From Blood and Ash

Blood and Ash, Book 1

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen

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.

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.

©2020 Jennifer L. Armentrout (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Dreamy, twisty, steamy escapism. Take me back!" --New York Times bestseller Wendy Higgins

“Jennifer Armentrout has the power to control my emotions with every word she writes. From swooning to crying to racing through the pages to find out what happens next, I couldn't stop reading about Hawke and Poppy, and you won't be able to either.” --Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely

"Narrator Stina Nielsen enthralls with this sumptuous romance, which highlights her ability to thoroughly immerse listeners in its fantasy world.… Nielsen employs a wide range of inflections, from the warm, breathless tone of the heroine to the appealing accent of Hawke, the love interest, combining them in the sensual scenes they share." --AudioFile Magazine, An Earphones Award Winner

So freaking good!

I've known for years that Jennifer could spin a tale. But this one is her best. This is the best fantasy novel I've read since The Bridge Kingdom. I'm not even sure that I can wait for the audio of the 2nd book. I will be taking the needed time to read it. The narration was perfectly performed which made the story even better. I wish that I could give this book 10 stars!!!

Narrator

The narrator did well but I followed along in the book and it was so frustrating. She skipped the hole paragraphs, a lot of sentences and changed a lot of words. I had to pause multiple times just to read the sections skipped over.

Great story, but too informal with the modern slang being distracting sometimes

Unfortunately I keep getting taken of the story with what feels like a modern 18-year-old’s writing. Although the story isn’t set in a specific period, the characters speech is smattered with modern slang in a way that is nothing less than “cringeworthy”, as the kids say these days. And I’m a millennial - for reference. It’s not that all speech is like this either, which makes the slang even more noticeable. The story itself is so good and once I’m invested I tend to want to finish a boom, but there have been multiple times I considered ditching the effort and simply googling the endings. Examples:
“Looks like fuckboy is about to get up”
“The way she looked at her was super messed up”
“It was totally not okay”

And the list goes ooonnnn. I lost track of all the horrible descriptions/speech. At times it was like I was all of a sudden listening to a soap opera about young college kids.
“

Like Game of Thrones for young women

I had no expectations when I started this book but once I started I was not able to stop.

The storyline was new and interesting and offered something exciting chapter after chapter. It really is like Game of Thrones targeted for young women with its harsh reality and undisguised rawness completed with exciting and feverish love. I loved the characters and especially Poppy’s mindset was gutsy and thrilling. The “love” scenes were welcomed as not many young adult books offer them.

This book is perfect to dive into and forget the pandemic.

Escape

An escape into a world and story filled with emotional twists and turns. Can wait for the next book in the series.

Solid story

Enough plot twists to keep it interesting. The romance was a little on the silly side and I’d have liked to see more story and a little less romance. That being said I’m looking forward to the rest of the series and though the narration was good. A solid 4.

Hells yeah!

Okay, so this has been on my kindle for about two years and I was feel really in the mood for something SJM like/romance/ with supernatural creatures, and someone reminded me that I had this.

And I absolutely loved it. I liked the whole thing about the lore in this book and who we believe the “villains” are and the world that she created. I thought it was done very well.

I didn’t know too much about this book other than hearing something about vampires and from the beginning of the book I was on the hunt for them. They do come up later but not in that traditional sense, which I liked. It gave a new spin in vampire/zombie/werewolf lore. Who came first, who created whom, who are we to root for type shit.

Poppy was a kinda annoying/stubborn character, but all the shit that she had to put up with was freaking insane! To have this drive to blow this popsicle stand and reunite with her brother and the mantle of being the Maiden and having no rights to do anything but to be in service of the Ascended was bull! Then here comes Hawke to be her new guard who was the complete opposite of all the ppl she had around her who turned a blind eye on her treatment. He encouraged her, found the beauty in her despite what others may have told her and was just swoon worthy in general.

The ending of the book shook me! And I immediately went and ordered the next three books in the series cause Hawke and Poppy are amazing. She made it kinda easy to see that she was going to end up with him he was doing everything right. The only reason I gave it four starts is because some of the banter between her and Hawke was kinda corny. But I’m here for it, I’m going to start book two today.

Great writing, fun characters.

Beautiful story. Just my type. Can’t wait for the next! This author is simply wonderful.

Amazing heartstopping narrative

I loved this audiobook so much! The way it was narrated and how Stina Nielsen put intention in every word it was so much better than I could've done it myself in my head. I felt I was hearing the very characters themselves. 5 stars isn't enough!

2 adorable serial killers

This is without a doubt my favorite Jenifer L. book. The world is interesting, the characters are compelling, and the romance is far more....intriguing than any of her other books. I love Poppy, she is such an innocent little killer, Like a baby tiger or a tiny little viper. She is hilarious and compassionate. She is determined and not afraid to do what has to be done. She also tends to kill without any hesitation or spending hours or chapters afterward agonizing over it. She does what needs to be done and rarely second guesses herself afterwards. Doesn't always make the right decision, but always tries her best to do the right thing for those she cares about. Hawke is pretty good too, He is not an emo edge lord, like far too many male characters with questionable morals tend to be. He is a bit of a psychopathic nutcase, but in a lovable way. Poppy and Hawke together...? HOT! Their chemistry is undeniable.
The only thing i think there is to complain about, is that the world and what is going on is very slowly trickled in throughout the story, most of the big things aren't even touched on till the halfway point. The biggest questions of all aren't answered until the book is nearly done. But if you have patience and don't throw a tantrum and give up, everything is revealed in the end.