A Soul of ASH and Blood: A Blood and ASH Novel: 5

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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. After the final battle at the end of A War of Two Queens, Poppy falls into a stasis and will remain in it until she completes the culling. Nektas remembers Nyktos’ consort going through the same thing and suggests that Cas talks to her while she is in stasis to make sure that she remembers who she is, and who Cas is, once she wakes up. Cas decides to take Nektas’ advice and tells Poppy about when he first met her and learned to know her. So this is mostly a retelling of From Blood and Ash but from Cas’ point of view. 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. Book Details

A Soul of Ash and Blood | Blood and Ash Wiki | Fandom A Soul of Ash and Blood | Blood and Ash Wiki | Fandom

Furthermore, I also loved reading about Poppy and the way Cas sees her. As he gets to know her he sees her as the wonderful, beautiful badass that she is and falls helplessly in love with her, even though he can't bring himself to admit it. Poppy is such a powerful driving force in his life, affecting his every decision from the moment they met in The Red Pearl until the present, and she didn't even know it. Also, it was interesting to experience her presence from someone else's point of view, especially someone who loves her as passionately and unconditionally as Casteel. I say spoilers, but are they really? Nothing new really happens that didn’t already take place in From Blood and Ash. But there are moments in the present that I’ll be discussing as well, so I figured I give the warning. Though I’m not going to go into too much detail regarding the final chapter. He is unable to process who he is while in that form, but he knows Poppy is his and destroys the RevLastly, Kieran Contou is obviously just as delightful as Poppy and Casteel. I especially loved his presence in this book as he doesn't have much of it in the first one. Unsurprisingly, he is as wonderful as he has ever been. He is so supportive and understanding of Casteel, even though he doesn't agree with his crazy schemes and tries to advise him against them. He is also a calming force and an anchor, especially after Casteel's imprisonment. 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. AHH THAT CLIFFHANGER!!!!! There are some spoilers below, but I tried to avoid anything major. If you liked book 1 of this series, I think you will like this! It's so sweet. Yes, it's a retelling of book 1 from Casteel's POV, but there are a ton of new scenes in it too that are worth reading, in my opinion.

A Soul Of Ash And Blood’ By Jennifer L Book Review: ‘A Soul Of Ash And Blood’ By Jennifer L

I want to end by saying, I’m not really sure why or when it became ~cool~ or “funny” for people to be needlessly cruel about this series. If you don’t like it or were mad about the Joining or are weirdly angry that it’s popular, that’s fine and you’re entitled to that,…but what is the obsession with talking shit about it and tearing down others who do like it? I’ve seen several people on this app with some sort of status like “I am reading this book so that I can absolutely rip it to shreds” …just like, why? You have no other books to read? Nothing better to do with your time then tear down an author and bully any readers who do enjoy it? I don’t really get it…I also saw one reader give 1 star and write a review about how mad they were that they read this book because they didn’t realize it was Book 1 but from Casteel’s POV. I truly don’t understand how you cannot have realized that. This book has been so heavily marketed as Cas’ POV book for years...not sure if that rationale deserves 1 star. 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. Other than that, we got a moment where Malik and Cas hash out their feelings before coming to an understanding. While yes, Malik could’ve sent word to Cas, it wouldn’t have changed anything besides moving up the timeline of Cas going to the capital. Only he wouldn’t have met Poppy and likely would’ve been killed as Isbeth would’ve forced Malik to choose between Cas and Millie, and only one brother was needed to ascend Poppy. Not to mention, if they had to do it all over again, neither brother would change a thing as they got their heartmate in that process. Cas also realizes that Malik probably doesn’t feel like he deserves Millie after everything he’s done, similar to how Cas felt about Poppy. Only Cas and Poppy worked that out, while Millie and Malik haven’t yet. Is everything perfect between the brothers again? No. But at least they are on better ground and aren’t at each other’s throat anymore.Overall, an enjoyable read. I would have rated it 5 stars had more things of substance happened. Two chapters of substance in the present are not enough for me to rate it higher than 4. I would like to believe it's a fair rating considering I am usually very harsh on JLA's books. This book is from Cas' point of view. The first chapter of the book was so good and as soon as the book started I became swept up in this world that the author created full of vampires, wolven, gods, magic and dragons. The pacing was great, although there were times when the plot dragged. I enjoyed reading about Cas' this thoughts and feelings from his own perspective. Reading from his point of view reminded me of why I feel in love with him and brought a new perspective to previous events. I love seeing Cas' vulnerable side as well as his protective side. I love him so much, he is charming, brave, protective, resilient and sweet to Poppy. I'm glad that Cas' was the focus in this book, I felt that during the previous book, his personality didn't shine through as much and he felt static. I really liked that this book recapped events from the first book, I forgot a lot of what happened so it was a great refresher. I do wish that there were more new events and new revelations that happened during the book. I love all of the main characters especially Cas, Poppy and Kieran. Poppy is such a brave and strong character, I was really proud of her. I loved the banter between Cas and Poppy and the chemistry was amazing! There were so many scenes that made me laugh, blush and smile. The writing was very descriptive and I could vividly picture all of the events that occurred in the book. Besides, Malik and Millicent make an appearance in this book as well. They aren't active in Casteel's storytelling, of course, but appear in the present. Both are fascinating characters, not just individually, but as a pair as well. There isn't enough information on what happened between them that is keeping them apart, other than Malik trying to kill Poppy that is, but they are heartmates and I want them to be together. It is a bit funny to me that Casteel and Malik, two brothers, fell in love with Poppy and Millie, two sisters, but it isn't unheard of and doesn't bother me at all. I am fully invested in both Malik and Millie's relationship with each other and the relationship they have with their respective siblings. If their relationships aren't solidified by the end of the series there will be protests. Fair warning: I can be incredibly annoying!

Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash Series Book 1) eBook From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash Series Book 1) eBook

Casteel’s POV was my favorite so far. The fan favorite scenes like the Blood Forest and the Willow tree were amazing. However, in my opinion, the true bright part of this book was reading about Casteel and Kieran’s conversations and friendship before Poppy and Cas were truly together. Kieran and Casteel’s interactions were the best part. Their friendship is just so normal, relatable, and sweet, and their banter had me laughing out loud. There was also a spicy Kieran scene where Kieran is having sex with a descenter at the Red Pearl while Casteel is just casually in the same room having a conversation with him. Not sure if others are against that, but I personally loved it and thought it was hot because Kieran is my sweetie. I thought Kieran and Casteel's personalities both really shone in this book. I have said this many times before, but this world and these characters will always be my home. They have all engraved themselves under my skin and made a permanent spot in my heart and soul. This was a gift in every way possible. A hug from a friend whom you haven’t seen for the longest time. An experience that made me forget the outside world and let go of anything that was not solely this. As I mentioned, this book is like reuniting with an old friend. To see Kieran through his eyes was incredible. How much he has continuously been there for him and will always be there for him and not just because of the bond truly did something to my eyes. How he was always able to centre him and ground him even when there were no words spoken was beyond. This easily could've been a novella rather than a full fledged book but this revisitation was required as the fandom was slowly but surely losing interest. Am now looking forward to the next book, thanks to this one. Although I still do not know where the story is heading, JLA should wrap this up soon otherwise it becomes a Zodiac Academy like situation.I knew this was real. What was between us. What she felt for me. What I felt for her. This. It was real.”

A Soul of Ash and Blood - Thalia A Soul of Ash and Blood - Thalia

Well, this review is going to be short, because I do not have much to say about this book sadly… I just want to clarify that I do not think this is a bad book, simply that it’s too long, and it should have been a novella instead of book #5 of the series. Essentially, ASoAaB does replay all of Poppy and Hawke's interactions from Hawke's perspective, but there is so much more in between. We get to see scenes that were alluded to, but never downright explained, like Hawke killing the duke. We also get to see so many scenes of Hawke and Kieran scheming, and discussing how said schemes change as Hawke starts to develop feelings for Poppy. It becomes clear very early on that this isn't the story of the Maiden from a different perspective. This is the story of the broken prince that tries to abduct her for leverage, and falls in love with her instead. I honestly found this baffling. I understand that people deal with trauma differently, but I really would have preferred if Jennifer would have come at this from a different angle and really got into the nitty gritty of his trauma. I think it would have made for a darker read and given us better look at Casteel's character.I hate waiting because I'm impatient, and I need the next book in this series like three weeks ago. So now I have to wait (not very patiently) for the next one. So I dislike that I now have to wait for the next book.