In today’s book market, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a book that’s not an exact copycat of other titles in the YA landscape. Still, if there’s one thing that can be said of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series, it’s that the story’s lack of any apparent ambition belies the hidden human warmth found within.
That must come off as the most heavy-handed and patronizing way of describing a “romantasy” book, but considering just how inundated the market is with all these innumerable and undistinguishable books featuring a “powerfully independent heroine who falls in love with a dangerous male protagonist and undergoes a journey that ends up with her finding an inner strength she didn’t even know was there” is enough to make you roll your eyes at the prospects of yet another YA fantasy series with the same premise.
Unfortunately, Blood and Ash by Armentrout is not inventive enough to break away from this tired formula, but giving up on the books on their basic premise would be to hugely undersell or ignore their strengths, of which perhaps the most noteworthy are complex, engaging characters and an action-packed plot that doesn’t easily lose its momentum.
Reading Blood and Ash isn’t so much about riding a wave that builds up over time to a powerful climax as it is about dealing with a turbulent and unsure narrative that dips in quality and then surges to gripping action again and again, which is why we’ve decided to rank the books from worst to best according to a mixture of our own critical preferences, and what the series’ most ardent fans have to say about it on social media.
9. A Soul of Ash and Blood (2023) (Book #5)
The Blood and Ash series has a dedicated fanbase on the internet, but if there’s one we can say with absolute certainty about the story, it’s that you can find most of the highlights in the first two or three entries. A Soul of Ash and Blood basically revisits key moments in the narrative from Casteel’s perspective, and we’re not entirely sold on whether that was strictly necessary.
8. Born of Blood and Ash (2024) (Spinoff #4)
Armentrout’s pacing issues reach a staggering crescendo with Born of Blood and Ash, and prove that maybe, just maybe, these books could be trimmed down to half of their original size and still manage to hit all the right notes for their fans. Sure, the Flesh and Fire offshoot really expanded on the worldbuilding of the main series, but at some point, you just have to begin to wonder if these books are simply repeating themselves.
7. A Fire in the Flesh (2023) (Spinoff #3)
Sera and Nyktos face overwhelming odds and race to save the world from doom, but they can’t save the Flesh and Fire subseries from succumbing to the same terrible fate as the main series. While we can still appreciate Armentrout’s unique character work in these novels, it’s clear that some of these installments are just an excuse to stretch the narrative even further.
6. The War of Two Queens (2022) (Book #4)
The war against the Ascended is nigh at hand, but Poppy and Casteel may not be ready to face all the ramifications it has for the known world. The War of the Two Queens is one of the lowest-rated entries in the series, and we can see why. The relationship between the main characters hits a wall and stagnates, and the payoff for the war that has been brewing for a while isn’t as satisfying as fans were hoping.
5. The Crown of Gilded Bones (2021) (Book #3)
Poppy has yet to realize the full extent of her powers, and things with Casteel are still as shaky as they were before, if now a little bit more mature. Poppy faces opposition from everywhere, and she has to prepare for an impending war that will shake the very foundation of Atlantia. While The Crown of Gilded Bones packs an emotional punch, the threequel to From Blood and Ash is also testifies that Armentrout wasn’t really sure of what she was going to do with this story beyond the bounds of its original plot arc.
4. A Light in the Flame (2022) (Spinoff #2)
If you could bring yourself to ignore the obvious parallels between A Light in the Flame and A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, then this sequel to 2021’s Shadow in the Ember is a brilliant continuation of Sera’s journey. Not only does the character get to further develop her relationship with the Primal of Death, but she also learns what it means to fight for the fate of the world and balance the two concepts of love and duty in her personal life.
3. A Shadow in the Ember (2021) (Spinoff #1)
Taking place many years before the events of the novels, A Shadow in the Ember officially kickstarts the Flesh and Fire spinoff series and revolves around Sera, who is destined to become the consort of the Primal of Death. Sera must find her way in a world where gods are very much real and involved in the order of things, with an epic journey filled with as much romance and action-packed confrontations as her main series counterpart Poppy’s.
2. A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (2020) (Book #2)
Following a twist that no one saw coming, or perhaps everyone did, Poppy now has to navigate her way through trust issues and a betrayal that has shaken her up to the very core. Poppy and Hawke go on an unlikely adventure, with the former learning more about the true nature of her powers as the Maiden and an Ascended. Many fans would say that A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire is not necessarily an improvement over the first book, as happens to be the case with many other romantasy book series out there, but there are still many great moments to celebrate between Poppy and her new consort.
1. From Blood and Ash (2020) (Book #1)
The first book in the Blood and Ash series has a straightforward romantasy plot; Our heroine, Poppy, lives a secluded life as the chosen one by the gods. The Maiden must remain untouched and guarded at all times until the time of her Ascension, but things go awry when Poppy breaks free from her shackles thanks to her new guard, Hawke Flynn. The relationship slowly grows into a passionate one, but From Blood and Ash is also about setting up an ambitious new fantasy world full of untold dangers. Even four years and almost a dozen books later, the first novel by Jennifer L. Armentrout remains her best work.