Book Review: From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

Goodreads: A Maiden…
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.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom's future 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.

A Kingdom…

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. Poppy 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.

Goodreads Ratings: 4.26 stars with over 400,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Romance, New Adult, Vampires, Fiction, Paranormal, High Fantasy

Goodreads Challenge: 29/30

2023 Reading Challenge: #26 Read a book recommended by www.whatshouldireadnext.com (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers. I am feeling quite the accomplished blogger. Two reviews in two days. This is primarily because I started Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and this series will be my death. I've had it on my Kindle for a while and hadn't read it. When I put Serpent & Dove into whatshouldireadnext.com, this was the suggestion. Since I already had the book, it made sense to pick it up. 

As I said, this series is going to kill me. I started it some time and stayed up until 5 am. Picked it back up last night and had to finish it at 2:30 am. The damn thing is 600 pages, but I could not put it down. I am now going to be obsessed. I've already purchased book 2. I doubt it will fit in the challenge, and I don't care. I need to read more. 

I absolutely loved the premise of how Poppy was essentially this sacrificial lamb who just wanted to rebel because nothing in her life was her choice. From the very first chapter, I was hooked. The one part of the story that I found confusing was initially; I felt like I should have already had a lot of knowledge of the world-building. The whole paranormal aspect of the story didn't make sense until much later in the book. I attribute part of it to learning more as Poppy learns more; however, I would have liked more information upfront. 

Hawke might be my new favorite literary bad boy. I was very amused by his restraint but also his arrogance. It made the book a lot of fun. Some of the reviews on Goodreads were slamming it for questionable consent regarding the romance parts of the story. I can see why some people had issues with the book because of that, especially as more of Hawke's back story comes into play. I didn't really have a problem with it. I also will never claim to be the moral compass anyone should use as a guide. I don't go into reading books with realistic expectations of how things will be presented. I read to be entertained and get out of my head for a while. This book gave me exactly that, and I'm happy with it. I write these reviews for other readers; however, so I mention it just in case. If you need obvious boundaries when it comes to that sort of thing, then the book has some gray areas. I thought it did better than most stories since it showed the characters asking permission. 

Regarding Hawke's background, I found that aspect of the story predictable. I didn't care, though; it fits the story's direction. I also like seeing this version of vampires/werewolves, etc. One of the things I love about folklore is that it's open to interpretation. I like seeing the various creative takes on ideas passed down throughout history. On that note, I don't know if it was intentional, but I definitely caught some nods to other fantasy books, especially a couple of Wheel of Time nods.