🍷🍷🍷🍷 #Review of From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

Title: From Blood and Ash
Series: Blood And Ash #1
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Format: Kindle Edition, 622 pages
Published: March 30th 2020 by Blue Box Press (first published March 29th 2020)
ASINB: 086JMSSVH
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: Purchased by reviewer
Reviewer: Crystal
Rating: 4 out of 5 wine glasses

Captivating and action-packed, From Blood and Ash is a sexy, addictive, and unexpected fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa.

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

Crystal's Thoughts:
It has been a while since a book has kept me up all night because I couldn't put it down, but that is exactly what reading From Blood and Ash did! Jennifer L. Armentrout takes readers on a spell-binding journey into the world of mortals, royals, gods, wolven, vampyres, and even atlantians. Where a young Maiden, cloistered her entire life, defies her preordained destiny and discovers that everything that she has ever known is a lie.

I adored Poppy's character. She was fierce, wasn't afraid to toe the line despite the consequences, and was a loyal friend. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters that surrounded her, from the friends to the enemies, they were all well-fleshed out and I could easily picture them in a room together. When Hawke entered the scene I knew things were about to get interesting. His and Poppy's banter was not just entertaining, but it had me smiling to myself and silently smoldering inside. The attraction between them was searing from the start,  and it only got hotter as the story progressed.

From Blood and Ash is a high fantasy with paranormal elements. What I thought was a story based solely on mythology surprisingly turned to one of vampyres as well. It had a slow-building plot that kept me engaged. Despite the detailed story-building though, I still didn't entirely understand the world that was introduced. The how's and why's behind it. Hopefully it will be expanded on more with the next book. And while I enjoyed the story-line immensely, it was incredibly predictable. I guessed all but one of the twists, and although that "ah-hah" moment is always nice, I was a little disappointed that there weren't any real surprises in-store for me.

All in all, From Blood and Ash was captivating tale of bravery, friendship, betrayal, vengeance and love. There was never a lull in the plot, and the world and characters that Jennifer L. Armentrout has created here intrigues.Though I knew that the ending was coming, it came all to soon for me. I am eagerly anticipating the next book in the Blood And Ash series.