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Since I’m not as young as I used to be, I can only read for so long before fatigue sets in. Audiobooks have rescued me, providing access to the stories I love. However, when I found all three books from the Flesh and Fire series by Jennifer L. Armentrout at Half Price Books, I had to have them. Then I flipped through them. And I decided to read a chapter or two while waiting for more Audible credits.

Ha ha.

This isn’t a book you can start and then stop. With the aid of my old-lady clip on light, I dove into book one, A Shadow in the Ember. It was everything I adore in romantasy. If you loved the story beats and characters in the Blood and Ash series, you will appreciate the fact this book gives you more of the same. If you were hoping this volume would depart from the original series, you may be disappointed. I am a reader that, if I like a story, can read it in multiple iterations. If that’s not you, and you feel satisfied with your experience of B&A, you could skip this series. But first, some housekeeping.

• Violence of a magical and sword/dagger variety

• Death by dismemberment

• Explicit sex 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️featuring biting, similar to vampires

Set in a world where mortals and gods co-exist, the reader is introduced to Seraphena “Sera” Mierel. Our protagonist is the hidden-in plain-sight princess destined to become the Consort of the Primal of Death, Nyktos. As such, she is groomed in the arts of seduction—and assassination.

Sera is seen as the kingdom of Lasania’s only savior. If she can trick the Primal of Death into falling in love with her, he would be weakened enough to kill. Killing Nyktos would also obliterate the Rot, a blight that is slowly but surely destroying the fertility of the land. It would also likely result in Sera’s death. But what is one life when compared to that of an entire kingdom?

Complications arise when the Primal of Death is shown to be kindhearted, just, and handsome as hell (pun intended). It doesn’t help that one kiss ignites Sera body and soul.

Armentrout is a master of using some of romantasy’s favorite tropes. This novel features arranged marriage, enemies-to-lovers, fake “make-out” to avoid detection, and doing it for the first time. You definitely have my attention.

But truly, its the way in which she writes the romance that makes the very pages of the book seem to sizzle. Of all the sensory descriptions in the book, the kissing parts are truly the best. She does such a great job of honing in on every physical reaction Sera has while be being kissed—or more. Armentrout doesn’t overuse flowery language to describe anatomy in a way that makes some readers cringe. Yet there’s nothing vulgar about her word choice, in part because she allows the reader into Sera’s feelings and memories evoked by the physical sensations. Its truly masterful interiority. There’s a real reason why romantasy readers flock to this author.

A Shadow in the Ember features a large cast of humans, gods/Primals, and draken (dragon-shifters). The cast is the correct size for a work with this many pages. However, I wish Armentrout had spent more time creating a few tags to help me keep everyone straight in my mind.

For those of you that don’t know, tags are little breadcrumbs a writer includes to jog your memory. In ACOTAR, Lucien has a mechanical eye that is referenced often when he is introduced. This is handy when he disappears for long stretches of the series, because when he returns, there is a mention of that mechanical eye. Boom. Instant memory jog. Brandon Sanderson, while not a romantasy author, does this with acumen in his high fantasy series Mistborn. Even though its been years since my last reread, Vin’s dark hair and swirling mist cloak, Eland’s penchant to always have his nose in a book, and Sazed’s tall form instantly come to mind. Their faces and personalities are real to me.

Sadly, I can’t say the same for all of the characters in this volume. In the second half of the book when a new slew of characters is introduced, I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. By the end I did manage to know most everyone, but their faces and dress were still murky in my mind’s eyes. While some readers won’t care, as a visual person this saddened me. It also lessens the probability of epic fan art.

Some reviews also noted they felt that Sera and Nyktos were too similar in personality to Poppy and Cas in the Blood and Ash series. Fair enough, but also, it works.

Finally, my only real complaint is how completely contrary Sera is at times. The number of promises she makes and breaks was annoying. If you must be going about your secret assassin mission, at least be more crafty with your words or lie by omission.

Since this is a spoiler free review, I can’t go into full detail about the plot. With that caveat, I want to rave about the pacing. This story is over 500 pages long, and yet I couldn’t get enough. From blighted kingdoms to the Shadowlands, there is mystery, danger, and intrigue at every turn. While I correctly guessed a few of the twists, there was one character in particular who completely threw me for a loop when his true identity was revealed. Nice use of gender-swapping there to trick someone versed in the legends and mythology used to inspire this world. There was another reveal that was foreseen, but had me squealing with delight to have called it.

The ending hook? MASTERFUL.

For readers of genre fiction who enjoy the use of tropes and the tried and true romantasy formula, Armentrout is a MUST READ author. I loved dipping back into this world, and I feel like I’m in good company. For those of you who are not die-hard romantasy readers or writers, sticking to the original Blood and Ash series will give you a good idea of Armentrout’s style.

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