elizabeth_reads_ 's review for:

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

3.0

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I’m not sure what to think about this book. I don’t think it’s good, really, but it was enjoyable to read. I thought the world-building was really confusing, but you could say that actually fits in with the fact the protagonist, Poppy, doesn’t actually know much about what really happens in her world. However, I also thought the foreshadowing in the novel was really heavy handed. Despite the flaws, I could barely put the book down, so something about the story was compelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

The most intense moments of violence come when the protagonist is at an event called the Rite and most everyone there is massacred. The protagonist is also physically abused by a man in power; this includes a detailed scene in which the protagonist is whipped with a cane. While the protagonist is not raped, the sexual element of this abuse is not denied. In fact, it is further enhanced by the presence of another man, one who threatened sexual violence on the protagonist earlier in the novel.