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adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Minor: Child death, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
From Blood and Ash had so much promise: a fierce girl with a blade, a seductive, brooding immortal prince, and a dark fantasy world full of political intrigue and secrets. But what could have been a gripping, steamy epic instead got bogged down in repetitive inner monologues, a glacially paced first half, and a romance that asked me to suspend disbelief just a bit too much.
I’ll give Jennifer L. Armentrout this: the lore is dense and detailed. Vampiric castes, culty kingdoms, and magical bloodlines. I actually enjoyed unraveling the hierarchy of Atlantians, Ascended, Craven, and Wolven. The problem? It takes over 300 pages for the story to do anything with all that setup. I could’ve skipped straight to page 313 and missed nothing of importance except Poppy’s self-indulgent thoughts and a dozen lectures disguised as dialogue.
Poppy, our “Maiden,” was raised in isolation by a religious cult and spends the majority of the book ping-ponging between being a sheltered, naive narrator and a total badass with a dagger. The latter was great. The former? Painfully frustrating. I understood her confusion and repression, but wow, the girl’s curiosity rarely translated into actual intelligence. Still, I appreciated the subtle realism in how abuse, gaslighting, and captivity have shaped her. She’s learning, even if slowly.
Now let’s talk Hawke. Or Casteel. Or “The Dark One.” Or Mr. Sex Scene Monologue. He’s a 200+ year old prince-turned-rogue who somehow falls for this cult-brainwashed teenager because she holds his hand a couple of times and says sassy things. Their chemistry was hot, I’ll admit. The sex scenes were the best part of the book; detailed, consensual, and actually sexy. Casteel talks her through pleasure, praises her fighting spirit, and treats her like an equal (once you ignore the kidnapping and marriage plans, minor details, right?). But the insta-love was a big eye-roll, especially considering his age, experience, and mission.
There were some solid twists, but I called most of them chapters before they happened. Hawke being an Atlantian? Obvious. The Ascended lying about the gods? Called it. Poppy being half-Atlantian? I mean… come on. If this had been a tighter, better-paced 250-page book, it could’ve really landed. But slogging through Poppy’s repetitive veil-wearing monologues and everyone avoiding direct answers wore me out.
I won’t be continuing the series, though I’ll miss Hawke whispering filth in the snow and praising Poppy’s stabby side. A man who admires your violence and talks you through an orgasm? Unmatched. But not enough to save the book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, War
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this for a book club, I would never have picked this book for myself, and I severely disliked it for several reasons:
1. Writing style. Imagine teenager fanfiction level. Impossible sentences, messy storytelling, all hashed with a few expensive words here and there. It's extremely slow with endless repetitions of the same circles of pointless information. Also: everything important (also everything irrelevant) is written with A Capital Letter For Extra Emphasis on Importance.
2. Extremely bad world building. Nothing is explained, nothing makes sense, and to be honest, it is highly unlikely the The Big Secret is being kept safe the way Jennifer wrote down. In addition, everybody in this world is handsome apparently. No normal people around.
3. Extremely unlikeable main character. Nobody is THAT stupid. She was probably intended to be a 'badass woman', but she is definitely not. Childish, entitled and victim mentality do fit her just fine I think.
4. So much romanticizing of toxic relationships and horrible men... Not a good book to become so popular in this time. Should come with a warning in my opinion.
I could go on and on, but I am going to ship this book to the next reader ASAP. I don't want it sitting on my coffee table anymore.
1. Writing style. Imagine teenager fanfiction level. Impossible sentences, messy storytelling, all hashed with a few expensive words here and there. It's extremely slow with endless repetitions of the same circles of pointless information. Also: everything important (also everything irrelevant) is written with A Capital Letter For Extra Emphasis on Importance.
2. Extremely bad world building. Nothing is explained, nothing makes sense, and to be honest, it is highly unlikely the The Big Secret is being kept safe the way Jennifer wrote down. In addition, everybody in this world is handsome apparently. No normal people around.
3. Extremely unlikeable main character. Nobody is THAT stupid. She was probably intended to be a 'badass woman', but she is definitely not. Childish, entitled and victim mentality do fit her just fine I think.
4. So much romanticizing of toxic relationships and horrible men... Not a good book to become so popular in this time. Should come with a warning in my opinion.
I could go on and on, but I am going to ship this book to the next reader ASAP. I don't want it sitting on my coffee table anymore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Classism
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very fresh and new perspective on fantasy creatures like vampires and werewolves!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really loved this book. Was a little triggering for me is some more abusive/SA moments. And I will add that I put parental death in graphic because a person considered to be "like the only father they really knew" had a pretty upsetting death . But I really enjoyed it and will definitely read the next one asap!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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:
Complicated
📚✨From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout ✨📚
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Ummm… excuse me, WHY did it take me this long to pick this up?! I. Am. Obsessed. 🫠
This book devoured me (plot twist!) and not the other way around. From the very first page, I was hooked on Poppy’s fiery spirit, the ✨forbidden tension✨ with Hawke (hello, golden-eyed temptation), and the absolutely lush world-building. Jennifer L. Armentrout didn’t just create a fantasy world - she crafted a whole vibe. I could smell the blood and ash, and tbh, I wanted to sword fight someone about halfway through. 🗡️
The pacing? Immaculate.
The lore? Deep and delicious.
The writing style? Addictive like bookish caffeine.
The only teeny-tiny reason this isn’t a full 5 stars is because… I totally clocked that plot twist early on 👀 (she foreshadowed like a queen, so props anyway). But even knowing, I was still GASPING and turning pages like my life depended on it. That’s talent, baby.
I did not want this to end. Like… I might just start it again. Immediately. 😭
If you love morally gray men, slow burn spice, kickass heroines with secret daggers, and a fantasy world that feels both ancient and alive - run, don’t walk.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Ummm… excuse me, WHY did it take me this long to pick this up?! I. Am. Obsessed. 🫠
This book devoured me (plot twist!) and not the other way around. From the very first page, I was hooked on Poppy’s fiery spirit, the ✨forbidden tension✨ with Hawke (hello, golden-eyed temptation), and the absolutely lush world-building. Jennifer L. Armentrout didn’t just create a fantasy world - she crafted a whole vibe. I could smell the blood and ash, and tbh, I wanted to sword fight someone about halfway through. 🗡️
The pacing? Immaculate.
The lore? Deep and delicious.
The writing style? Addictive like bookish caffeine.
The only teeny-tiny reason this isn’t a full 5 stars is because… I totally clocked that plot twist early on 👀 (she foreshadowed like a queen, so props anyway). But even knowing, I was still GASPING and turning pages like my life depended on it. That’s talent, baby.
I did not want this to end. Like… I might just start it again. Immediately. 😭
If you love morally gray men, slow burn spice, kickass heroines with secret daggers, and a fantasy world that feels both ancient and alive - run, don’t walk.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, War
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Took me forever to finish this one. I wanted to like it but I didn’t. Probably won’t read the rest of the series. I almost DNF.
<SPOILER>
I can’t believe I’m supposed to like Cas or the spice when there’s no consent and definite coercion. He takes advantage of her every step of the way and then coerces her in the bedroom by lying about his identity and his intentions. Was icky from the start. Unfortunately, I will not be finding out if he has a redemption arc.
<SPOILER>
I can’t believe I’m supposed to like Cas or the spice when there’s no consent and definite coercion. He takes advantage of her every step of the way and then coerces her in the bedroom by lying about his identity and his intentions. Was icky from the start. Unfortunately, I will not be finding out if he has a redemption arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail