High Fantasy

The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood & Ash #3)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Average Rating: 3.38 / 5

Trigger Warnings:

Jump back to A Kingdom of Flesh & Fire (#2)

Growing up sheltered and stifled, it was beyond Poppy’s wildest dreams that she could possibly experience a love like the one she shares with Prince Casteel. But before they can truly enjoy their happily ever after, they first have to answer the question of what each of their brothers have become. And they have to deal with the threat from the Queen of Solis. It will be a dangerous mission and more than their lives are at stake. It’s a mission that Poppy is destined to attempt, because she is the Chosen.  The blood of the gods that flows through her veins means that Atlantia is hers to rule. The crown and the kingdom are undeniably hers.

Poppy has been fighting for her own autonomy her whole life.  She doesn’t want power over others, she just wants to be free to make her own choices. But if she doesn’t agree to accept her birthright and the gilded crown it comes with, who else will have the ability to save her people? A people she has yet to know and love. Will she be willing to tie herself to another higher purpose and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire? And will she withstand the long-forgotten force that is determined to stop her from ever wearing the crown?

Threats strike from within the Kingdom and without. The Queen of Blood and Ash is readying to make her move against Atlantia, and her plan for Poppy is yet unclear. What is clear is that Atlantia will need more firepower to win this conflict. Exploring all options, Poppy and Casteel will consider the unthinkable – is travel to the Lands of the Gods possible? And could they survive waking the King? Well hidden secrets and shocking betrayals will be revealed, and Poppy and Casteel will come face to face with the question of just how far they are willing to go.

Corinna: 4/5 

Armentrout’s ability to leave us dangling is unreal. The first few chapters were excellent, a wild ride of ups and downs that left you surprised you were less than 200 pages in, but there was a good chunk of the middle that was drawn out too much. There was too much speculation on Poppy’s heritage and abilities. A lot of history and world building was done, but I still feel it could have been summarized more succinctly. There were a lot of steamy scenes again, and it didn’t bother me as much in this book, because at least now Poppy and Casteel had actually said, I love you and were honest, and not playing a weird game to achieve different ends. The trope of Poppy saying “I have questions” was so overdone, it became an annoying characteristic instead of an endearing one. 

I loved the last couple of chapters where we got to meet Queen Ileana again, and that twist….didn’t see that coming! I ended up reading this book twice, once in January and then again in June to write this review. I ended up liking the ending and lead-in to book 4 way better after the second read. A friend told me to look at it from a girl power, strong women point of view, and it totally changed my perspective. Looking forward to seeing Poppy rock her abilities more.

Lydia: 3.5/5

This series has tortured me in the best ways so far. I am so excited to read the next book to figure out what the heck is going on.

I’ll start with why I gave this a 3.5 over a 5 – the main reason is due to the fact that there is so much (too much in my opinion) back and forth on who Poppy’s parents are and what she is capable of. While I usually appreciate a slow burn, I found myself getting extremely impatient (I might have yelled a few things at certain parts) and just wanting to know what the end was. 

Another factor of why I docked a couple of points from this book was because I was so tired of reading “Let me guess, you have a question?” Once or twice? fine. But I’m confident that this line was used at least 10 times. 

I have very much enjoyed seeing Poppy and Casteel’s character arcs throughout the books but this one in particular was my favorite. I am a HUGE fan of Casteel’s and not just because he can thoroughly read and action the words written in Willa’s journal but because there is a lot more to him than your typical hunky male who saves the day – as you see with some romance/fantasy books. 

Naturally Armentrout ended this one on a cliffhanger which I’m slightly annoyed with but of course I will be reading the next one. I can’t wait to see what finally becomes of Poppy. I am expecting some BIG moves.

Megan: 2.5/5

As a huge fantasy fan, I should be head-over-heels in love with this series. It has everything: adventure, magic, and mythical beings. But for some reason it just keeps coming up short. I was actually quite annoyed with this book. It started off pretty decent. I mean, how could it not with the last book ending with the Atlantian Queen throwing down her crown? From that point onwards, Poppy and Casteel learn more of the history of Atlantia and Solis and begin to get an understanding of Poppy’s heritage and bloodline.

One of my biggest pet peeves with this book was that Armentrout just repeated the same thing over and over. Stressful situation, sex. Poppy was nervous about something, sex. Long travels, more sex. It was ridiculous and totally unnecessary for the story. One thing I should have been doing was counting the number of times Poppy said “I have a question”, and Kieran making some sort of remark that no one was surprised. It was quirky in the first two books, but way overused in this one.

When I wasn’t annoyed, I actually enjoyed the story. The banter between the characters was on point, and I definitely had a few chuckles reading some of the dialogues. When things were happening, I was invested and wanted to know more. Thankfully the last few pages really did it for me. It was an ending that I did not see coming and I appreciate how it sets up Poppy’s character going forward. I swear, Armentrout leaves cliffhanger endings to ensure her readers keep coming back. If it weren’t for that, I’m not sure I would be inclined to continue reading this series.

Sharaya: 3.5/5

I am frustrated. The writing is going downhill with each book, yet the core of the story is fabulous. I want to quit reading, but I can’t just yet. Once again, this book starts the instant the previous book ended.  I recommend that you have some spare time, because the first 125 pages are wild! It was basically a continuation of the AKOFAF (A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire) climax.

My complaints have been growing steadily (which makes me nervous for future installments).  Firstly, I think Armentrout is trying to reach a specific page count because the same essential story could be told in 400 pages instead of 600+. The characters always take circuitous routes to reach their destinations/goals. More is not always better. Additionally, I found that character quirks were extremely overused. If someone keeps bringing up the same joke, eventually, regardless of how funny or charming it first was, it becomes annoying. In the same vein, I am tired of Poppy’s innocence. In book 1 she’s presented as sheltered and smart, but she’s yet to move beyond that. It’s unrealistic how surprised she is by things that she should have seen coming. She’s not as smart as Armentrout claims. 

I was finally able to clarify something that’s been low-key bothering me, and that is the timing of Cas’, umm.. amorous feelings. I think Cas has to have sex with Poppy after she does something powerful as a way to possess her.  If he dominates her, then she’s still his, even though she’s clearly moving beyond him. I don’t think he’s conscious of this, but I do think it’s there.

Finally, Armentrout’s world building is too complicated. She continues to add subsections and categories of beings. Often the names are similar and the differences are nuanced. If a character is half Atlantian and deity, then they are “___” … Unless they are this type of Atlantian, or the deity is second generation, or the god is from this line….. I am usually very good at tracking details like these and I’m completely confused. I think Armentrout’s making it up as needed and there was no initial plan. A glossary or a family/creature tree is needed.

I think perhaps the craziest thing about this series is that considering all of these issues, and that I had to force myself through the last third, I still feel like continuing.  Armentrout is extremely good at cliff-hangers and the core of her story is engaging.  I wonder if what is actually needed is a more aggressive fantasy editor who can cut through the noise to the fabulous story beneath?

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