From Blood and Ash

This special edition features premium design enhancements—including sprayed and designed edges, a glossed and embossed cover, and an original piece of commissioned artwork.

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

Captivating and action-packed, From Blood and Ash is a sexy, addictive, and unexpected fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.

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# 1 NEW YORK TIMES, # 1 International, and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout lives in West Virginia. She also writes under the name J. Lynn. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write. She shares her home with her husband, his K-9 partner named Diesel and her hyper Border Jack Apollo, and a slew of farm animals that include alpacas, goats, and sheep.

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout is a fantasy romance about a young woman named Poppy, who has grown up believing that her life is not her own. She is the Maiden, a sacred figure chosen by the gods, destined to remain untouched, unseen, and silent until the time of her Ascension. Because of this role, Poppy lives behind veils and rules, guarded at all times, forbidden from forming friendships, feeling desire, or making her own choices. People bow to her but never truly look at her. To the kingdom, she is a symbol; to herself, she is a lonely girl caged in ritual. Her days are controlled by priests, royal expectations, and strict punishments. Yet beneath the quiet obedience, Poppy is curious, strong-willed, and far more defiant than anyone realizes. She sneaks out, trains with weapons, and secretly helps protect others, quietly rebelling against the idea that she should just be a passive sacrifice.

The world she lives in is shaped by legends of terrifying creatures and divine intervention. There are the Craven—monstrous beings that were once human, now driven by bloodlust—and there are the Ascended, powerful, immortal-like nobles who rule the kingdom and claim to be blessed by the gods. The people trust these stories: that the Ascended protect them, that the Maiden’s Ascension will keep the kingdom safe, that everything has a divine purpose. But from Poppy’s perspective, things don’t always make sense. The rules around her are rigid and cruel, especially when enforced through pain and fear. She has already endured trauma, including a violent attack in her childhood that shaped her understanding of danger and loss. Still, she feels drawn toward the edges of the forbidden, sensing that the truth about her world is sharper and darker than the tales told in temple halls.

Her life shifts when a new guard is assigned to her: Hawke Flynn, a mysterious, confident warrior with a reputation and a sharp tongue. Hawke is unlike the others who protect her. He doesn’t treat her only as a symbol or a burden; he looks at her as a person. He challenges her, teases her, listens to her. His presence feels dangerous in more than one way: he is skilled with weapons and fearless in battle, but he also awakens feelings in Poppy that she has been told are sinful. With him, the veil that separates her from the world feels thinner. Their conversations crack open her loneliness, and their growing attraction breaks every rule that governs her life. The more time they spend together—as Poppy sneaks out to experience life beyond temple walls, as Hawke guards her during increasing threats—the more their bond deepens into something forbidden and powerful.

Poppy’s double life becomes the heart of the story. By day, she is the Maiden—obedient, veiled, controlled. By night, and in secret, she is the girl who slips beyond her role, who learns to fight and to feel, who laughs and argues with Hawke, who tastes freedom in small stolen moments. Through her eyes, we see the cost of being turned into an icon instead of a human being. She is punished when she steps out of line, physically and emotionally. The Priests and Ascended remind her that her life belongs to the gods, not to herself. Yet each act of rebellion, each quiet decision to help someone in danger or to question the rules, reveals her courage. Poppy doesn’t long for power as much as she longs for choice—for the simple right to decide who she touches, what she sees, and who she loves.

As the story unfolds, the kingdom’s stability begins to crack. The Craven attacks grow more frequent and more organized, terror pressing in at the borders and even into supposedly safe areas. Rumors spread of unrest, of other lands, of truths that don’t match the official stories. Poppy finds herself at the center of rising danger. Some people worship her as a holy figure whose Ascension will save them; others see her as a tool to be used or a prize to be taken. Her value to the kingdom becomes clearer, but so does the fact that she is heavily controlled by those who claim to protect her. Hawke, tasked with keeping her safe, is always near as threats escalate. He sees her fight, not just with weapons but with her own fear and doubts. Their relationship grows more intense against this backdrop of looming war and mystery, turning from flirtation into fierce, complicated desire.

A major turn in the book comes when Poppy begins to realize that the truths she’s been taught might be lies—or at least carefully shaped versions of reality. Strange incidents, overheard conversations, and her own experiences start to unravel the clean picture of gods, Ascended, and Craven. The line between monster and protector blurs. Hawke himself begins to show sides that don’t quite fit the role of simple guard. His knowledge, reactions, and decisions hint at secrets he is hiding. Poppy’s trust in him is tested, even as her feelings deepen. This mixture of romance and suspicion drives much of the emotional tension: she wants him, she relies on him, but she also senses that he is not exactly who he says he is.

When violence finally crashes directly into Poppy’s world, everything changes quickly. There are deaths, betrayals, and revelations that destroy her understanding of her purpose. The safe paths she might have imagined—quietly ascending, quietly serving the gods—are shattered. The truth about Hawke’s identity and intentions lands like a blow. He is not simply a guard devoted to her role; he is deeply connected to the forces that threaten the kingdom and the Ascended’s power. Yet his feelings for Poppy are not fake, and she cannot easily separate him from the person who listened to her, teased her, and offered her glimpses of freedom. Their connection becomes both wound and lifeline—full of anger, attraction, hurt, and undeniable chemistry.

As Poppy is pulled out of the life she has always known, she is forced to see herself in a different light. She is not just the Maiden, not just a symbol, and perhaps not at all what the Ascended told her she was. Her own strength, choices, and blood carry significance she never imagined. The book traces her shift from a girl shaped by others into someone who begins to claim herself, even while reeling from betrayal and loss. She must decide who to trust, how to use the abilities she discovers she has, and what kind of future she wants in a world where gods, monsters, and men all demand something from her.

By the end of From Blood and Ash Poppy’s journey has only just begun, but the foundations of her old life are gone. She has fallen into a relationship that is both dangerous and transformative, learned that the line between enemy and lover can be very thin, and stepped into a wider, harsher truth about the kingdom she once thought she was destined to save. The book closes with her standing at a crossroads between the role she was forced into and the person she’s becoming—a young woman forged in blood, lies, and desire, who must now decide what she will fight for and who she will become in a world that is no longer simple, no longer sacred, and no longer safe.