BOOK REVIEW: A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash #5) by Jennifer L Armentrout

A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash #5)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
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Synopsis:

Only his memories can save her…

A great primal power has risen. The Queen of Flesh and Fire has become the Primal of Blood and Bone—the true Primal of Life and Death. And the battle Casteel, Poppy, and their allies have been fighting has only just begun. Gods are awakening across Iliseeum and the mortal realm, readying for the war to come.

But when Poppy falls into stasis, Cas faces the very real possibility that the dire, unexpected consequences of what she is becoming could take her away from him. Cas is given some advice, though—something he plans to cling to as he waits to see her beautiful eyes open once more: Talk to her.

And so, he does. He reminds Poppy how their journey began, revealing things about himself that only Kieran knows in the process. But it’s anybody’s guess what she’ll wake to or exactly how much of the realm and Cas will have changed when she does.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout revisits Poppy and Casteel’s epic love story in the next installment of the Blood and Ash series. But this time, Hawke gets to tell the tale.

Review:

A Soul of Ash and Blood wove an enchanting tale between the past and the present.  It was a phenomenal addition to the From Blood and Ash Series! I thought I was prepared for this story, I was so wrong.  New light was shone on scenes we thought we knew, things arose that left us with burning questions, and those final pages cumulated into a heart stopping ending!  Cas’ story will capture your heart!  A Soul of Ash and Blood was intoxicating, gritty, smile inducing and absolutely impossible to put down!

What he’d said was something I’d already learned the hard way, but his words…
They felt like a warning.
An omen of things to come.

The story started out in the present and within those first few pages my heart was already in my chest.  I shouldn’t have been surprised that it was emotionally intense, or that I cried within that first chapter.  Because while some of those tears were happy, there were others filled with sadness and scared of the unknown.  Something wasn’t right with Poppy.  Cas and Kieran knew it, and Nektas seemed to possessive knowledge that I wanted to pry out of his brain.  That draken could be so blunt, but he cracked me up time and again!  So as Poppy went into stasis, Cas took us back to before he met Poppy.  I loved how JLA skillfully immersed us in a world we already loved, but through Cas’ eyes it was unique, addictive and so much more than I ever could have hoped and dreamed!  As we alternated between the past and the present, this book turned out to be EVERYTHING I didn’t realize I needed!

Kieran shook his head as he turned his stare to the moon. “A Maiden with a wolven-bone dagger and, at the very least, no fear when it comes to using it?” One side of his lips tipped up. “Why do I have a feeling we may have underestimated her?”
I let out a short, low laugh. “Because I think we did.”

Cas took us back to before he met Poppy and was a guard.  I loved his moments with Vikter, oh how I have missed him.  Their interactions were phenomenal!  But most of all I loved getting to hear Cas’  preconceived notions about Poppy, even as he got clues of who the Maiden truly was from others around him.  And when he got to meet her in person, his reactions were all consuming and I always had to know how he would handle the next moment they were together! I could not stop smiling, I could not stop my shouts and screams of happiness, and it was impossible not to laugh at the most inappropriate things.  Seeing violence through Cas’ eyes, well it was hard not to think how he thought haha. His anger and vengeance were electrifying and it seemed to bubble under the surface at times. I loved when things would get violent and each time I fell even harder for him.  One thing that hurt so much though, was getting to see deeper into who Cas was.  His past.  The horrors.  And how it haunted him in the present.  It literally ripped me apart and I felt like I was drowning at times.  I know Poppy said in FBAA what she had felt from him, but I didn’t realize how much it truly consumed him.

“I know you want to do something irresponsible and reckless, but you can’t kill him,” he said. There was no greeting. No need to ask questions. He knew why I was here.
“I’m not going to kill him,” I replied. “I’m only going to murder him.”
Kieran sidestepped, blocking me. “That’s the same thing.”
“No, it’s not. Killing someone implies it could’ve been an accident. What I’m about to do will be completely intentional.”

Getting to hear Cas’ explanations for the whys he did something was absolutely phenomenal!  His dark, humorous thoughts were addictive!  And watching him do things I had no clue he was doing, ohhhhhh be prepared to be surprised again and again by this story!  But one of my favorite things was seeing Poppy through Cas’ eyes.  How she affected him.  How she seeped into his thoughts.  And how his progression of thoughts towards her changed.  It was consuming and will fill your heart with joy!  You know how in FBAA we got to learn the world right along with Poppy?  I felt that all over again with Cas.  Yes he has knowledge for what is truly going on, but he was in the dark for other things.  And watching as light was shown on certain aspects to Cas, it blew my mind.  We got to see so many different sides of Cas.  How he could be his own worst enemy.  How he could be someone’s savior.  How he could be their demise.  And most of all, how he was able to enchant Poppy’s heart and soul.

