and characters are driving this for me. Even if the writing has it’s flaws, I’m now dedicated and must see this one through till the end. Poppy and Hawke are worth the read! Overall my rating is 3.5 stars for the first three books.