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608 pages, Unknown Binding
First published March 29, 2020
"You really should move,鈥� I told him.
鈥淚鈥檓 quite comfortable where I am,鈥� he added.
鈥淲ell, I鈥檓 not.鈥�
鈥淭his is inappropriate.鈥�
鈥淭hen why?鈥�
鈥淲hy? Because I wanted to.鈥�
I blinked once and then twice. 鈥淎nd what if I didn鈥檛 want to?鈥�
"After you, Princess.鈥�
I turned, eyes narrowing as he stepped aside. 鈥淵ou need to stop calling me that.鈥�
鈥淏ut I like it.鈥�
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lie."
鈥漎ou鈥檙e not being very nice, but at least you鈥檙e talking. That鈥檚 progress.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 not being mean,鈥� I shot back. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 like to be called [Princess].鈥�
鈥淯h huh.鈥�
He was staring down at me with eyes so bright, they looked like the gods had polished the amber themselves and placed them there.
The hue of his eyes seemed to deepen to a striking amber color.
He chuckled in response, eyes reminding me of pools of warm honey.
When I still did nothing, his eyes shifted to a fierce, burning amber.
Those amber eyes turned luminous, filling with a golden fire.
His eyes...the honey hue churned, swirling with brighter, golden flecks.
I threw the dagger directly at his annoying handsome face.
The sunlight almost seemed drawn to him, caressing his cheekbones and brow like a lover. His profile was flawless, the line of his jaw as chiseled as the statues that adorned the garden.
Inky blood dotted his broad, high cheekbones and the straight line of his jaw. His wide, expressive lips were parted as if he were only able to take the thinnest breath.
Why did he have to have such a...charming grin?
His face was so strikingly pieced together. From the wide set of his lips, the upward slant of his eyebrows, to the shadowy hollows under his high, broad cheekbones, he could鈥檝e been the muse for the paintings that hung in the city鈥檚 Atheneum.
Hawke looked like I imagined one of the gods waiting in the Temple.
I got a little lost in that dimple in Hawke鈥檚 right cheek.
鈥漀one of them intrigue me. You do.鈥�
鈥漎ou are utterly nothing like I expected.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e so damn unexpected.鈥�
I loved him. I was in love with him.
Spitting out a curse that Vikter would鈥檝e turned red at, and Rylan would鈥檝e...he would鈥檝e smiled at if he were still here, I picked up speed and then dipped.
Tonight was about living, about...not being up all night, unable to sleep, alone and feeling like...like I had no control, no...no idea of who I was other than what I was.
I was so incredibly...stupid.
鈥滻...didn鈥檛. I...failed you...as a man.鈥�
This guard had sacrificed himself. This unnamed, unknown man had chosen death over allowing the Craven to reach the other side of the Rise.
It was so freaking irritating how correct he was.
Girls meets brooding, mysterious boy with special eyes. Boy is, in fact, a speshul prince of a speshul kingdom. Boy is technically her enemy. Boy is actually immortal and super old. Girl is still a teenager but it鈥檚 okay. Boy and girl get married anyway. The end.
鈥漌hat...what if he was actually here?鈥� Loren gave a delicate shudder. 鈥淚n the city now? What if that was how he gained access to Castle Teerman?鈥� Her eyes lit up. 鈥淏efriended someone here or perhaps even poor Malessa.鈥�
鈥漎ou sound so many years older than what you appear.鈥�
鈥滻t was a long time ago, though.鈥�
鈥淎 long time ago? When you were what? A child?鈥� I asked, knowing that he couldn鈥檛 be more than a handful of years older than I was, despite the way he made it sound as if it were an eternity ago.
鈥漎ou haven鈥檛 met enough people, then.鈥�
鈥淚 have met too many.鈥�
It was so weird how he sometimes talked as if he鈥檇 lived dozens of years longer than I was sure he had.
He kissed me, and my skin heated at his flavor, the taste of me and those strangely sharp teeth of his.
鈥漎eah, well, I can鈥檛 take it out on the Prince, now can I?鈥� Jericho said, and I frowned, having thought it had been Hawke who鈥檇 taken his hand.
It took less than twenty-four hours for me to, yet again, do something utterly reckless.
鈭橝 hysterical giggle climbed its way up my throat. He honestly had no idea who he stood next to. By the grace of the gods, I was able to stop that laugh.
鈭橧 smiled. It was just a hint of a grin, one that probably wasn鈥檛 noticeable to anyone but the Duke, but he saw it. I knew he did. I was sure I鈥檇 pay for it later, but at that moment, I didn鈥檛 care.
