I’m so sorry for being MIA, have this review!
One-Sentence Summary:
Penellaphe “Poppy” Balfour, the Maiden, navigates through a rebellion against her kingdom and growing feelings for her new personal guard, Hawke Flynn.
My Review:
To start off positive: the worldbuilding and plot! I actually thought those were pretty decent. I don’t love vampires and werewolves, but these were just fine. The plot had a lot of romance, but it was kind of a romance novel. The non-romantic plot points were actually really good and consistent! I haven’t noticed any plot holes in the series yet, but I am a little confused with some of the stuff because there’s so much contradictory information.
To the romance… ugh. To begin with, Hawke was like the worst parts of Rhysand from ACOTAR and Edward Cullen from Twilight. For a lot of the book, he was just one of those “I know you want it” guys. If I ever met him in real life, I would probably be scared of him, and not even because he kills a ton of people.
In my opinion, Hawke is just so toxic. I would like to point out that Poppy isn’t nearly as bad, as she’s a badass who just wants freedom. I just cannot get past how much I hate Hawke. Kieran is superior. Yes, Hawke is sometimes vulnerable, but I personally don’t think that can redeem him.
In actuality, I didn’t think the book was bad. It was by no means a masterpiece, but From Blood and Ash is entertaining. I’d definitely recommend it for fans of Sarah J. Maas, and, to be honest? Twilight. Sorry FBAA fans, I had to say it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
The Fiction Feature 