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

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Poppy is the Maiden, but she is also very much a maiden in her innocence and naivety. She is not allowed to be looked at and must wear a veil at all times. She is not allowed to speak or be spoken to by certain people. Her life is not her own. But she’s human too, and she’s unhappy with all the rules and restrictions placed on her. 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. One of my biggest pet peeves are LONG SEPARATIONS between the couple. If I have a say, then the couple wouldn’t be separated for more than 15% of a book at a time. And the fact that we needed to wait til the ~52% mark to see a Poppy & Cas reunion and ~60% until Cas was free of Isbitch was just waaaayy too long. I don’t count these dream walking thing Cas & Poppy did. This series works for me because of the romance between Poppy & Cas, take that away and what am I reading for? Surely not for the complicated world building, info-dumping, 30592 different terms that are thrown in to describe (Game of Thrones meet Twilight) vampires, dragons and wolves, or the snail-moving plot. So I was sad to see that it took so long to free Casteel.

This was a retelling for FBAA, and I debated before this came out about rereading it but honestly, I am glad I didn't because this helped me remember so many of the moments.

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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. If you don’t like it or were mad about the Joining or are weirdly angry that it’s popular, that’s fine and you’re entitled to that,…but what is the obsession with talking shit about it and tearing down others who do like it? I’ve seen several people on this app with some sort of status like “I am reading this book so that I can absolutely rip it to shreds” …just like, why? You have no other books to read? Nothing better to do with your time then tear down an author and bully any readers who do enjoy it? I don’t really get it…I also saw one reader give 1 star and write a review about how mad they were that they read this book because they didn’t realize it was Book 1 but from Casteel’s POV. I truly don’t understand how you cannot have realized that. This book has been so heavily marketed as Cas’ POV book for years...not sure if that rationale deserves 1 star. In addition, their relationship is still as magical from Casteel's point of view as it is from Poppy's. Experiencing the beginning of their relationship again left me with the same warm feelings I had when I read it the first time. Also, it isn't like we hadn't already known that Casteel falling in love with Poppy was inevitable, but reading it firsthand makes it all the more special. It is nice to know that Casteel's physical reactions to Poppy have always been as uncontrollable as he makes them out to be, even though one has to wonder if the guy has some sort of medical issue. It's just not normal to have so many erections so often. I understand that Poppy is beautiful inside and out, but damn. About 80% of this book is based on FBAA events but the present does not really move forward much since Cas is spending every single moment holding Poppy while she sleeps and telling her stories.

Poppy awakens right at the last sentence, and she is officially a primal (her eyes are no longer green) The War of Two Queens is the fourth book in the Blood and Ash series and is best read after A Shadow in the Ember which is the first book in The Flesh and Fire series that shares the same universe as the Blood and Ash series. I just absolutely loved getting to reenter this amazing wonderful. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. My emotions were just all over the place and I just felt so much for these characters and all that they have to go through. You just can’t help but fall more in love with them after each story. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author. 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. The only thing that I really loved was the meeting between Ires and Poppy - that was beautiful, albeit short lived, but a great scene full of emotion. I would also have loved to have more of Delano and Netta. While I am happy that Kieran was more important, most of the book follows him, Poppy, and Cas, and we do not really know what is happening with the Atlantian army, with the other wolven, and with the drakens that stayed behind. I feel that Poppy did not have any time with them, or the generals, or the other “important” Atlantians, which would help her gain their trust and know better how to organize her army.One day when she’s trying to live a normal life, she sneaks out to a club called the Red Pearl, where she ends up meeting Hawke, a handsome guard. And that is the start of the adventure and romance of this story. I don’t want to say too much more about the plot because I went in with almost no idea what this book was about other than that it’s a fantasy romance, and I enjoyed it that way. I will say it’s more of a paranormal high fantasy than it is a romance though, at least in the beginning. I expected this book to be on the level of Sarah J. Maas as far as having X-rated romance scenes, but the first 60% was pretty tame with actually almost no romance scenes at all. Of course, those scenes did come, and while the scenes were explicit, the whole book was a lot more mellow than I was expecting.

Casteel: “I never found myself constantly hungering, and I believe you need that to find yourself exploring those things with someone you’re committed to.” We won't know the conclusion to FBAA (Poppy/Cas) until spring/summer 2024 but we will get the compendium in February so that should hold me over after F&F 3! It also had to do with the fact that something happened when I spent time with her. Something damn near magical. I was…I was just me. Cas."

I really liked the bond between Poppy and her personal guard Vikter, who is somewhat of a father figure for Poppy, and enjoyed her sole friendship with her maid Tawny, too. The relationship that is most integral to this story though, is that between Poppy and her new guard, Hawke. This relationship is a slow build throughout the book, with a lot of teasing banter between the two, which whilst often fun, it has to be said was also at times a bit juvenile and repetitive. Of course Hawke also happens to be incredibly handsome, and so there is the predictable smoldering and sexual tension between them. Yet for all the contrivance, I did actually enjoy their relationship. Hakwe doesn't treat Poppy as the Maiden, he treats her as a person, in a way that no-one else ever has, not even Vikter and Tawny, and as such it is all too easy to appreciate why Poppy falls for him. I also enjoyed the forbidden aspect of this romance, as quite often authors create obstacles just for the sake of tension and to drive the plot, but in a very contrived way. Whereas, here Poppy's role as the Maiden, meant this really was a forbidden romance and thus an obstacle and source of internal conflict for her that was genuine and raised the stakes. But the scene that made me realize we were getting a throuple in this series was when the three slept together and this happened. The 🌶 were not over the top and were written well. There was a loooot of tension between Poppy and Hawke which I loved. Besides, Malik and Millicent make an appearance in this book as well. They aren't active in Casteel's storytelling, of course, but appear in the present. Both are fascinating characters, not just individually, but as a pair as well. There isn't enough information on what happened between them that is keeping them apart, other than Malik trying to kill Poppy that is, but they are heartmates and I want them to be together. It is a bit funny to me that Casteel and Malik, two brothers, fell in love with Poppy and Millie, two sisters, but it isn't unheard of and doesn't bother me at all. I am fully invested in both Malik and Millie's relationship with each other and the relationship they have with their respective siblings. If their relationships aren't solidified by the end of the series there will be protests. Fair warning: I can be incredibly annoying! Then Casteel has to feed and Kieran stays in the room with them to make sure he won’t hurt Poppy. JLA made a conscious choice here to have Kieran behind Poppy, touching her, while Casteel fed from her. And even to make Cas press them both against the wall, trapping them together.