Review: A Fire in the Flesh by Jennifer L Armentrout

Name: A Fire in the Flesh
Series: Flesh and Fire #3
Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Publisher: Blue Box Press
Format: Kindle
Genres: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
Noted Tropes: Arranged Marriage, Prophecy, High Stakes, Separation
Steam or Spice: Both

Rating:

Synopsis: Goodreads
The only thing that can save the realms now is the one thing more powerful than the Fates.

After a startling betrayal ends with both Sera and the dangerously seductive ruler of the Shadowlands she has fallen madly in love with being held captive by the false King of the Gods, there is only one thing that can free Nyktos and prevent the forces of the Shadowlands from invading Dalos and igniting a War of Primals.

Convincing Kolis won’t be easy, though – not even with a lifetime of training. While his most favored Revenant is insistent that she is nothing more than a lie, Kolis’s erratic nature and twisted sense of honor leave her shaken to the core, and nothing could’ve prepared her for the cruelty of his Court or the shocking truths revealed. The revelations not only upend what she has understood about her duty and the very creation of the realms but also draw into question exactly what the true threat is. However, surviving Kolis is only one part of the battle. The Ascension is upon her, and Sera is out of time.

But Nyktos will do anything to keep Sera alive and give her the life she deserves. He’ll even risk the utter destruction of the realms, and that’s exactly what will happen if he doesn’t Ascend as the Primal of Life. Yet despite his desperate determination, their destinies may be out of their hands.

But there is that foreseen unexpected thread—the unpredictable, unknown, and unwritten. The only thing more powerful than the Fates…

Review:

This is book 3 in the series, therefore it stands to reason spoilers for the previous books may be included in the below.

Oh boy, where do I start with this one. After the cliffhanger in A Light in the Flame we knew where this book was going to go and it was no place good. If we thought Book 2 was dark, things were about to get a whole lot darker. Because Kolis has shown up and not in a pleasent way. He is a messed up and problematic character – I am quite happy to admit I hate this guy. He is awful.

As a result of his-awful-ness taking more centre stage in this book, we do find ourselves deeply concerned for Nyktos (Ash) and Sera as things do not look bright. Though we do get to experience some of the things that have appeared in the other series (Blood and Ash) in a really cool way here, afterall this series is a prequel to Blood and Ash! So it makes sense we’d see some of that stuff appearing here.

I read this book in 2 days, devoured it, if you will. So despite the darkness and the sadness this book was so damn good. I thought that Sera and Nyktos being separated for so much of the book would mean I’d enjoy this less, but the emotional torture provided whenever Sera and Kolis were interacting meant that nothing felt like it was dragging out! Which is impressive, because typically when the main couple are separated for so long, I do find myself wanting to skip parts just to get to the next bit where there is a hint of them together again (bad habit! but I’m much better as an adult fighting that urge than I was when I was younger!).

Small contradiction – Sera’s inner monologues are beginning to drag out a little bit, but I can kind of understand where it is coming from.

I was so hopeful for more baby drakens, but Jadis and Reaver weren’t the only characters missing from this book! We didn’t get much of any of the side characters that we have grown to love in the previous books. I would have been fine with Sera and Kolis’ time together to have been reduced for even just one scene of the babies!

We did get introduced to a new side character in this book, Callum. And ohhhh boy is Callum a piece of work. And Attes. So a new cast of side characters? I’m not swapping out Ash’s circle and the babies for them, but they were interesting for sure.

The end of this book had me wondering how the hell I was going to survive until book 4 comes out… thankfully, as of the time I’m writing this, not much longer to wait! ARCs are going out to people and I’m excited to finally get my hands on it.

“I can’t…I love you. I do. Fates, I do. I fucking love you. How can I not? How can this not be love?” He screamed to the elms …“I love you, even if I cannot. I’m in love with you.” – Nyktos / Ash

Reading With Tyler