A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

Title: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Publisher: Blue Box Press
Year: September 2020
Pages: 484
Series: Blood and Ash #2
Genre: Fantasy (New adult)
Reading Time: 2 - 6 Mar
Binding: Kindle
Goodreads

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb:
A Betrayal…
Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.
A Choice….
Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.
A Secret…
But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.

Review:

 I enjoyed this one more than the first, probably for a few reasons. Firstly, there wasn't a big reveal that I guessed within the opening chapters which I then spent the next few hundred pages waiting for. That made the first book feel very slow for me and this was so much better. I appreciate a lot of reviews say nothing happens. It's a lot of world building but there certainly is some action.

 I said in my review of the previous book that Poppy was naive. What I enjoy about this book is that she is slightly humbled by the fact that everything he thought she knew turns out to be lies. It made her slightly more relatable than she had been in the first book. Her insecurities felt more tangible and realistic. Her general hot-heatedness continues and whilst it annoyed in the previous book it is more justified in this one. It does, however, result it very, very repetitive interactions with several of the characters. I'm genuinely sick of a few of the phrases in this book at this point. This comes in hand with the fact that I just don't feel this writing is amazing. It's clear this is not a fantasy author, use of modern words screams wrong and some general strange descriptions. I also noted (amid current comments after Illumicrate have updated their exclusive cover to make Poppy larger) that there are wild inconsistencies in the writing about height. In a certain water scene the water level is above Poppy's breast but only just above the navel of another character, but they are still able to stand chest to chest and the character is able to lean their forehead against theirs? Erm, as a short person . . . No. It seems to switch from being able to brush lips at ease to having to crane her neck to be able to look them in the eye. I'm not one that takes massive notice of character descriptions however when people are arguing online about body shapes and you see these inconsistencies in the writing you can really only shake your head in wonder.

 Let's talk about other characters because we get a lot of new ones and they're all relatively exciting. Cas is good fun, overprotective and incredibly stressed out but he's still (repetitively) flirtatious and a source of general humour in the book. Kieran is a grounding character that I'm glad has presence and the increasing Wolven characters is great because there are a clear range of personalities within that group. As are the few introduced Atlantians. As I've mentioned, this is a lot of world building so these are all brand new people for Poppy and they also need to learn to trust her.

 In terms of action, we pick up from a pretty wicked little cliffhanger and I can understand why people feel little happened. I thought the pacing was a good balance of action, arguments and travel during the worldbuilding. After all, everything we knew from the first book was shattered in those last few chapters so we have to shift our understanding. There is some action, I'd daresay a similar level to the first book. The stakes have heightened, we know it and Poppy knows it. There's a real element of uncertainty in the opening chapters and we develop past that point with good progress and hiccups along the way. Part and parcel of the action and our characters is the sexual tension. I was hoping for more as I was left a little disappointed by how long we waited in the first book for the release of that tension. I was hoping there wouldn't be another build up in this book but there was. There's a little more spice than previously but I'm clearly smut addicted because it wasn't nearly enough for me given how much the characters talk with innuendos and flirtation. It's really annoying because I can't understand why so many people are convinced there's loads of it. Hey, my standards are clearly skewed. 

 I'm not going to lie, if you had problems with the previous book then they weren't really solved. The writing is the same, problematic issues are the same. I really enjoyed the book but I can certainly see why people aren't necessarily satisfied but I'm not always looking for a masterpiece. Sometimes I just want a bit of smut and fun.

 That ending though, damn. I'm so glad the next book isn't that far away.