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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Who is a better couple than Ash and Sera?! I'll wait...
I had to give this 5 stars because their relationship, growth, and love for one another is top tier! Also, Reaver! Attes! Nektas!!!! So many good characters. I will say the book isn't perfect. The pacing is a bit weird (long in some places and too rushed in others) and unfortunately, the book ends before we get any scenes with Ash and Sera as parents, or what happens to their sons, or how she ends up in stasis
I had to give this 5 stars because their relationship, growth, and love for one another is top tier! Also, Reaver! Attes! Nektas!!!! So many good characters. I will say the book isn't perfect. The pacing is a bit weird (long in some places and too rushed in others) and unfortunately, the book ends before we get any scenes with Ash and Sera as parents, or what happens to their sons, or how she ends up in stasis
“You are my wife. My fucking everything. I’ve told you this before, and it remains the same. There is nothing you could do that would ever change what I see or how I feel when I look at you.”
Spice: ⭐⭐⭐⭐,5
I know that not a lot of people like this series (or the original), but to me these books are amazing. Sure, they’re not perfect, by any means, but I still love them so much. To begin with, Born of Blood and Ash has a fantastic plot. I admit that the whole prophecy thing and the way the prequel story and the original come together is a bit of a headache, but I had a ton of fun trying to figure everything out. I really liked the foreshadowing and parallels to Poppy’s story. In the previous books, particularly the first one, there had been an overwhelming number of parallels which made me feel almost as if I was reading the same story just with different characters. Thankfully, there was much less in this book. What’s more, I admit the plot was a little predictable at times, but there were moments I did not see coming at all as well. In my opinion, that’s a pretty well-thought-out story.
What’s also very well thought out is the world-building and lore. The world had such an intricate political system, with a lot of conflict between courts. There were a lot of rules that needed to be followed. It was very interesting seeing the way the characters tried to work around them, and find loopholes. It was even more interesting to see the consequences of their actions after a bad call. Besides, the lore is one of my favorite things about both the series. It takes the basic essence of vampire lore and mixes it with godly rules and powers. It’s such a simple yet fascinating idea. I loved it while I was reading Poppy’s story, and I loved it with Sera’s.
Moreover, as wonderful as this book is, there is sadly something I didn’t like. The writing of this series has never been the best. There was always something off, usually when it came to the dialogue. Sometimes it was a little cringe (but nothing too bad), and others a tad unrealistic. It was as if it’d be unlikely that a person would say a sentence in the way the author had written it. Plainly, the dialogue felt awkward. There was a lot more of it in this book than any other. Not to mention that the way the author blended the old way of speaking with the modern one was not entirely successful either. Fortunately, that was the only thing that stood out to me in a negative way.
In addition, Sera and Nyktos will live in my head rent free forever. I love them, their relationship, and their character arcs so much. Sera is as amazing as she has ever been. I will never get tired of beautiful, badass, and violent women. Never. Sera is no exception. Her character arc in this book especially blew my mind as easily as it broke my heart. After what she’d experienced at the hands of disgusting pervert Kolis, she was left deeply traumatized. I was so inspired by her healing journey, which, in many ways, was even more difficult to accomplish than defeating her foes.
As for Nyktos, he deserves an award for the perfect fictional male lead. Just like I will never get tired of female characters like Sera, I also will never get tired of fictional love interests like Nyktos. I don’t care how many times I read about a male character being supportive, protective, and feral over their girl, it will always be my cup of tea. On top of that, Nyktos had his own healing addressed in this book. He was also deeply traumatized by what Kolis had done to him. He had never been comfortable with the touch of another or even feeding from someone until Sera came along. He had to face these fears for Sera’s sake, and if that’s not the sweetest, bravest thing ever I don’t know what is.
Lastly, I loved so many of the secondary characters, but as I’ve said before the best one will always be Reaver, and that applies to Poppy’s series as well. I’m not known to be fond of kids in general (except my niece and nephews), but there’s a special place in my heart for lovable fictional kids. Reaver is the cutest boy, he is too smart and perceptive for his age, he is loyal, and he loves Sera and Nyktos more than anyone else. Every time I saw his name appear on the page I wanted to pinch his cheeks. Nektas is a close second, he’s literally everyone’s dragon daddy and I love him for it. That being said, as much as I hate Kolis with everything I have, the man is absolutely revolting, I must admit that his villain origin story is on point. You have to appreciate a character that started out as benevolent only to end up a violent creep. The same goes for Kyn and Veses, although they both disgust me as much as Kolis does.