Their blood was on my hands.
And as fucked-up as it sounded, I could live with that. I had to. But what was hard to swallow? That I’d caused her pain.

As the story unfolded, we got to see lots of fan favorite moments from FBAA, and scenes that weren’t in FBAA too. But some of those scenes that are our favorites, oh we were none the wiser.  So when Cas filled in certain things, wow.  You think you know something, but you truly don’t!  And seeing how he felt through each of those times, fans of this series are going to be clinging onto his every word and thought!  We also got to see Kieran through Cas’ eyes and watching Kieran handle certain situations was epic and shocking.  There are no other words!  And Emil.  Oh poor Emil.  I laughed so hard in a certain situation with him that I should probably feel guilty about, but I don’t haha.  And while I went from desperately wanting to stay in the past, there came a point in the story where the present had us hanging onto every word and moment.  And those final pages?!  Hold on because it is heart pounding and left us desperately wanting that next book!

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 was just hers.

A Soul of Ash and Blood will have you falling in love with Cas, Poppy, and this series all over again.  Plus the steam in this book through Cas’ eyes *fans face*, it was scorching hot!  I’m so grateful we got this story!  And now I’ll be counting down till that next book releases!

Spoiler Quotes:
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I’d assumed she was a fully willing participant in the role she played. I should’ve known better than to assume shit because I’d obviously been wrong.



In my mind, I could see her now, her cloak billowing around her in the wind right before she threw a dagger at me. “That was when it began to change— how I thought of you. Saw you . You were no longer the Maiden. You were becoming… You were becoming Poppy.”



It didn’t matter how many times I proved it, how many times I looked at my hands as I did now, a near century later, and didn’t see chains cutting into my flesh.



Anger faded with the shock as I stared, amusement rising in their places, along with something else. Something far stronger. Lust. Pure, hard, and hot lust. And good gods, I knew that said some fucked-up shit about me. But it wasn’t the pain that got me rock-hard in an instant. Pain never did that for me.
It was her boldness.
Her bravery.
Her skill.
Her utter recklessness and the fire that burned so bright in her.
And I never wanted someone more than I wanted her. Right here.



“You cannot kill the Duke,” Kieran said, dressing as he joined me.
“Oh, I’m going to kill him.” I straightened my leg. “There’s no way around that.” And if I had the time and opportunity, Lord Mazeen was another dead motherfucker.
So was that damn Priestess.
And I couldn’t forget Lieutenant Smyth.
There would be a bloodbath.



Understanding dawned in his features. He’d finally figured it out. Who I was. What he’d gladly welcomed into his guard and allowed to sleep beneath his roof. Why I was here. His eyes shot to the door.
“Run,” I urged. “I dare you.”



Poppy looked so damn peaceful, as if she were where monsters could never find her.
But they already had.
I was one of them, no better than the Ascended.



I’d never felt this before. Never. I didn’t know what it meant. Or maybe I did because I knew this was real. What was between us. What she felt for me. What I felt for her. This. It was real.



Like a predator, I made no sound. I gave no warning as I hunted Poppy and caught her with an arm around her waist.
She shrieked as her feet left the ground. I hauled her back against my chest, and the anguish I felt had nothing to do with the pain of the still-healing wound. It was for her. Me. This situation. Us.



My skin buzzed as I latched on to the fury. My muscles quivered as I took all that feral rage and let it pour into me, flooding every vein and filling every cell in my body until the violence tasted like ash in my mouth and became ice in my veins.
Blood full of ash and ice…

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*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, provided by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Reading Order & Links:

Amazon (click on covers) & iBooks (click on titles)

From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash Series) #1 Review: Jen	A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash Series) #2 Review: Jen	The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash Series) #3 Review: Jen
A Shadow in the Ember Ash (Flesh and Fire Series)  #1 Review: Jen	The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash Series) #4 Review: Jen	A Light in the Flame (Flesh and Fire Series ) #2 Review: Jen
A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash Series)  #5 Review: Jen	A Fire in the Flesh (Flesh and Fire Series) #3 Review: Jen	Visions of Flesh and Blood (Blood and Ash Series) #5.5 Review: Jen

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