A Shadow in the Ember

Flesh and Fire, Book 1

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen

Length: 25 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns with book one of the compelling Flesh and Fire series - set in the beloved Blood and Ash world.

Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort.

However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania - she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission - one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then...end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot.

Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit - it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.

©2021 by Jennifer L. Armentrout. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Incredible

So good! Don’t hesitate to listen. Narration is wonderful and story is intriguing and also offers a lot of insight to the other series.

Absolute loved this story! Narration, not so much.

Another masterpiece of a story by JLA! I read about 80 of the book then finished off with the audiobook so I could start TWOTQ. I have to say that the narration is driving me crazy. And I’m not looking forward to the same narrator on TWOTQ. The way she pronunciates and her inflections are very irritating. If I had a physical copy I would resort to reading it myself but my preordered hardcover copy doesn’t come until May. Not looking forward to enduring another 20 something hours of that annoying voice.

I Keep Getting Impressed

I love Sera's character. I love the detail in this book that answers so many questions in Poppy's world/situation. About to binge read War of Two Queens next!

a must read

love loved loved it.
i can't wait for more. I love the characters, the emotion, and the narrator.

Absolutely amazing.

I love love LOVED this book. I had previously read the first three From Blood and Ash books so I wanted to read this since it’s a spin off series and I love it even more than FBAA. It’s all around great. I couldn’t get enough of it. I look forward to listening to it again before ALITF comes out later this year.

Please tell me there's another book coming??

Must needed book. Explains some, but book 2, there has to be a book 2, will explain the rest

LOVED IT!!!

This book is amazing. I was expecting it to be like The Blood and Ash series but it is not. It is so much more than I expected. I love Stina Nielsen narrating her books. I can’t wait until the next book. 5 star all around from me.

Better than FBAA

Love this book! I was all about FBAA (From Blood and Ash). But this gives so much of the needed backstory for the world! Ugh! JLA is always giving me new favorites!

Great read

Dying for the book in the series! Bit of a lag about 3/4 of the way through, but overall great read!

This is gonna be a ride!

Ok, so yes it’s got some familiar story line but it takes it in a wide ride. This is an amazing plot foundation for some epic unraveling to come. There is some spicy/steamy/smutty scenes that I am not mad at, but just beware parts of this book are graphic in a good way (for adults). It’s a fantasy with fun world building. It takes a hot minute to get into the story but it’s just laying the foundation for a book series. Which I personally love. Can’t wait for the next installment.