“Only the bad can be influenced, Princess.”
Hawke Flynn
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: High Fantasy
Pages: 625
Release Date: March 30, 2020
Wow. This book really hit the book world by storm, and there’s a lot to unpack in this From Blood and Ash summary with spoilers! So, let’s just dive right into this recap babes, because a lot happened in this book.
Spoilers ahead. Only warning.
From Blood and Ash Summary
Meet Our protagonist, Poppy
Poppy starts the book at a brothel playing cards. Seems a little unbecoming of a “maiden,” but I love it. We know from the start that she’s adventurous and a bit rebellious. She meets Hawke upstairs in a bedroom while trying to hide from Vikter, one of her guards. Hawke “mistakes” her for someone else. But I guess that doesn’t matter, because they still end up kissing. He has to leave, but tells her to stay, and he’ll come back. She doesn’t stay. So that’s a missed opportunity from Poppy…
Poppy lives under the ruling of Queen Ileana and King Jalara, and we start hearing about a past war and Descenters who support the Dark One – Prince Casteel of Atlantia – from the losing side. Also, there’s mysterious mist that basically brings zombies (Craven) to attack people?
So that’s a lot of information, and Poppy doesn’t understand any of it, and hey, neither do we. But any time a book mentions a “dark one,” it’s really game on me for me. I’m rooting for that to happen from the start.
Poppy’s a badass, and it needs to be known. Vikter has taught her to fight, and she fights WELL. On top of that, she has the “touch” and can feel people’s pain. And to add to that, she can then take it away. Okay. You do all the things then. Then on top of that, she’s a good person that goes and helps people that have been attacked by Craven so that they can have dignity in death, and all the townsfolk low-key love her for it.
Oh, and Poppy survived a Craven attack when she was a child. And she has badass scars to prove it.
What is an Atlantian? We don’t know much yet… but…
Let’s briefly talk what we learn about the Atlantians. Mainly that the Atlantians don’t transition until they’re between the ages of 19 and 21. Um, Poppy is 18. So the warning bells are going off that POPPY IS ATLANTIAN?! Yes? No? Called that.
So besides Vikter, Poppy also had this guard Rylan. Now Rylan is mentioned A LOT in this book, but we really didn’t know him while he was alive for very long before he was killed by an arrow shot by a Wolven (think Twilight shifting wolf) from Atlantia. I didn’t really feel any attachment to him, but damn, Poppy did, and she’s not going to let you forget it. But TBH, he had to go because we needed to make room for Hawke to ~swoop~ right in. Pun intended.
The Duke and Lord Mazeen. Ugh. I hate them; they are so f***ed up. The Duke gives lessons to Poppy as punishments for doing… well… absolutely nothing wrong. They both clearly take joy in humiliating and abusing Poppy. Remember the cane for later my babes…
Now that Hawke is Poppy’s guard, we start getting a lot of swoon-worthy moments. When they go sit under the willow tree during the Rite and Poppy gets to be a normal girl for a second? Love that for her.
Then, we get our first true taste of Hawke’s character… When he and Vikter argue about Poppy and him being caught alone together. Hot. It’s also after this that Poppy’s finally reaching her breaking point of being the Maiden and what it does to her life. She feels like she has nothing.
I’m sorry to add this long paragraph quote from Poppy, but girl just straight up summed up the book for us.
I can’t celebrate my birthdays because that’s ungodly. I’m not allowed to go to picnics at the Grove or to supper with others because I’m the Maiden. I’m not allowed to defend myself because that would be unseemly. I don’t even know how to ride a horse.
Nearly every book is forbidden to me. I can’t socialize or make friends because my sole purpose is to serve the kingdom by going to the gods – something no one will even explain. What does that even mean? …
So I’m sorry that choosing something I want for myself is such a disappointment to you, the kingdom, everyone else, and the gods…. It should be no shock that I want to be found unworthy.
Poppy
Can you imagine – books being forbidden to you? Bless her heart, and I mean that.
Interjection here because honestly, I wrote this review, then realized I never even mentioned Tawny, Poppy’s only friend, who has to be her friend because it’s required of her as a “companion.” I think she’s kind of inconsequential, and her only value was to provide Poppy with the steamy, most definitely forbidden, diary read.
And then s**t hits the fan. Remember that cane? Well the Duke’s now dead, and it’s through his heart. Thanks Hawke, even if Poppy doesn’t realize it was you, I do, boo, and I appreciate you!
