A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire)

**Early/Advance copy given for an honest review SPICE, SPICE, SPIRCE BABY. Just kidding. It is a slow burn in it’s own right but it doesn’t stop you from loving characters that you have had glimpses of. Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort. However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot. Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death. A Shadow in the Ember – A masterpiece of it’s own right. Through the fandom of FBAA, we get glimpses of Sera and Nyktos, however this series truly delves into their story. Jennifer L Armentrout is absolutely a queen of her own right within the world. I have always been a fan of her writing and it absolutely astonishes me that she can always grip my attention with something new and exciting. This was another favorite in the series and the cover always blows me away for her books. I am definitely swooning over Nyktos and him being my book husband. Claimed and never can be annulled 😉 He isn’t just Nyktos, but rather Daddy Nyktos. He is everything you would want in the King of Gods and Primals. An intimidating character that falls at the feet of beautiful Sera for her wittiness and her sass towards him. Sera is a gorgeous and badass heroine and truly can make anyone speechless. She was raised from birth to make her husband fall in love and become his weakness to kill him. This was her only identity that she has known but she definitely does not allow herself to be stepped on by worse characters. I love that Jen’s characters are always people I want to grow up and be – no matter how old I am right this second. Seraphina is beautiful and definitely does not need anyone, man or Primal to make her feel anything more. Getting a glimpse into Poppy’s actual side of the family makes me realize how much I adored her all over again because family traits. You’ll want to laugh, cry and everything in between for this book. I felt so much anguish for the characters in the series. You get Primals, gods, badass heroines, drakens and all of the above in the series and I am not mad about it. I have heard some people get mad that it sounds similar to FBAA – Congrats, you are in the FBAA world just ahead of the time of where we met Poppy and Casserole. While this is a prequel, you get more questions answered in this book alone vs if she continued onto the fourth book of the series.

Actual rating is 4.5 stars. I got an E-ARC copy of this amazing story in exchange for an honest review by JLA, so I'm about to get real with you! It should come as no surprise to all of you that once again, queen JLA is releasing another book series and she killed it! I mean it's hard for me to describe to you how good it was, because it's like I've said this at least 20 times with Armentrout's books, they are great. There is nothing less to it, every story she puts out, it's just amazing (to me anyway.) A Shadow in the Ember is no exception. You might be questioning my rating if literally paragraphs ago I said it's an amazing book, and it is, but there were a couple of things I felt a bit repetitive. Sera and Nyktos remind me of a couple Armentrout already introduced us to. They are amazing on their own way, but at the beginning it felt like rereading one of her other books. Though it quickly changed, it still made the first like 20 percent of the book drag on a little bit. But I think the reason why it was a little bit slower to begin with is because of what was to come. I cannot explain to you how good this story is without giving you major spoilers, but I will try. Seraphena is a Maiden. She was promised to the Primal of Death as his consort. She has been trained, but not in the way you might think. She was trained to bring the Primal of Death to his knees. She is expected to end him. To use love as a way to end him and end with a century's old debt. Sera is ready for this task, but somehow she fails miserably, why you ask? Because the Primal of Death has no need or want for a consort. So it's her fault (not really, but that is what she believes,) everyone and their grandmother blames her for it. So now she is trying to fix it somehow, she has no idea how, but she is looking for a solution. She is a trained assassin, she can kill you in less time that you'd have to blink, so maybe that will help... if it doesn't get her in trouble first (spoiler alert, it does). This story is all about Sera, about her journey to accept what she really is and what she is worth. There is a silver-eye-god that's gonna be there and they will have a fun time learning all about her and what she is capable of doing. There is so much that happens in the first installment of this series that if I tried to describe everything about the book, this post would be infinite, so I'll just summarize a little bit some of my favorite parts. There is death, that is something you should expect a lot of, but also some of it it's not in the way you might be thinking of. A silver-eyed god. Banter. Ash. Exciting lake scene. Ash. Power, her gift is just… *chef’s kiss* but at the same time, could be dangerous. Banter. Asher. Sexy banter. Nyktos, ruler of the Shadowlands. Amazing entrances. Nyktos. Blood. Lots and lots of blood. Lives (that will make sense eventually). That ending. Oh gosh, I mean I was kind of preparing myself for that, I kind of had a feeling, but it was still pretty epic. But most of all, NYKTOS. I mean, you guys just got to read this story, it’s amazing, I think you will really enjoy it and it will bring a lot of joy to your life.

