From Blood and Ash

Honestly 15⭐️ book. I am so mad at myself for waiting so long to start this. I honestly just didn’t want to spend the $ on a book when so many are free on KU but I’m so happy I did. Soooo many twists and turns, a very unique world, I loved every second of it!!!

So good!! I’m hooked. Can’t wait to read book 2!!! Kept me on my toes and interested the whole way thru!!

I’m not going to lie, I went into this kind of blind. This book was amazing and I absolutely could not put it down. A definite must read

The book started out really slow, and took over half the book to really pull me in. But it had been recommended by someone whose opinion on books I highly regard so I kept reading. The ending was great! Now on to the next!

The relationship between Poppy and Hawke is insane. I love the back and forth, and I had so many questions. And I loved that. Nothing was predictable. And all I want is more!

Loved every moment. It was never dull and I may have to reread this. I made the mistake of looking up fan art in the beginning and it spoiled something for me but I kinda liked knowing because it wasn’t just a guard and princess romance. I felt the whole enemies to lovers. He’s so cocky, charming, unhinged. I love it. The whole world building was great and then it flips you on your ass and becomes a whole new world. Great writing, great story, great slow burn romance. Bravo!

It was a little slow to get into but Once it picks up it's so good I couldn't put it down I highly recommend reading it and I've already bought the next 3 books

Good read however, I dont like how aggressive the female lead is. (I too come from a traumatized background similar to the female lead and yes I can be assertive thanks to therapy but nothing this aggressive as the female lead) she seems too immature but mature at the same time? lies to herself alot if she's into the male lead or if its just lust and extremely aggressive by throwing knives at him all the time either for not getting her way or because his opinion is different from her's and he's into that?? (Which am not trying to judge if that's someone's kink, it just seems that at some point a real man would get annoyed at their lover trying to kill them all the time) Am glad this is a fictional book cause...am so lost on the 2D personality of the female lead. But the story of itself is still pretty good and I do plan on sticking it out and read the rest of the other books in this series and hope she really does mature.

Another great read from Booktok! I feel like most books are predictable in who’s who and what might happen. I feel like I definitely predicted some of the plot in this one but it was still so entertaining to read. I like the character development and spice was great!

I am hooked! There were two times that u predicted what would happen, but honestly the details and delivery were so good i don’t even mind. I love the character building in this and i am curious to see how the rest of the series is, but all i can say is WOW. I’m in love and it’s complicated.

The story building was good, the characters are interesting and it was well written. The ending doesn’t leave you hanging so I assume the next book continues to build on to the story but I have heard that the series starts great and goes downhill so I’m not holding my breath that the next books would be as good. Guess I’ll find out.

first, let me start off by saying i used to read OBSESSIVELY.then i hardly read for almost a decade.this book got me out of a decade long reading slump and then i proceeded to BINGE the rest of the series in three weeks.Hawk has stolen my heart.I forced my partner to read this and Hawk stole my partner's heart.his absolute love and devotion to poppy had me kicking my absolute feet and dancing in my chair. the way he reassured her that he would only every do what she was okay with. the way he gave poppy a space to feel safe exploring a side of herself and the things she wanted that she was never allowed to have. it all made me love this even more.from book one i knew i would love the overarching fantasy plot and now, having read the entire series, i can say with certainty that i am LOVING it. the story goes absolutely wild as time goes on so if you're not looking for an epic fantasy filled with twists and turns and secrets, love and heartbreak and emotional trauma and healing and growth and a healthy helping of spice– this isn't for you.

