A Soul of Ash and Blood: Blood and Ash, Book 5
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(as of Oct 06, 2025 03:52:56 UTC – Details)
Only his memories can save her…
A great primal power has risen. The Queen of Flesh and Fire has become the Primal of Blood and Bone—the true Primal of Life and Death. And the battle Casteel, Poppy, and their allies have been fighting has only just begun. Gods are awakening across Iliseeum and the mortal realm, readying for the war to come.
But when Poppy falls into stasis, Cas faces the very real possibility that the dire, unexpected consequences of what she is becoming could take her away from him. Cas is given some advice, though—something he plans to cling to as he waits to see her beautiful eyes open once more: Talk to her.
And so, he does. He reminds Poppy how their journey began, revealing things about himself that only Kieran knows in the process. But it’s anybody’s guess what she’ll wake to or exactly how much of the realm and Cas will have changed when she does.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout revisits Poppy and Casteel’s epic love story in the next installment of the Blood and Ash series. But this time, Hawke gets to tell the tale.
Customers say
Customers love the series and find it enthralling, with one review describing it as a beautiful soulful journey through love. The book receives positive feedback for its perspective, particularly from Casteel’s point of view, and customers appreciate its emotional depth. However, the story quality and readability receive mixed reviews, with some customers loving the story while others note it doesn’t move much forward, and some find it takes a long time to read. Moreover, the retelling aspect is also mixed, with some appreciating Casteel’s perspective while others find it repetitive, and several customers consider it a waste of money.
Jen Oddo –
A Soul of Ash and Blood wove an enchanting tale between the past and the present
A Soul of Ash and Blood wove an enchanting tale between the past and the present. It was a phenomenal addition to the From Blood and Ash Series! I thought I was prepared for this story, I was so wrong. New light was shone on scenes we thought we knew, things arose that left us with burning questions, and those final pages cumulated into a heart stopping ending! Cas’ story will capture your heart! A Soul of Ash and Blood was intoxicating, gritty, smile inducing and absolutely impossible to put down!The story started out in the present and within those first few pages my heart was already in my chest. I shouldn’t have been surprised that it was emotionally intense, or that I cried within that first chapter. Because while some of those tears were happy, there were others filled with sadness and scared of the unknown. Something wasn’t right with Poppy. Cas and Kieran knew it, and Nektas seemed to possessive knowledge that I wanted to pry out of his brain. That draken could be so blunt, but he cracked me up time and again! So as Poppy went into stasis, Cas took us back to before he met Poppy. I loved how JLA skillfully immersed us in a world we already loved, but through Cas’ eyes it was unique, addictive and so much more than I ever could have hoped and dreamed! As we alternated between the past and the present, this book turned out to be EVERYTHING I didn’t realize I needed!Cas took us back to before he met Poppy and was a guard. I loved his moments with Vikter, oh how I have missed him. Their interactions were phenomenal! But most of all I loved getting to hear Cas’ preconceived notions about Poppy, even as he got clues of who the Maiden truly was from others around him. And when he got to meet her in person, his reactions were all consuming and I always had to know how he would handle the next moment they were together! I could not stop smiling, I could not stop my shouts and screams of happiness, and it was impossible not to laugh at the most inappropriate things. Seeing violence through Cas’ eyes, well it was hard not to think how he thought haha. His anger and vengeance were electrifying and it seemed to bubble under the surface at times. I loved when things would get violent and each time I fell even harder for him. One thing that hurt so much though, was getting to see deeper into who Cas was. His past. The horrors. And how it haunted him in the present. It literally ripped me apart and I felt like I was drowning at times. I know Poppy said in FBAA what she had felt from him, but I didn’t realize how much it truly consumed him.Getting to hear Cas’ explanations for the whys he did something was absolutely phenomenal! His dark, humorous thoughts were addictive! And watching him do things I had no clue he was doing, ohhhhhh be prepared to be surprised again and again by this story! But one of my favorite things was seeing Poppy through Cas’ eyes. How she affected him. How she seeped into his thoughts. And how his progression of thoughts towards her changed. It was consuming and will fill your heart with joy! You know how in FBAA we got to learn the world right along with Poppy? I felt that all over again with Cas. Yes he has knowledge for what is truly going on, but he was in the dark for other things. And watching as light was shown on certain aspects to Cas, it blew my mind. We got to see so many different sides of Cas. How he could be his own worst enemy. How he could be someone’s savior. How he could be their demise. And most of all, how he was able to enchant Poppy’s heart and soul.As the story unfolded, we got to see lots of fan favorite moments from FBAA, and scenes that weren’t in FBAA too. But some of those scenes that are our favorites, oh we were none the wiser. So when Cas filled in certain things, wow. You think you know something, but you truly don’t! And seeing how he felt through each of those times, fans of this series are going to be clinging onto his every word and thought! We also got to see Kieran through Cas’ eyes and watching Kieran handle certain situations was epic and shocking. There are no other words! And Emil. Oh poor Emil. I laughed so hard in a certain situation with him that I should probably feel guilty about, but I don’t haha. And while I went from desperately wanting to stay in the past, there came a point in the story where the present had us hanging onto every word and moment. And those final pages?! Hold on because it is heart pounding and left us desperately wanting that next book!A Soul of Ash and Blood will have you falling in love with Cas, Poppy, and this series all over again. Plus the steam in this book through Cas’ eyes *fans face*, it was scorching hot! I’m so grateful we got this story! And now I’ll be counting down till that next book releases!