“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣?” 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮. “𝙄𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.” 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧. “𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡.” I’ve embarked on my re read of FAF. When I did my first read through of FBAA and FAF I did read it in the intended order (which is listed below AND also how I still recommend this to be read by first time readers) however I’ve just missed Nyktos so damn much that I started my reread of the FAF series on its own. Also, when I read this series last year, it was prior to me writing reviews — I would only star rate. So this is my opportunity to not only relive my favorite Fantasy MMC but put my thoughts out there that I never did the first go round. 📖 𝗔 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 ✍🏼 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗟. 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦 🩸 ᴍᴀɪᴅᴇɴ 🩸 ᴘʀɪᴍᴀʟ ɢᴏᴅꜱ 🩸 ʙᴀᴅᴀꜱꜱ ꜰᴍᴄ 🩸 ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ 🩸 ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇ-ɪꜱʜ 🩸 ꜰᴏʀᴄᴇᴅ ᴘʀᴏxɪᴍɪᴛʏ 🩸 ᴏɴᴇ ʟᴀᴋᴇ 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦:🗡️𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 & 𝘈𝘴𝘩 | 🌙 𝘈 𝘍𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 & 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 (𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸) 🗡️ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀꜱʜ (ꜰʙᴀᴀ) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗡️ ᴀ ᴋɪɴɢᴅᴏᴍ ᴏꜰ ꜰʟᴇꜱʜ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰɪʀᴇ (ꜰʙᴀᴀ)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗡️ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀᴏᴡɴ ᴏꜰ ɢɪʟᴅᴇᴅ ʙᴏɴᴇꜱ (ꜰʙᴀᴀ)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌙 ᴀ ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴍʙᴇʀ (ꜰᴀꜰ)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ♾️ 🗡️ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛᴡᴏ Qᴜᴇᴇɴꜱ (ꜰʙᴀᴀ)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌙 ᴀ ʟɪɢʜᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʟᴀᴍᴇ (ꜰᴀꜰ)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️ 🗡️ ᴀ ꜱᴏᴜʟ ᴏꜰ ᴀꜱʜ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ (ꜰʙᴀᴀ)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌙 ᴀ ꜰɪʀᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʟᴇꜱʜ (ꜰᴀꜰ) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌙 + 🗡️ᴠɪꜱɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜰʟᴇꜱʜ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ: ᴀ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀꜱʜ/ꜰʟᴇꜱʜ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰɪʀᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴇɴᴅɪᴜᴍ 🌙 ʙᴏʀɴ ᴏꜰ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀꜱʜ — 𝟴.𝟭𝟯.𝟮𝟰 🗡️ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀɪᴍᴀʟ ᴏꜰ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴏɴᴇ — ᴛʙᴀ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚. 𝙋𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡. 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨, 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚. 📖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 📖 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ♾️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️ This journey takes place prior to FBAA where we meet Nyktos and Sera. Sera has spent her entire life preparing to be the Consort to the Primal of Death. But when he rejects her as his Consort her life once again changes. Sera has never had much choice in how she lived her, and the same can be said of Nyktos as well. They both ultimately just want their people safe from harm and the Rot. When they find each other things do become a bit complicated. Where feelings weren’t supposed to be involved, but now are— this causes emotional confusion on both parts. But it’s when trust has been broken that the real trial to their arrangement happens. I love the banter in this so much. Nyktos will forever be my favorite Fantasy MMC. This story will forever be my top favorite fantasy series

This prequel absolutely hooked me. Seraphena and Nyktos’ story was powerful, emotional, and full of the kind of chemistry that builds slowly but burns endlessly. I loved how this book expanded the universe and gave new meaning to everything in From Blood and Ash. Sera’s strength and defiance made her one of my favorite heroines, and Nyktos was complex and deeply honorable. Armentrout balanced mythology and emotion perfectly. A Shadow in the Ember felt like a tragic love story unfolding in real time—haunting and utterly addictive.