The Descenters attack. Vikter FREAKING DIES on us. Then Poppy goes OFF on Lord Mazeen, and it was what we needed in this book. You go girl. On my vindication scale, it was Mrs. Weasley vs Bellatrix.
Red flags and kidnapping
As much as I love Hawke, he did toss out a lot of red flags. THE CANE. Idk, the fact that you just happened to run into him at the brothel. He literally says that he’s not a good guy, and she deserves better than what awaits her. He calls you Princess… because he’s a Prince?? Hmm?? Just because books are forbidden to you, does not mean you can pull a DW and claim that sign can’t stop you because you can’t read. I rest my case.
I digress though, because things are starting to heat up. Poppy’s supposed to be going to the capital to stay safe. Hawke has other plans though, because it’s time to basically kidnap Poppy. She’s unaware though, and they finally have their ~moment~. Someone is no longer a maiden!!
Hey Poppy, remember it was real…
POOR PHILLIPS. Phillips deserved better. He was just trying to do his job and save Poppy. He realized all the other guards were missing in this strange village… that’s unlike any other village run by the Ascended… that Hawke just happened to lead them to. Hmm…
RIP Phillips, because Hawke betrayed you, Poppy. In true Poppy fashion, the response is to attack Hawke and the others. Badass. A little hot. And we get that much needed comic relief from Elijah, “Who would’ve thought the Maiden could throw down?” Absolute gold star quote.
What are the ascended really?
And ALL of the secrets start pouring out. The Ascended are really just the bad, unnatural vampires that feed on humans. They accidentally create Cravens. They’re also taking the children that supposedly go work in the temples, and they’re using them for snack time. The Atlantians are good, natural vampires that only feed on other Atlantians, not humans. But their blood also creates the Ascended.
Hawke is an Atlantian. He’s been plotting and scheming and doing horrible things to avenge his kingdom. Are we surprised? No. Is Poppy? Yes.
The 50 years that Hawke was held in the temple being used to make new Ascended… I appreciated that this book filled my ACOTAR-sized gaping, constant book hangover, heart, but this was just so blatantly similar that I couldn’t not roll my eyes (yes, double negative to stress this). So, besides Poppy being a dense bitch sometimes and not seeing the clues, and this, I don’t have any other true negatives for this book.
Sorry, one more red flag that Poppy, of course, can’t see. When she gets attacked in the cell, and Jericho says that the Prince cut off his hand. YOU KNOW HAWKE CUT OFF HIS HAND. COME ON GIRL. 2 + 2.
The ending
Hawke is Casteel, the Prince. Wow. No way. I can’t believe it.
Must have been pretty upsetting to finally figure that one out Poppy, since you stab him in the heart. But all’s well that ends well, because we get incredibly hot make-up (or maybe just hate?) sex in the woods. And, ugh identity crisis on the name now, Casteel throws out a stunning line like, “But worse yet, you forgot.”
“Forgot what?”
“That it was real.”
*heart fluttering*
Surprise, Poppy has some Atlantian blood in her.
But the real surprise and absolute mic drop of a cliffhanger…
“WE GO HOME TO MARRY, my PRINCESS.”
AHHHHHH. That did NOT seem like part of the plan. But I loved it. LOVED IT.
I cannot freaking wait to see where this goes in Book 2. I’m also super excited to see more of Kieran. His role was small in this book as Casteel’s second (? idk how to describe him), but I got a feeling I am going to like him.
Final Thoughts
Overall, what I really liked about this book was the character development we get to see from Poppy. We get to see Poppy navigating what it means to be the Maiden, and if she really cares to follow the rules or if she wants to break them to actually experience life. I mean the girl secretly hopes she won’t be found worthy so she doesn’t have to live that life and can do something else. I feel like everyone can relate a little to this; I certainly can. The world building was A+, and I’m so excited to see where this series goes. Also, Hawke/Casteel is one of my new book boyfriends.
If it’s unclear based on my novel length recap and thoughts… I love this book.
MY PREDICTIONS FOR BOOK 2
(Yes, I know this is being posted after the second book came out, but I promise 100% I wrote these predictions down prior to the release when I was brainstorming this review, and my thoughts a few weeks ago.)
Hawke/Casteel talked about the caverns where he’s from at some point and making new memories that are happy to replace the sad ones. He is obviously going to take Poppy. Also, could the missing King Malec be Poppy’s father?? What’s this potential bond between Casteel and Kieran? Is there telepathy involved? That could get awkward. Lastly, Casteel is like “it felt like I knew you and I think I know why,” is this just because she has Atlantian blood or do they have mates in this world? I NEED TO KNOW.
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