Book Review: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash #2)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Description: A Betrayal…

Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice…

Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret…

But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.

RATING

I’ve recently read From Blood and Ash and I absolutely loved it! I don’t know why but I thought the sequel was yet to come. However, as soon as I realized it was already out I picked it up. Unfortunately, this book was cursed by the Sequel curse and as many sequels are, this just wasn’t as good as the first one.

If you don’t know, tis series is about a girl who throughout her whole life, was a Maiden, almost like a human sacrifice for the gods, and was sheltered from touch and looks. However, when she meets her very handsome new guard Hawke, she just wants to break the rules. This whole series is centered around a very complex but interesting fantasy system where there are not only sleeping gods, but also vampire and werewolf-like creatures and soul eaters.

The sequel continues right onto where the first book ended and it is quite different from the first one in some ways. Although Poppy hates Casteel she cannot deny that she has feelings for him. Feelings she’s never experienced before in her life. Their romance is very steamy (almost too steamy for my liking, because if there was a few more sex scenes I wouldn’t be able to handle it) but is unique in some ways and I couldn’t help but feel cute feelings while reading it. It’s not the best romance ever and it most definitely isn’t one I’ve never read of before but it’s good enough for me.

Other than romance of course, my favorite part of the book was the magic. I loved learning more about Poppy’s abilities and reading about those incredible and very interesting legends and stories.

That being said, this just wasn’t as good as the first book. Why, you might ask yourself? Simply because I felt it was just a bridge from the first to the third book. First book is almost always the most interesting and the third (if it’s the final) book is interesting because of the anticipation of the plot wrapping up and ending. That is why I very rarely find sequels interesting. They are necessary but a bit boring. This is of course only my theory, because there are sequels that are better than the rest of the series, however that just doesn’t apply to this particular series.

I feel like besides the romance and a few plot twists not much else happened in this book. I might be wrong but it could’ve been a bit shorter than 600 pages and it still could’ve been good.

I still liked it, even though I was a bit disappointed but still, this is quite a good book. And I’m still going to read the next book because the ending was very interesting and it kind of made everything that much better. I can’t wait to see how everything turns out!

Happy reading!