Scan barcode
A review by sophiamoneva
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Oh god, where do I even start? I picked this up because of BookTok's fucking obsession with cAsTeEl and his AmBeR eYeS—no, seriously, it's worse than Wattpad and the overuse of the word, "orbs." Poppy is hands down one of the most insufferable main characters I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Everyone around her will not shut up about how smart she is, but I seriously believe a horse fly could beat her in an IQ test. She will take in all the information available to her and still, somehow, miss the point completely and march blindly after Hawke's manipulative ass. Now, I will admit, the first half of the book is not completely horrid considering how the rest of it unfolds. It does, however, have tons of info-dumping, repetition, and really unnecessary world-building as if the intended audience were 7-year-olds — spoiler alert, considering some of the...scenes, it isn't. BookTok claims this is enemies-to-lovers, and as a self-proclaimed enemies-to-lovers fiend, it absolutely is not. What it is, however, is the story of a violent bimbo and her toxic, manipulative bastard of a royal guard. I genuinely cannot comprehend how anyone can like anything about Hawke other than his looks, and I only say that because of the S-tier fanart that exists of him. The way he talks, the way he acts, the way he holds himself is all incredibly insufferable. The worst part is even with how horrid Hawke is, Poppy manages to be worse. I wholeheartedly believe that this book would improve tenfold if we were reading from his perspective simply because we would not have to suffer through the dry internal dialogue of Poppy.
We have covered characters, now it is time to cover the pacing and overall timing of the story, because good god it gets worse. As aforementioned, nothing really happens until halfway through the book, at which point the smut scenes just become weird, ill-timed, and overall repulsive. I will do you the favour of placing this particular discussion under a spoiler so you will not have to witness me lose my mind if you do not want to.
What the actual fuck is that weird fingering scene in the blood forest supposed to be??? Somebody, please, explain how ANY of you could enjoy that. Not only is it timed in the middle of them being hunted and endangered by gIANT RATS??? But he claims it is to help her fall asleep??? I was ready for a cute fluff scene between Poppy and Hawke so maybe I could see their relationship actually cover any kind of mutual support, y'know, how relationships are supposed to be, but no. Instead, we get the play-by-play from Poppy while Hawke fingers her when the guards are mere meters away...*_*
If I could erase that scene from my mind I would, now we get really into it with the last smut scene of the novel...where...um...Casteel...fucks...Poppy...because of? Bloodlust? I REALLY COULD NOT TELL YOU BECAUSE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THAT SCENE OUTSIDE IN THE SNOW??? Consent? Out the window, we don't need that. Communication? PFFF, NAH, ONLY SEX. So much talk from this amber-eyed bitch about choosing your future and destiny for yourself only for that whole scene to unfold like, ugh, I can't.
Ahem, now that I have gotten that out of my system, let's just bring up the plot. Oh, seems like an afterthought you say? THAT’S BECAUSE IT WAS. What. Plot. Please, I am genuinely asking you guys to tell me what the cause and effect is in this godforsaken novel because I do not know. Because of this, I read the other two novels, and without spoiling anything, I will break the news to all of you and let you know that the missing plot issue does not get resolved. At all. At least not long enough for me to change my mind on the series. Not only was the plot an afterthought, but the diversity of the characters as Poppy's best friend, who is black, is literally named Tawny...*_*
If you're into weirdly written high fantasy like ACOTAR—which honestly is equally as horrible as this excuse of a novel—then you will probably enjoy this. However, if you enjoy meaningful plot and emotionally driven relationships, you will loathe this just as much as I did.
We have covered characters, now it is time to cover the pacing and overall timing of the story, because good god it gets worse. As aforementioned, nothing really happens until halfway through the book, at which point the smut scenes just become weird, ill-timed, and overall repulsive. I will do you the favour of placing this particular discussion under a spoiler so you will not have to witness me lose my mind if you do not want to.
If I could erase that scene from my mind I would, now we get really into it with the last smut scene of the novel...where...um...Casteel...fucks...Poppy...because of? Bloodlust? I REALLY COULD NOT TELL YOU BECAUSE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THAT SCENE OUTSIDE IN THE SNOW??? Consent? Out the window, we don't need that. Communication? PFFF, NAH, ONLY SEX. So much talk from this amber-eyed bitch about choosing your future and destiny for yourself only for that whole scene to unfold like, ugh, I can't.
Ahem, now that I have gotten that out of my system, let's just bring up the plot. Oh, seems like an afterthought you say? THAT’S BECAUSE IT WAS. What. Plot. Please, I am genuinely asking you guys to tell me what the cause and effect is in this godforsaken novel because I do not know. Because of this, I read the other two novels, and without spoiling anything, I will break the news to all of you and let you know that the missing plot issue does not get resolved. At all. At least not long enough for me to change my mind on the series. Not only was the plot an afterthought, but the diversity of the characters as Poppy's best friend, who is black, is literally named Tawny...*_*
If you're into weirdly written high fantasy like ACOTAR—which honestly is equally as horrible as this excuse of a novel—then you will probably enjoy this. However, if you enjoy meaningful plot and emotionally driven relationships, you will loathe this just as much as I did.