From Blood And Ash
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Trope: Fated Mates, Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers
Point of view: Single, First person
Relationship: MF
Type of series: Series
In a nutshell: 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.
What I thought: What a ride this was! I really enjoyed this start to the series that is full of twists, turns and plot reveals that just make you wonder where it’s going next. There is a fair bit of world building and character introduction that I found somewhat difficult to decipher, especially with the names as there are quite a few that are very similar to each other so I had to stop and make sure I knew who the character actually was, as I found myself getting quite confused at points with the similarities! This novel is on the Sarah J. Maas scale of high fantasy and with a delicious enemies to lovers plot line, I really loved it and devoured the series one after the other as soon as I could. Highly recommend if you want to settle in for an epic tale of love, adventure and friendship.
