Title: From Blood and Ash
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Blue Box Press
Published: March 30th, 2020
Pages: 454
Summary:
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.
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.
Review - which will include spoilers
Confession time: I recently got into booktok and got convinced to buy several books including From Blood and Ash.
Honestly, I have missed reading a fantasy book. I missed the Hunger Games and Maze Runner type of books. In the last few years, I have only read more romance and realistic books, which I also absolutely love, but it is something special with fantasy books.
From Blood and Ash is an adult book, I expected a bit more spice but I did not expect what happened ish in chapter two. I just wanted to get to know the main character and the plot, but instead, they gave me a bit more spice than I expected so early. I was not prepared.
Either way, the plot developed after that and it was very good. The main character Poppy is the Maiden and almost her whole life she has been isolated from everyone, only a few selective people are to mingle and see her face. She is completely shielded from the world and is to be giving to the gods. Despite her circumstances, Poppy is not a weak girl. Being trained in secret, she knows how to defend herself and how to get away. She is also drawn to the world outside of her chambers, which she frequently explores when no one knows. The main part of the book is the build-up, the author is setting up several events to lead us toward the plot twist at the end of the book. The build-ups are often intense and let us get to know each important character and the world that Poppy lives in. We also get to know her perception of the world and we are introduced to the villain.
This might be an unpopular opinion, though some parts of the book angered me a bit cause Poppy just seemed so airheaded which does not match her character. There are moments in the book where either Hawke or someone else basically has said something super obvious to her and she has just IGNORED it, it is like she got insulated listening. For instance, Hawke's friend says something along the lines of:
"It will only end badly like last time"
Poppy does not address this at all, it's like he never said in front of her. Why does she not even think about what he said? It angers me so much. This happens from time to time, when she is trying to put the pieces together but misses the completely obvious and big pieces. She is not stupid, she is not described as an airhead or slightly inconvenient deaf.
Keep in mind, despite my anger towards Poppy's blindness, I still enjoyed the book a lot and have already bought the sequel. So, I still recommend it if you like fantasy with spice.
Have you read From Blood and Ash? What is your opinion?
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