Thoughts on Blood and Ash Series (Books 1-5)

Thoughts on the Blood and Ash Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Fangirling? A Defense of? Anticipation? 

~ Yes - All of the Above ~

Ah!!! Okay, so within the past couple of weeks, I have reread/completely caught up on Jennifer L. Armentrout's Blood and Ash series. To be clear, by this I mean books 1 through 5, listed below, without including the Flesh and Fire series. For that one, I've still only read book 1. I know there's a recommended reading order, but I just ~accidentally~ would start the next B&A one and then suddenly that book would be over and I'd end up doing the same with the next. Don't worry -- the rest of F&F will be read soon. :) 

Book 1 - From Blood and Ash

Book 2 - A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

Book 3 - The Crown of Gilded Bones

Book 4 - The War of Two Queens

Book 5 - A Soul of Ash and Blood

I love love love this series and, as always, I love JLA's writing. This post is pretty much just going to be a combination of gushing and a defense of the series because I've heard a lot of nay-saying that I don't think is very objective. Or kind. Some of it is honestly straight-up ridiculous and can be used as evidence as to why Goodreads review numbers are partially bull****. Granted, all opinions are clearly that -- opinions. And so there is no real thing as an "objective" review. But I can see the pluses and the minuses for this series, and for her writing style, and so I want to just put some things out there because I think she and this series deserves that. 

First things first... Poppyhawke. Love them. Adore them. Flawed? Yes. Slightly messed up meeting? Yes. Do I care? Mmm... the world is nothing but a bunch of shades of grey and I think given their specific circumstances and story, no -- I don't care. Throughout the rest of the series? They are one of my favorite ships of all time. I can say that absolutely without a doubt. I love reading the genuine dynamic of support they have with each other, both in asking for it and giving it. That is really part of their core as a couple: loving support and balancing each other out. The sexual tension between them is also off the charts, of course, but I really love them because they are so much more than that and they are able to care about and love each other deeply. 

And then you add in Kieran. I remember being neutral about Kieran for the longest time. It's not that he didn't have a personality, but it was just a bit flat in book 2 I think? But he becomes more of an individual in book 3 and he takes on a lot more individuality in book 4 to the point where I am greatly intrigued by his relationship with and devotion to Poppy and Cas. The point is made several times that there is love between him and the two that is similar to what Poppy and Cas have, but is also different. And that's just such an interesting description to me because it 1000% is more than just friendship and it also seems more intimate than that of family/brother vibes. There's definitely more there that we haven't seen yet, but I know that as a person, I love Kieran. 

Also, I forgot how much I love Delano! Dear Lord, I love that little snowball marshmallow. There's not even too much that can be said about him because he's such a minor character, but there's something about him that makes me so happy. He's like the Poppy/Cas/Kieran kid they babysit. Or their child. Whatever it is, it's amazing and I love how he interacts with Poppy especially. 

Moving on to some more critical things... one of the biggest flaws with the series is that, I think, the rollout of the high fantasy elements are difficult to follow. Not as an excuse, but just for context, this is JLA's first high fantasy series. She is a pro (imo) at the urban fantasy genre, particularly for the YA readers. Literally amazing. So with this background, she knows how to build a world other than that of reality, but I wonder if that skill wasn't perfectly translated, especially early in the series. I feel like there's a unique fine line writers of high fantasy need to balance where they simultaneously explain the world and how it operates while also doing so in a way that is organic and doesn't interrupt the reader's experience or break their suspension of disbelief.  For me, I could have used more description on the rules of the world. Or maybe even a reduction in the number of rules of the world because it was overwhelming at times and I felt like I was missing details or that some details were just assumed instead of provided for. 

Speaking of how this is high fantasy, one of the things that really annoys me with other people's reviews is that they complain about how there aren't enough romance scenes in the later books. There is admittedly a switch away from focus on the romance aspect to focus on the fantasy aspect, but this is a romantasy series. That incorporates the term "fantasy," so I don't think it's a very fair review of the book for someone to mark it a low rating simply because they wanted something more romance-heavy. It's still a valid review (not one of the "ridiculous" ones that I mentioned earlier), but it is based solely on personal preference and not an objective review of the book as a member of the genre. It's just irritating when I see those. 

Now, to address a love-hate tug of war between different types of readers... some people love JLA's writing style and sense of humor, and other people hate it. Personally,  I love it. And I don't think there's anything to say about her writing style other than it makes the story fly by when you love it and, from what I've heard and read, makes you cringe hard when you don't like it. I just wanted to point this out in case someone reading this is considering picking up the books because there are a lot of reviews out there that are rooted in her writing style. *shrugs* Pick up a copy and test out a page. Download the sample and check it out. You'll be able to tell right away if it's a style that you vibe with or not. 

Lastly, one of the things that I have loved so far about the series is that it is connected to another one that takes place in this world. And I love love that the characters are directly connected to each other and that their storylines are intertwined in history. 

However, the big drawback because of this... it makes a complicated history and rules-of-the-world even harder to follow. There's just so many things to know or that can happen. You would think it makes things simpler, and JLA certainly does a great job of making sure that you don't need to read both series to understand them individually, but it really just makes for a giant cast of characters to follow at some points and it feels like there are a dozens of ways for people to become gods, or demis, or primals, versus a true primal, or an Atlantian, etc., etc. I'm exaggerating a LOT with that statement -- I know the differences now and have kept them straight in my head now. But there really are a lot of rules and loopholes and one-offs regarding what happens to person with X status ascending another person with Y status versus Z status and all of that is different again if it is done by a person with A status instead of X status. See what I mean? I don't even know if I'm explaining it correctly, but there are so many combinations of species and ascension results that my head was spinning and there were points when it was simply more confusing than it was entertaining. 

But I think we've finally stilled the world-building waters enough to be prepped for and fully enjoy the ride of book 6, The Primal of Blood and Bone, which comes out this upcoming summer! I'm so pumped for this release. It's one of the few books of 2025 that I have saved on my calendar to make sure that I don't miss the release and I am dying to see what goes down with Kolis back in the picture and we've now gotten to the core of what has been driving the plot this whole series. Plus the characters. I live for their interactions and am so excited to see how they keep interacting and growing with each other. And the snark and sarcasm. Eeeee! Yayyy!!! :)

Hopefully this all made sense and was at least slightly helpful for those looking to read the books or if they are feeling unsure about whether or not they should pick them up. Personally, unless you really don't like the writing style, I would highly recommend it. It sucks you in and can be the best kind of investment of your time. 

Thanks for reading!