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Reviews tagging 'Genocide'
Blood and Ash - Liebe kennt keine Grenzen: Jennifer L. Armentrouts Weltbestseller in prachtvoller Deluxe-Ausstattung mit spektakulärem Farbschnitt. Roman by Jennifer L. Armentrout
21 reviews
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, War
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
El libro no se desarrolla a una velocidad constante. Es lento al inicio y tiene momentos muy drásticos. Me han gustado los Plottwist peeero no le he dado más estrellitas porque tiene un trope de engaño que no me gusta. Además, que la emoción que más me ha generado es enojo. Pero aun así es un libro genial.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
There was a lot of lag in the middle. In the beginning, I was amused and invested, turning page after page. Then it hit a rut and again in the last 200 pages it was a pageturner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s baffling to me that From Blood to Ash has currently an average rating of 4.3 stars. Even my two stars are quite generous for some scenes in the middle of the book that I liked and the main character having some interesting struggles.
The general story of the book was kinda boring and barely there. Poppy is the Chosen One (even though no one is treating her like one) which means she has to wear a veil all the time and live isolated in a castle. By coincidence, she meets Hawke who becomes her lifeguard and some threatening things happening. Yeah, I don’t know about this summary. The focus of the story is definitely not on the fantasy aspect but on the romance. This becomes already clear in the first chapter which was honestly just so cringy and already showed the weird obsession the story has with virginity.
There were some scenes I liked though and maybe the general darker atmosphere because of which I still gave two stars: For example, the mass panic and chapters after the duke’s death were well written and Poppy killing Lord Mazeen was such a powerful moment . Some interesting things, like the rituals before this scene, were sadly not shown and other things, like court life, were not so well described – I’ve read The Priory of the Orange Tree before and while it was not my favorite book of all time, court life was described there so great in comparison.
Towards the end of the story, there are many reveals but most of them were quite predictable: Hawke being a traitor was not really surprising and neither is the fact that he’s Casteel – when I heard Casteel’s name for the first time, I was sure that Poppy would fall in love with him, and I was not so wrong about this. Right at the beginning, I predicted as well that Poppy would be some half thing – and I was right: she’s half vampire, half human. I’m generally not a fan of this twist that some characters have secret identities .
The world building is also quite weak; Armentrout does it exactly like she did in the Covenant series with characters looking into books and reading about the world. This is just so lazy and not engaging. Other ideas, like the blood forest or just adding letters to non-fantasy names so that they sound more like fantasy felt uncreative as well. Furthermore, other aspects are not explained well enough, like what exactly Poppy’s gift is.
Talking about the Covenant series, I complained there that she doesn’t use many descriptions, and this at least changed here. I just can’t put it into words though, but something about the writing style bothered me that it felt kinda exhausting? Some descriptions were just terrible, like the “very hard, very manly body”. There were too many “…” as well and it’s so cheap how every chapter ends with a cliff-hanger, so you want to continue with it even though the plot is not interesting.
When looking at the characters, Poppy fulfils many stereotypes often seen in this genre. Her parents are dead, she’s the chosen one, has no character or weaknesses – she’s just boring. The only thing I enjoyed about her character was her struggle with her role and how she started to discover herself, but this was overshadowed by the rest of her bland character.
But by far the worst thing about this novel is Hawke. I absolutely despise him and he’s probably my most hated love interest that I’ve ever come. It’s so terrible how he treats Poppy; I’m pretty sure he’s never heard of consent and just does what he wants, even though Poppy clearly says “no” multiple times and is visibly uncomfortable. He also gaslights her emotions, claiming that she doesn’t know what she wants. It’s so annoying how he calls her Princess the whole time even though she doesn’t want this as well.
In general, their relationship made me so uncomfortable. He’s supposed to be her guard but is so unprofessional towards her. The worst moment for me was when towards the end, Poppy fails at killing him and they sleep with each other instantly afterwards. He makes sexual comments all the time, even though Poppy says how much she hates him . Besides this, he’s your cliché sarcastic love interest. He has no weaknesses, all the girls at the court simp for him, he’s constantly making sexual comments towards the main character – just like Seth from the Covenant series. Furthermore, he’s centuries old (please not this again) , and as soon as he’s with Poppy, she has no panic attacks and nightmares anymore, as if those would go away so easily.
Besides him, almost all other male characters are (sexually, physically, and verbally) abusive towards Poppy and either terrorize her or want to sleep with her, it’s so tiring. Their reasons for this are also so vague; one of those guys terrorizes her because he lost one (1) card game to her brother. Vikter was the only male character I liked because he seemed to be interested in Poppy’s well-being but of course, like it’s usual for a mentor figure, he has to die . Otherwise, there are almost no female characters and none that are interesting.
Just out of curiosity, I would probably read the second book of the Blood and Ash series if my library gets it one day. Until then, I’m not sad to not continue this series since it has quite many clichés and a love interest I just can’t stand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Genocide, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Genocide, Racism, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, War
Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
This book is so amazing and if i could give more than 5 stars I would. The actual plot is pretty slow and there’s a lot of build up to the conflict but I think I it was necessary to address the characters, their trauma, and flaws before moving on to the action problems they have to deal with. My favorite this is how real and relatable the characters are and their emotions. No one is perfect and they don’t claim to be. They admit to their flaws and don’t move past major things as if they hadn’t happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting
Minor: Rape, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, War
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is AMAZING to say the least. I loved almost every single thing about it and I am pretty sure I will be rereading it a lot. There are lots of stuff I loved in fbaa but there are quite a few that I hated.
