*ARC provided in exchange for review.*

To keep readers engaged and curious with characters that they have possibly seen to the “end” is no easy feat, yet the suspense and emotional turmoil keeps you intrigued. Because you know we all like to be emotionally wrecked after finishing a book- it’s the only way.

‘Intrigued’ can only take you so far, though. Fantasy is known for being long, but a slow moving plot should not be the reason… unless you’re George R.R Martin, then somehow it’s okay.

Things can get a bit confusing with the overwhelming amount of information. Also like Martin…

So pay attention! Take notes if you have to.

I will conclude this with my usual opinion: If you like one Armentrout book, you’ll likely like them all. You’ll never go without hot romance, humor, action, and a world you might want to live in.

ARC provided in exchange for review.

A lot of things we’ve been waiting on were revealed! I’m thankful, my anxiety was sort of through the roof at this point.

There’s a lot of complexity to this one, which I appreciate, it broke free from the cookie cutter stereotype paranormal romance has acquired. There are some hints at pushing the envelope further and I’m here for it.

I’ll say this in every review for Armentrout- you’ve got the action, romance, strong heroine, and wittiness.

Lots of sweet one-liners that’ll make your heart melt and you’ll probably embroider on a pillow.

https://amzn.to/3j4M9aI

What’s It All About?

Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort.

However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot.

Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.

My thoughts?

To clear up any confusion, ASITE is a prequel of the Blood and Ash series. Typically I’d say it’s fine to read a prequel first, but I do suggest starting with B&A. Yes, it’s wild for a prequel to come out before a series is finished- but trust the process? LOL

If you liked B&A, you’ll enjoy ASITE: heavy in dialogue (which I prefer), atmospheric with a dash of whimsy, bebe dragons, romance (a bit cringe), hilarity ensues,  fight scenes, woman in a gown & boots- this felt special to me, and cliffhanger hell.

I’m coming to terms with two things: 1) I am getting older, and naïve main characters annoy me; 2) Books are just 500+ pages now and filled with… filler.

Imagery was on point and beautiful. Character actions which are typically glossed over were well written, sometimes a bit too much, though.

3.5 overall, y’all. Like I said, if you’re a JLa fan, you’ll love it.

Oh! Fave quotes came in the first few chapters!

“This was my purpose. My destiny. My purpose. What I would do was bigger than me.”

“Make him fall in love, become his weakness, and end him.”

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ARC PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. AFFILIATE LINK PROVIDES COMMISSION, AMAZON DOES NOT TELL CANDACE READS BOOKS WHAT TO POST. BECAUSE EW.

ARC provided in exchange for review.

SPOILER ALERT: This is book 3 in the series, if you haven’t read book 1 & 2, do NOT read this post.

I’ve been reading a WHOLE lot of BDSM/super kinky romance lately, but truly missed fantasy, so imagine my delight when TCOGB gave me both!

Sadly, once again, I felt there was far too much filler which could’ve been cut out and still have kept the story intact. At some point I started skimming.

The pacing was very different than previous Jla books, saving most of the action for the end. It felt very RIchelle Mead (which I love), but again, ditch the filler and it would’ve been even better and the bulk content appreciated a bit more.

LOTS of history/world-building/info overload that’ll answer some questions and leave you with questions- very well done although a lot to process.

Honestly, I just love love love the steaminess and the heroine. That’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m staying.

THIS IS BOOK 3, so I’m not posting ‘What’s It All About?’ because spoilers suck.

My review is pretty spoiler free, though.

Bullet style

•I like this cover A LOT better than the old style.

•Still loving this new political JLA, bringing up all sorts of “controversial” topics and owning it.

•If you’ve read the Lux series, there are some inconsistencies, which is really irritating.

•Lots of lovey dovey. Like lots.

•Super slow going for a good majority…

•Pretty much everything you thought you knew is wrong. Oh so wrong. That’s all I can say. (But I likes it. Even if I’m still confused ?.)

Not a spoiler but kind of a spoiler? Get ready for cliffhanger hell, because that’s where you’ll be living until the next book. OF COURSE.

3/5

What’s It All About?

Reyna

I don’t do relationships. A federal agent whose life revolves around rescuing kidnapped children, I’ve got no interest in catching any man who’s not a criminal. So when my new assignment in Chicago requires me to get closer to a VIP Chicago Blaze fan, Blaze goalie Jonah West is the perfect cover. Like me, he’s too focused on his career to make time for love, dates or even hookups.

Jonah

I had my great love, and I lost her. No woman will ever compare to the blond ray of sunshine who left me half a man three years ago. And even though I help out my police officer brother by pretending to be head over heels for Reyna, it’s just a farce to put an evil man behind bars. Reyna is a fierce, raven-haired cop with steely eyes and a foul mouth—not my type in the slightest. But when lines get blurred, my fake feelings for Reyna become more real than anything I thought my beat-up heart could ever feel again.

My Thoughts?

Jonah could’ve been twice as long with how many important topics it dove into- equality for the LGBTQ community, abuse, child trafficking, grief, romance/love, gender roles, etc… The foundation was there, but the house wasn’t built.

By the end, though, I had throughly fell in love with the main characters.

