Overall, the characters were pretty good. Poppy is interesting, although she is not nearly as sheltered as JLA tries to make her out to be. She's an excellent fighter, she's witty, and swears. She is definitely naive, but I think that's because she's 18. Hawke was of course hot, but his idea of consent was definitely in the grey area. Nothing will stop Poppy from freeing her King and destroying everything the Blood Crown stands for. With the strength of the Primal of Life’s guards behind her, and the support of the wolven, Poppy must convince the Atlantian generals to make war her way—because there can be no retreat this time. Not if she has any hope of building a future where both kingdoms can reside in peace. Filled with new scenes, insights, and a few surprises, A Soul of Ash and Blood is a must-read for fans of From Blood and Ash and the love story of Poppy and Hawke.

The line about Casteel being a magnet that drew them both made me realize this wasn’t going to be just about Poppy. These two men had a connection, too. I wasn’t sure if things would be platonic or not between them, but I knew if Kieran joined their relationship, it’d include Cas too.

'Blood and Ash' is an ongoing fantasy series about a Maiden questioning her fate

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 said earlier that while I would enjoy a throuple, I would also love it if Kieran found his special person or even heartmate. Am I the only one who was hoping for a hate-to-love relationship to develop between Kieran and Reaver? There is tension between them, and I’m not sure it’s 100% angry tension if you know what I mean. Apparently, the author already confirmed that it would not happen, but it would have been nice. I really like their snarky interactions and how Reaver just didn’t seem to give a shit about anything besides burning humans and annoying Kieran. So yeah, this review turned into an essay on How JLA Planned The Joining From The Start And Filled 3 Books With Blatant Foreshadowing But Apparently Some People Don’t Know How To Read. You’re allowed to dislike ménage romance, of course. But don’t insult others and don’t lie about this coming out of nowhere. It’s that simple. You are allowed to disliking this simply because it messes with your PoppyCas OTP. There’s no need to bash the author or other readers, or to say this came out of nowhere with no foreshadowing or build up. I cannot wait for F&F book 3 - I need Sera and Ash like I need my next breath. These two are THE COUPLE for me and I have a feeling it will as epic as I want it to be. We all agree Cas and Poppy are madly in love with each other. But let’s establish their feelings for Kieran and vice versa at this point in the story.

I adored Reaver and his “I don’t really give a shit” attitude in this book, but I would have loved to see more of the drakens. Reaver’s an odd one for sure, but he added many funny moments in this book, and I want more of him in the next one! I really cannot justify or stand behind how Hawke treats Poppy. He’s honestly horrible to her. He puts up the pretense that he cares about her and protects her, but later on we see who the true Hawke is and he’s not sexy, not at all. Twice in the book he sexually touches her without her permission, both times while knowing she’s the Maiden, and it just made me really uncomfortable. Because if you have no sexual experience or even romantic experience, you’re not going to be so open and willing the first time someone touches you like that. She’s supposed to be sheltered, so I just couldn’t believe she would allow that. Wanting to escape her rooms and live a little and kiss him, I understand. That’s fun but innocent. But the sexual stuff, even if just touching, is not innocent, and I personally don’t feel like she should have or would have been that open and willing to do it after eighteen years of being told she’s not supposed to. Lifelong conditioning doesn’t just go away at the snap of a finger. 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. This book was great. I had heard so many good things about this book for so long so I finally decided to buy it and I'm so glad that I did. Poppy becomes even more confident in this book. The stakes are higher than ever before, and she tries her best to win a war without killing innocents or destroying cities. She also has to deal with the Atlantian generals who are doubtful about her and her ability to rule, and we can see how she hurt and how the weight on her shoulders was slowly becoming too much. Cas, as usual, was a perfect supporting husband. Never try to stop her or tell her that she couldn’t do what she wanted to do. He trusts her completely and gives her the power over her life that she didn’t have in all of her years as The Maiden. Their love is inspiring and beautiful… And it’s also full of passion and sexy moments. 😏

Armentrout is also writing a prequel series to 'From Blood and Ash'

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.