Title: The Crown of Gilded Bones
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Blue Box Press
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
ISBN: 9781952457630
Synopsis:
Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers.
But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans, ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each other.
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Spoilers below. Read on at your own risk!
This third book in the Blood and Ash series is both my most and least favourite of this series, if that makes any sense at all. On the one hand, watching Poppy and Casteel’s relationship grow, for them to finally accept truth, and for them to step into their power, is beyond satisfying. The character arcs, the tension, the increased stakes, and the rise of antagonistic characters makes this the most exciting series yet. At the same time, there’s a lot of things like the stock banter, strained dialogue, and often gratuitous spicy-ness that pulled me right out of the story.
I love that Poppy and Casteel finally find the courage to accept and acknowledge their feelings for one another. It’s a long time coming and there is a lot of hurt that they have to overcome, but their attraction and magnetism towards one another is undeniable. It’s incredibly gratifying to see them come together and gain a semblance of happy in what is often a depressing and deadline landscape around them. They also rise into their power together, finding strength in their growth together and acceptance from one another than only serves to build their relationship and unification. Armentrout gives these characters all that they deserve, even though at times, it does seem lost. They are not without their battles and they must fight, not only to keep what is theirs, but simply just to live.
Poppy is a warrior and Casteel is just love unbound. Together, they are unified in strength and unmatched power. They are surrounded by secondary characters that are funny, devoted, and who are given enough air time to build out quite well-rounded backstories and personalities. It makes it a joy overall to read. This is what made me love this book.
On the other hand, we get a lot more repetitive writing and dialogue, which often just feels like a rushed or mediocre edit job. I lost count of the number of times I read the phrase “wax on poetically” and copious amount of times that Casteel’s bonded wolves and close confident,, Kieran, says some variation of “no one here is surprised” when Poppy mentions she has a question. I think it’s meant to be a running joke, but it’s used so profusely, that I actually began to question Kieran’s place as a secondary character. It makes him feel much more stock and less thought out than he has previously until this point.
Overall though, this series has captured my heart. I was skeptical at first, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in Armentrout’s world. I’ve got one book left in this series and I’ve read book one in the Flesh and Fire series. I’m hooked, what can I say?
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 