From Blood and Ash

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."You're an absolutely stunning, murderous little creature."I read this back in 2021 and I liked it then... But then I decided to try Audible and well, now I'm in love. I want to say my original review is 4 stars, I'm now bumping it up to 5 because listening to this on Audible was so much more enjoyable. It made getting through the world and character building much easier. I struggled heavily getting through the first 60-70% of the book while reading it but it's been a breeze listening. I can walk around and do adulting things while I am listening.The narrator is enjoyable to listen to and she does a good job at playing all parts. I did giggle the first few times that she talked as Casteel / Hawke but I think it's mainly because I wasn't prepared for her to deepen her voice and give him a slight accent. Regardless, the narration was enjoyable and kept me engaged even while I was doing other things.Due to TWOTQ being released in just a couple of weeks, I wanted to read FBAA again and refresh my brain for it. I really have enjoyed it more so the second time around versus the first. I'm obsessed with these books. The story that JLA created and the emotion it ignites.I love this series and I'm so freaking excited to read the next installment.ORIGINAL REVIEW:"I won’t lie, I nearly put this book down an OBSCENE amount of times, I felt as though the story was slow to start and at times I didn’t quite understand what was going on.Once I got about 70% of the way through was when the story picked up and the world was more built for the story and I liked it more. I won’t say I truly fell in love, but it became intense and picked up speed to the point where I enjoyed it more than I did the first part of the book.A friend of mine had to keep telling me to have patience and wait, so I could see just how good it got.Overall, 4/5 because the story for me personally was slow to start. I think anyone who likes fantasy with some smut will enjoy this."

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Blood and Ash series. I bought this book for KindleStory (5/5): This is a long book that doesn’t feel long at all, I breezed right through this. I loved the unique world presented here and the story of a Maiden who is supposed to Ascend but has never been taught exactly what that means. This is tied in with a world that is struggling to survive attacks of Craven in walled cities under a ruling Ascended class.Characters (5/5): I really enjoyed Poppy as a character. She has taken charge of her own safety by secretly learning how to fight and is under no illusions that her Ascension is going to be a “good” thing. However, she is also aware that she has been very sheltered and respects advice from others. Poppy is pretty kick-butt and I enjoyed her a lot. Hawke was amazing as well. Not only could he seriously kick-butt on his own, he wasn’t over domineering with Poppy. He kind of lets her do what she is capable of doing and pushes her, but also calls on actions that are too rash. The chemistry between these two characters was amazing.The side characters were incredibly well done too. Many of the guards or people Poppy befriends have a lot of depth and you really care about them. All in all the characters were really, really well done.Setting (4/5): It takes awhile to completely understand the setting here. At first all you know is that cities are walled because of vicious Craven and other monsters that hunt at night. It is a dark and somewhat hopeless feeling setting and it was very well done. It takes a while for the whole class setting of the Ascended to make sense. I enjoyed the gradual unveiling of this world and enjoyed the world itself. Our view of the world is a bit narrow in this first book (as is Poppy’s) but it was already expanding by the end of the book.Writing Style (5/5): I absolutely tore through this book because it is so engaging and easy to read. I was a little hesitant to start this rather long book but then I could not put it down. The characters in here are amazing and the action scenes are very well done and easy to follow. The only thing I struggled with a bit at first was the world-building; I liked the world but it wasn’t completely clear what was really going on. Aside from strengthening her world building a bit, Armentrout provided a fun and fast read that I love.My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this book. It has a great fantasy world, plenty of action, and a heart-stopping romance. I breezed through this incredibly quickly. So far I am enjoying this series just as much as the Harbinger series. I also read the first book in her Lux series but wasn’t a huge fan of that book. I would recommend this if you are a fan of action packed fantasy with a good dollop of romance in it.