So many things about this book annoyed me.I grow so very tired of the ‘MMC that sleeps with everything while the FMC is an untouched virgin’ trope. Give me a break. I’m disappointed that so many female authors cling to this MMC/FMC dynamic.Even if the FMC is a virgin and the MMC is not, fine, why does the MMC ALWAYS have to be a complete h*e?It just seems gross that she’s untouched while he’s touched everything. Like we would really want to give our virginity to a man that’s slept with a ton of women, constantly encountering all the women who have had him.This didn’t read at all like a romance to me.This reeks of an older, much, much more experienced promiscuous H*E taking advantage of a young, naive, virgin girl and just wants to use her and take her innocence. He turns everything between them back to sex. He’s that dude you’re talking to, trying to get to know who says “So when you gonna let me hit?” 🤮It’s so obvious he’s been around the block and has grown tired of women who don’t present a challenge.He even alludes to this several times.When she asks him why he’s trying to have sex with her and points out how complicated her situation is he says:“Nothing is ever simple. And when it is, it’s rarely ever worth it.” He says similar things to her constantly, clearly communicating that he’s enjoying the challenge of getting in her pants.And that’s all it’s ever about for him, there’s never any confession of any feelings for her or him wanting anything more than sex from her.“We’re friends, aren’t we?” After he’s pulled her into his lap and is feeling her up.It just screams manipulation by someone more mature and ‘I want one thing from you’and he’s constantly pushing for it because that’s what he wants without any regards to how it will impact her or her life.He accuses her of being jealous about the fact that he sleeps around and of course she is 🙄That’s another trope I’m so tired of: MMC has another woman or other women, FMC is jealous, MMC makes fun of her for being jealous and gleans joy from her jealousy/insecurity. If a man was making me jealous and getting pleasure from my jealousy, he would never touch me, that would be the end of it.He questions her about being at the red pearl and she soothes him by saying “That was the first time I was ever at the Red Pearl” when it’s clear he’s there all the time having sex with random women. Pretty much : Don’t worry Hawke, I’m a virgin, I haven’t been touched by anyone else, it’s okay that you’ve been with everyone.I’m sorry but an older, more experienced dude plotting to take a girl’s virginity is creepy AF.In the books he always ends up falling madly in love with her which is so not what happens in real life.Aside from my major annoyances there are several nonsensical elements and there are many but this is a few:She can read other’s emotions but doesn’t know what the emotions are she’s reading?The magic system is not well-explained and completely bizarreall the …. in this drove me insane. It’s like she had a glitch in her brain or her brain was buffering.Example: We went through the doorway, and…and others went out into the Great Hall.Now multiply that by about 300 and you can imagine how annoying it gets.She’s 18 years old, not 5, yet she keeps the abuse of the Duke and his companion along with his S/A a closely guarded secret, she doesn’t tell anyone in an attempt to get it to stop. People ask her what happened and she insists that nothing happened. Like WTF? Her purity is of the utmost importance to literally everyone, if she told people they would 100% put a stop to him even being around her but she just doesn’t.Her smelling flowers on the dudes fingers then finding the same scent at the murder scene the very next day yet couldn’t figure out where the scent came from or why it disgusted her when she normally liked the smell.If somone is touching you unwanted you’re going to remember any scent vividly, in fact smelling it would bring back vivid memories of the abuse since scent is the strongest sense tied to memory.She literally gets caned for the smallest perceived slight but she’s allowed to walk out of a ceremony while the priest is in the middle of talking in order to speak to someone?When she gets falsely accused of something she’s about to get beaten for, she doesn’t even try to deny it or put up any defense, just apologizes knowing she’s innocent.I tried so hard but I couldn’t enjoy this book because of the creepy AF dynamic between the MMC and FMC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5🌶🌶.75/5I admit, I was hesitant to read this book. It seems like people either love it or hate it, and I was worried I'd end up in the latter camp. I love fantasy romance, but one thing I've noticed is that a lot of the popular books and series have rather lackluster writing, and that was my biggest concern going in.From Blood and Ash is the first in a fantasy romance series and follows our narrator, 18 year old Penellaphe (Poppy) Balfour. She is a Maiden, and is destined to 'Ascend' as a gift to the gods, and ultimately, save the Kingdom of Solis. Poppy also has a gift, she can sense a person's physical and mental pain, and by touching them, relieve them of some of it. The Ascended are essentially the ruling class over the kingdom, however they are very mysterious. Poppy lives a life where she is expected to be sheltered; speak only to a few, remain completely covered, never leave the castle, never be touched, etc. However, she is not so good at playing this role. She knows how to fight in hand-to-hand combat, and carries a dagger (we love a stabby woman) and often sneaks out. At the beginning of the book, she leaves the castle one night and ventures to The Red Pearl, a notoriously debaucherous tavern. There, she meets a royal guard who ends up kissing her, and thus begins Poppy's internal investigation on whether or not she truly wants to become the Maiden.There is strife in the Kingdom, because another group, The Atlantians, led by "The Dark One" are said to have plagued the earth with dangerous creatures called Craven. A group called The Descenters are supporters of The Atlantians and want to see the downfall of the Kindom. Each group believes the other is responsible for all their issues. The Descenters/The Atlantians would also like to see the Maiden killed.After one of her personal guards is killed by a masked man, Poppy is assigned a new guard, Hawke (they guy from the Red Pearl). Poppy is practically instantly in love with him and decides to essentially throw all of her Maidenly duties out of the window for him. She is forced to decide if she should fall to temptation and live her life for herself and risk being found unworthy of the gods, or give up all of her freedoms. Fast forward, after a deadly attack on the castle by the Descenters, Poppy is called by the queen to arrive to the Capital sooner than anticipated, and likely to speed up her Ascension. During the treacherous journey from the castle to the Capital, it is revealed that not everything (or everyone) is truly as it seems.Alright, on to my review. I was pleasantly surprised that the writing was better than I was expecting. Was it fantastic? No, but it wasn't bad enough to the point where it drew me out of the story over and over. There were a few grammatical and syntactical errors that were a bit confusing, so the editing could have been a bit better, yes. I also wish that there had been a map (every fantasy needs a map; they look cool and are super helpful) and perhaps a glossary because there are A LOT of different people, events, groups, etc. etc. and that was difficult to keep straight in my head. I wish there was a little more world-building to make things a little clearer. The political intrigue was interesting.Overall, the characters were pretty good. Poppy is interesting, although she is not nearly as sheltered as JLA tries to make her out to be. She's an excellent fighter, she's witty, and swears. She is definitely naive, but I think that's because she's 18. Hawke was of course hot, but his idea of consent was definitely in the grey area.The 🌶 were not over the top and were written well. There was a loooot of tension between Poppy and Hawke which I loved.My one petty gripe was the names she used for people and places. Penellaphe instead of Poppy. The Atlantians. A black character named Tawny. Things like that.Overall, I did enjoy this book. It's not perfect, but most books aren't. It definitely has some faults. I am definitely planning on reading the rest of the books in the series and the FBAA world, and I'm looking forward to them, feeling hopeful.

