After a month of DNF-ing one book after another, I have finally struck gold. FINALLY! The book gods have looked down on me and blessed me with another book to add to my library, and I am so happy! I have been a long time Jennifer L. Armentrout reader. My first series from her was the Lux series, back when I was a young adult, and those books were a balm to my soul. Damon infuriated me to no end, but he was hot so what the heck, 😊.
I love Jen’s writing and she’s pretty much a one-click author for me, but maybe I was living under a rock when From Blood and Ash came out because I did not even know that she’d released a book. And even after I’d started reading it, I did not have much confidence that I’d enjoy it, no shade to Jen’s writing, but simply because the high fantasy genre is mostly a hit and a miss for me. I’ve tried reading books of this particular type to disastrous results and gave up long ago.
I finished From Blood and Ash within a day. Not even. I DEVOURED THAT BOOK. It took me less than a chapter in to realize that I had a gem on my hands. Maybe it was because I loved Poppy so much, or maybe it was just one of those books that click with you and I was in the right frame of mind for it, I don’t know. I was in the middle of exams mind you, but you best believe I stayed up all night reading instead of studying, #no regrets.
Jennifer has managed to create a world for her reader, and the best thing about it is doesn’t feel like you are in a different world. That has always been a major gripe for me for many books where I don’t connect with the story because the world-building is so obvious. The story starts off with Poppy, or Penellaphe, who is our female protagonist, and she’s sneaking around a pub. That’s a big no no for her because Poppy is something called the Maiden. In her land of Masadonia, Poppy is kind of a spiritual figure. She’s to be veiled at all times, she’s not to be touched, or to mingle with the normal folk. She’s close to her Ascension, which is when she returns to the capital city and is essentially given to the gods. But Poppy is also a normal eighteen-year-old girl. She is understandably lonely and craves the kind of normal life people take for granted. Which is why she’s sneaking around the pub. Anyways her taste of adventure causes her to collide with the very hunky Hawke Flynn, who she knows is a guard that she’s spied on training in the castle she lives in. Poppy has a bit of a crush on him, cause he’s freaking hot, and she thinks what the heck might as well enjoy their encounter while she can. The banter between these two, my god, was so delicious. Hawke is dreamy, and Penellaphe who has never been so close to a man is understandably awed by his presence. She also realizes that should she be found out, she will be exiled from the kingdom. She is the Maiden after all, and she is to lead a solitary life.
However, fate puts him in her path again when he is assigned as her guard. I love these parts in books when the main characters encounter each other again, and it’s like *clutches pearls dramatically* “It’s you!!!”. Before we know it, Hawke is bantering with her all through the castle, and Poppy finds it harder and harder to keep distance from him. Hawke doesn’t treat her like she’s a fragile flower or as if she has to be hidden away. She is an equal in his eyes, and she wants to spend more and more time with him, making her question all the rules that she has to follow.
I don’t want to go into too much detail, but From Blood and Ash is a superbly written book. You can feel Poppy’s frustration, her pain, and her happiness, and you will root for her because she is to her core a good character. Hawke, well, he is absolutely swoon-worthy, and as much as I loved him in the beginning of the book, the turn of events towards the end of the book is what sealed him as one of the best male characters I’d read in a long time. Call me twisted.
And that cliffhanger. *Kiss my fingers* Absolute chef’s kiss.
From Blood and Ash is a loooong book, but I wish it had been longer. Jen has teased the next book- A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire- and it is even longer than this one. What can I say, the bigger the better, heh heh.
Bring on September 1st!