(minimal spoiling) i never thought i'd say this but it might be true... Nyktos is quiet and gentle, until he's not. he's charming and a little cheeky and everything about him gives such soft daddy vibes- including the way he is with taking care of his own people. his interactions with sera were heart pounding and the yearning in the beginning gave me butterflies. i was, at times, a little frustrated with the story because there were multiple times that things could have been cleared up with a simple conversation, but my love for the characters and finding little things that connected flesh and fire and blood and ash kept me loving this book. the entire cast of side characters is really fun and i LOVED seeing little reaver and baby jadis SO much! i need more of everyone immediately and i can't wait to eat up more of the history and lore of this world. Is Seraphina going to actually fulfill her duties? or is she going to find a family who actually loves and cares for her?

This book was good but I definitely feel like it could’ve been better. There’s an alarming amount of typos that I don’t understand how they made it into a final draft of a book. How did an editor not catch so many mistakes? The actual content of the book is pretty good, however. The story is very interesting and new to me (I haven’t read Blood and Ash series yet). I love the concept of the gods and the mortal realm and the Chosen. And all the twists & turns were good, even if some were predictable. The execution wasn’t always the best—I feel like the amount of word vomit that comes out of Sera and Ash’s mouth is just too much. That could’ve been dialed back. Also I thought wayyyyy too many characters were introduced all at once. It was really difficult to keep them all straight. **spoilers ahead** one of my biggest gripes is that Sera is utterly unlikable. I can’t stand it when authors make their female protagonist an angry jerk. Does Sera have any feelings other than 90% anger and 10% lust? She literally gets mad and picks a fight over ANYTHING. Also are we supposed to ignore the fact that she murders & doesn’t ever feel something about those murders? She’s literally a monster. You can blame her training and her mom telling her to assassinate people but she should still feel SOMETHING when she kills. There’s no “mark” on her, as the author puts it. Another annoying facet was when people will tell her “stay” and she’ll just immediately do whatever she wants as soon as they’re gone. She even would flat out agree to stay put and then rush into something dangerous. Are we supposed to think she’s brave? Strong? I don’t, I just think she’s stupid because she has no rationale behind half of her impulsive decisions. Also, she sits there thinking about how she has to kill Ash to save her land but never once does she try to find another solution. Even when she continuously admits how nice and compassionate he is. She never considers if there’s any way to spare him and still save the land. And if she hadn’t found out that his death was unrelated to the land I am not convinced she wouldn’t have tried to murder him. She is just not my favorite character and I feel like she’s just an awful representation of a 20 year old woman. If you’re going to make a female character strong you do not need to make her a bratty, entitled little a-hole. My only hope is that she’s going to have some character development in book 2. She seemed like she was getting slightly better by the end of this one so I am really praying book 2 has a very different, less angry Sera in it. This review was quite negative but keep in mind I still am giving it 4 stars because I did enjoy the storyline and the world building. I definitely agree with all the reviews on here. If you’re on the fence about reading the book then you should just go for it. I’m very interested in seeing how the sequel plays out.

