A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

Summary

Poppy is back and with a vengeance. She has been betrayed by the one person she chose and everything she knows is a lie. Who can she trust in this new world and can she stay away from the Dark One or will she be drawn into him despite his betrayal?

My Thoughts:

Unfortunately I read the second installment of the Blood and Ash series way too fast and have so many questions!

The book just goes right into where the last installment left off and I couldn’t have been happier. Poppy is one of my favorite characters of all time and she just keeps getting better. Poppy has definitely has come into her own and I loved every second of her dialogue and her actions. She doesn’t have any problem with speaking her mind to anyone that will listen and I’m so proud of her. She also will not stand for any injustice and stands up to those that allow those injustices to happen. Her fighting is so amazing to read about and even though I usually get bored with battle scenes, I was never bored when Poppy got stabby.

Hawke/Casteel is also getting better and better with each book. I didn’t think I could love him any more than I did, but I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! We also got to know more about him in this installment and I really like how he treats others and commands his people. He also lets Poppy be who she is and doesn’t try to change her in anyway and it makes me swoon every time. I also just love the way he looks at her and makes fun of her when she is feeling stabby. The only thing that made me a little mad at him was he tried to keep things from her when she was only trying to help him. If he had told her the truth in the beginning, they might have been able to get things along a lot quicker and it wouldn’t have made Poppy so conflicted.

I also really enjoyed getting to know more about the wolven and the other creatures of this land that Poppy inhabits. The wolven is of course the authors version of werewolves and they have always been my favorite. These wolven are no exception. Kieran is also the only sane character in the bunch and talks sense into both Cas and Poppy when they need it. In addition, I vote for the joining to happen because sometimes the chemistry between the three of them is fire! I also loved the addition of the other wolven and I laughed again and again when Cas would get jealous of Emil.

The only crique I would have is I still have so many questions about the book world itself and Poopy’s role in it. There are just so many questions still left unanswered and I felt, even though I loved every minute, that too much time was spent on Cas and Poppy’s relationship, and not enough time on explanation of the dynamics of the world. Poppy is also a conundrum to me in that she has very strange occurrences with the wolven, the ascended, and the gods, and they aren’t explained in a way that I would’ve wanted. Maybe the author is saving this for the next installment?

The only character that I hated was Alistair. He was introduced as a likable character, but as time went on, I found him extremely vexing and creepy. He just happened to be the one to tell Poppy all the things that Cas was keeping from her and why he was so obsessed with Cas marrying someone from his family. I think there is something fishy about this one.

Lastly, that ending was absolutely marvelous. Just jaw-dropping in every possible way. Bravo Jennifer L. Armentrout, but how very rude. I hope the next one comes out soon!!

Overall, an amazing addition to the series and I can’t wait for more Poppy and Cas.