Unfortunately, in the first 1/4 of the book, I was a bit put off by the “you aren’t like other women, are you?” narrative. The theme seemed to hope for breaking gender roles(love this!), but instead reinforced stereotypes.

There were also A LOT of plot holes to the hole undercover story line… again, I think this could’ve been solved if the book had been longer. (I also wish there was a bit more thrill, it started off that way and quickly died off.)

All in all, an enjoyable and super quick read. And the romance scenes were 100% ??? as always.

What’s It All About? 

In an emotionally charged, wickedly hot novel of love and loss, a passionate affair gives two daring storm chasers the strength to overcome shattered dreams and the courage to build a future together.

One year after her fiancé died in a heartbreaking accident, Drew McGovern decides to honor his memory by joining his old storm-chasing buddies on their latest excursion. What she’s not so sure about, however, is whether she’s ready to move on. Drew wasn’t expecting to feel the powerful pull of desire toward Colby’s best friend. But there’s no denying the intensity of their connection . . . or the heat he inspires in the parts of her that are still very much alive.

Aiden O’Neal doesn’t trust himself around Drew. He’s wanted this girl for a long time—long enough to remember the stab of jealousy he felt the first time he saw her in Colby’s arms. Now he’s trying his best to behave himself. But when the wind starts blowing and the adrenaline starts pumping, Aiden can’t resist the urge to claim Drew as his own. Because when it comes to desire, he’s hoping to make lightning strike twice.

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My Thoughts?

•A quick & hot AF read. •Cried multiple times. •Definitely laughed multiple times. •No fluff or filler. •A bit of thriller mixed in!Typically with contemporary romances, I don’t care too much about secondary characters, but I loved ALL of them. So much personality that I absolutely need a spin off for the other storm chasers.

**ARC was provided in exchange for an HONEST review.**

THIS IS THE SECOND BOOK IN THE SERIES. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ “FROM BLOOD AND ASH”.

First off, if you’ve stumbled across this series, and are thinking “yes, YA!” STOP. Definitely NA. Very very NA, which I prefer. That’s all I’m going to say.

Devout Armentrout readers will no doubt fall in love with AKOFAF, fantasy readers doubly so. Concocted of the usual humor, cheesy one-liners, thought provoking quotes (I love a book where a sentence makes you stop, and you just have to write it down), action- lots, witty characters, and down-right scandalizing drama.

I had some issues, though. Very out of place scenes, a good bit of unnecessary scenes, and a lot of filler scenes of internal dialogue that didn’t hold my attention. I attribute this mostly to the length of the book. I’ve read that once again, publishers may ask authors to merge books- this might also be the culprit of why the pacing felt… off. Or not typical of earlier books of hers.

3.5 stars.

Opinion time: We all know Armentrout has amazing writing capabilities, we’ve seen it time and time again. But I want to see characters that feel new, and not recycled. I’ve been reading her books for years, and I’m waiting for THE book, you know? The one that screams “I just took my experience/talent, and brought it to its full potential and wrote this piece of flucking gold that will change your life forever.” But in order to do that, publishers restrictions will need to be dumped, and the status quo forgotten.

**ARC was provided in exchange for an HONEST review.**

What’s It All About?

Beyah comes from a life of poverty and neglect; Samson from a family of wealth.

When the two find themselves spending the summer as neighbors, they soon realize money is one of the few things they don’t have in common.

Their bond is too intense to ignore, but with only ten weeks separating them from the start of their new lives on opposite ends of the country, Beyah and Samson decide to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling.

What they don’t realize is that a rip current is coming and it’s about to drag both their hearts out to sea.

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-Excerpt-

Samson’s knee brushes high up on my inner thigh and I’m glad he can’t see anything from my chin down, because my body is covered in chills right now. 

“I didn’t think there were many people in the world like me,” he says. 

“You think we’re alike?” I want to laugh at that comparison, but there’s not an ounce of humor in his expression.

“I believe we have a lot more in common than you think we do, Beyah.”

“You think you’re as alone in this world as I am?” 

He folds his lips together and nods his head, and it’s the most honest thing I’ve ever seen. I never would have thought someone so well off could have a life as shitty as mine, but I can see it in the way he’s looking at me. Everything about him suddenly seems familiar to me.

He’s right. We are alike, but only in the saddest ways.

My voice comes out in a whisper when I say, “When I first met you on that ferry, I could tell you were damaged.” 

There’s a flicker of something in his eyes as he tilts his head to the right. “You think I’m damaged?”

“Yes.”

He moves even closer in the water, but there wasn’t much space left between us to begin with. It’s deliberate, and so much of me is touching so much of him now. “You’re right,” he says quietly, slipping a hand around the back of my left knee. “There’s nothing left of me but a fucking pile of debris.” He pulls me to him, wrapping both my legs around him. That’s all he does, though. He doesn’t try to kiss me. He just connects us together as if that’s enough while our arms keep us both afloat.

I’m swiftly succumbing to him. I don’t know in what way. All of them, maybe. Because right now, I need him to do something else. Anything else. Taste me. Touch me. Drag me under.

We watch each other for a moment and it’s almost like looking into a broken mirror. He leans in slowly, but not toward my mouth. He presses his lips against my shoulder, so gentle it feels like a graze.

I close my eyes and inhale.

I’ve never felt anything so sensual. So perfect.