Reviews with content warning for Violence - From Blood and Ash

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

460 reviews

haleydeppert's review against another edition

3.0

slow-paced

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Um… where to begin. This book was just average to me, not great but not bad. I really struggled with this one because it only got exciting at around 250 pages. In my opinion, 250 pages is a lot to read while being bored out of your mind, waiting for something exciting to actually happen. I found myself skimming at random points in time, solely reading the dialogue. I had to continuously force myself to stop doing that… but it was a struggle. There was a lot more inner dialogue than anything and it bored me to DEATH!!! I cannot say it enough. HOWEVER, I did like the main male character. He was extremely charming and I enjoyed him thoroughly. LOL. Although, I must also say— I had already figured out the “plot twist” wayyy before the end of the book. It seemed fairly obvious to me. Besides all of that, I did somewhat enjoy the last half of this book. I just hate having to read half a book completely uninterested, as it takes the enjoyment out of reading. I simply cannot DNF books though, so I powered through it. I know this review sounds harsh, but I simply must say what is on my mind. I have to be honest though, I would consider reading the second book if I happened upon it at my local Half Price Books. 🤷🏽‍♀️ (Solely because I love the MMC. Cue the heart eyes.) (If you can’t tell… I have daddy issues.)

Spice rating: 2-2.5/5 🌶️

Content Warnings

tmwarner_1994's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

At first I did not think that I was going to like this, but then by the end I was in love with it. To me it was what I wanted Twilight to be in terms of somewhat more mature characters and no love triangle. At time I didn't like Poppy because she just wasn't understanding what someone was telling her. I felt for Poppy because she was thrown in a guilded cage her entire life.

Content Warnings

taylor_26's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark 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

ambervk's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

librarian_sky's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

doomfaery's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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: Complicated

Content Warnings

kirstinlwx's review against another edition

2.0

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

From Blood and Ash tried to interrogate important topics like

corporal punishment, consent, propaganda, and agency,

and failed at doing so in very entertaining fashion.

After struggling to get through the first half of the book - it was like each page included one of either:
1. nothing of actual plot- or character-progression, or,
2. a cheeky sort of "tell ya later!" that was only to be underwhelming when later revealed - the plot picked up excitingly, and kept my attention. I scoffed through some of the reveals and references, but I was brought along pretty effectively - feeling as though the author was guiding me to the realizations alongside or just before Poppy came to them herself. However, I was tired by Poppy's simultaneous lack of interrogation of big concerns and histories, and her over-thinking and inner-monologuing about her experiences.

Similarly, Hawke's explicit seeking of consent in some situations was funny to look back on, considering he never recognized or seemed to grapple with his lack of understanding around the foundation of the concept (i.e. the informed part of informed consent).

There was essentially a lot of flat hypocrisy throughout the book, with over-explanation and under-exploration running hand in hand through the fairly jumbled plot.

With all of those conflicting feelings and reflections, I might still pick up the next book, because the story is fun even with its wild leaps and gimmes, and the e-book is free/included in my subscription. Do I feel a little guilty about that, given my issues with the writing and handling of sensitive topics? Yes. Do I sometimes want to read a book just for fun, with part of the "fun" being that I can complain about it? Also yes.

Content Warnings