“Action, adventure, sexiness, and angst! From Blood and Ash has it all and double that. So many feels and so many moments it made me cheer for the character. Read. This. Book! You’ll be obsessed!” – Tijan, New York Times bestselling author

 

From Blood and Ash, a captivating, sexy and action-packed high fantasy novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout, is available now!

If you love forbidden romance, this book is for you. If you love snark, this book is for you. If you love action and intrigue, edge of your seat moments and being
caught off guard by what you’re reading, this book is for you. And if you’ve been missing . . . vampires in your life, this book is for you.

 

Amazon  |  Apple Books  |  Amazon Worldwide  |  Kobo  |  Nook  |  Google Play

 

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Blurb

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

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.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

 

 

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Review

5+ EPIC STARS!

Holy wow! It’s been a while since a book has blown me away like this one, and almost a full day after finishing it I’m still riding the high of an absolutely epic read! JLA has delivered an amazing read, an NA-ish high fantasy with incredible characters, a wonderfully complex world and a fast-paced, action-filled story that twists and turns and had me gasping right up to the very last moment. And, of course, a fun, passionate, emotional and chemistry-filled romance that completely owned my heart. It’s an incredible read, an instant fave, and I already know it will be one of the best books I read in 2020.

Since birth, Poppy has been Chosen. She is the Maiden, a pure figure forced to lead a life of solitude and celibacy with no contact other than her guards and her maid, no friendships, no touch, limited conversation and no choice in any of it. It is her destiny to ‘Ascend’ and to usher in a new era for the people of her land. But secretly, she is a spirited girl who longs for more. She trains to fight, she has close friends in her guards and her maid, and she escapes the palace where she is kept virtually as a prisoner as often as she can. Desperate to experience more.

I was the Maiden, the Chosen … I wasn’t Poppy but a shadow of a person who wasn’t allowed to experience, need, live, or want.

And then Hawke. Her new guard is not only gorgeous, confident and sweet with a delicious sarcastic streak, but he seems to see so much more than others do. He sees her spirit, he recognises her desperate need to live more than the life that has been forced upon her, and he wants to be the one right next to her as she explores it all.

“You’re such a bad influence,” I murmured as I placed my hand in his.
Hawke curled his fingers around mine. The weight and warmth of his hand was a pleasant shock. “Only the bad can be influenced, Princess.”

But, of course, there is something more between them, a simmering attraction that sizzles every encounter and had my heart pounding. And it’s that attraction that proves to be the tipping point for Poppy to begin questioning everything that she thought she wanted.

“I’m the Maiden, Hawke,” I reminded him – or myself, I wasn’t sure.
“And I don’t care.”
My eyes flew open in shock. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“I did. And I’ll say it again. I don’t care what you are.” Hawke’s hand slid off my back. A moment later, I felt his palm flatten against my cheek with unerring accuracy. “I care about who you are.”

I’m not going to say anything more than that because you just need to dive in and experience it. The outline above sets the scene, but there is so much about this story to take in. The fantasy world is complicated, and it did take me a little while to get my head around it all, but it unfolds so beautifully. We come to understand Poppy, her world and her life, we fall in love with so many wonderful characters, and with the story written entirely from her perspective, we feel and experience everything along with her.

Though I kind of figured out where the story was going, I was in no way prepared for it as it all unfolded. The story twists and turns, with surprises and reveals sprinkled throughout. Some that had me gasping, others that had me screaming out loud with the surprise and genius of it all. There are violent fights, epic bad guys, political upheavals, huge action scenes, tender heartbreaking moments, brilliant banter, laugh-out-loud interactions, sizzling sexy time, and swoony and emotional romance.

“It doesn’t matter if I want–”
“And you do want.” His whisper danced over my cheek. “What you want is me.”
My breath caught. “That doesn’t matter.”
“What you want should always matter.”

This book has it all, and I was completely hooked through 600+ pages of everything. And even though it took me 10+ hours of reading, I just want to dive right back into it again!

Of course, being a JLA book, there is a cliffhanger. It’s not as nasty as it could have been, but it definitely leaves us hanging. I’m desperate for the next book and can’t wait to see where the story is going to go from here!

An absolute must-read for fantasy/paranormal fans.

5 massive stars!

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Blood and Ash

 

 

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About the Author

#1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true.  When she’s not hard at work writing. She spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Border Jack Apollo. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over a hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more.

 

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