Jaye –
this is for people who LOVE this series and its characters
was it totally necessary?no.did i eat it up and leave no crumbs?yes.if you love casteel and love this story and love all the characters, this is a must read. it filled the hole in my heart that is waiting for the final book, but also gave a lot of fun insight into casteel’s perspective. it revealed answers to parts of the story i otherwise wouldn’t have known and i really enjoyed it a lot!
Miss Willa Colyns Diary –
Fall in love with Cas all over again!
I went into this ARC with ALL the excitement and hope and I will start off by saying it blew my expectations! I didnât quite know what to expect after we got the sneaky synopsis reveal for what was in store and as per usual Jen served it all! We got Daddy Cas POV telling his side of the story while simultaneously moving the plot forward from where we left off in TWOTQ. We get a bunch of scenes we hadnât before that open new questions, a hundred more theories and what appear to be sneaky breadcrumb reveals! We get so much awesome Dark Daddy Cas kicking ass and taking hearts in the name of our Poppy, even if he doesnât quite allow himself at that time to admit it. We get SO MUCH Kieran and Cas that we hadnât before and I reveled in every moment!This was by no means just a retelling of FBAA (book one) from Cas POV it is that and SO SO MUCH MORE! I was swept off my feet by all the swoon worthy moments, and Iâm loving the fact I have so many new questions and theories brewing after so many big reveals and new insight. Iâd happily take this style of writing for every book in FBAA and ASITE if it were possible honestly because so much happened alongside so many questions being answered. Where we leave off as always just has me screaming I NEED THE NEXT BOOK and reaching to reread both series all over again with the new information gained.The pacing was fantastic and at no point did I feel like I was being given old news or slogging through info dumps etc. Everything was fresh, entirely new and exciting and the reveals were scream worthy! Seriously, Jen outdid herself and I could not have asked for ASOAAB to be any more or any less! 5 big bright I love Casteel stars for yet another triumph of a book!Now to the audiobook! Narrator Tim Campbell is back (he narrated TWOTQ Casteel POV) with a bang! Or shall I sayâ¦a growl? You will not find a voice actor who can do a better dark daddy voice than Tim Campbell in my opinion. His intensity fits our passionate Cas, and gives a lot of extra depth to how strongly he feels things. If youâve ever wondered what a Romantasy writer meant when describing a male character growling, Tim will answer that question and leave you fanning yourself after like OH thatâs what they meant! He will leave you shaking in your boots and smiling like that grinch gif!For me there were big boots to fill here as a HUGE Stina Nielson fan who narrated all characters up until TWOTQ including Cas, so shifting to a new narrator joining the team in TWOTQ was concerning, though unwarranted entirely. Even though he smashed it in TWOTQ as a dual narrator I wondered if it would be jarring with a whole book without Stina, but again it was totally unwarranted. I donât think anyone could have filled her shoes better honestly, and at no point did I find myself struggling to connect the Cas voice Iâve grown accustomed to with Stina, to the one performed by Tim Campbell. His voice is so utterly unique, and the best word I can think to describe it is intense. Intense, and full of a dark mysterious depth that is absolutely everything needed for a fantasy read with otherworldly characters. This doesnât sound like Todd from HR, this sounds like an Atlantian ready to burn the world if need be in the name of love. He will have you coming back for more and rewinding the spicy scenes again and again. He fully encapsulates why spicy reads are truly best with audio.My only small suggestion is that some of the female voices he does could be fine tuned a bit to not sound as high pitched. Because at times it can make the character sound younger, or exaggerated especially in spicy scenes, which can take you out of the moment a bit. However his male voices cannot be touched they are straight up flawless! I especially love his Nektas voice!Overall it was an absolute joy to get to ARC read this book, especially in both formats and I will be listening to this audiobook again and again! This was yet another smash hit for Jen, and I canât wait to see where she takes us next!Thank you so much Jillian Stein of Blue Box Press for the Ebook, and hardcover. Thank you to Brilliance Audio for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook for my honest thoughts. My views are entirely my own
