A Soul of Ash and Blood (Part 1 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation]

Blood and Ash [Dramatized Adaptation] #5, Part 1

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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.

Adapted from the novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music!

Genres: Audiobook, Fantasy, Romantasy

10 pages, Audiobook

Published December 23, 2025

About the author

Hey Guys! Please note: I don't send out ARCs for review. If you're interested in reviewing a book of mine before release date, please contact the appropriate publisher. I also do NOT check my Goodreads email.

To email me, please use the below addy.
jenniferlarmentrout@live.com

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Charles Town, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more.

Reviews

[Danielle Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio is a 5. Story is 3.75. I can’t remember what I rated this book when I read it, but I do remember skimming a lot of the flashback moments. Not because I didn’t love seeing them in Cas’s pov, but I just felt so repetitive, and I really wanted the story to move forward.

[Shananana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. I thought this was the next part of the story. It's 10 FREAKING hours of review; are you kidding me?! And there’s still part 2. Did we already know Cas actually liked Poppy and got angry when anyone in the court lay hands on her? YES, because the story was well-told the FIRST time. This was a waste of time and an obvious cash-grab. The narrator that does Cas did a great job and I liked hearing more from him, but realistically, this book should have been a few chapters at the end of one of the other books (it's been a while for this re-hash), or a novella. Without even listening to part 2, the 2 parts should have been combined into a 4-5 hour mini. As of yet, only the very beginning is important, and the rest is just reminding everyone this story used to be a swoon-worthy romance. While Poppy sleeps, he's telling her every detail from his point of view, and realistically, no one would go into so many details. The ladies in waiting that flirted when he first became her guard, does anyone care how many colors or how many stones she was sewing into her mask? Would anyone even remember that, in detail, so long after it happened that it should be described to the letter as if it mattered? Or could it be skimmed over (or omitted) like it would have been, had this actually been him retelling the story after so much time has passed between them? Or maybe he thinks Kieran might GAF... because the readers here certainly did not. Most of the book's details are like this. I listened at 1.5 speed just to get through it, and still almost didn't finish it. Kept waiting for something that might be important... and it never came.

[Kyra Bookdragonmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐
Ok, this series keeps stretching it. I get it, it's popular, it must make money, and it is a compelling read, because despite knowing by now that it tends to pull new things out of someone's ass, I keep reading it and enjoying it. This time around we basically go back to the beginning and revisit FBAA but from Hawke/Casteel's POV, which is a known technique to keep milking a book series. However, unlike other attempts (looking at you, midnight sun) this one gives you a reason for it.
Poppy has gone into a deep sleep and Casteel is by her side and starts telling her the story of "how we met" from his side, much like people read or talk to their loved ones in a coma.
We'll see what the second half has to offer.

[Jennica Vogel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will pick up anything with Stewart Crank.
Bonus, it's all POV Casteel.
Downfall, it's just a retelling of book #1 almost line for line.

But to hear Stewart read frank-smut, I will purchase allllll the Audibles.

[Adina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars! Finally making some progress with this series! I liked this one a lot more than the middle books though it still doesn’t feel as strongly fleshed out as the first book or two did. Love the graphic audio narration!

[Stephanie Flaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just recounting Casteel's POV of From Blood and Ash. I was hoping there was going to be some plot reveals, but it was mostly the same as the first book. We will see for the second half. But it was still entertaining, loved the graphic audio of it.

[debl · Rating 2 out of 5]

ugh at least 50% of this was an exact retelling of what happened earlier in the series which was SOOOO boring to me

[Krissie Pooh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this the first time with my eyes, and it was good. I reread with the graphic audio, and it was great! So much better of an experience. Loved it!

[Kristina Brand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved as much as reading it the 1st time! I thoroughly enjoy Casteel's POV! It feels as if it just latches you onto the characters even more. Gives more depth & feeling

[sophslilbookcorner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea how much I needed to hear From Blood and Ash from Casteel’s point of view - even though he’s telling it to help wake Poppy from stasis!

[Cat Rothrock · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to have a different POV but it goes so far back. I’m interested is the present this far along in the series.

[Kahlia Smythe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a single piece of new information in the series. A retelling of the first book in a new POV.