From Blood and Ash: A Blood and Ash Novel (Book 1) - Fantasy Romance Series for Adults | Perfect for Book Clubs & Dark Fantasy Lovers

A Maiden…Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.A Duty…The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.A Kingdom…Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel."You're an absolutely stunning, murderous little creature."I read this back in 2021 and I liked it then... But then I decided to try Audible and well, now I'm in love. I want to say my original review is 4 stars, I'm now bumping it up to 5 because listening to this on Audible was so much more enjoyable. It made getting through the world and character building much easier. I struggled heavily getting through the first 60-70% of the book while reading it but it's been a breeze listening. I can walk around and do adulting things while I am listening.The narrator is enjoyable to listen to and she does a good job at playing all parts. I did giggle the first few times that she talked as Casteel / Hawke but I think it's mainly because I wasn't prepared for her to deepen her voice and give him a slight accent. Regardless, the narration was enjoyable and kept me engaged even while I was doing other things.Due to TWOTQ being released in just a couple of weeks, I wanted to read FBAA again and refresh my brain for it. I really have enjoyed it more so the second time around versus the first. I'm obsessed with these books. The story that JLA created and the emotion it ignites.I love this series and I'm so freaking excited to read the next installment.ORIGINAL REVIEW:"I won’t lie, I nearly put this book down an OBSCENE amount of times, I felt as though the story was slow to start and at times I didn’t quite understand what was going on.Once I got about 70% of the way through was when the story picked up and the world was more built for the story and I liked it more. I won’t say I truly fell in love, but it became intense and picked up speed to the point where I enjoyed it more than I did the first part of the book.A friend of mine had to keep telling me to have patience and wait, so I could see just how good it got.Overall, 4/5 because the story for me personally was slow to start. I think anyone who likes fantasy with some smut will enjoy this."