Not only did I listen to the audiobook, but I then reread it with my eyeballs. Going in pretty much blind will maximize the impact while reading this book. Because I was 😱🤯.Poppy/Penellaphe (18) is the Chosen One, the Maiden, and must constantly wear a veil. When she turns 19, she will Ascend and be given to the Gods- and she’s been the Chosen One since she was a kid and survived an attack by the horrible Craven. Unfortunately, her parents didn’t survive, but her surviving meant that she’s special- and the Queen selected her as her favorite one because of it. But, she’s tired of living in a gilded cage.Which is why she sneaks off to the Red Pearl when she’s having another restless/nightmare-filled night. Yes, she’s aware there’s danger lurking around- recently a guard was drained of all his blood, so she’s always cautious. Luckily, she’s able to use her senses to feel her environment. At the Red Pearl, she sees one of her guards, the one that’s been like a father-figure to her- Vikter, so she’s helped by a woman there. Soon after, a man comes into the room she sneaks into- a handsome AF, virile man- Hawke Flynn 👀.Hawke… oh Hawke 🔥. He thinks the veiled woman’s someone else, and he immediately… ahem… starts “seducing” her 😉. Before anything happens, they get interrupted. And then… then Hawke becomes one of her trusted guards, and the tension only heightens 😅.What I liked/loved-—The steam🔥. Yeah. I said it. This book is smexxy! So we don’t get full smexxy times until 77%, but… OH. MY. GAWD… the tension. The chemistry. The sizzle… oh LAWD. I get chills thinking about it😅. Hawke and Poppy take eye-contact to another level 🥵. Sure. It’s not graphic (like some of the NA/contemporary books I read), but dear God, I thank all my teachers and adults in my young life that taught me how to read between the lines. Because. Dayummmm 🥵😅. Even the caress of his breath in Poppy’s ears took MY breath away 👀. I see you Hawke. You go on with ya bad self 😉 you keep seducing Poppy 💁🏻‍♀️.—Um, the fact that I was 🤯 on top of shocked 😱. I made it a point not to read spoilers (I just checked for safety ow stuff lol) and I’m SO glad I didn’t. It made the twists and turns more enjoyable. Even though I was questioning lots of things and understood the foreshadowing, I was still pleasantly surprised—The world building. Yeah. It’s a lot. But I found myself intrigued. Good thing I heard/read it twice lol. It makes me excited to read the next one—The people she’s close with- Vikter and Tawny were amazing to have. Especially Vikter ❤️. I even appreciated Rylan—The banter. I was giggling many, many times. Even though Poppy’s The Maiden and isn’t allowed to talk to people or have conversations, I loved how Hawke tested those boundaries every time he could 😅😂. And, the way she volleys back was just as good—Her feistiness/skills. I loved reading about damsels in distress, but I also love being surprised and Poppy surprised me. Hats off to you again Vikter ❤️—I cried- more than once 😩. I felt all the pain and anguish/angst 🥺—did I mention the steam? Oops. I did. I’ll mention it again 💀🤡. And I love that it wasn’t FTB and it was nicely detailed. If I’m gonna be reading a thickkkk book, please let me enjoy the romance 💁🏻‍♀️👏🏻. That it all 😉.What I didn’t like/wanted more of:—the length. And I’m laughing at myself because the next books are even LONGER 😂😂😂—I wouldn’t have minded if a couple of characters had suffered more 🤷🏻‍♀️It’s hard to say more without spoiling a lot. Sigh. I loved it

