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

Product Information

I also loved getting to see Hawke still struggling with the darkness he was forced to endure and how slowly, Poppy helped him start to find his way out. No matter who we questioned or how many Ascended we interrogated, we never learned the reason beyond the belief or how she would be this…this harbinger of a new era.

There were a few chapters set in the present, meaning right after the events of The War of Two Queens, and I was happy to know what happened to Ires, Millie, and Malik. 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. When I saw that A Soul of Ash and Blood was being marketed as Hawke's retelling of From Blood and Ash, I was skeptical. Usually, it was all due to the Ascended not wanting the people to know exactly how many were lost while fighting the Craven.

I did enjoy reading from Cas’ point of view, but I did find this book too long, and honestly, I was hoping for more backstory to be integrated into this book.

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. 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. And when he got to meet her in person, his reactions were all consuming and I always had to know how he would handle the next moment they were together! 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.

To celebrate this release, Jennifer (as well as her publisher, Blue Box Press) are sponsoring today’s newsletter, and sent over the first three chapters! Elijah also appears in the story, but his presence is as painful as his death in A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire. I was super excited for a few chapters, like Poppy and Cas’ meeting at the Red Pearl, or when he sees her fighting for the first time on the rise, but most of the chapters were just a repetition of the events in FBAA from Cas’ point of view and they didn’t add much to the plot or the character. Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections—they may also appear in recommendations and other places.