Spice: ⭐⭐⭐⭐,5
I know that not a lot of people like this series (or the original), but to me these books are amazing. Sure, they’re not perfect, by any means, but I still love them so much. To begin with, Born of Blood and Ash has a fantastic plot. I admit that the whole prophecy thing and the way the prequel story and the original come together is a bit of a headache, but I had a ton of fun trying to figure everything out. I really liked the foreshadowing and parallels to Poppy’s story. In the previous books, particularly the first one, there had been an overwhelming number of parallels which made me feel almost as if I was reading the same story just with different characters. Thankfully, there was much less in this book. What’s more, I admit the plot was a little predictable at times, but there were moments I did not see coming at all as well. In my opinion, that’s a pretty well-thought-out story.
What’s also very well thought out is the world-building and lore. The world had such an intricate political system, with a lot of conflict between courts. There were a lot of rules that needed to be followed. It was very interesting seeing the way the characters tried to work around them, and find loopholes. It was even more interesting to see the consequences of their actions after a bad call. Besides, the lore is one of my favorite things about both the series. It takes the basic essence of vampire lore and mixes it with godly rules and powers. It’s such a simple yet fascinating idea. I loved it while I was reading Poppy’s story, and I loved it with Sera’s.
Moreover, as wonderful as this book is, there is sadly something I didn’t like. The writing of this series has never been the best. There was always something off, usually when it came to the dialogue. Sometimes it was a little cringe (but nothing too bad), and others a tad unrealistic. It was as if it’d be unlikely that a person would say a sentence in the way the author had written it. Plainly, the dialogue felt awkward. There was a lot more of it in this book than any other. Not to mention that the way the author blended the old way of speaking with the modern one was not entirely successful either. Fortunately, that was the only thing that stood out to me in a negative way.
In addition, Sera and Nyktos will live in my head rent free forever. I love them, their relationship, and their character arcs so much. Sera is as amazing as she has ever been. I will never get tired of beautiful, badass, and violent women. Never. Sera is no exception. Her character arc in this book especially blew my mind as easily as it broke my heart. After what she’d experienced at the hands of disgusting pervert Kolis, she was left deeply traumatized. I was so inspired by her healing journey, which, in many ways, was even more difficult to accomplish than defeating her foes.
As for Nyktos, he deserves an award for the perfect fictional male lead. Just like I will never get tired of female characters like Sera, I also will never get tired of fictional love interests like Nyktos. I don’t care how many times I read about a male character being supportive, protective, and feral over their girl, it will always be my cup of tea. On top of that, Nyktos had his own healing addressed in this book. He was also deeply traumatized by what Kolis had done to him. He had never been comfortable with the touch of another or even feeding from someone until Sera came along. He had to face these fears for Sera’s sake, and if that’s not the sweetest, bravest thing ever I don’t know what is.
Lastly, I loved so many of the secondary characters, but as I’ve said before the best one will always be Reaver, and that applies to Poppy’s series as well. I’m not known to be fond of kids in general (except my niece and nephews), but there’s a special place in my heart for lovable fictional kids. Reaver is the cutest boy, he is too smart and perceptive for his age, he is loyal, and he loves Sera and Nyktos more than anyone else. Every time I saw his name appear on the page I wanted to pinch his cheeks. Nektas is a close second, he’s literally everyone’s dragon daddy and I love him for it. That being said, as much as I hate Kolis with everything I have, the man is absolutely revolting, I must admit that his villain origin story is on point. You have to appreciate a character that started out as benevolent only to end up a violent creep. The same goes for Kyn and Veses, although they both disgust me as much as Kolis does.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
The second half of this series was so disappointing. The writing in this book was so juvenile. Gods this old should not be saying”whatever.” I found myself barely skimming the last few chapters just to get it over with. I changed my mind about the FMC not being annoying. Just such a letdown compared to the first 2 books.