Kim Rodriguez –
“She was mine. My Princess⦠My heartmate. My Queen. Mine. And I was hers.âAfter taking care of the false queen, one would think the battle was over, but it has just begun. When Poppy is finally stepping into her rightful place, being the Primal of Life and Death, she has a new problem: falling into stasis. Now thereâs a possibility that once she wakes she wonât remember who she or anyone around her is, so Casteel takes it as his duty to remind her. And so he talks to her in her sleep. His memories, his feelings, everything we wished to know, now we do.Anyone who knows me, knows I am one of the biggest fans of this series. I am fascinated by Jenniferâs world, every little detail, and Iâve spent so much time with the characters, I love coming back to them, and Iâm always excited to discover more.When I saw what this book was about, I wasnât sure how I would feel about it.I am a very curious person, but I understand not everyone may be invested, since it retells the first book, only from a different POV.HOWEVER, I do recommend you take the time to read this one.Throughout the first two books, I remember questioning Casteel a lot, not that I didnât believe his love, but sometimes I couldnât understand where he was coming from. For a long time I loved Cas, but was a little skeptical about how fast he had fallen for Poppy, because I hadnât understood it had also been a process for him, that had started long before he kidnapped her.I was VERY interested in Cas and Kieranâs dynamic with Poppy too ð, it honestly got me a little nervous to think about it lol. This book helped me understand, this is not something new for them, not really, their bond goes way back, and much deeper than what I had anticipated.We get glimpses from the present, which kept me on my toes, AND THE ENDING. Not gonna lie, I freaked out. I got upset ð WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS? 𥹠WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE US THERE MA’AM? ðThat being said ð, I CANNOT WAIT to keep reading and know what happens next! â¤ï¸âð¥
MJ –
Ripercorrere i momenti clou della storia dal punto di vista di Casteel è stato un roller coaster di emozioni. Se amavate il personaggio prima non potrete che amarlo ancora di più; consiglio assolutamente la lettura perché come al solito Jennifer l. Armentrout riesce a dipingere la psicologia e le emozioni dei personaggi in modo magistrale, ed è in grado di parlare di temi difficili con una sensibilità e una lucidità incredibile. à impossibile non volere bene a questi personaggi come è impossibile non amare la penna che li ha creati â¤ï¸Ps: io li ho letti tutti in inglese e non ho avuto problemi a comprendere e apprezzare la scrittura, credo che con un livello intermedio di inglese non si abbiano particolari difficoltà nel capire e seguire i suoi romanziPps: l’ho comprato in formato kindle appena uscito perché aspettare era impossibile
Anne –
I’ve anticipated this book for so long and my expectations were really high, especially because Fbaa is my favourite series of all time and knowing there will be a Cas POV of the events happening in Fbaa had me excited since Jenn announced Asoaab.I’ve read it.. I finished it in record time.. a book and POV I never knew I needed that much! While having certain events from the past told from Cas with insightout of the Maiden’s limited perspective, you get the present situation after Twotq ended. Seeing how the other side operates and especially the interactions between Cas, Kieran, Delano, and a lot more characters is on one hand so wholesome on the other hand mind-blowing what has happened outside what we’ve already seen in Fbaa.Reliving the character developments and evolving relationships was absolutely amazing, with many shed tears and aaaawwws, aaahs and wtfs!! I loved every page, especially the additional scenes with Kieran and Delano. Seeing the boys outside Poppy’s POV was really intense and revealing.Truth be told, this was my most anticipated and currently my favourite read of 2023 so far!
PatrÃcia Patriarca –
This is my roman empire… nothing else to add.
Jenn –
I usually donât like these types of books where itâs mostly going back to the beginning but she wrote this beautifully and itâs really not just repeating the same story again. Loved it