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A review by tamara_reads
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book is AMAZING to say the least. I loved almost every single thing about it and I am pretty sure I will be rereading it a lot. There are lots of stuff I loved in fbaa but there are quite a few that I hated.
TW: Death, death of a minor, Emotional abuse, physical abuse, and graphic violence.
Pros: I loved the word building in this book even though it was a little confusing. It takes you a while to get into it but once the action starts it never stops. The book picked u so fast around 40% or 35% in and kept me at the edge of my seat most of the time. The little plot-twists every now and then kept me so interested that I read the book in almost one day and ignored the 100 pages I had to read for school.
I loved the building of the relationship between Poppy and Hawke. The slow burn romance was executed perfectly and I was always craving for any type of interaction between them. The way they would exchange banter was always so interesting and I couldn't wait for the next time they would talk throughout the book.
The plot-twist at the end was so creative. I had a gut feeling that something would happen but I never expected it to be something like THAT. It was interesting to read even though it was confusing. The way that Hawke explained it to Poppy was so quick and weird but it somehow worked?
Cons: The amount of info dumping I had to go through KILLED me. I know that this is the first book in the series and everything but the way the author kept dumping the information was almost enough for me to DNF the book. However, I didn't do that because I wanted to see what all the hype is about. The plot-twist at the end of the book also dumped quiet a lot of information that I still can't understand since the way it was all explained would confuse any normal person but thank god my friend is explaining all the stuff I can't understand. I am pretty sure that if she didn't, I would be way too confused to continue the series.
Sometimes the author's writing was a bit insufferable and I couldn't handle it. There was this point in the story, where nothing interesting was happening and the book was so slow that I was almost sure that I would never be able to finish this book.
The honeydew thing was extremely weird and awkward to me and I always laughed whenever it was mentioned. I don't know if I am the only one that felt so since apparently everyone I know that has read this book thought that it was creative and interesting.
There wasn't a lot of diversity in this book and that was a huge disappointment to me. I think this book is really great but it's a little bit too overhyped in my opinion.
“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.”
“With my sword and with my life, I vow to keep you safe, Penellaphe,” he spoke, voice deep and smooth, reminding me of rich, decadent chocolate. “From this moment until the last moment, I am yours.”
“You’re such a bad influence,” I murmured as I placed my hand in his.
Hawke curled his fingers around mine. The weight and warmth of his hand was a pleasant shock. “Only the bad can be influenced, Princess.”
“When you listen to me, I think the stars will fall.”
“Bravery and strength do not equal goodness.”
TW: Death, death of a minor, Emotional abuse, physical abuse, and graphic violence.
Pros: I loved the word building in this book even though it was a little confusing. It takes you a while to get into it but once the action starts it never stops. The book picked u so fast around 40% or 35% in and kept me at the edge of my seat most of the time. The little plot-twists every now and then kept me so interested that I read the book in almost one day and ignored the 100 pages I had to read for school.
I loved the building of the relationship between Poppy and Hawke. The slow burn romance was executed perfectly and I was always craving for any type of interaction between them. The way they would exchange banter was always so interesting and I couldn't wait for the next time they would talk throughout the book.
The plot-twist at the end was so creative. I had a gut feeling that something would happen but I never expected it to be something like THAT. It was interesting to read even though it was confusing. The way that Hawke explained it to Poppy was so quick and weird but it somehow worked?
Cons: The amount of info dumping I had to go through KILLED me. I know that this is the first book in the series and everything but the way the author kept dumping the information was almost enough for me to DNF the book. However, I didn't do that because I wanted to see what all the hype is about. The plot-twist at the end of the book also dumped quiet a lot of information that I still can't understand since the way it was all explained would confuse any normal person but thank god my friend is explaining all the stuff I can't understand. I am pretty sure that if she didn't, I would be way too confused to continue the series.
Sometimes the author's writing was a bit insufferable and I couldn't handle it. There was this point in the story, where nothing interesting was happening and the book was so slow that I was almost sure that I would never be able to finish this book.
The honeydew thing was extremely weird and awkward to me and I always laughed whenever it was mentioned. I don't know if I am the only one that felt so since apparently everyone I know that has read this book thought that it was creative and interesting.
There wasn't a lot of diversity in this book and that was a huge disappointment to me. I think this book is really great but it's a little bit too overhyped in my opinion.
“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.”
“With my sword and with my life, I vow to keep you safe, Penellaphe,” he spoke, voice deep and smooth, reminding me of rich, decadent chocolate. “From this moment until the last moment, I am yours.”
“You’re such a bad influence,” I murmured as I placed my hand in his.
Hawke curled his fingers around mine. The weight and warmth of his hand was a pleasant shock. “Only the bad can be influenced, Princess.”
“When you listen to me, I think the stars will fall.”
“Bravery and strength do not equal goodness.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death