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A review by yazthebookish
A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout
5.0
FIVE BRILLIANT STARS ⭐️
Make him fall in love,
become his weakness,
and end him.
A Shadow in the Ember is the first installment in the Blood and Ash prequel series: Flesh and Fire. The series takes us back thousands of years and tells the story of Nyktos, the Primal of Death and his consort—Sera.
The book had a more potent fabric that was drenched in fantastical magic and mythological imagery than its predecessor.
It is a reminiscent of the beloved Greek tale of Hades and Persephone yet Nyktos and Sera's tale felt authentic as Blood and Ash is enriched with its own vivid mythology.
- Let's start with the summary of the story shall we?
Seraphena Mierel—the maiden chosen by the the Fates whose destiny was written long before she was born. As part of the deal struck by her ancestor in a desperate attempt to save his people, the first daughter in the Mierel line shall the offered as the bride and future consort of the Primal of Death. All her life, she had been groomed to be Death's bride, a tragedy to her but an anticipated moment for her family and kingdom. The Rot is slowly devouring Lasania—leaving in its wake death and grief and only Sarah's true destiny will save her kingdom from its doom: make the primal of death fall in love, become his weakness, and then... end him.
“You’re not unworthy. You’re not a curse or anything like that. You carry the ember of life in you. You carry hope within you. You carry the possibility of a future.”
Sera's arc was emotional and powerful.
She was fierce and bold yet in many moments emotionally vulnerable which made me easily connect with her. You'd worry she may end up being a carbon copy of Poppy, however, I'm happy to say that while there are striking similarity between them but they are different in a way.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Sera's characterization is that she is morally ambiguous which makes her to me more compelling than Poppy. Not to say that my love for Poppy lessened she will always be my girl—but I connected to Sera on a different level than her.
He was like the brightest star and the deepest night sky given mortal form. And he was utterly beautiful in this form, wholly terrifying.
Welcome the latest addition to my harem of hot fictional men: Nyktos, or better known in the fandom as Daddy Nyktos.
He is a decadent treat but I will not unfurl each of his layers because trust me when I say there are many layers to Nyktos that I'd rather the readers experience for the first time. But while I was reading I will say I was immediately entranced by his powerful aura, his wicked charm, and a another different side of him that made my heart burst with so much adoration for him.
I wanted him to look upon me like he wanted to devour me. And I thought I might actually want to be devoured.
The romance was epic and written beautifully—Sera and Nyktos's slow-burn chemistry left my emotions so raw. They spiced up the moments with their banter and delicious sexual tension. There were the soft and tender moments gave me a similar experience to someone wrapping me in a soft warm blanket.
And of course, we can't do without some angst. It's like sprinkling salt over an open wound.
The plot was solid, gripping, and crackling with tension and drama.
It was addictive to the point I refused to leave my reading spot because I devoured every page.
The secrets and the plot-twists kept me reeling. The betrayals and the truths made my jaw drop. Last but not least, the nods to the Blood and Ash books and the foreshadowing of what may come heightened my anticipation for The War of Two Queens and it kills me that I will have to wait until March 2022.
The cast of supporting characters were a delight and two in particular melted my heart.
The world-building was exhilarating and vibrantly rich. Despite the story taking place in a world that is familiar to us yet it wasn't exactly familiar. In a good way.
We are transported at some point in the story to Nyktos's home and I was anticipating the moment we get to meet the gods, the drakens, and learn more of the powers and the politics of the Gods and their world.
A Shadow in the Ember gave us many answers and left us with even more questions. Overall, the prequel series will prove itself to be an equal competitor to the Blood and Ash books though bear in mind the stories compliment each other and will merge at some point—I am grateful that JLA came to the decision of writing this series because it made the entire story even more outstanding.
This journey in the Blood and Ash world has been nothing short of amazing thus far even though I'm always an emotional wreck after each book and I cannot wait for the upcoming books.
Make him fall in love,
become his weakness,
and end him.
A Shadow in the Ember is the first installment in the Blood and Ash prequel series: Flesh and Fire. The series takes us back thousands of years and tells the story of Nyktos, the Primal of Death and his consort—Sera.
The book had a more potent fabric that was drenched in fantastical magic and mythological imagery than its predecessor.
It is a reminiscent of the beloved Greek tale of Hades and Persephone yet Nyktos and Sera's tale felt authentic as Blood and Ash is enriched with its own vivid mythology.
- Let's start with the summary of the story shall we?
Seraphena Mierel—the maiden chosen by the the Fates whose destiny was written long before she was born. As part of the deal struck by her ancestor in a desperate attempt to save his people, the first daughter in the Mierel line shall the offered as the bride and future consort of the Primal of Death. All her life, she had been groomed to be Death's bride, a tragedy to her but an anticipated moment for her family and kingdom. The Rot is slowly devouring Lasania—leaving in its wake death and grief and only Sarah's true destiny will save her kingdom from its doom: make the primal of death fall in love, become his weakness, and then... end him.
“You’re not unworthy. You’re not a curse or anything like that. You carry the ember of life in you. You carry hope within you. You carry the possibility of a future.”
Sera's arc was emotional and powerful.
She was fierce and bold yet in many moments emotionally vulnerable which made me easily connect with her. You'd worry she may end up being a carbon copy of Poppy, however, I'm happy to say that while there are striking similarity between them but they are different in a way.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Sera's characterization is that she is morally ambiguous which makes her to me more compelling than Poppy. Not to say that my love for Poppy lessened she will always be my girl—but I connected to Sera on a different level than her.
He was like the brightest star and the deepest night sky given mortal form. And he was utterly beautiful in this form, wholly terrifying.
Welcome the latest addition to my harem of hot fictional men: Nyktos, or better known in the fandom as Daddy Nyktos.
He is a decadent treat but I will not unfurl each of his layers because trust me when I say there are many layers to Nyktos that I'd rather the readers experience for the first time. But while I was reading I will say I was immediately entranced by his powerful aura, his wicked charm, and a another different side of him that made my heart burst with so much adoration for him.
I wanted him to look upon me like he wanted to devour me. And I thought I might actually want to be devoured.
The romance was epic and written beautifully—Sera and Nyktos's slow-burn chemistry left my emotions so raw. They spiced up the moments with their banter and delicious sexual tension. There were the soft and tender moments gave me a similar experience to someone wrapping me in a soft warm blanket.
And of course, we can't do without some angst. It's like sprinkling salt over an open wound.
The plot was solid, gripping, and crackling with tension and drama.
It was addictive to the point I refused to leave my reading spot because I devoured every page.
The secrets and the plot-twists kept me reeling. The betrayals and the truths made my jaw drop. Last but not least, the nods to the Blood and Ash books and the foreshadowing of what may come heightened my anticipation for The War of Two Queens and it kills me that I will have to wait until March 2022.
The cast of supporting characters were a delight and two in particular melted my heart.
The world-building was exhilarating and vibrantly rich. Despite the story taking place in a world that is familiar to us yet it wasn't exactly familiar. In a good way.
We are transported at some point in the story to Nyktos's home and I was anticipating the moment we get to meet the gods, the drakens, and learn more of the powers and the politics of the Gods and their world.
A Shadow in the Ember gave us many answers and left us with even more questions. Overall, the prequel series will prove itself to be an equal competitor to the Blood and Ash books though bear in mind the stories compliment each other and will merge at some point—I am grateful that JLA came to the decision of writing this series because it made the entire story even more outstanding.
This journey in the Blood and Ash world has been nothing short of amazing thus far even though I'm always an emotional wreck after each book and I cannot wait for the upcoming books.