Review: From Blood and Ash

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Poppy is an orphan, her parents were murdered in an ambush by the Craven (a kind of cross between a werewolf and a vampire overcome by bloodlust which were allegedly created by the Atlantians before they were defeated in battle), an incident in which she too came close to dying and still bears the scars of a Craven's claws on her face. She is now the Maiden, required to be chaste and kept from fraternising with others, apart from the Duke and Duchess, only her personal body guards and her maid are allowed to see her face. Poppy is waiting for her Ascension, a ceremony of which she knows very little, although her brother recently moved to the capital and underwent his own ceremony.

Seeking adventure Poppy escapes from the castle and goes to a local tavern in disguise where she meets Hawke, the newest member of the Guards and gets her very first kiss. As Polly and Hawke become close, and he is appointed one of her bodyguards, there is growing unrest in the town, with protests by the Descenders threatening the Rite ceremony. Meanwhile, the Duke and his evil sidekick take pleasure in 'punishing' Poppy for any perceived infraction.

I haven't read any fantasy in ages (other than Ilona Andrews who transcend mere genres) and I'm afraid I felt all of this was a bit obvious (since the book was published six years ago I feel okay about sharing spoilers), of course Hawke is hiding a very big secret, could he be the mysterious bad man everyone fears? Of course he is. How come he's so fast? Ah, not entirely human, got it. Colour me shocked that the evil Duke is actually one of the baddies and the poor Atlantians have been misrepresented. And of course Poppy is able to hold her own against trained guardsmen even though she is so small they have to give her children's clothes and she spends most of her time sequestered indoors.

Anyway, I enjoyed it but it was nothing new, I am however intrigued to discover that there are seven books in this series and would definitely read more.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.


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