鈭橲wallowing a snort, I lowered the bow, shifting it to one hand.
鈭橧 was confident that my eyes were about to pop out of my face in response to the obvious insult. I bit down on my lip to stop myself from grinning.
鈭橧 wanted to laugh. It was building in my throat, threatening to burst free, but I couldn鈥檛 let it.
鈭欌€淗e鈥檚 dead,鈥� I said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 really dead.鈥� A very inappropriate giggle welled up, and I clamped my mouth shut as I turned back to where the Duke was impaled.
鈭橳he strangest urge to giggle hit me, but there wasn鈥檛 anything funny about what we were about to do.
鈭橝 shocked laugh burst from me, loud enough that I saw the pacing guard stop. 鈥淥h, gods, that was loud.鈥�
鈥淏ecause you鈥檝e been fidgeting like you have spiders in your gown since the beginning of this,鈥� he answered. Spiders in my gown? If I had spiders in my gown, I wouldn鈥檛 be fidgeting. I鈥檇 be screaming and stripping down to nothing. I wouldn鈥檛 care at all who witnessed it.
Could I change the order of things once I returned to the capital, before I Ascended? Did I have that kind of power? Surely I had more than the Ladies and Lords in Wait, as I was the Maiden.
I was privileged no matter what I suffered, but at least if I were out there, on the Rise, I could be doing something productive.
Gods, I was so鈥� sheltered. Because in my limited experience, it had become鈥o much more to me. The wake-up call that it was only a few kisses was utterly brutal.
I鈥檇 never worn paint on my lips or eyes before. Obviously, it wasn鈥檛 allowed for me. Why? My skin was supposed to be as pure as my heart or something. I had no idea. Once, the Duchess had explained it to me, but I might鈥檝e zoned out halfway through that conversation.
鈥淩emember who you are, Penellaphe. You are not to mingle or socialize.鈥� 鈥淚 know,鈥� I assured her.
Even though he said at first that I shouldn鈥檛 be out there, he listened to my reasons, and the only thing he said was that I needed to wear better shoes.
"And I鈥檒l say it again. I don鈥檛 care what you are.鈥� Hawke鈥檚 hand slid off my back. A moment later, I felt his palm flatten against my cheek with unerring accuracy. 鈥淚 care about who you are.鈥�
Hawke had been my first kiss, but if he kissed me now, this鈥his would be our real first kiss. He knew who I was now. He鈥檇 seen me unveiled. He knew. And I wanted this鈥攚anted him.
You鈥檙e going to hate that you begged me to kiss you, to do more. But even without my blood in you, I know you鈥檝e never stopped wanting me. But when I鈥檓 deep inside you again, and I will be, you won鈥檛 be able to blame the influence of blood or anything else.鈥�
"I prefer the name Casteel or Cas,鈥� he replied then, his tone hard and distant. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want to call me that, you can call me Prince Casteel Da鈥橬eer, the second son of King Valyn Da鈥橬eer, brother of Prince Malik Da鈥橬eer.鈥� I shuddered. 鈥淏ut do not call me the Dark One. That is not my name.鈥�
鈥淟ife,鈥� he answered.
鈥淚 get it.鈥�
鈥淒o you? Really?鈥� I didn鈥檛 think even Tawny got it.
鈥淚 do. Everyone around you can do basically whatever they want, but you鈥檙e shackled by archaic rules."
鈥淏ut we won鈥檛 do that tonight. We can鈥檛. Because if I get any part of me in you, every part of me would be in you, and I want to hear every sound you make when that happens.鈥�
Coming out with a fresh from the oven NA high fantasy series, JLA surprises us with this alluring and action packed tale of fallen kingdoms on the rise, cursed bloodthirsty creatures, reluctant maidens, and steamy forbidden love affairs.
鈥淔ear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.鈥�
At the end of 2020, I kept seeing this book all over book social media and it was being loved by such a vast range of bookish friends. And then it was the goodreads choice awards 2020 best romance winner! Up until this point, I had never really read anything by Jennifer L. Armentrout, but my curiosity was so very peaked! Then once I entered 2021, I still felt like I could not escape the hype of this series! Finally, I read a few reviews by friends and found out that this was a fantasy series,, with a paranormal romance, and that information, in addition to it feeling like higher powers were at work to get me to read this, made me finally give it a try. And one I read that first chapter I knew I couldn鈥檛 put this down."From this moment until the last moment, I am yours."
