The War of Two Queens (Blood And Ash)

AJDP

Great Read!

"I read some of the reviews on here & was preparing myself to be disappointed. I wasn’t. I loved this book!! I can definitely see how those with more conservative, traditional views of relationships may be slightly turned off by the book’s developments but I don’t understand the hate the book is getting. I felt that JLA did a great job of developing Kieran’s role in Poppy & Cas’ lives while staying authentic to the characters and their existing relationships. It’s a longer read. It took me about 3 nights to finish (Got to work & get stuff done some time!!). This book answers A LOT lingering questions while setting the stage for a new antagonist. However, my favorite thing about the book was the relationships. You can feel the love Poppy has for her chosen family-Emil, Naill, Delano, Kieran, Tawny…. You even see a connection developing between Poppy & her father-in-law. I also appreciate that JLA has written a leading lady who doesn’t fulfill society’s definition of beautiful. She’s curvy with a soft stomach & scars. Yet, she’s so much more. Has so much that makes her beautiful- strength, kindness, devotion, intelligence, etc. SPOILER ALERT: I have ALWAYS felt a connection between Kieran & Poppy. The development of their friendship feels like a solidification of the Poppy-Kieran-Cas triangle. Throughout the series, Kieran was honest with Poppy, answering her questions & helping her sort through her feelings about Cas. He’s always been a support system for Poppy. When Cas is taken, Poppy & Kieran bond over their mutual love for Cas & grief over his absence. The bond between Kieran and Poppy has always been Cas. I didn’t feel at all that Poppy was cheating on Cas or forgot about Cas- even for a moment. It is mentioned several times that Poppy & Kieran orbit Cas- they even turn towards Cas in their sleep. Given the frequent mentions of the Joining throughout the previous books, I wasn’t surprised at all when the Joining occurred. JLA foreshadowed the Joining- it was not fan service. I also appreciated that JLA gave a catalyst for the Joining v. having it just occur. I felt the Joining was also tastefully done. It held true to the smut we have come to expect from JLA without being too over the top or eyebrow raising. We’ve been told from the beginning that the Joining was very primal & can get intense. JLA made the feel more surreal so you weren’t 100% sure who was doing what, when. The reader felt as out of body as Poppy felt during the whole experience. However, Poppy was still drawn to Cas. The focus and love was still skewed towards that relationship. I am excited to see what happens next! I want to witness Kieran find love. For Poppy to meet her father. To see the kingdoms united. To see Poppy & Cas lead. ["

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March 20, 2022 Verified Purchase

Laci Rambo

Whirlwind of emotions

"I am running on so many emotions right now. I also would like to state that I took a break from the B&A universe for over a year. With that being said, when I jumped back in, some people were getting on my nerves. Kieran & Poppy mainly. There’s many reasons, but I won’t share them due to spoilers I guess. I also LOATHE Isbeth and all I will say is I’m happy with the turnout. If you know, you know. This book was a lot. I’m not a fan of the part in a series where there’s nothing but war, but it was essential to the storyline and I can appreciate the storytelling and world building and the many new relationships we saw blossom. I will continue on in both the Flesh & Fire and Blood & Ash series. I’m nervous to read what happens next. 🫣 I’m rating it 4.5 in my review, but rounding up for Amazon. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 ["

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July 27, 2025 Verified Purchase

Tommie

Mesmerizing

"The War of Two Queens - Jennifer L. Armentrout My Review: My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Spice: 🌶🌶🌶 Pages: 628 Genre: Fantasy / Paranormal Tropes: Forced Proximity, enemies to lovers, slow burn, strong heroine, royal romance This book was action and angst packed. So many new characters came into play. Nyktos, Seraphena Mierel, Kolis, Millicent, Malik, Malic, Callum. I was going to read the last published book next (A Soul Of Ash And Blood) but have decided to wait and read it right before Visions Of Flesh And Blood is published in February 2024 which is supposed to be the final book in this series. Poppy is quickly evolving into her ascension but hasn’t totally completed it. What she actually is changes with each new power. With Casteel held prisoner by Isbeth, Poppy starts building and assembling her armies. Strategizes her plans for takeover and war if necessary to kill Isbeth and rescue Casteel She barely sleeps or eats properly while he is held captive. Kieran rarely leaves her side and does his best to get her to sleep and nourish her body to keep her strength. She lets Casteel’s mother and father know exactly what she thinks of them and partially blames them for Casteel being imprisoned. Casteel is used for his blood. Is kept close to blood lust at all times. He isn’t fed or nourished properly and has lost weight and strength. Has to fight off cravens who prey upon his cell. His situation has become dire Poppy makes her move and the war begins. From this moment on new details are constantly coming to light that allows what has been secretive to fall into place and be understood. This series is a must read. It has held me mesmerized! #bookstagram #bookishthings #booklover #bibliophile #booknerd #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #readersofig #bookedforthenight #readingnow #readeralert #readerholic #bookobsessed #bookphotos #bookcollection #bookshelfie #goodreads #bookstagrammer #bookishlove #fantasy #booknerdalert #booklover #frombloodandash #akingdomoffleshandfire #acrownofgildedbones #thewaroftwoqueens #jenniferlarmentrout ["

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July 31, 2023 Verified Purchase

Tasia

AMAZING!!! ABSOULTELY LOVED IT!!

"Okay first off I'm very confused at the amount of hate this book was getting when there was nothing that was a shocker! JLA has been dropping hints for a lot of things that happened in this story throughout the other books! This review will contain SPOILERS so please stop reading now if you want to avoid! As a huge fan of this series, I loved this book! I loved how a lot of questions that were brought up in the earlier books were answered! I also loveddd the dynamic between Kieran and Poppy and I'm very confused about people bringing up emotional cheating? That was definitely not the case. What I read was a natural progression to their friendship that has blossomed into them having love for each other, but not necessarily being in love. Their relationship is different than Cas and Poppy who are STILL heartmates. Nothing they did in this book was odd, it literally all made sense. Not to mention, Cas adores Kieran and would approve of everything that was happening, especially how Kieran was emotionally SUPPORTIVE of Poppy the entire time. So we finally get the joining this book and I was super excited because it's been hinted about since book 1! Again, super confused about how people didn't like the scene. If anything I wanted a little more detail, but that's for my own enjoyment. I thought JLA handled it very well and actually delicately! There were ton of conversations about consent first before anything actually happened! For those that thought she didn't handle it well, I'm curious to know how you wanted it written? Either way I was very excited. Love the emotional intimacy between the three of them and I feel like it takes nothing away from Poppy/Cas. My only critique was that the world building keeps getting more intricate and it's hard to keep up at times! So will definitely be doing a reread. And I thought some of the scenes dragged a little, I definitely wanted Cas to be saved sooner. Besides that, I loved this book and highly recommend it!! Do not be discouraged by the negativity!!! ["

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March 22, 2022 Verified Purchase