A Soul of Ash and Blood: A Blood and Ash Novel (Blood And Ash Series Book 5)

Product Information

This book is filled with heartache, rage, sorrow, angst, and love. The suffering Casteel endures broke my heart, and seeing Poppy and Kieran in pain and desperate to find him and save him before it was too late was painful. I do love angst, and I had a good dose of it in this book. Oh, how I wanted to see Callum and The Blood Queen die a painful and slow death. I hate them so much, but at the same time, I’m happy that I hate them because it means that I am so much more involved in the story. Filled with new scenes, insights, and a few surprises, A Soul of Ash and Blood is a must-read for fans of From Blood and Ash and the love story of Poppy and Hawke. The long separation is the main reason why I didn’t love this book, cause the first half of the book didn’t feel like Poppy & Cas’ story anymore. Casteel was pretty much pushed to the sideline. But on another note, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Casteel’s POV chapters!! Been waiting 3 books for his POV and his chapters didn’t disappoint me, cause reading how much he loves Poppy always makes me feel 🥰🥰🥰. Even tho his POVs are a little one-dimentional, since they focus so much on his devotions to Poppy and how perfect she is, I didn’t mind it that much, cause there are worse things to read about than an obsessed Hero completely whipped for his queen. 🤷🏽‍♀️💅 Essentially, ASoAaB does replay all of Poppy and Hawke's interactions from Hawke's perspective, but there is so much more in between. We get to see scenes that were alluded to, but never downright explained, like Hawke killing the duke. We also get to see so many scenes of Hawke and Kieran scheming, and discussing how said schemes change as Hawke starts to develop feelings for Poppy. It becomes clear very early on that this isn't the story of the Maiden from a different perspective. This is the story of the broken prince that tries to abduct her for leverage, and falls in love with her instead.

The fact that we all thought this would be a complete retelling of the first book only to find out it's actually going to be Cas telling Poppy stories about his life before her and recounting their time together in the beginning BECAUSE HE WAS ADVISED BY SOMEONE to talk to her in her current state. JLA was very sneaky with her writing that I could see it go both ways. Either 1. Cas & Poppy are staying exclusive, but having a very close bond with Kieran or 2. This whole thing is turning into a poly relationship, since it wouldn’t take that much since they already crossed the line with the joining and Kieran is already very protective of Poppy. It doesn’t help that Kieran is talking in riddle when Poppy asked him about what kind of love he feels But that wasn’t all you did,” Casteel said, reaching over and clasping a hand on [Kieran]’s shoulder. “You made sure we got here safely and kept watch. You did everything we needed and more. I owe you.” Now, concerning the comments stating that “real men don’t share”… Let’s keep in mind that Cas and Kieran share a very strong, ancient, and unique bond. They’re not just best buddies, they grew up together and they trust each other with their life, their connection is a strong one. Cas did not get jealous or angry at Kieran the few times he saw Poppy naked or had a front-row seat for some intimate moments, nor did Cas get angry or possessive when Poppy saw Kieran naked. More than once.What…what kind of love do you feel?” He studied me until I almost started squirming in the chair. “There are many kinds of love, but when it comes to you, it’s the kind that allowed me to make that—” He inhaled sharply, his jaw hardening. “It’s the kind of love that allowed me to make that promise to you, Poppy. It’s the same kind of love that allowed you to ask that of me.” And the most important scene before the Joining: “The strangest urge to reach out and stop [Kieran] swept through me. I didn’t understand where that want had come from. Or if it was mine or Casteel’s. And I didn’t know why it felt wrong not to act on it.” Slut shaming women (“horny soccer moms”) is nasty. Don't pretend like we aren't all reading these spicy romance books for anything but what it is. So if those women are horny, so are you.

