Review by hannaws - From Blood and Ash

hannaws 's review for:

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

5.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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: Yes

Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.

My only regret at this moment is the fact that I only bought this first book back in the day. Not wanting to buy the next one at the same time because if I didn't like this, I wouldn't need it. And now I am in agony because this book ends in such and annoying CLIFFHANGER!

I tend to put every highly hyped book in the back burner to wait. All the hype usually just gets me to a point where I have unrealistic expectations and it always ends up in a disappointment. I waited with From Blood and Ash and I think it was totally worth it. Yes, this is still a very recommended book around booktok but I think the hype has calmed down significantly.

The characters kind of remind me of Armentrout's other characters. And I love them! Whilst reading, I have made only one note. That's all I could do to tear myself away from it. And that note only has characters names with different emojis next to them. And let me tell you, the Duke's and Lord Mazeen's emoji lists aren't that nice and short.
Hawke only needs one emoji, which I can't put here since it looks way different on my laptop, lol. But boy could I be a damsel in distress too! I would like to go barge into people's room just in hopes to meet Hawke. He is an ass very much too. But I love him with all my heart and he does have his resons.
POPPY! Poppy needs nothing else but a crown because she is <i>the queen</i>. She's kept like a house pet. You can go out when someone takes you. But boy if you go anywhere with other people or dare to speak with them.. And still she has such spirits! She is sassy, spicy, loving, caring. She deserves the world.
Vikter, love him very much. We might not see eye to eye with everything but I still love him so very much.
Lord Mazeen and Duke. I don't think I've hated characters this much in a long time. Like so much I wanted to physically hurt them or at least kick something. Even talking about them makes my blood boil.

Even though I managed to spoil myself, before I started reading, about one character, I still loved the book. The plot is pretty predictable from the start, at least regarding who is who and what is their agenda. I still loved this book. I still kept doubting myself and my ability to 'predict' what happens in the book. And boy did I find myself hoping that some things would not happen!
From Blood and Ash had some twists and turns that I wasn't necessary waiting to happen. Something, sure, but not that. The reader is thrown through every emotion basically. It is a rollercoaster of stuff happening. One second you're reading smut perhaps, and next you're crying like a baby. For example about the emotions.

I cried. I cried at work because I had to use my breaks to continue reading, and I cried. When there's no one else who reads books, it is very hard to try and explain why you cry for a book character. But this book managed to make me cry. I don't think I can never forgive what Armentrout did to some of them,
But I also went through butterflies in my stomach, joy, warmth, anger, frustration, everything. This book definitely absorbed me into it completely.

All in all this was a rollercoaster of emotions. This was a rollercoaster of events. So much happened yet it still wasn't overwhelming. So many characters but it is easy to stay on track with who is who and where they came from. I waited a day before writing this review, thinking my mind would have calmed down, but I think it still hasn't gotten over this book and it is just a mess that keeps on thinking 100 different things about the book at the same time. But I need the next book. I hate when books end with cliffhangers like that!

Content Warnings