A Soul of Ash and Blood: A Blood and Ash Novel (Blood And Ash Series Book 5)

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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. I really liked the bond between Poppy and her personal guard Vikter, who is somewhat of a father figure for Poppy, and enjoyed her sole friendship with her maid Tawny, too. The relationship that is most integral to this story though, is that between Poppy and her new guard, Hawke. This relationship is a slow build throughout the book, with a lot of teasing banter between the two, which whilst often fun, it has to be said was also at times a bit juvenile and repetitive. Of course Hawke also happens to be incredibly handsome, and so there is the predictable smoldering and sexual tension between them. Yet for all the contrivance, I did actually enjoy their relationship. Hakwe doesn't treat Poppy as the Maiden, he treats her as a person, in a way that no-one else ever has, not even Vikter and Tawny, and as such it is all too easy to appreciate why Poppy falls for him. I also enjoyed the forbidden aspect of this romance, as quite often authors create obstacles just for the sake of tension and to drive the plot, but in a very contrived way. Whereas, here Poppy's role as the Maiden, meant this really was a forbidden romance and thus an obstacle and source of internal conflict for her that was genuine and raised the stakes.

I reached over, clasping his shoulder. “We are not brothers of the same blood. We are not friends due to some bond,” I told him, and his gaze met mine. “We are not loyal to each other because of courtesy or tradition or title. We have always been above all that. And, in a lot of ways, we’re two halves of the same whole. Different than Poppy and me, but not that much different. You know that.”I shot him a glare. ”Would you like to help, or do you just want to stand there and watch me get yelled at by an old woman?” Please keep in mind that everyone has their own opinion and preferences and that we can all share it respectfully. Antis: “Why have Poppy and Casteel get married and be heartmates and then ruin them with the Joining?” I do appreciate that they had a slow-burn romance and they didn’t have sex in the first chapter when they met. I mean it was close, but I’m really glad they didn’t go all the way that early on.

Nothing is ever simple.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “And when it is, it’s rarely ever worth it.” The long separation is the main reason why I didn’t love this book, cause the first half of the book didn’t feel like Poppy & Cas’ story anymore. Casteel was pretty much pushed to the sideline. But on another note, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Casteel’s POV chapters!! Been waiting 3 books for his POV and his chapters didn’t disappoint me, cause reading how much he loves Poppy always makes me feel 🥰🥰🥰. Even tho his POVs are a little one-dimentional, since they focus so much on his devotions to Poppy and how perfect she is, I didn’t mind it that much, cause there are worse things to read about than an obsessed Hero completely whipped for his queen. 🤷🏽‍♀️💅 I just like good guys, okay? But the general populace likes the bad boys, the players, the sex gods, so that’s always who ends up in the books. . . . I also don’t like how in romance books the girl is always the virgin and the guy is always the most experienced sexual partner ever. Someone please tell me about an adult romance where the guy is also a virgin, because that’s much more preferable to me.Seeing Reaver in his mortal form was already an utterly unexpected experience. But seeing him completely, absolutely naked whilst crouched on a pillar took the oddness of the situation to a whole new level. Now, about all those hateful and rude comments… I do believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that 100%, but I also believe that there is a way to share one’s opinion while remaining civilized and respectful.

It was quite slowwww in terms of getting to the romance and action scenes due to the piles of information the author threw in the world-building aspect. I think it would have benefited the reader if Ms. Armentrout had sprinkled it throughout the book instead of filling the first half of the book with it. (tbh after reading the books 3 times around, I still don't understand everything about the world) However, once I got to the good parts... DAMN IT WAS SO GOOD. The angst, the steam, the banter it was all there! The fact that we all thought this would be a complete retelling of the first book only to find out it's actually going to be Cas telling Poppy stories about his life before her and recounting their time together in the beginning BECAUSE HE WAS ADVISED BY SOMEONE to talk to her in her current state. Lastly, 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. Casteel Da’Neer knows all too well that very few are as cunning or vicious as the Blood Queen, but no one, not even him, could’ve prepared for the staggering revelations. The magnitude of what the Blood Queen has done is almost unthinkable. Except for the first chapter and last chapter, nothing new of substance takes place. There are no major additions to the plot except for Poppy going into statis (which is not a spoiler as it is mentioned in the blurb) and a new discovery made by Cas at the end.On one hand, I really love Cas, Kieran, and Delano, and I was happy to get more of them. I also loved seeing Cas’ side of the budding romance between Poppy and him and seeing the conflicted feelings and the angst he was living with. Overall, he felt more vulnerable in this book, which made him more likable to me. The beginning and the ending of the book were also great, and now I am very excited for the next book to come out.