I do think grief and abuse are a constant theme in this story, and we get to see how those two words can present themselves in so many different ways. Different fear tactics are constantly in play, both in this kingdom and in Poppy鈥檚 life, to keep people in check and to keep them abiding to a corrupt system. Serving evil can easily be masked by saying it is serving the gods. Ultimately, this is a swoon-worthy and angst-inducing paranormal romance story, but there are a few layers here that I hope people are looking and listening very closely to while reading!"You're a perfectly normal girl. What is expected of you is what's bad"
This book has really good discussions about what it means to be a young person discovering your wants and needs, while also slowly growing into the person you want to be and how hard that can be to separate from expectations already placed on you. This book is very sex positive, and consent is always at the forefront. I am also just going to type this with my full chest and then pretend I didn鈥檛 but, for me and my body and my personal experiences, I thought that the building of orgasms (and just some body reactions in general) in this book were very realistic and very well done. But anyways, I loved seeing Poppy reclaim so many things, and this romance is the first one in what felt like years that I am trying completely head of heels in love with and rooting for. But, please allow me this one small mini drag for those of you who have read this book:"You deserve so much more than what awaits you"
"Tonight was about living, about...not being up all night, unable to sleep, alone and feeling like...like I had no control, no...no idea of who I was other than what I was."
鈥淒eath is like an old friend who pays a visit, sometimes when it鈥檚 least expected and other times when you鈥檙e waiting for her. It鈥檚 neither the first nor the last time she鈥檒l pay a visit, but that doesn鈥檛 make any death less harsh or unforgiving.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e such a bad influence,鈥�
鈥淥nly the bad can be influenced, Princess.鈥�
Loneliness often brought with it a heavy, coarse blanket of shame, and a cloak constructed of embarrassment.
鈥淭he truth is not designed to ease fears,鈥� Vikter responded.
鈥淚s that why we tell lies, then?鈥�
From Blood and Ash
We Shall Rise.
鈥淒eath is like an old friend who pays a visit, sometimes when it鈥檚 least expected and other times when you鈥檙e waiting for her. It鈥檚 neither the first nor the last time she鈥檒l pay a visit, but that doesn鈥檛 make any death less harsh or unforgiving.鈥�
Death always found a way in.
鈥淚 hate you.鈥�
鈥淣o, you don鈥檛.鈥�
鈥淎nd I鈥檓 about to stab you,鈥� I warned. 鈥淚n a very violent manner.鈥�
Concern flickered across his face as he lowered the book. 鈥淣ow that, I believe.鈥�
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鈥淲hen you listen to me, I think the stars will fall.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e ridiculous,鈥� I sputtered.
鈥淲hat I am is intrigued.鈥�
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Wasn鈥檛 that what living meant? Taking more than a sip here and small bite there. It was all about gulping and swallowing as much as you could.
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鈥淎nd your scars? They are a testament to your fortitude. They are proof of what you survived. They are evidence of why you are here when so many twice your age wouldn鈥檛 be. They鈥檙e not ugly. Far from it. They鈥檙e beautiful, Poppy.鈥�
A Maiden doesn鈥檛 question the gods鈥� plans. She has faith in them without knowledge of them.
Maybe I truly wasn鈥檛 worthy of being a Maiden, because I found it hard to have faith in anything without knowledge of it.
鈥淔ear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.鈥�
鈥淢ay Rhain escort you to paradise,鈥� I whispered, wiping the blood from my dagger on a small towel that had been draped over the end table. 鈥淎nd may you find eternal peace with those who have passed before you.鈥�
鈥淪ome truths do nothing but destroy and decay what they do not obliterate. Truths do not always set one free. Only a fool who has spent their entire life being fed lies believes that.鈥�
鈥淲ith my sword and with my life, I vow to keep you safe, Penellaphe,鈥� he spoke, voice deep and smooth, reminding me of rich, decadent chocolate. 鈥淔rom this moment until the last moment, I am yours.鈥�
A Maiden doesn鈥檛 question the gods鈥� plans. She has faith in them without knowledge of them.
Maybe I truly wasn鈥檛 worthy of being a Maiden, because I found it hard to have faith in anything without knowledge of it.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter if I want--鈥�
鈥淎nd you do want.鈥� His whisper danced over my cheek. 鈥淲hat you want is me.鈥�
My breath caught. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 matter.鈥�
鈥淲hat you want should always matter.鈥�
鈥淵ou're an absolutely stunning, murderous little creature.鈥�
鈥淚'll say it again. I don't care what you are. I care about who you are.鈥�
鈥淧romise me you won't forget this, Poppy. That no matter what happens tomorrow, the next day, next week, you won't forget this - forget that this was real鈥