Jennifer L Armentrout is a QUEEN. Her ability to suck me into a story EVERY SINGLE TIME is mind-blowing. A Shadow in the Ember is so, so FANTASTIC. The Characters: Sera, the original maiden, is not a sweet, innocent, and naïve heroine. She is fierce, sassy, and smart. She makes the best of her life with these little rebellions because her life has never been her own and she just wants to have some control. Sera is also ​super impulsive, but she knows it. She OWNS it. Nyktos is my newest book boyfriend (move over, Kieran Contou). He is reserved, quiet and kind. He's thoughtful, loyal, rather sweet and charming. He's subtle and not impulsive. He values CONSENT and CHOICES which is unbelievably sexy. He is not a bad boy even though he is the Primal of Death.....unless you get on his bad side. DO NOT GET ON HIS BAD SIDE. THE PLOT: A Shadow in the Ember provides a much needed escape. It allows you to disengage from the real world for a bit. Of course, there is a great evil lurking and threats on lives and people trying to protect others and a whole lot of mystery. However, there is also the pure joy of watching two people fall for each other (unbeknownst to them) in a world of chaos. As I read, I felt content and happy. I laughed. I cried. I swooned. I gasped. I WAS ALL IN THIS BOOK. I still am, to be honest. JLA has given me yet another book hangover. I have notes and thoughts - so many thoughts. I have one HUGE theory on how the Flesh and Fire series will play out. I have a plethora of emotions that have not stopped running through my mind. My brain will not stop shut off when it comes to A Shadow in the Ember. And isn't that amazing? Isn't it truly fantastic when a book will not leave you? Isn't that the point? Fantastic, JLA. Simply fantastic. Side note: You do not have to read the Blood & Ash series to read this one!

Sera has just surpassed and taken number one spot of JLA heroine in my life. Shes the ultimate MC and I love her sass throughout the whole book. I just love everything that makes her her!! I loved meeting this "new" character. The From Blood and Ash series mentions so much of the past in this world and everyone's history, and this prequel of sorts helps to understand so much. But I have soooo many questions! And I need answers! Learning the origins of some of the much loved From Blood and Ash characters, has me extremely greedy for more!! I also need more Nyktos! His character in this book is phenomenal and soooo swoon worthy. I loved the amount of action in this book, it felt like everything flowed together and never lulled (not that I would expect that from JLA). And the spicy scenes are absolutely the best!! My goodness, keep a fan near by! I am sooo looking forward to book 2, but also how this will set us up for the next FBAA book. There's something here that we need to know for the next release.... i love the puzzles that JLA can weave with her words.

Tyckte mycket om denna bok.

BABY DRAKENS ….. so I love Sera, like a lot. She’s amazing. And Daddy Nyktos 🥵🔥 Even with this being the 4th book in this world, the world building was still amazing. And I loved learning so much about gods and primals! And all the other new creatures/monsters I loved loved this whole book and after that ending I’m DYINGGG for the next one! So excited to see what’s in store for Sera and Nyktos 👀 I loved FBAA but I loved this book even more!!

Ce livre est magnifique ! Il nous permet de rester dans l'ambiance du sang et la cendre. Si vous êtes français et vous voulez le lire en anglais, le niveau est assez ardu mais on s'en sort ! J'ai bcp aimé nyktos ! L'intrigue est bien amenée et le suspens nous maintient en éveil tout au long de l'histoire. Le gros plus à mon sens est le côté enquête de l'histoire.

REVIEW: After the first three volumes of the "From Blood & Ash" series were SO good and were highlights of the year for me, I couldn't wait to read "A Shadow in the Ember". Jennifer L. Armentrouts writing style was, as usual, very fluid and pleasant to read. I just flew through the pages! She adds the right amount of humor and tension to the story, so I could hardly put the book down. Sera is a protagonist that you just have to love! She's just as badass as I expected and definitely knows how to help herself. Her counter are just hilarious every time. Nyktos is simply *chef's kiss*! I can't even describe how quickly he's risen to the top of my bookboyfriend list. You definitely have to check him out yourself! I still want to repeat how MUCH I loved this book and that it was again a romantasy story at its best!! Jennifer L. Armentrout scored again with a badass protagonist, a captivating plot, unpredictable plot twists and a new bookboyfriend. Especially at the end of the book, you also noticed how strong the connections with the "From Blood & Ash" series are, so I would recommend to read everything in order as it's published. CONCLUSION: "A Shadow In The Ember" is definitely another highlight of the year. If you are a fan of the "From Blood and Ash" series, then you HAVE to read it. Jennifer L. Armentrout has proven to me once again why she is my favorite author!

Again, this book/series slays! The whole world building and ongoing character development *chef’s kiss*.