*****Spoilers*****If there is s ranking above 5, this book deserves it. I was swept along in this one, the length was longer than other books I've read recently but I always love more story than less so no complaints from me there. The Maiden is Penellaphe aka Poppy, a sheltered and restricted sacrificial maid who is to be given to the gods and represents salvation for the masses. Exactly how that's going to take place and what's expected of her, Penellaphe doesn't know and neither do we as the book is told from her perspective. Penellaphe is so important that she warrants personal guards similarly to the Duke and Duchess who raised her after her parents died. Penellaphe spends most of her time veiled and breaking rules that restrict her moments, freedom, and life experiences. She's also protected because the Craven, humans infected by Atlantians who she's been taught are her enemies along with Wolven and Descenters and all immortal, roam the lands and a bite from a Craven turns a mortal into one as well. Except Penellaphe because she was bitten when he family was attacked but she's somehow immune even though she's a mortal and not only that, she has the power to feel and ease the pain of others. In contrast, Ascendants are nearly immortal but can be killed and are the good ones and are the rulers of the world in which the book takes place. The Descenters are a group of rebels who support who they consider the true King, the Dark One, an Atlantian who lost the war of the kings some time ago before the current monarchy was installed.The book opens with Penellaphe, 18, on a visit to the Pearl, where she certainly shouldn't be as a virginal maid since the activities there include the ability to visit private rooms. Circumstances have her in a room with Hawke experiencing her first kisses, a new guardsman just from the capital who is gorgeous but off limits to Penellaphe, just as all are due to her being the Maiden. From that meeting forward, events unfold until Hawke gains a position as her personal guard following the death of her other guard. His appointment is a surprise for Penellaphe and though she questions how one so young, whom she believes to be only a few years older than her, got the position, Penellaphe doesn't voice those concerns where it might make a different as her guardian could turn her complaint into punishment. It turns out that the Duke enjoys abusing Penellaphe by way of a cane across the back for minor infractions, and though Penellaphe knows how to fight after being trained by her father figure of a guard, Vikter, she dares not do so against the Duke.Penellaphe and Hawke spend the book getting to know one another through conversation and action and Penellaphe, though sheltered, has strong ideas about trying to help where she can and even joins a battle against the Craven, shooting arrows from a battlement while the guardsmen fight on the ground below. In the time that passes in the book, Penellaphe's life is threatened several times so eventually she's sent off to the capital where the king and queen reign, but with only a few guardsmen and unveiled so that she's traveling less conspicuously. Penellaphe never makes it to the capital because Hawke is the Dark One, his true name Casteel, he is who is referred to as the Dark One, and he carefully orchestrated Penellaphe's capture to use as a bargaining chip to get his brother Malik back from the Ascendant monarchs because they have him captured. Too, Ascendants, according to Casteel, are the real creators of Craven and they don't come out in daylight because they can't and the third and fourth children have been used to feed the Ascendants blood as they are vampry. While Penellaphe's world view is shockingly adjusted, she feels betrayed by Hawke, doubly so because she's no longer a maiden after falling for him and choosing to give in to the attraction they had for one another. The book ends with Casteel saying he's taking Penellaphe to Atlantis, home, to marry her because she's part Atlantian.I enjoyed the characters and twists as well as Penellaphe and Hawke. I'm not sure how Penellaphe will be able to reconcile Casteel's reputation and brutality in the coming books but she's essentially his prisoner. But while Penellaphe has had a shock, Casteel seems to be caught up in Penellaphe and hasn't stuck to the plan as he got closer to her while posing as her guard.

