From Blood and Ash is a tricky book to rate. It started off promising, was unsatisfying most of the way through, but ended strong. I had high hopes for this one because of the intriguing premise and the fact that it was a Goodreads Choice winner. Unfortunately, it didn’t manage to live up to my expectations.
Poppy is a ‘Maiden’ from the Kingdom of Solis, a gift from the gods. She is revered by her people as part of their offbeat religion, but her entire existence is a virtual non-existence. She must wear a veil over her face at all times, she is not allowed to talk to anyone except the royals and her coterie of guards and she spends 90% of her time as a shut-in, ensconced in her living quarters. She is a figurehead, but without any of the perks. Poppy does have a kooky talent called ‘the Touch,’ but to be honest it’s not very exciting and she’s forbidden to talk about it.
From Blood and Ash is littered with YA fantasy-speak like ‘Ascended,’ ‘Craven,’ ‘Rite,’ ‘Atlantian,’ etc. but the terms are explained hurriedly and dumped unceremoniously onto the reader. I know I am meant to oooh and ahhh over these purposefully obscure nuggets, but try as I might, I couldn’t seem to summon the enthusiasm. They didn’t seem to take on any real significance until the end of the book anyways.
There are violent action scenes interspersed throughout, punctuating Poppy’s relatively mundane existence and a lot of lustful pining to spice things up. But it’s difficult to root for a couple that is wholly preoccupied with getting into each other’s pants and lacks a genuine love connection. Aside from her scars, Poppy is a special snowflake with wunderkind-level assassin skills. I would have liked to see more emphasis on her lady-in-waiting Tawny who seemed more compassionate, authentic and complex overall.
The saving grace of the book is the last 20% where things really start to heat up, and just like in Scooby Doo, there is a big baddie reveal. If all of From Blood and Ash was as compelling as the end portion, it could have been a truly great book. Enough so that I nearly got hooked into reading the sequel.
I love this genre, but I believe this book would probably be more successful amongst its target audience -teens- because it comes off as a little juvenile and could have benefited from more setting and character development. I doubt these personal qualms would present as much of a roadblock for a less experienced (or picky) reader.
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
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