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stardust_heidi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

First of all, I am screaming at the last chapter. S C R E A M I N G. Both at the chapter and at JLA, because how DARE, lmao. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I feel even more unsettled now than I did after TWOTQ. Rude. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I did find a lot of the repeated scenes quite tedious, even if they were from Casteel's POV. We already know most of those scenes intimately, and while yes, they were all from Poppy's perspective before, I don't know that ALL of them needed to be from Cas's POV. I did enjoy a few of the big ones, like the craven attack/night on the rise and then after Poppy stabs him in New Haven. Those were great. 

The moments I enjoyed the most were the new scenes, especially those with Kieran. I loved experiencing their bond from Casteel's perspective and how Kieran just kind of *knew* things were different about Poppy from the beginning. It also opened up a whole avenue of questions I'd silently pondered to myself before and blew them out in the open -- especially during the explicit scenes with Cas and Kieran. Hot damn. 

But that last chapter. Holy. Fuck. I think Emil said it best: "What in the fuckity fuck?" Lmao. 

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thirdeyeangel23's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD)



First things first, while A Soul of Ash & Blood is Hawke’s pov for FBAA you cannot read this in place of FBAA and you will need to read this to continue the series. I was pretty impressed with how this book was organized. This book switches between the present plot line (events following War of Two Queens) and Hawke’s recounting of the events of FBAA. As always, it’s fun to read the story from the pov of the other love interest/villain. There were questions answered and added scenes that gave more depth to the characters. This does end on a cliffhanger and leave us with so many questions for the next book. I think this may be the most organized, concise, and well edited book in the entire series. If you weren’t a fan of TWOTQ, I think this book will be a welcome change.

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crinkledmochi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I hope we can get more pov’s from Cas in the last couple books, I love learning more about him and some of the things he’s gone through. 

The ending tho?!?? 

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lovebexdeath's review against another edition

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adventurous funny reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Excuse me, what the fuck? Literally I was gonna give this 4.5 stars until the last chapter, holy fucking shit. JLA knew exactly what she was doing and therefore must be evil

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ziaxx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book offered a refreshing twist as it was my first time diving into a retelling from the hero's point of view. While it didn't blow me away, the hero's take on the events was a nice change of pace that I genuinely enjoyed.

However, I must admit, my feelings about this book are a bit complicated. There were elements that I liked, but at the same time, there were reasons that left me dissatisfied throughout the story.

Firstly, I found the writing style juvenile, and I couldn't help but wonder why the series wasn't receiving more attentive editing. It was a bit disappointing in that regard. 

Another aspect that bothered me was Cas's constant use of the word "GODS" in practically every other sentence. 🙄 It began to wear on me after a while, and I wished for a bit more variety in his expressions.

As for the unconventional relationship dynamics, I surprisingly accepted the peculiar threesome from the previous book, but this installment seemed to push it further, and I found myself questioning the direction the author took. Weren't Cas and Kieran depicted as close as brothers in previous books? Why were we now being served with intimate imaginings between the male leads?

Additionally, the constant sharing on both physical and emotional levels clashed with the portrayal of "Heartmate bonds" as unique and exquisite. It felt contradictory and almost like a diversion from the main plot.

I'm not particularly excited about the upcoming novella from Ms. Willa's erotic perspective, as I feel it might divert further from the main storyline. I would have preferred to delve into the main book first, but it seems that will have to wait.

In conclusion, if the author doesn't rein in some of the rampant storylines, I might just take matters into my own hands and pen my version of these captivating characters. 

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