I stayed up LATE to read this book multiple nights in a row because it was addicting and I didn’t want to put it down, even though I had some major problems with it, namely with the romance.Poppy is the Maiden, but she is also very much a maiden in her innocence and naivety. She is not allowed to be looked at and must wear a veil at all times. She is not allowed to speak or be spoken to by certain people. Her life is not her own. But she’s human too, and she’s unhappy with all the rules and restrictions placed on her.One day when she’s trying to live a normal life, she sneaks out to a club called the Red Pearl, where she ends up meeting Hawke, a handsome guard. And that is the start of the adventure and romance of this story.I don’t want to say too much more about the plot because I went in with almost no idea what this book was about other than that it’s a fantasy romance, and I enjoyed it that way. I will say it’s more of a paranormal high fantasy than it is a romance though, at least in the beginning. I expected this book to be on the level of Sarah J. Maas as far as having X-rated romance scenes, but the first 60% was pretty tame with actually almost no romance scenes at all. Of course, those scenes did come, and while the scenes were explicit, the whole book was a lot more mellow than I was expecting.I surprisingly really enjoyed From Blood and Ash. Even though I felt like not much was happening for the vast majority of the book, I still was quite invested in it. Most of the story is about court politics and Poppy’s day-to-day life as the Maiden. I love reading about fantasy politics and worldbuilding so I actually really enjoyed that, and I’m becoming more of a character-driven reader the more I realize I don’t care about action/fight scenes (and this book had very little of those but the ones it did have were GOOD).I did have some questions about the plot that never got answered, and I’m hoping they will be discussed in further installments. My main question is why is Poppy the Maiden? Like how did she get chosen at birth and why her versus someone else? I’m also still not really sure what the Maiden even does, like the synopsis says she’s supposed to Ascend and then “usher in a new era,” but what does that mean? I’m not sure why her position requires her to be isolated so much either.I had some problems with the writing as well, such as the fact that this book clearly was self-published because it desperately needs an editor. And a proofreader. And a layout designer. I’m surprised that for how popular of an author Jennifer L. Armentrout is that she didn’t put more work into having this story properly edited because it’s egregiously bad. SO bad, throughout the entire book no less. As an editor myself I was especially bothered by this because there were lots of minor issues—such as misused punctuation, unnecessary repetition, or incorrect word usage—that could easily have been fixed with even one pass by a proficient editor. I’m trying to not let that affect my rating or enjoyment of the story because the story itself was still really fun for me; there were just so many moments where blatant errors pulled me out of the story to the point that I was constantly turning to my husband on the couch and showing him the book and being all affronted like, “Can you believe no one caught this???”Now I want to talk about Hawke and the romance in this book, which was my biggest issue (although the lack of editing comes in a close second) and my least favorite part of the novel. There will be some spoilers below about the intimate scenes between Hawke and Poppy and about some scenes at the end.I do appreciate that they had a slow-burn romance and they didn’t have sex in the first chapter when they met. I mean it was close, but I’m really glad they didn’t go all the way that early on.I was wary of Hawke from the beginning. That first scene at the start of the book when he put his hands on her without her permission completely rubbed me the wrong way. I was hoping that was a one-off, and for a large portion of the book I thought I was right and I hesitantly started to like Hawke, but I should have known to trust my gut. The readers are led to believe that Hawke thinks Poppy is someone else when they first meet and that is why he touched her, but we learn later on that he knew who she was the whole time, which makes him touching her like that all the worse. We see from the beginning that Hawke only cares about what he wants and not about what Poppy wants or what’s best for her.I really cannot justify or stand behind how Hawke treats Poppy. He’s honestly horrible to her. He puts up the pretense that he cares about her and protects her, but later on we see who the true Hawke is and he’s not sexy, not at all. Twice in the book he sexually touches her without her permission, both times while knowing she’s the Maiden, and it just made me really uncomfortable. Because if you have no sexual experience or even romantic ex...

