The second-last book I read in 2020 was From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I devoured it in a couple of days (I spend an entire Sunday on my couch reading because I couldn't put it down). Don't tell me why, but the Dutch Amazon does not sell physical copies of these books. So, sadly, I had to wait a while before the sequel was delivered (I ordered both via the German Amazon). Maybe it was better for my self-discipline that I had to wait before starting the sequel, otherwise, I would have spent half a week on my couch lolol. I was so happy when the sequel finally arrived, but I took my time reading this one because I had to do other things too for my studies. However, here we are. Let's talk about A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire!
Of all the books I read, there are only a few which entrap me while reading them. Meaning that I just cannot put the book away, and if I do I keep thinking about the story, the characters, what will happen next, etc. Those books are the best ones. Even though they are not perfect, slowly I'm realising that books will probably never be perfect (we are all human and perfectionism is subjective). But From Blood and Ash just hit me and became one of those books for me. My opinion of A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire is a bit more nuanced and critical. Maybe because I didn't speed through it, but took my time reading it. I want to say that before you continue reading, be aware that I might spoil the first book. I'll try to not spoil too much from the second book though!
Overall, I really liked the story and where it's going. Armentrout left us with such a big open ending that I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book of the series: The Crown of Gilded Bones. However, I did not love it as much as I loved the first book. Which is a little disappointing to me, so before I get to all the things I did love, I wanted to share this first. During the first book, we see Poppy grow from a chained Maiden to a (sort-off) free woman. She 'grows' up, evolves her power, gets out of the hands of the hands of the Ascended and falls in love. At the end of the book, however, Hawke is not who Poppy though he was. Hawke is Prince Casteel of Atlantia, an Atlantian (hot vampire-like person). Of course, Poppy's heart is shattered, because she is now in the hands of the enemy (or the ones she thinks are the enemies). At the last pages of From Blood and Ash and at the start of A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, hints are dropped that Hawke - or Casteel - is still in love with Poppy. That is the main reason why he doesn't take her to the Queen but instead to Atlantia. In the first part of the sequel, however, I really did get the feeling that Poppy suddenly forgets all that and continues to escape from Cas. It was a little too much for me. I was a little irritated because I felt like the growth she made to a free-thinking woman was reversed or at least pushed back. Especially when she made that extremely impulsive escape, which just felt like a page-filler to me.
Instead of talking, Poppy goes into a spiral of negative and distrustful thoughts, while Cas time and time again proves otherwise. He shows that he is not who people said he (as Prince of Atlantia) was and yet it is not enough. The second half of the book, however, lets go of this and we finally see Poppy grow again. Because these books are around 600 pages I get that there's a lot needed to fill up these pages. Now, I was just bothered by the fact that Poppy never asks something and just takes actions because of her assumptions. I wouldn't have minded it is the first chapters were like this, but it took too long (for me personally) to see her change.
Now that I got that out of my head, let's talk about the good things!! First off, Casteel! Ugh, I just love him so much. I am so excited to see what he will do in the next book after this ending! His love for Poppy just feels so true and I love him for it. The romance scenes in general, I enjoyed them so much. Armentrout really knows how to write these scenes and I need more! Also, those subtle hints of Keiran joining the party... what?! Also, that one scene where blood is shared (you know which one I mean) was so funny but also hot and I'm here for it!!
SPOILER:
The wedding scene?! I loved that, the idea of how they join hands and stand in Atlantian earth. And those hints of the Gods. I found this so original and well thought off and written!
And how about them being heartmates? She declares that he is, but we know nothing for certain! I really need more explanation on this in the next book!
The worldbuilding in this book is something that I admire a lot! In the first book, it wasn't truly clear on how the systems worked, but here we have seen proof of how corrupt the world, Poppy grew up in, actually is. The fact that Poppy also starts to realise this and tries to let go of this world is something I relished. I love to see characters grow and change throughout books and this change in perspective for her was fun to see!
I hope that in the next book we see some other relationships grow. I kind of feel like Delano might become Poppy's wolven, I don't know for certain of course but I just have this feeling. I would love to learn more about Keiran, does he have a person he has his eye on? Because I'm here for more of him! Also, I just cannot shake the feeling of how awesome this would be if it was adapted into film!! It might be because of the course I follow at the moment, but I would love to see like twilight-style wolven (I love the wolfs in those films, best werewolves in my opinion) and even hotter vampire-Atlantians. YES! I would loveeee that.
I still enjoyed A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire a lot! If you enjoyed the first book, I am sure that you will love this one too. I might be exaggerating this point, but I did want to share my honest feeling of the book. This was something that stood out for me. I hope you enjoyed this review / fangirling about the characters post. Thank you so much for reading!
With love,
Julia
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