Jennifer L. Armentrout

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.

Blood and Ash Book 1

From Blood and Ash

Just push my head into a fucking chipper shredder already. Of all the manipulative lack-of-self-control-as-compliment bullshit.. Dude, you’re a grown ass man, get a fucking hold of yourself. 

Apiecalypse Jen

“Hawke, will you stay with me tonight?”

“I would like nothing more than that but I don’t think you realise what will happen if I stay”

I felt a little dizzy. “what would happen?”

“There is no way I would be in that bed with you and not be all over you in 10 seconds flat. We wouldn’t even make it to the bed before that happened. I know my limitations. I know that I am not a good enough man to remember my duty or yours, and that I am so incredibly unworthy of you it should be a sin. Even knowing that there is no way I wouldn’t strip that robe from you and do extract what I told you I would do when we were in the forest.”

Heat swept through me as I stared at him. “I know.”

He sucked in a sharp breath “do you?”

Hawke took a step away from the door. “I’m not just going to hold you. I won’t stop at kissing you. My fingers won’t be the only thing inside you. My need for you is far too great poppy, if I stay, you will not walk out of this door ‘the maiden’”

I shivered at the bluntness of his words. They weren’t a shock but his need was. I had never seen myself as the object of something so fierce. I’d never been allowed to. 

I swear to god… I am too old for this shit… or not straight enough? this book won awards? Dozens of 5 star reviews? Did everyone read a different book? What is happening… 

Poppy.. forgive me.. I failed you.. as a man.

What in the fucking disaster of consent is this book. This is like the 20th time that this dude has been written as charming for seeming like overtaken by “lust” with this teenage “maiden” he is supposed to be guarding, but is instead repeatedly making out with… 

I don’t think I was being honest before… about stopping.

What in “the court of” insufferable teenagers am I reading. This has a million good reviews… am I going to hate this because I am a 39 year old bog hag? Because so far…

Somya Verma

Casteel Da’Neer, the Prince of Atlantia, smiled fully as he lifted our joined hands and said, “We go home to marry, my Princess.”

“You’re such a bad influence,” I murmured as I placed my hand in his. Hawke curled his fingers around mine. The weight and warmth of his hand was a pleasant shock. “Only the bad can be influenced, Princess.”

Dominika 

“I ask only one thing of you." He rose, and I prepared for him to tell me to stay away from the Rise. I’d probably tell him I would. Of course, I wouldn't, and I didn't think he'd believe me. “The next time you go out, wear better shoes and thicker clothing. Those slippers are likely to be the death of you, and that dress... the death of me."

Hawke caught me by the ankle. I gasped, arms pinwheeling until I steadied myself. Wide-eyed, I stared at him. He raised his brows as his gaze traveled the length of mny bare leg. "Scandalous," he murmured. 

"I don't know if I'm relieved or disappointed that he didn’t recognize me. Or if I'm excited that he might have." Shaking my head, I laughed. “I just don't know, but it doesn't matter. What... what happened between us was one time only. It was just this...thing. It can’t happen again." 

 Not that I'm even thinking he'd want to do any of that again, especially now that he knows it was me. If he does." 

This is my second time reading this series and I really forgot how much I love it 🥲 I know it’s not for everyone but for me it’s just chefs kiss. Hawke is honestly one of my favorite book boyfriends. 

I’m rereading the series because it has some spooky elements (“vampires”, werewolves, deities) and the vibes fit :)

Rachel Minton

hannah groom 

“Death is like an old friend who pays a visit, sometimes when it's least expected  and other times when you're waiting for her. It's neither the first nor the last time she'll pay a visit, but that doesn't make any death less harsh or unforgiving."

Katerina

“What you want should always matter.”

“Nothing is ever simple. And when it is, it’s rarely ever worth it.”

“I didn’t want to spend another night wishing I was living instead of actually doing it.”

“Fear and bravery are oftentimes and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside”

Anna Stewart

aleksandra

3/5

Yeah, I won’t be continuing. 


  
    "You are an absolutely stunning, murderous little creature"

brittney arthur

Very predictable and also somehow employed pretty much every plot twist you could think of. I wish this book did more show as opposed to tell via dialogue. My favorite part was the banter. The spice was mild but tasteful/well-written. I wish the word choice fit the genre a little better. Using words like therapeutic didn't quite fit. 

