From Blood and Ash (From Blood And Ash#1) Review
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.
Warning: Both this book and this review contain a bit of foul language and mentions of s*x, read at your own discretion.
Well, that was certainly not what I expected. But I mean that in a good way. This book has been recommended to me quite a lot of times and I was told that if I'd shipped Darklina from the grishaverse, I would love Poppy and Hawke from here and I did.
This was a rollercoaster of emotions from the very beginning; I must admit, the plot was a bit slow in the beginning but when it caught its pace there was really no stopping. I especially liked the focus on the characters and their relationships, I've always like character-driven books more than plot-driven ones for some reason.
The worldbuilding in here is exquisite, albeit confusing at times and I must have missed a whole lot because I did skim through some of the more bigger detailed paragraphs explaining the history, but it was still amazing. The whole idea of the maiden and the Atlantians was *chef's kiss*
As was the setting, which was beautiful, described well without being overdone. The characters were so, so lively and the way they could make me laugh or have my blood boiling was amazing. The author really fleshed out all her characters, which is exactly what we like to see here.
The twists were, only predictable to me because I am the crazy conspiracy theory wacko who jumps on people for no reason, and even though I knew what was coming, I still had my mouth opened in shock when it happened.
Poppy is my angry, rebellious, stubborn queen and I will forever and ever adore her. She reminded me slightly off Theodosia from the Ash Princess (yet another book I love) except that Poppy is a bit more... reckless, while Theo plays for the long game.
Hawke was a smexy little motherfucker and I hate him but love him too, do you get me? He's just so irritating and h*rny all the goddamn time. I must have cackled internally to myself, whilst screaming about these two h*rny h*es at least seven times.
Fun fact: I did not know that this was not YA until I came to read some particular scenes, but I'm not complaining, it was still a joy ride.
Chapter 26 was definitely my favorite, my emotions were just going haywire and I was so invested.
Someone said that this was perfect for SJM fans and I agree, this is a very... steamy book and it has just the right amount of bickering rebelliousness. I even recommend it for Laura Sebastian fans (author of the Ash Princess trilogy).
I do want to give this book five stars but there was one disappointment that sort of ruined the book for me, which is kind of a spoiler so if you don't want to read it, I say, skip the next paragraph.
I'm so disappointed that Poppy didn't fight Hawke more?? Like yeah, you're attracted to him and in love with him but he did just betray you and admit to having a hand in your friend's death, honey, I wanted more angst, screaming, and knife jabbing. I really don't believe that she just... I don't know, didn't fight? She's impulsive and stubborn as hell, you can't tell me she just didn't bother trying to kill everyone in the room.
I did enjoy this book very much and I might actually read this author's other work now, we shall see.
→ 4 stars
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| quotes |
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.
Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside
Some truths do nothing but destroy and decay what they do not obliterate. Truths do not always set one free. Only a fool who has spent their entire life being fed lies believes that
Cheeks heating, I dragged my gaze away. “I…you’re perfect.”
His expression tightened. “No, I’m not. You deserve someone who is, but I’m too much of a bastard to allow that.”
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