The Primal of Blood and Bone: A Blood and Ash Novel

The Primal of Blood and Bone is the sixth book in the Blood and Ash series, and it's been quite a ride. I started out loving this series, but unfortunately, the books are not as engaging as they once were. On the positive side, Poppy woke up from her stasis; she is now aware of her past, and both Seraphina and Attes made appearances. The storyline with Kolis progressed, unlike in the last book, and we get a glimpse of what Poppy and Casteel will be like as king and queen. However, the book was 1200 pages long, which was too much. Don't get me wrong, I love a good, long book, but the length must be justified by enough story. There were moments when I loved the series, and interesting things happened, but there were also long stretches of boring, repetitive conversations. Sometimes, something would happen, and then the characters would explain the entire event to others, making the reader revisit that part of the plot twice. I will stick with the series because I am invested at this point, but I'm disappointed and wish the magic would return. 3 stars for the reasons above, but this series started at 5 stars.

My favorite thing about this series and related series is how unique and expansive the world is. When I’m in a reading slump and frustrated about the copy/paste romantasy books, I find myself missing and thinking about this series. There is always something new that keeps you interested and invested. Another of my favorite things about this author is she writes extensive dialogue. I enjoy dialogue heavy books because you really get to know and see different character dynamics. However, I will admit that even I sometimes get a little impatient in certain parts of her books, wanting the story to move forward. But as someone who tends to get bored in heavy action scenes, I enjoy her books.Overall, if you like unique/complex worlds and heavy dialogue, this is for you. However, I can see how people can feel bored or like the plot isn’t moving. This author tends to really have the characters talk it out, which I personally enjoy most of the time.MINOR PLOT SPOILERS for what to expect if you are deciding if you want to read it:This is a heavy poppy/casteel book. I would say a good chunk of the first half is them reuniting and talking. Kind of similar to the prequel with sera/nyktos reunion after she was held captive. I missed Kieran, as he was not as present this book. Whatever relationship Kieran and poppy have that goes beyond platonic is put on the back burner. I am fairly patient when it comes to characters, but I can see people being frustrated with Casteel this book. He communicates with poppy about everything except the thing that is bothering him. I was excited about the gods joining the story. We got some, but I’m excited for the final book because I think we will get more appearances. For those who want to know who shows up this book: Kolis, Attes, Rhahar and Saion (very briefly), and Sera. Also, if you read this book, I would recommend reading the Fall of Ruin and Wrath book. The character Thorne is briefly present in this book and seems like he is going to be important for the last book.

This series. I can’t even express how greatly disappointed I am in how this has played out. Book 1 had so many promising story arcs. I loved the characters, the dialogue, the plot line. I got wrapped up in the world and all those that played a role in it. I rooted for them because I could see and feel with them as they struggled through so many different challenges and revelations.I hung in through the next few books thinking that hopefully, maybe, PRAYING that the next book would redeem the one before it. I could see the potential that was RIGHT THERE for the taking. This had so many opportunities to be an amazing, edge of your seat, tear jerker kind of story. Instead all we got was a slow but continuous cash grab by dragging the series out far beyond what it should have been and letting “booktok” steer where the story goes. By that I mean this book was quite literally all fluff and buzz words. I have never read a book faster in my entire life, and not in a good way.I kept hoping that SOMETHING that had even an iota of importance would happen. I kept waiting for literally anything to draw me in because the love I had for Cas, Poppy, and Kieran demanded I stick this through in the hope that they would get a story that does their characters justice, and I quite simply cannot believe that THIS is what we’ve been given.After book 2 it felt like the biggest fall off I’ve ever read. Not to say book 1 was literary genius, but by book 6 I felt like there is no plot. Everything is just geared toward what will make the best 30 second booktok clip, and frankly the way the last few books have been written makes me feel like she thinks her audience is less bright than they are. This felt cheap in every sense of the word.These characters deserved better and so did we.Save yourself the trouble and just read a synopsis online. I wish I had.

*spoilers****Where is kolis? Which god died saving poppy? We know poppy is alive, so kolis was not able to take her essence …. I need answers 🥲 delano my heart broke. I knew something was wrong as soon as she said thorne seem disappointed with her decision of preventing casteel from following 🥴

Spoiler Alert 🚨I won’t say I didn’t enjoy the book because I did to a certain extent. This wasn’t what I was expecting and not in a good way. I wanted more Kieran that what we got. I wanted him to just have been more present. He felt like he wasn’t even apart of the core group. We got more Malik than we did Kieran. Also, why bring back Delano, just for him to die again. It didn’t even make sense. If that was the case he should’ve have just stayed gone because what purpose did his second death serve. That honestly irritated me. This is coming from someone who absolutely adores that character. His death literally was so unnecessary. After, that I didn’t even get to enjoy the fact that I finished this book. It’s an it is what it is situation, sadly.