Kaitlyn

I originally rated this a 4.5 because I was very confused with a lot of the terms and concepts, and I am still slightly confused. But after finishing the book I bumped it up to a 4.8 (minus 0.2 points for the confusion it gave me) since everything clicked into place. I think Hawke is very neat (added him to my list of traumatized babygirls list).

Sidney Schaffner

The plot twist got me. I def didn’t see it coming. Hawke is such a simp.

chloe rae

This book was a lot of fun!
I definitely had some problems with it. I thought the plot was interesting, but I thought there were some issues in regards to the execution. I didn't fully understand all of the different monsters/characters and what they were until like 3/4 of the way through the book. I was confused for almost the entire book. I mean, I don't think we were supposed to care since the main story line is obviously the romance, which was great but also felt...rushed. It's so weird. I was hooked from the beginning but I also wanted more like, romance in the romance? I liked most aspects of the romance, but it almost felt like the smut didn't line up with the tone of the rest of the novel? I wanted to take this story seriously but then something would happen and I'd be totally taken out of it. Does that even make sense?
Also, there was too much flip-flopping with our main character. Constantly going "this or that" which is understandable up until a certain point but then it just becomes annoying.
I LOVED the ending though. What a smart ending. I want to read the next one!
Overall, not a favorite but such a fun read for a super weird time. Held my attention and took my mind off the world for a bit.

Madison Keiran

I’m so mad I waited this long to read this, I’m obsessed

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.

Mel 

SPOILERS

What a lovely surprise this was! I am loving this resurgence of vampires.

sophie

jenna

love the first book.. the succeeding installments are meh

hanni

I enjoyed Poppy’s growth throughout the book. She became more sure of herself and loved her using her training. Hawke is a delight and I really like their banter. I hope the story continues to grow in an interesting way - the world has really nice build up. 

Liv N.

big ab

i predicted the big plot twists but i thoroughly enjoyed this entire book. really loved it.

Paulina

So

This is hard to review so I’ll try my best.

First the good things: I loved the setting and how Poppy didn’t know much about the world as we did. That gave me (who finds it very hard to remember certain facts in fantasy worlds) time to understand everything in a detailed way. 

Also I liked the writing, how the author described places and characters etc. But sadly I did not LOVE it :/

That leads to the things that were meh: Every damn chapter someone (especially Poppy herself) had to say “You are the Maiden. The Chosen.” till it was annoying. 

But that is definitely not the worst thing. This book was so predictable, because we got too many hints throughout the story. The plottwists were not the worst but like I said the hints destroyed the suspense kinda.

Sadly I couldn’t connect with the characters at all except for one or two but I think this will be better in the second book as we will learn more about their past :)

Soo I’m excited but also scared for the next one 🤭

carolreadabook

o miolo desse livro é uma desgraça, mas o final fica interessante. eu gosto do mundo que ela criou e gosto do hanke mais do que deveria.


algumas cenas parecem que são tudo a mesma coisa, então eu acredito que poderiam ser escritas melhor. enfim, estou dando a autora o benefício da duvida pq eu estou atualmente lendo o livro 2.

ps, a poppy as vezes é chatinha pakas.

taryn

Nabeelah Hassan 

** spoiler alert **
           This was a surprise release book that left me speechless and wanting more.

I have no idea what the next book is going to be released but I do know that I cannot wait for it to come out so I can devour as it fast as I did this one.

To be honest, I was extremely confused at the start of the book, because this is a fantasy book, it took more than a few chapters to wrap my head around the world and the meaning behind what Poppy was saying. I was a bit skeptical when I began the book because there were a lot of concept that were being spoken that I didn't fully understand and it wasn't explained fully till much later. 

But slowly everything started making sense. JLA had a wonderful talent of just keeping you captivate and by the time I was reaching the end it was all worth it. 
Poppy is such a badass. I love her!
She may even become my favorite JLA character, after Alex, of course! My favorite scene is the fight between her and Hawke when he sees her face for the first time. 

We very briefly met Kieran in this book but I see potential of the character. He is gonna be the awesome, I can FEEL it.

I personally love trying to figure out the plot of the book before it happens, and so I guessed that Hawke was to be Prince Casteel. I first guessed it when he was speaking with the girls about Casteel that I got suspicious.
Although I was saddened by all the bloodshed that happened at the ball, i understand why it needed to take place and it isn't a JLA book without one of my favorites being killed off 😭😭😭.
I cried real tears for death. But I loved that Poppy cut that man to bits a pieces! He deserved it!

