I devoured this book. I love the characters, the world, the
humour and the sexiness of this book. Jen has a brilliant way of crafting stories
and I am absolutely obsessed. I’m already counting down the days until the next
book.
Poppy continued to be a bad-ass inspiration. I loved the internal
conflict she had throughout this book and her character development. She’s
spent so many years being socialised to be the quiet, demure maiden and it was
great to see her break out of that and grow her confidence. Her entire
world-view has changed and I loved seeing her internal struggle to overcome her
past and seize control of her own life.
Then we have Cas. I had mixed feelings of Cas by the end of
From Blood and Ash but I am officially in love and 100% on board this ship. This
book gave me the vulnerability I wanted from Cas, whilst also keeping the
sexiness and the humour. I loved hearing about his past and seeing him confide
in Poppy more and more.
Their relationship was brilliant to see develop, though at times, it felt like a long time coming. I liked that we learnt about Cas’ history with Shea. I also love that they’re heartmates! It made the marriage so much sweeter and I can’t wait for them to rule together forever (assuming we hopefully solve the Poppy-isn’t-immortal issue, that is). I’m also a little nervous because, in terms of the marriage imprint palm tattoo they have, it was mentioned that it fades when one of them dies and Poppy mentioned how sad a way that would be to find out your partner had died… sounds like horrifying foreshadowing to me…
The side characters were also great with Kieran obviously being
my fave. I loved seeing his friendship with Poppy progress! I also loved Vonetta,
Becket (he’s young, I forgive him for the ending), Delano, Naill… there’s so
many! Unfortunately, there was an absence of female characters which I was sad
about. Netta showed up half-way through and we saw glimpses of the Duchess and
others but, other than that, this world is very male dominated which I hope
changes soon. I don’t even know if this book passes the Bechdel test… I’ll have
to re-read and see.
Alistir was maybe the only side character that I fiercely didn’t
like. I don’t trust him! He was shifty from the beginning. The way he was
similar to Vikter which made Poppy trust him way too easily. The way he tried
to push Cas into marrying someone from his bloodline. The way he subtly tried
to force a wedge between Cas and Poppy under the guise of being helpful- like
when he offered to help Poppy escape or told her about Cas being promised to
someone else. It’s sketchy! And we all know he distracted Cas at the end to get
Poppy alone and unprotected.
I thought the ending was interesting and I can’t wait for
Poppy to be queen. I don’t know exactly what Poppy is- an elemental Atlantian?
A deity? She’s half mortal so I can’t even begin to know what bloodlines need to
come together to create whatever she is. Throughout the book, I thought Poppy
had some tie to the wolven bloodline because they could hear her call and she
glowed like moonlight which would link to the traditional myth of werewolves.
I enjoyed this book, but I will admit that some
conversations got stale. Some jokes we used so many times it was ridiculous
e.g. Cas saying he’s turned on by her violence and Poppy saying he’s disturbed.
Also, when Kieran would say something sarcastic after Poppy saying she has a question.
It was funny the first couple of times, but it could get a bit repetitive in my
opinion. And it was the same with scenes- the settings could get stale. We’d
have a conversation scene between Poppy and Kieran in the library, they’d go for
dinner and then go back to the library for another conversation. Then Poppy
would have a conversation with Cas in their bedroom, then go back to the
library… I wanted a bit more travelling or action or forward progression to keep
the momentum of the book going and keep things interesting.
Honestly, this book felt like exposition. If the first book
was a lot to take in, this had a mountain load! All the different Gods and
deities, Atlantian bloodlines, Joinings, Cullings, all the different Kings and
Queens, past relationships, and backstories… it was a lot to take in. But, having
said that, I was a little overwhelmed after reading the first book for the
first time but, during my re-read, things made a lot more sense. I think it
will take another read or two for me to fully absorb the information chucked at
us in this book.
Nevertheless, I am obsessed with this story and the characters and I can’t wait to re-read and get my hands on the next book. Jen really spoils us with all the phenomenal books she writes.
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