TW: Death, death of a minor, Emotional abuse, physical abuse, and graphic violence.
Pros: I loved the word building in this book even though it was a little confusing. It takes you a while to get into it but once the action starts it never stops. The book picked u so fast around 40% or 35% in and kept me at the edge of my seat most of the time. The little plot-twists every now and then kept me so interested that I read the book in almost one day and ignored the 100 pages I had to read for school.
I loved the building of the relationship between Poppy and Hawke. The slow burn romance was executed perfectly and I was always craving for any type of interaction between them. The way they would exchange banter was always so interesting and I couldn't wait for the next time they would talk throughout the book.
The plot-twist at the end was so creative. I had a gut feeling that something would happen but I never expected it to be something like THAT. It was interesting to read even though it was confusing. The way that Hawke explained it to Poppy was so quick and weird but it somehow worked?
Cons: The amount of info dumping I had to go through KILLED me. I know that this is the first book in the series and everything but the way the author kept dumping the information was almost enough for me to DNF the book. However, I didn't do that because I wanted to see what all the hype is about. The plot-twist at the end of the book also dumped quiet a lot of information that I still can't understand since the way it was all explained would confuse any normal person but thank god my friend is explaining all the stuff I can't understand. I am pretty sure that if she didn't, I would be way too confused to continue the series.
Sometimes the author's writing was a bit insufferable and I couldn't handle it. There was this point in the story, where nothing interesting was happening and the book was so slow that I was almost sure that I would never be able to finish this book.
The honeydew thing was extremely weird and awkward to me and I always laughed whenever it was mentioned. I don't know if I am the only one that felt so since apparently everyone I know that has read this book thought that it was creative and interesting.
There wasn't a lot of diversity in this book and that was a huge disappointment to me. I think this book is really great but it's a little bit too overhyped in my opinion.
“Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.”
“With my sword and with my life, I vow to keep you safe, Penellaphe,” he spoke, voice deep and smooth, reminding me of rich, decadent chocolate. “From this moment until the last moment, I am yours.”
“You’re such a bad influence,” I murmured as I placed my hand in his.
Hawke curled his fingers around mine. The weight and warmth of his hand was a pleasant shock. “Only the bad can be influenced, Princess.”
“When you listen to me, I think the stars will fall.”
“Bravery and strength do not equal goodness.”
TW: Death, death of a minor, Emotional abuse, physical abuse, and graphic violence.
Pros: I loved the word building in this book even though it was a little confusing. It takes you a while to get into it but once the action starts it never stops. The book picked u so fast around 40% or 35% in and kept me at the edge of my seat most of the time. The little plot-twists every now and then kept me so interested that I read the book in almost one day and ignored the 100 pages I had to read for school.
I loved the building of the relationship between Poppy and Hawke. The slow burn romance was executed perfectly and I was always craving for any type of interaction between them. The way they would exchange banter was always so interesting and I couldn't wait for the next time they would talk throughout the book.
The plot-twist at the end was so creative. I had a gut feeling that something would happen but I never expected it to be something like THAT. It was interesting to read even though it was confusing. The way that Hawke explained it to Poppy was so quick and weird but it somehow worked?
Cons: The amount of info dumping I had to go through KILLED me. I know that this is the first book in the series and everything but the way the author kept dumping the information was almost enough for me to DNF the book. However, I didn't do that because I wanted to see what all the hype is about. The plot-twist at the end of the book also dumped quiet a lot of information that I still can't understand since the way it was all explained would confuse any normal person but thank god my friend is explaining all the stuff I can't understand. I am pretty sure that if she didn't, I would be way too confused to continue the series.
Sometimes the author's writing was a bit insufferable and I couldn't handle it. There was this point in the story, where nothing interesting was happening and the book was so slow that I was almost sure that I would never be able to finish this book.
The honeydew thing was extremely weird and awkward to me and I always laughed whenever it was mentioned. I don't know if I am the only one that felt so since apparently everyone I know that has read this book thought that it was creative and interesting.
There wasn't a lot of diversity in this book and that was a huge disappointment to me. I think this book is really great but it's a little bit too overhyped in my opinion.
“Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.”
“With my sword and with my life, I vow to keep you safe, Penellaphe,” he spoke, voice deep and smooth, reminding me of rich, decadent chocolate. “From this moment until the last moment, I am yours.”
“You’re such a bad influence,” I murmured as I placed my hand in his.
Hawke curled his fingers around mine. The weight and warmth of his hand was a pleasant shock. “Only the bad can be influenced, Princess.”
“When you listen to me, I think the stars will fall.”
“Bravery and strength do not equal goodness.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Child death
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Solid read! Expected most of the plot twiste, but that's always a plus in a well written story. I wish there were more diversity in the main cast, but I know that changes in future books , so I'm willing to look past it. One of the best renditions of the e2l trope I've seen in original work, along with some of the most well-written smut I've seen outside of fanfic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Torture, Death of parent, Alcohol