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A review by mschmitz
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This book was just okay for me. I felt that the plot points were a little obvious and I wasn't too surprised by any of the reveals or twists. I was actually surprised Poppy didn't piece a lot of it together early on, because there were many times she actually mentally noted a lot of the giveaways, but she never actually put anything together until it was already all revealed and too late. I can understand though because she is a teenager who has lived a very sheltered life and hasn't had much human interaction yet.
I don't love reading how it hurts young girls to have sex for the first time. The implication that the hymen is internal and is always torn and painful the first time is simply not true. I am always hopeful that authors are past these outdated ideals about female anatomy and sex in this day and age, so that was a little bit disappointing for me. I am also really not into the 100+ year old male with a teenage girl love interest plot, but I know it is a big trend and people love it. Even though the male always appears young and beautiful, I still can't get it out of my head that they are literally older than the girl's grandparents (sometimes multiple times over) and am always put off by the pedophilic implications. Besides the insane age difference though, the relationship so far is not a healthy one. He takes advantage of her naivety and helplessness, lies to her, manipulates her, kidnaps her, murders the people she relies on in order to isolate her, and laughs and sexualizes her when she is angry instead of treating her feelings with respect. I am nervous to see how the author develops this relationship through the rest of the series. I am hopeful it doesn't turn out to be another romanticized case of Stockholm syndrome though.
I don't love reading how it hurts young girls to have sex for the first time. The implication that the hymen is internal and is always torn and painful the first time is simply not true. I am always hopeful that authors are past these outdated ideals about female anatomy and sex in this day and age, so that was a little bit disappointing for me. I am also really not into the 100+ year old male with a teenage girl love interest plot, but I know it is a big trend and people love it. Even though the male always appears young and beautiful, I still can't get it out of my head that they are literally older than the girl's grandparents (sometimes multiple times over) and am always put off by the pedophilic implications. Besides the insane age difference though, the relationship so far is not a healthy one. He takes advantage of her naivety and helplessness, lies to her, manipulates her, kidnaps her, murders the people she relies on in order to isolate her, and laughs and sexualizes her when she is angry instead of treating her feelings with respect. I am nervous to see how the author develops this relationship through the rest of the series. I am hopeful it doesn't turn out to be another romanticized case of Stockholm syndrome though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault