Reviews
Somehow 4 book into this series, I understand less than when I started.
not free from jla shackles tho
Infuriating
i think it’s the best book i’ve ever read. you have to read it after the first 3 FBAA books. the end is a HUGE shock and brings everything together perfectly for the next FBAA book. i was dumbfounded at the end unlike any other book. JLA really knows how to end books on a cliffhanger that MAKES you pick up the next one immediately
** spoiler alert ** Honestly, was exactly like the first FBAA book. Love a thick main character who can kick ass. Noticed there were more POC in this book. Love when a main character is the one doing the betraying and not getting betrayed. Semi good spice.
A bit of a slow start to this one as she creates the world, but Sera is a likable protagonist. There are enough surprises to keep you going and invested, enough steamy bits to keep the tension up, and details that create some truly lovely scenes. Can’t wait till you read the lake scene. 👌🏼
3.5 nothing happened, i predicted every twist, but somehow i still loved every second ?
When I first read this book I was obsessed with it but after reading the Blood and ash series I've realized that this book is a copy of From blood and ash with just different characters
Despite that I did enjoy this book and I'm in love with Seraphena and Nyktos. I read this book before I knew that you're supposed to read the From blood and ash series first but I didn't finish the last chapter until after The crown of gilded bones
That last chapter was crazy ! The last line ! I kind of knew it but I was still shocked nonetheless. I'm not sure if I'll continue the Flesh and fire series but this book was amazing and I am crazy about Sera and Nyktos and their lovers-to-enemies-to-hopefully-lovers-again dynamic
Okay so why do I like this series more than From Blood and Ash so far?? I was attached to the main characters almost immediately. The progression of this book just has really good pacing and really didn’t expect too much of what was going on. Very little predictability, spice is a little less but I have a feeling it will build as the series progresses
Great read but I did not like this one as much as FBAA series. The building to this world JLA has created is amazing and I’m here for it!
Me thinking I don't want to fall in love with a fictional character: *adding a book to my TBR where I DEFINITELY know I will fall in love no matter what* Update: I AM SO IN LOVE
Well now I have a huge book hangover. I was really cautious going into the prequel thinking there was no way a different couple could compete with Poppy and Cas vibes. Well I was wrong. I was ENTHRALLED. This started off somewhat slow but it was all part of the build up and I was along for the ride every step of the way. This had me tearing up at the end. If book one of the prequel has me this way I am not ready for their stories to intertwine!
Bueno, honestamente no sabia qué esperar de este spin-off, y como estaba un poco disgustada con el tercer libro de la saga principal, no venia con muchas expectativas. Sorprendentemente, me gustó bastante, no diré que este primer libro es buenísimo porque no. Pero, cumple su función introductoria, sobre Niktos. Y los personajes no están nada mal, por cierto, me gusta mucho el personaje de Ash, es un oso amoroso, y Sera me irrita por momentos, pero me gusta. Ya veremos cómo evolucionan. La historia me entretuvo mucho, y me mantuvo pegada a sus páginas. Así que estoy deseando leer el segundo libro.
I absolutely loved this book but it did feel like alot of lines and plot points were exactly the same as in From blood and ash. I get that they are books in the same series but it's almost like Jennifer copied From blood and ash almost exactly, just with different named characters. Despite that I did devour this book and I'm obsessed with Seraphena and Nyktos. I read this book before I knew that you're supposed to read the From blood and ash series first but I didn't finish the last chapter until after The crown of gilded bones. That last chapter was crazy ! The last line ! I kind of called it but I was still shocked nonetheless. I'm not sure if I'll continue the Flesh and fire series but this book was amazing and I am crazy about Sera and Nyktos and their lovers-to-enemies-to-hopefully-lovers-again dynamic
Fun escapism. Were there scenes lifted from FBAA? Yes, but that didn’t bother me as much as the details lifted from ACOTAR.
Perfection It's my third read of this book and I loved it every time. Personally, I like it more than "From Blood and Ash" because it has action from the beginning till the end. Yes, FBAA is the starting book of this world, but I feel like even if I were a new reader of this world, and let's say I would've started with the prequel - ASITE - I would still understand this world and how everything started with the actual action of ASITE. So I think ASITE, as a starting book of a series, it's way better than FBAA. I love Ash, but I have a whole lot of dibs for Nektas :))) Looks like I like playing with death and with fire :))) At the first reading, I followed Jennifer's order of reading and when I read TWOTQ after ASITE, I was screaming because, as a reader, you start to connect things and start having wicked smiles because you know something that the current characters don't, so thank you, Jennifer, for this. Now, in preparation for ALITF, I reread the "Blood and Ash" series first, then ASITE, and being at my third reread, I still have some issues with Sara. I don't mind that she is stubborn, I like that about her, BUT I don't like that she doesn't stop and listen for a bit to what the people around her tell her. This attitude tends to go to arrogance, the exact thing that she's not. If I were her, I would listen to them and try to understand their point of view in perspective. I literally yield at the book: "Sara, just shut up for f*** sake and listen!" I love the friendship between the Primal and the Gods, the power of choice, and also the trust between them. It reminded me a little bit of the inner circle from ACOMAF. The idea of a powerful King who has friends that chose to be by his side, and trust and respect him for WHO he is and not WHAT he is - not forced ones as Kolis does. I've found a lot of similarities between Sara and Poppy, and so far "like grandmother, like niece" :)) but I'm very interested in Ires because I'm sure that Poppy took something from her father too. Maybe she can shift [let's see if into a wolf - from her grandfather's side - or a giant cat - like her father]. I'm very happy that Poppy has powers from Nyktos. I mean shadows!!!! and Kieran's statement that "she smells like death"!!! Well her grandfather is death!! and when Nektas said the same thing to Sara [even if it meant completely different things :)))] I couldn't stop laughing :))) I didn't understand something. In ASITE, Nektas and Reaver have red eyes, but in TCOGB and TWOTQ, they have pale blue/gray eyes... why?!?!?! I'm guessing this will be explained in the following books, but at first reading, it's kind of disturbing... I LOVE NEKTAS AND I WANT A BOOK JUST FOR HIM! WE NEED MORE NEKTAS [AS WE NEED MORE REAVER :))))]
3.5/5 Stars This book would have been rated higher if I hadn’t read FBAA first. There are way too many similarities and repetitive lines and themes; I don’t know how anyone could think they could get away with it. Despite that and despite the poor editing, I think ASITE is the better story. I wanted to dislike this book because it was the same thing over and over, but now I find myself angry that I don’t have the next book to continue, lmao.
ohhhhhh my god I loved the blood and ash series so much but I might've liked this book more. Make sure you read this after Crown of Gilded Bones but before TWOTQ! It gives important context on the first maiden and Nyktos.
*Recommendations please* I absolutely loved this book, after having read FBAA series (can’t wait for the 4th book to be released!) it was nice to get to know about Nyktos and his Consort and their back story (I’ll say no more or go into how it links with FBAA). Whilst I eagerly await the 2nd book to ASITE and the 4th to FBAA, can anyone provide me some recommendations that are very similar to these series please? I would be most grateful!
“Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania- she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission-a target.” I simply cannot fathom how amazing this book is. This is defiantly a new favorite of mine.
4.5 stars
Highlights
"What? We are not in agreement. I—" Wait. Sadly brief reveal of unmentionable places? My eyes narrowed. "You still could've said something so I wasn't just standing there—"
"Like a goddess made of silver and moonbeams, rising from the depths of the darkest lake?" he finished.
Liessa. Something beautiful and powerful.
«If I stayed, I think I'd find myself obsessed with trying to count just how many freckles you have.»
“What does liessa mean?" The god didn't answer for what felt like a small eternity. “It has different meanings to different people.” The rather pulsed in his eyes swirling once more through the silver. “But all of them mean something beautiful and powerful.”
“And you, liessa, are very brave." His thumb moved, sweeping over the curve of my jaw.
LIESSA!
“My apologies. I should've elaborated. I'm very good at pretending to enjoy things I do not, but I was not pretending when I had your tongue in my mouth.”
stop ittttt
He lifted his head, breathing heavily. “You know what the hardest part is, liessa? I don't even know why I'm fighting this need. You would have me, wouldn't you?" “Yes," I whispered without a hint of shame or guilt. It was the truth, even if there was no deal, no duty to be carried out. And that should've terrified me. “I would have you.” His lips coasted over mine. A tremble coursed through me as the tips of his fingers trailed down the side of my throat and over my shoulder. “You would have me.”
“You taste like the sun.” My heart skipped. “What… what does the sun taste like?” The curve of his lips was wicked. “Like you.”
Damn it. I’ve done it again. I’ve fallen for another fictional man. 👏🏻 (I guess he’s technically a god, so does it really count though?)
His touch was solid, an icy brand that sent a wave of apprehension and… something stronger through me. Something that felt like finally, like that same sense of rightness I’d felt before.
He tasted of something woodsy and smoky- like whiskey. A sound came from him, deep within his throat, and it sent my heart to pounding.
I’d like to announce that I’m already obsessed with them.
A monster wouldn't care if they were one.
“Perhaps you should look before stabbing?" the god argued. "Or has that never occurred to you?"
Men and their fragile egos. They were so easy to manipulate.
I know one Thing, liessa. A Monster wouldn't care if they were one
"I knew his parents. I called them my friends, and I call Ash one of my own," he answered, head straightening. His gaze caught mine and held it. I think I will call you one of my own.” I really had to be asleep. "Why?" “Because you've given him peace."
“(…) It is far easier to be lied to than it is to acknowledge that you have been lied to.”
“You're right, you know? There was time at the lake to make sure you knew who I really was. I should have told you." His arm curled at my waist, and he tugged me back. I didn't fight him. I pressed against him, my heart careening. A white haze swirled around Odin's legs as he took us into the misty rapture. Another shudder rocked me. I didn't know if it was the descent or the Primal's words. “But you spoke with no fear. You acted fearlessly. Each time I saw you," he continued. “You interested me, and I hadn't expected that. I didn't want that. But at that lake, you were just Seraphena," he said, and my breath snagged at the sound of my name spilling from his lips. It was the first time he'd said it. “And I was just Ash. There was no deal. No perceived obligations. You stayed simply because you wanted to. I stayed only because I wanted to. You let me touch you because that was what you wanted, not because you felt as if you had to. Maybe I should've told you, but I was…enjoying myself with you. I wasn't ready for that to end.”
“I want to kiss you, even though there is no reason for me to other than I want it.” The heated intensity of his stare held mine. “I Would even go as far as to say I need to.”
"I must go," he said, glancing back at the ash-covered gown and then to me. “You should, too, Liessa.” I didn't want to spend another second in this house, but a hundred different questions exploded in my head. The absolute least important one of all was what came out of my mouth. “What does Liessa mean?” The god didn't answer for what felt like a small eternity It has different meanings to different people." The eather pulsed in his eyes, swirling once more through the silver. "But all of them mean something beautiful and powerful."
Love is a beautiful weapon, often wielded as a means to control another. It shouldn't be a weakness, but that is what it becomes.
Love is an unnecessary and dangerous risk.
Men with careless fists should be more mindful of where they sleep.
You will just be another body they cut through to get to the crown.
One of my favourite quotes