It also had to do with the fact that something happened when I spent time with her. Something damn near magical. I was…I was just me. Cas." So yeah, this review turned into an essay on How JLA Planned The Joining From The Start And Filled 3 Books With Blatant Foreshadowing But Apparently Some People Don’t Know How To Read. You’re allowed to dislike ménage romance, of course. But don’t insult others and don’t lie about this coming out of nowhere. It’s that simple. You are allowed to disliking this simply because it messes with your PoppyCas OTP. There’s no need to bash the author or other readers, or to say this came out of nowhere with no foreshadowing or build up. New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout revisits the first novel in her phenomenal Blood and Ash series. But this time…it’s Hawke’s turn to tell the story. Then there’s the scene at the end when Poppy finds out that he betrayed her and she tries to kill him and then they end up having sex?? Excuse me? The whole time Hawke was with her, he knew he was going to betray her, he knew he had a hand in killing her family members, yet he still screws her (and screws her over). That is not the action of someone who’s caring and protective—that’s manipulative and vile. She was emotionally unstable because he was the first guy she even remotely had feelings for, and he completely took advantage of her. The only reason he protects her is to serve his own agenda. I honestly don’t know if he actually likes her or if he’s only turned on by the fact that she’s the “enemy.” From the teasers and other posts that Jennifer released on her FB group about ASOAAB, it seemed like this book wasn't going to simply be a rehashing of events from Book 1, it would also deal with the trauma Casteel went through during his time as Isbeth's captive.

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.

I shot him a glare. ”Would you like to help, or do you just want to stand there and watch me get yelled at by an old woman?” In this book, JLA increased the tension and sexuality of their scenes together. And this scene is a perfect example. In the previous book, Cas fed from Poppy while Kieran held her. In this book, Poppy feeds from Cas while they have sex and Kieras holds her, too. March 19th 2022: Apparently people think the Joining was a one time thing and there won’t be a throuple. Which baffles me because, nothing changed after the Joining because things had already started changing before it. MALIK & MILLICENT?! HELLO I’M INVESTED. 👀👀 I’m so curious to know why he knows they are heartmates, but she doesn’t. These two went through so much under Isbeth’s tyranny and I can’t imagine what horrors they had to witness. Also Malik staying at Isbeth’s side all these years only for Milli ugh my heart. 🥺🥺🥺 these two characters have so much potential, not only with each other, but Malik and Cas sibling relationship needs to be fixed and I hope we see some brotherly bond in the next books. Also Milli being Poppy’s sister?! Of course I wanna see some sibling relationship with them too. There is so much to explore.

I was wary of Hawke from the beginning. That first scene at the start of the book when he put his hands on her without her permission completely rubbed me the wrong way. I was hoping that was a one-off, and for a large portion of the book I thought I was right and I hesitantly started to like Hawke, but I should have known to trust my gut. The readers are led to believe that Hawke thinks Poppy is someone else when they first meet and that is why he touched her, but we learn later on that he knew who she was the whole time, which makes him touching her like that all the worse. We see from the beginning that Hawke only cares about what he wants and not about what Poppy wants or what’s best for her. I wanted to be a good man who would walk away from what he knew he wasn't worthy or deserving of. The kind Kieran believed I was. The type I had been raised to be. But I wasn't a good man. I’VE GOT A THEORY THAT LINKS THE THROUPLE WITH THE MAIN PLOT: Both Malik and Millie told Casteel he was the only one who could stop Poppy. But by then, Poppy had already asked Kieran to do just that if she ever lost control. And the fact that Kieran brought up this moment when she asked what kind of love he felt for her… I think it’s very relevant, because a Primal’s only weakness is love. The same love Poppy feels for Casteel… and for Kieran. I said earlier that while I would enjoy a throuple, I would also love it if Kieran found his special person or even heartmate. Am I the only one who was hoping for a hate-to-love relationship to develop between Kieran and Reaver? There is tension between them, and I’m not sure it’s 100% angry tension if you know what I mean. Apparently, the author already confirmed that it would not happen, but it would have been nice. I really like their snarky interactions and how Reaver just didn’t seem to give a shit about anything besides burning humans and annoying Kieran.

'Blood and Ash' is an ongoing fantasy series about a Maiden questioning her fate

Lastly, Kieran Contou is obviously just as delightful as Poppy and Casteel. I especially loved his presence in this book as he doesn't have much of it in the first one. Unsurprisingly, he is as wonderful as he has ever been. He is so supportive and understanding of Casteel, even though he doesn't agree with his crazy schemes and tries to advise him against them. He is also a calming force and an anchor, especially after Casteel's imprisonment.