Let's start with some of the reasons why this book may bother you (yes im starting with the bad instead of the good but just continue)-She talks to herself alott. Most of the times it gives you information well needed for plot and character development and other times it becomes repetitive. There will come a point where you can recognize the repetitive parts and just power read through it.- I see people talking about some grammatical mistakes. Guess what, unless you're reading this book to look for every minor mistake (based on a negative review i saw there are just about 2) you're not going to even know there were any.- Lastly (for the bad things that is), you may feel some emotions you never thought you'd feel from a fictional book. And this goes for the entire series (especially part 2). And to be totally honest if a book can make you so emotional it's worth it.NOW FOR THE AMAZING THINGSOn a whole this book was just captivating. It always left you with questions you had to have answers to at the end of each chapter. Im attracted to the post apocalyptic (war), dystopia and utopia, supernatural (vampires/vampry, werewolf/wolven, gods etc) powerful female, magical, twisted but understood love type of books. This has it all without it being forced or unnecessary.I believe because all of this isn't forced, those individuals turned off by these sort of genres might actually be pleasantly surprised that you didn't want to gag after reading it. Just remember to start with with an open mind.Yes there's some seggs and touching but its not over done. Loved that!There's a plot! It starts off quite slow, but that definitely prepares you for what comes later. Most of the major action starts later down in the book and trust me it's worth the wait.I was honestly a bit hesitant at first, but for some reason I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. I kept reading and im happy I did.Great character development. Plain and simple.The way the author describes places and people was amazing (for me at least). It was never too over the top, simple and easy to visualize. Mind you i had to Google a few things because I just didn't know what the items were and instead of just skipping it over I really wanted that clear and accurate picture in my head. There was also enough wiggle room to let my own imagination slip in some things.I cried, shouted (internally), laughed, wished I could stab some of the characters in each of their digits, and caught myself smiling like a fool every now and then. You have to love a book that can do that to you.When (and yes I say WHEN because I'm speaking it into existence) you finish book one I can guarantee you'd love book 2 even more.There's alot more aspects of the book id love to praise but I'm sure the review will be too long.OUR TWO MAIN CHARACTERS ❤Poppy- brave, kind, innocent (in some aspects) and lets not forget extremely strong. She has her faults of course and most of them are understood when you understand where they stem from.E.g. this may be just a little spoiler.-Lack of self love (image wise). She doesn't find herself beautiful eventually doubting why anyone else would find her beautiful. And who can blame her when that nasty man sang her insecurities in her ear everytime he saw her?-There are points where you might want to give her a smack and tell her to relax, get over it, pull yourself together or how can you not see who's standing infront of you. When/ if that time comes please remember how she was raised and isn't as devilish and terrible as us. She's not there yet. Giver her some time.Hawke (aka 🤭 you'd know at the end)- we LOVE, HATE, want to rip his clothes off and stab him in the eye all at the same time.Some may find his lines cheesy but I find them quite sweet.I think if I try saying anymore I'll spoil it.Hopefully I can see you again in part 2 where things gets extremely saucyyy. (Action packed and ;) you know.Now remember my lovelies not every book is going to be your cup of tea. If it's not, KINDLY state your reasons and try with the next.Criticism should help build not tear down.If for some reason you dislike the book and positive reviews hurt your feelings. Don't go looking for every mistake I've made and hurt your head, just go to sleep and have sweet dreams.