A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (From Blood and Ash #2)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Pages: 637
Overall: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4.5/5
Cheers Factor: 5/5
Pairing: Honeydew
This cocktail is a different take on the traditional Bellini instead it’s a Honeydew Melon Bellini. The reason for the twist is well… read the book and then let me know about why it’s honeydew. For this one instead of using prosecco or champagne I suggest using a cava. They are all virtually the same, but they differ in region of origin. Cava comes from Spain and its vineyards and I personally fell in love with it while studying abroad there and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to use a sparkling wine. 

Ingredients (This recipe is for using a whole bottle. I find it is easiest to use an entire bottle of sparkling wine then try to save it. Plus that means you get to invite friends over to drink it with you.)

-5 cups of diced honeydew melon (about half of a large melon)
-2 tablespoons lime juice
-Sugar to taste based on sweetness of the melon
-​1 bottle of Cava (for a relatively affordable option I love Freixenet Brut in the blacked out bottle)
Instructions

1. Combine the diced honeydew with the lime juice and sugar in a blender and blend until it has a smooth consistency like a puree.
2. Strain and chill for 30 minutes
3. Fill a flute less than halfway with the puree
4. Add cava carefully it may get very fizzy 
5. Stir and enjoy
   
   
   Take a Shot: (18+ for sexual content) Poppy is on a journey of self discovery and unending revelations as the world she once knew is questioned and she starts to learn her whole life is a lie. Read along as her trust is tried as well as her newfound relationships that had been forbidden to her as The Maiden. 
   That’s all I’ve got without spoiling anything. Check out the review for the first book if you want to see more about the series!​

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"Sometimes the heartbreak that comes with loving is worth it, even if loving that person means eventually saying goodbye to them."

Check Out From Blood and Ash #1

THIS BOOK IS MY NEW FAVORITE SERIES. I was not kidding when I said it gave me all the Sarah J. Maas vibes with the whole Twilight vampire aspect and the Game of Thrones style gods. I’m absolutely in love. Admittedly this book is a little slower with more exposition than the first one, but it all felt very necessary. The slower pace really gave the characters a chance to interact in a more personal level without external threats rushing them which I appreciated.
    I loved getting to watch Poppy grow in her own ways that she was never allowed as The Maiden. She really began to realize all the freedoms and liberties that Casteel desperately wants for her and even fights for her to have. I obviously love this couple together so I didn’t love when Poppy was mad at Casteel for lying to her, but it felt very authentic. He basically had lied to her about everything he was and then turned everything she believed on its head. If I were in her position I likely would have been the same way. Their relationship really grows in a natural way that made me feel more connected to them. The “pretending” that she was just Poppy and he was just Hawke was also a cute way for both of them to deny their true feelings and avoid admitting that they were both scared.
    I loved getting to see all of the different settings our characters were in especially seeing Casteel as Prince Casteel Da’Neer and his interactions not only with those close with him, but everyone he encounters. Obviously that’s a large reason why Poppy continues to fall for him and that only made me swoon more. It was great to see more of the world however, and travel in it with these two characters given that we only know a limited range of many topics from Poppy’s perspective as the former Maiden. Seeing the wonder that Poppy has at all the new places she is seeing is truly great. My personal favorite setting is the cave knowing how special it is to Casteel.
    In conclusion this was a fantastic second installment in this series and I’m itching to read the next one in April when it is released. I love the way it reminds me of other titles with it’s similarities like in A Discovery of Witches they are also blood bonded in their sexual relationship. It’s a truly beautiful and new story with great character development and I’m not kidding when I say Casteel and Poppy are my new favorite book couple and not just because they know how to fight and she likes to throw knives at him.

"I don't want to pretend. I'm Poppy and you're Casteel and this is real."