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

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I honestly found this baffling. I understand that people deal with trauma differently, but I really would have preferred if Jennifer would have come at this from a different angle and really got into the nitty gritty of his trauma. I think it would have made for a darker read and given us better look at Casteel's character. I cannot wait for F&F book 3 - I need Sera and Ash like I need my next breath. These two are THE COUPLE for me and I have a feeling it will as epic as I want it to be.

A Soul of Ash and Blood (5)_RO JENNIFER L ARMENTROUT A Soul of Ash and Blood (5)_RO

Well, this review is going to be short, because I do not have much to say about this book sadly… I just want to clarify that I do not think this is a bad book, simply that it’s too long, and it should have been a novella instead of book #5 of the series. The past scenes were great, getting to see Poppy through Cas’ eyes from the beginning, finding out what Cas was up to during the periods he was away from Poppy, and it was a really great way of fleshing out his character. I admit that I was worried going into this, because Cas seemed like a very 2d character during his POV in TWOTQ if I’m honest, mostly just talking about his obsession with Poppy and his constant risky boners, but Cas really feels like a much more fleshed out character after this. We find out a bit more of how he coped with his trauma, how he was still very much in a confused state during the start of FBAA, and, with the help of the present day sections, how much he’s grown over the series. Really top notch, and I feel like the next book will really benefit from the attention Cas has had in this one. ASOAAB is all from Cas's POV. We a few ''present'' chapters that are concerning the current situation after TWOTQ but most of this book mainly focuses on FBAA finding out what he was up to while he is away from Poppy and how his plans and plots came to be. Along with many reveals. And all the unseen Vikter, Tawny, Emil, Niall, Delano and of course Elijah content was truly what I needed. And his interaction with Malik, gosh it just goes to show that even though they have a very long road ahead of them, there is always a way to fix things. To act where it is needed. I am sure there is a metaphor in there somewhere. This book was amazing! I loved ever single second of it. I loved the characters. I loved that it had past and present chapters. This was pretty much everything I didn't know I needed after reading From Blood and Ash, but more. For fans of the series, this book will not disappoint. This is honestly my favorite book so far this year, and I wish I could give it more than five stars because it deserves a million.Lastly, Kieran Contou is obviously just as delightful as Poppy and Casteel. I especially loved his presence in this book as he doesn't have much of it in the first one. Unsurprisingly, he is as wonderful as he has ever been. 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. He is also a calming force and an anchor, especially after Casteel's imprisonment. A great primal power has risen. The Queen of Flesh and Fire has become the Primal of Blood and Bone-the true Primal of Life and Death. And the battle Casteel, Poppy, and their allies have been fighting has only just begun. Gods are awakening across Iliseeum and the mortal realm, readying for the war to come. 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."

A Soul of Ash and Blood - Goodreads Ashlyn’s review of A Soul of Ash and Blood - Goodreads

This is further alluded to when Cas shifts into a cave cat and recognises Kieran as his saying "mine". whereas with Emil, he just wanted to kill him. We find out a lot about Cas and how his mind was working when he was trying to successfully become her guard and everything else that occurred between them. 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. Book Details

Table of Contents

A great primal power has risen. The Queen of Flesh and Fire has become the Primal of Blood and Bone—the true Primal of Life and Death. And the battle Casteel, Poppy, and their allies have been fighting has only just begun. Gods are awakening across Iliseeum and the mortal realm, readying for the war to come. I should’ve seen this coming when Cas started having chapters in the previous book. Usually, authors do that for one of two reasons:

A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash, Book 5 My Thoughts on A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash, Book 5

This book was so good! This was an intriguing and magical fantasy romance about love, power, family, sacrifice, and revenge. A Soul of Ash and Blood follows Cas as he revisits when he first met Poppy and the events in the first book. During this book there are a few new revelations of the earlier events and Cas' thoughts and feelings come to light. Now with every book, there are going to be some things that I don't like, so here is what I didn't like about this one:Nothing is ever simple.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “And when it is, it’s rarely ever worth it.” Now, that ending. THAT ENDING. My gosh it has made me so excited for the next one. Cas being able to syphon off some of Poppy’s primal power? The shifting??? Ah, brilliant. I hope Poppy learns to shift swiftly otherwise Cas is never gonna hear the end of it, I’m sure. BUT ALSO, I have a feeling that there’s more to Cas than we realise too, and maybe it’s not just syphoning Poppy’s power?? Because at the start Nektas seemed to be hinting that Cas’ ancestor is still around, possibly waking up along with everyone else so, maybe he’s actually got a god in his line or something? Ah I’m not sure, but there’s definitely more to it than we’ve been lead to believe so far I think! 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. It is a complete recap of FBAA through Cas' POV and it is extremely well written. We got to see a side of Cas that was long forgotten by JLA and I missed him. Cas deserves to be in the limelight as much as Poppy and I hope JLA seriously considers writing the next book in Cas' pov, it was chef's kiss 🤌 this book brought absolutely nothing new to the table. A Soul of Ash and Blood is basically 98% the retelling of the events of book 1 from Cas' POV with a handful of Present chapters where he talks to Poppy while she is asleep/in a coma. it was cute to see Cas' devotion to Poppy and how he started to fall in love with her tho.