Review: “A Shadow In The Ember” by Jennifer Armentrout

“A monster wouldn’t care if they were one.”
Nyktos

READ THIS IF:

You love whiskey.
You want pure, unadulterated badassery.
You didn’t know that your foot is roughly the same length as your forearm. Test that nugget of wisdom out. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

MY THOUGHTS:

To quote Seraphena:

“What in the whole wide world of f*cks” did I just read?

A Shadow in The Ember is the first installment of Armentrout’s Flesh and Fire Series – from the same world as her Blood and Ash Series.

At the risk of overhyping, it’s given me the best book hangover I’ve had since ACOMAF by Sarah J Maas. Take that for what you will.

If you’ve never found yourself 600 pgs deep into a book and wondered how it went by so fast, it’s a skill of Sarah J. Maas’ that got me back into reading after a 5-year hiatus. It is also a skill that Jennifer Armentrout has absolutely MASTERED here. Despite its 600+ page length, this book felt like it went by in a flash for me.

If you’re on the fence about fantasy romance for any reason, hear this.

YES, some fantasy romances can:

Drag on
- Do we REALLY need to know how you styled your long, flowing hair? For the millionth time?
Lack in romance
- Ironic – huh?
Hit you over the head with the romance
- Also, no bueno.
Attempt overly complicated world-building
- I’m gonna need a bulletin board, protractor, and a number 2 pencil – STAT!
Be cheesy
- Swiss. Gouda. Gorgonzola.
Lack satisfying action and adventure
- Let’s be honest, these scenes are hard to write effectively with good pacing and detail. It’s the root of my 12-year long vendetta against Suzanne Collins after she practically put Katniss Everdeen in a closet while everyone else rescued Peeta Mellark. I’M. STILL. MAD.

A Shadow in the Ember takes all of those bullet points and shoves a whip down their throats.

Armentrout captured my attention from the beginning and kept it the whole way through: the snarky dialogue, Jadis (the adorable baby draken), the monsters, and the sheer badassery. THE Tavius scene will live on in my mind for years.

Disclaimer: This book ends on a cliffhanger. If you find yourself enjoying it halfway through, I highly suggest buying the second installment and having it at the ready. It took me 10 seconds from finishing the first to start the second.

My only negative is that I still don’t have the best understanding of the detailed world Armentrout has created (specifically the different court system, who rules them, etc). I blazed through this book, so if a specific character was mentioned, but didn’t appear, I just filed it away in my mind for later. I also never look at the ‘maps’ at the start of a book. Sorry, not sorry. I am sure if I had read Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series that my understanding of the universe would’ve helped me here, but it did not take away one iota of my love and enjoyment of this book.

ASITE is an intoxicating, smokey, pleasant escape.

Enjoy it with a glass of whiskey.

All Booked Up