Spoiler free review of "From Blood and Ash" – The frequently mentioned fantasy romance bestseller From Blood and Ash was my most recent finished read and I would love to enlighten you on why you should or should not read this hype book. Are you ready, Princess?
From Blood and Ash is a must-read according to bookstagram and booktok. A little warning, you can not search anything about it without getting spoilers on the first book, since multiple books in this now complete series have been published. It is one of the most mentioned Young/New Adult books on the internet and I think I get why.
Let me start off by explaining why I think you should read this book. For a start, the interaction between characters and the character building are absolute pull factors. There is a lot of banter between the stunning red head MC (main character) Poppy and her love interest (who's name I will leave unmentioned ;). They are like fire and fire, burning each other alive and very steamy. That is another wink to possible spice scenes. I enjoyed reading their conversations most, and they made me giggle out loud. Together these love birds pave the way for a good story.
Furthermore, the stakes are constantly high. You feel tension from the first chapter to the end. It keeps you wanting and waiting for more. The world building around it is almost good enough to make you feel the tension in your core. It triggers to continue to read on.
About the world (skip if you don't want the details now):
The world is filled with Craven, which are sort of zombies created by Atlantians, which are sort of vampires who have become almost extinct in a war with the Ascended, which are lords and ladies blessed by the Gods. And Poppy, she is the Maiden. A highly secured chosen one who will Ascend to the Gods and bring fortune to the people of the Kingdom.
However, – this is why you probably should not read the book – Miss Armentrout leaves a lot to the imagination.The world building I just explained above, that is something you will guess at till the last page. From the first chapter on I felt like I was dangling in the unknown, but that always happens at the beginning I thought. It was not until late, late, late in the book that some of my questions were answered but overall they had a vague explanation. It was definitely planned to make this book a series, which I am saddened by because I think a good series is made of multiple books that can stand on themselves.
This was not the only thing that was a bit of a turn off. The platonic relations and interaction with shoved-to-the-side characters were very annoying. It was obvious the main character was THE main character since she made all the decisions for the rest of her loved ones. As narrator of the story, Poppy gives not very detailed insight in why she loves the people who are kind to her other than that they just were there at the moments she needed them.
You should still read From Blood and Ash.
I am an easy reader and I like everything, I can be a critic but that is only to give you a real opinion. Not everything can be good all the time. You should still read the story of Poppy, since she is a badass female character, the story is enjoyable and it partly lives up to the hype. If you were already thinking of adding it to your tbr, do it! The funny, steamy scenes will make up for most of the annoyances and you will be able to talk along with bookstagram. And to motivate you a little bit more, I do want to read the second book.
Kisses and hugs!
Daniella,
Books&Butterflies
From Blood an Ash - Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★★☆☆
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