I went into this book knowing almost nothing about it other than how much people have been raving about it online. 

So lemme tell you I was a little shocked at the supernatural aspects but honestly it brought me back to my 2010 reading roots. 

It was pretty predictable - but the karma added in made it a lot more enjoyable than other predictable books in the same genre. I also rolled my eyes a couple times at decisions made and at certain scenes. 

So in short, this book gave me a lot of mixed feelings but honestly I had a great time and I’m gonna read the next one. Probably tomorrow, who’s to say.

abi a

Hailey Watts

For a book I kept constantly letting expire in my library app, this was probably one of my favorite fantasy reads in a while. Although a bit tough to keep all the world and character building together, I'm enjoying the story and loveeeeeee the characters so far. Let's see how book numero two goes 😜

Manda

I agree with a lot people that say the start of this book is slow, however I do appreciate the world building that goes into it. I will say the “twist” on who the enemy is kinda is predictable BUT I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I definitely developed quick attachments to characters, love the action and the spice 

Ashley Krajnak 

It would be worth the time paradox to go back in time and not read this. Every dude in this book needs to be flung into the sun. This book is a clinic on why adult creeps like teenage girls. Low bars. “He asked me how I am! What a sensitive guy! No one has ever done that before!” Oh but she’s different. She’s special. “Intriguing.” Mature. Smart. Not like other girls. Honestly, the depth of my groan started in my DNA. Don’t let your teenage daughters read this fucking predator shit unless you want losers who women their own age won’t date to them pluck them out of their high-school hallways and make it seem like they are being “chosen.” 

I blame myself. I knew this was garbage by chapter 3 and I should have 🚮 but I got swayed by all the obvious SJM fans who said this got good in the back 1/3 (hard to say when that was supposed to have happened, it passed me by completely) forgetting of course that I hate SJM and that had to drag myself painfully through A Court of insufferable charachters… and so, I got what I deserved. 

I think if I read this when I was 16 I would have given it 3.5 starsz

It would be worth the time paradox to go back in time and not read this. Every dude in this book needs to be flung into the sun. This book is a clinic on why adult creeps like teenage girls. Low bars. “He asked me how I am! What a sensitive guy! No one has ever done that before!” Oh but she’s different. She’s special. “Intriguing.” Mature. Smart. Not like other girls. Honestly, the depth of my groan started in my DNA. Don’t let your teenage daughters read this fucking predator shit unless you want losers who women their own age won’t date to them pluck them out of their high-school hallways and make it seem like they are being “chosen.” 

I blame myself. I knew this was garbage by chapter 3 and I should have 🚮 but I got swayed by all the obvious SJM fans who said this got good in the back 1/3 (hard to say when that was supposed to have happened, it passed me by completely) forgetting of course that I hate SJM and that had to drag myself painfully through A Court of insufferable charachters… and so, I got what I deserved. 

I think if I read this when I was 16 I would have given it 3.5 starsz

The world building in this book was great with a really big twist at the end regarding everything that the main character believed her whole life. I loved this book—its got vampires, forbidden romance, lots of tension between Poppy and Casteel and unsettling secrets. I loved how the plot unraveled and even though I didn't guess at all what would happen, I knew from the start that something wasn't quite right. The characters were lovable and Poppy was well written. I enjoyed the spice and I liked how it wasn't too graphic. I loved that Poppy was strong and independent and made me laugh many times in this book. I was obsessed with Poppy and Casteel from the start and even though there is a really big betrayal at the end I still want them to be together

June

Spoilers ahead 

The world building in this book was great with a really big twist at the end regarding everything that the main character believed her whole life. I loved this book—its got vampires, forbidden romance, lots of tension between Poppy and Casteel and unsettling secrets. I loved how the plot unraveled and even though I didn't guess at all what would happen, I knew from the start that something wasn't quite right. The characters were lovable and Poppy was well written. I enjoyed the spice and I liked how it wasn't too graphic. I loved that Poppy was strong and independent and made me laugh many times in this book. I was obsessed with Poppy and Casteel from the start and even though there is a really big betrayal at the end I still want them to be together

From Blood and Ash Blood and Ash Book 1

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