A review by sixelad03
A Soul of Ash and Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m slowly catching up with the Blood and Ash series.

Having read some spoiler-free reviews of this book—which were quite negative—I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading it, apart from the fact that it was a retelling of From Blood and Ash from Casteel’s point of view.

Personally, I enjoyed this book. Although I found the first part to be a bit slow—because when you already know the story you want to get to the more ‘interesting’ parts quickly—I read the second half of the book in one sitting.

I found it interesting to experience the story through Cas’s eyes, but I especially found it interesting to see Poppy through his eyes. Even though there was a lot of lust on his part for her, there was mostly a lot of tenderness and admiration for Poppy in his mind, and that made me like their relationship even more.

When I read the reviews of the book, I saw that it was often criticised for the following things:
—Cas thinks more with his second brain than his first.
—The relationship between Cas, Poppy and Kieran is unpopular.
—The book feels more like a money grab rather than an essential part of the rest of the series.

While I agree that this book wasn’t necessarily essential to the rest of the series, I have a different opinion about the other two criticisms often made.

Regarding Cas, it didn’t necessarily shock me, because from the beginning he has been lusting after Poppy a lot and regarding the relationship between Poppy, Kieran and him, it doesn’t bother me in the least,
but maybe that’s because I’m used to reading ménage and why-choose romances.


All in all, I enjoyed this book and will soon be reading Visions of Flesh and Blood while I wait for the sixth book in the series.