A kingdom that is forsaken by the gods, feared by the mortals and ruled by the Ascended. From Blood and Ash is a Fantasy series that brings us into the life of Poppy, a girl chosen from birth to serve as a sacrifice of sorts to support her realm’s future. She is kept in the castle of the Duke, hidden away and protected from outsiders to ensure her safety and purity leading up to her Ascension.

The Ascension is a sacred, honored event in which those chosen to Ascend are said to meet with the gods and transform their very soul. Most of those who are Ascended appear cold, aloof and void of all emotion (except anger). Almost as though their soul is missing altogether. Poppy’s date of Ascension looms in the near future and she finds herself questioning the purpose, the why behind her life and chosen status.

When a new personal guard is assigned to guarantee her safety, she begins to question things more than ever before. Hawke continually forces Poppy to consider and question the traditions of her land, which is considered treason and punishable by death. Despite the risk, Poppy’s doubts grow and she begins to push the boundaries set before her by the governing forces.

Poppy faces a detrimental decision: move forward with her future as she has believed it to be for the entirety of her life or escape into the unknown with this mysterious new guard who has captured her heart.

Thus begins our tale of adventure with Poppy and Hawke, as they start their journey to protect the realm, preserve the integrity of the future and disclose secrets long buried by the Ascended.

The series had a slow start for me. It took me about half way through the first book to truly become invested in Poppy. Although, it did start with some jaw droppers – with the Duke’s unexpected brutality to Poppy and the disgust she held for him and the others with his same heir of haughty cockiness. I liked Poppy immediately, but the story itself didn’t pull me in as quickly as I thought it would, especially from the reviews and ratings I read prior to starting the series.

However, as the pages continued, I slowly found myself wrapped within the land of the Ascended. Suffice it to say, until Hawke came into the picture, I was somewhat forcing myself to continue with the series.

His relationship with Poppy was “intriguing”, to say the least. From their very first encounter, it was immediately known he would bring trouble… or freedom, or happiness… or some combination of it all.

Hawke/Casteel and Poppy had a very typical “Romantasy style romance” through out the entirety of the series. There was a healthy mix of love, betrayal, sarcasm, violence, and lust. For fans of ACOTAR or Crescent City, you will find your “Hunt Athalar” or “Rhysand” fix in Casteel. Sexy, endearing and humorous… he adds the much needed spice to this series.

Poppy also serves as a fairly typical female Romantasy Heroine. For fans of The Fourth Wing, think Violet Sorrengail. A petite, often underestimated female who has surprising strength and magic hidden under her surface. She has a sharp tongue (when not forced into submission by the Ascended) and a quick temper, especially so with Casteel when they are in the “hate” portion of their “love/hate” relationship.

My only complaint against their relationship is their ongoing bickering that becomes a bit repetitive through the series. I do feel that some of those scenes could have been removed to help things move forward a bit faster.

Speaking of things slowing down… enter the 5th novel in the series, A Soul of Ash and Blood. The battle is complete, and Poppy fell into her long sleep required after reaching the finality of her maturity process, her statis. The ENTIRE book is Casteel guarding Poppy while she sleeps, and reliving the past from his perspective. While there were some details and instances of his point of view that I enjoyed, this book seemed overall unneeded. It could have been looped into an Epilogue of Book 4 or perhaps even just a spin off after the completion of the series. I still would have read it, and I recommend to read it, but I don’t think it added to the chronological progression of the series.

However, the strength of the secondary characters and the plot build through the series outweigh the few complaints I voiced. My two favorite secondary characters: Victor and Kieren. Both are strong male characters with big personalities. They each left a significant impression within the series. Victor with his fatherlike protectiveness of Poppy and his bravery to train her to fight. Kieren with his dry personality and the deep-seeded relationship that begins to form between Cas, Poppy and himself.

I love a series that has a strong set of characters, and the reader can connect to more than just the singular protagonist. From Blood and Ash definitely delivered in that aspect.

The series was, overall, quite enjoyable. I do recommend it if you are a fan of the ever-popular Romantasy genre. If you are turned off by the romance piece, then this series probably isn’t for you, as Poppy and Cas take a very front-and-center seat with their relationship arch.

Buy the full series of From Blood and Ash HERE!