A Shadow in the Ember, the incredible start to a new fantasy series by Jennifer L. Armentrout!

This is the first book in the Flesh and Fire series – a spinoff/prequel to the Blood and Ash series

 

 

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Blurb

Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort.   

However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot.

Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.

 

 

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Review

“Born of mortal flesh, a shadow in the ember”

5 massive stars!

Wow, I just finished this book, and I am shooketh. Another amazing read from JLA, I am desperately trying to wrap my head around the epic and absolutely incredible story that I just read!

This book is the first in the Flesh and Fire series, which is set within the world of the beloved Blood and Ash series (which is one of my absolute faves). In book #3 of Blood and Ash, The ​Crown of Gilded Bones, we met Nyktos, Primal of Death, and heard about his mysterious Consort. Now, we go back to get their story, and it was just as exciting, dramatic, funny, intriguing, twisty, captivating, romantic and unexpected as I was hoping.

You don’t need to have read the Blood and Ash series to understand and appreciate this book as it is a prequel series, but you’ll probably love it a whole lot more if you have. However it is recommended that you read this book before reading book #4 of the Blood and Ash series, The War of Two Queens.

Seraphena ‘Sera’, was born a Princess of Lasania, but her birth – the first female to be born of her line in generations – signified the culmination of a deal made by her ancestors with the Primal of Death. She is a ‘Chosen’, destined to be the Primal’s Consort. However in reality, her ancestors struck the deal to save their land from a horrifying ‘rot’ that is destroying everything in its path. Sera is now her people’s last hope – she is the weapon who trained her whole life to make the Primal of Death fall in love with her, become his weakness, and kill him, thereby saving her kingdom’s lands.

But all didn’t go according to plan when the Primal rejected her, telling her he had no need of a Consort, leaving her adrift, without purpose, and a failure in the eyes of her family. Shunned and pretty much alone, she is lost and lonely, but determinedly carrying on. Until three years later when Nyktos comes back into her life and her world shifts once again.

Holy freaking damn, JLA has given us ANOTHER epic alpha hero to fangirl all over. Nyktos is super powerful, mysterious and serious-but-with-a-wicked sense of humour. He’s also sexy as all hell. Sparks fly from the moment he and Sera meet, and I couldn’t get enough of them together. Their snarky banter is so entertaining, the tender moments melted my heart, and their chemistry absolutely sizzles! But their romance is definitely a slow burn – frustrating, but achingly good, and I was here for every moment of it!

“I want to kiss you, even though there is no reason for me to other than I want it.” The heated intensity of his stare held mine. “I would even go as far as to say I need to.”

It’s such a natural connection between them, but of course their situation is complicated by Sera’s secret mission, and by her introduction to a world that is completely foreign to her. We explore it with her, but her arrival in the Shadowlands sparks a series of events that nobody could have anticipated. And with secrets, twists and massive surprises coming their way, it’s wildly exciting and unpredictable.

I won’t go into any more detail than that, because you just need to experience this one. It’s a wild ride that is exciting and unexpected, and even though this book is 700+ pages long, I struggled to put it down. I was completely invested in the world and in Sera and Nyktos’ story, and I didn’t want it do end.

Fans of Blood and Ash will love learning so much more about this world. It’s all so cleverly woven together, and while some questions are answered, we’re left with even more, and I’m desperate to go back and reread all three of the previous books now that I have all of this additional knowledge, so I can see how it all ties in.

Of course, Nyktos has a band of wonderful characters that form his inner circle. They are such a fascinating bunch, I loved getting to know them and see them interact, and they bring so much to the story. But it’s Sera and Nyktos that are the centre of the story, and I could not get enough of either of them. Nyktos for obvious reasons, but the book is written entirely from Sera’s POV, and she is a phenomenal heroine.

JLA writes her paranormal/fantasy heroines strong, feisty and sarcastic, usually with a violent streak, and Sera is no different. She’s lived such a difficult life, but she’s so fierce, and even though she’s absolutely lethal, she hasn’t lost her big-heartedness, or her ability to show her vulnerability when she needs to. She’s honest and real, with a backbone of steel, and I absolutely adored her.

“I know what I am. I’ve always known. I am one of the worse sort. A monster … But don’t you ever tell me how I feel.”

And, of course, the romance is absolutely gorgeous! There is so much chemistry, the sexual tension is epic, and the dynamic between Nyktos and Sera had my heart pounding. Yes, there is sexy time, yes, it’s freaking hot, but the love story definitely has its unexpected moments, and I love the fiery unpredictability of it all.

It’s so well written – intense, exciting and intriguing, with fantastic characters and that wonderful flair of sarcastic humour that JLA injects into all of her books, and that I love so much about her writing. It’s a wonderful mix of action, suspense and mystery in a brilliantly-developed fantasy world, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Those final few chapters are INTENSE! So many twists and turns, SO much information, and I’m desperate to see where the story goes from here.

5 huge stars!

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

 

 

Flesh and Fire

 

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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