Actual footage of me (I'm the screaming child) - instagram.com/reel/CKqVqFBo9bR/ But also, you know that while I do take ages to forgive these kinds of characters, books often grown on me so even tho this video is up on the internet unchanging, my opinion on this series might change!
I actually had the opposite problem the first time I read Six of Crows this fall. I didn’t know anything about that book or that world going into it, but multiple friends of mine hyped up the romance aspects of the story and talked about how much they loved Kaz. Needless to say, when I read it, I was confused... I ended up DNFing it halfway through and absolutely hated it. Now, I’m rereading it fully knowing that it’s just a heist story with a bunch of morally grey characters (and virtually no romance) and I’m actually loving it! I’m not even done with SoC, but I already bought crooked kingdom. Being in the right headspace for a book/having the appropriate expectations is sooooo important lol.
Wait why are we the same person? I could not understand why everyone shipped Kaz and Inej!! I was so lost. I didn’t even like Kaz like at all (still a little indifferent about him). Once I understood thats how it be, I started to really like it. Nina is my fav. I’m currently reading the second book and I’m enjoying it much more cause now I know what’s going down lol.
@@KD-CD I love Jesper too. That’s my baby!! Also yes Inej as a lesbian would be everything. I’m not a huge fan of how Kaz is just sorta good at everything hahahahaha. But I understand some people are just that smart lol. And he’s not nice to his crew at all. So I don’t get why ppl like him 😪
@@Talia778 if you ever watch Peaky Blinders, Kaz is Tommy Shelby. But I honestly don't like bad boy tropes even though I did like Kaz at times he was just inconsistent at points where I needed him to be bold
I completely forgot that even happend and just laughed out loud 😂 tbh if there were less sex scenes and the action scenes were expanded on more I'd definitely enjoy the series much more but I still enjoyed reading the books for the most part. Kieran is my favorite character I love him so much 😭
I completely agree with what you have said: the second book had no plot apart from them realizing they were in love, but I was there for it. I love romance driven fantasy stories, so this was quite good for my taste. However, I wouldn’t complain for there to be a bit more action, especially on the battle scenes (I hated the s*x scene during the battle, I just wanted to see some epic action. Also wtf, people are dying out there fighting and you’re just having s*x?).
When I started reading the series, I thought it was going to be a regular magic system/ fantasy novel. But nooo lol 😭. I didn't realize it was a vampire/werewolf book until they mentioned vampry for the first time. They were so many clues and they just flew past me 🤣.
I sooooo feel editing Cari's first disclaimer. I love fantasy, and I'm also a HUGE romance reader, but I want to know what I'm getting myself into it! I have v different reading expectations for a romance that takes place in a fantasy world vs. a fantasy story that might have a little romance in the background.
exactly!! i was thinking it was going to be more like crescent city which does have a lot of plot and action but this was just a whooooole 'nother thing hahaha
i'm so happy someone else went thru the same experience!!!! i didn't know so many things going into this book and was so surprised... i was like where are the fairies? whe-- oh now they're biting each other. ahhkhj
I was under the impression that it was a YA book and that it was a fantasy with romance like INSERT YOUTBET NAME HERE but once I saw it was by Jennifer A I knew I was wrong lol
I got this book recommended by my friend and finally someone liked Rylan! I was so devastated by his death that I didn’t even like hawke and grieved for Rylan throughout the rest of the book 😂 I also feel like Jennifer L. Armentrout writes 500 pages of nothing but waiting and romance and crams the drama/plot twist/action into the last 100 pages
I’m a teenage boy, just so you know you have that demographic. I expect to be pandered to in future videos. Ps, loving Kafka on the shore right now because of your recommendation.
I am a romance reader, or at least I had a strong romance phase, and to be honest I'm really grateful for this series because it got me into reading fantasy! I read it in November and I was expecting it to be a romance and I was amazed at how different the romance felt when it had fantasy elements, at that time it felt so...magical, I don't know. I actually agree with everything you say, although I did enjoy the first book a lot and the second book less (even I was bored at some point). But! It was literally the first "fantasyish" book I read in a long time, and it helped me rediscover the genre of fantasy and from that moment I've been reading fantasy non-stop and enjoying it so much!
OMG haha I wasn't expecting you to read this series but I'm glad you gave it a shot!! I personally enjoyed both books a lot, but I think I went into them with the mindset that I wanted to read a romance-heavy book and not so much a fantasy book w a side of romance. It honestly shouldn't even be primarily categorized as a fantasy since its soooo heavy on the romance w not a lot of plot development. I don't read romance that often either (its typically not my cup of tea lol). and I loved casteel's character .... not really sure what that says about my taste in men but I'm gonna ignore it. LMAO
Good for you for being more bold with your opinions!! Because I know you’re wondering, the romance community is totally NOT offended lol💗 I know you’re working on being more unapologetic & I see that😌👏🏻
Thank you for your video, I completely agree with you. I picked up the book as an avid reader of fantasy-ish romance and I found myself appalled by the male protagonist’s actions (esp after the big reveal). I felt uneasy as well, especially towards the later half of the book, of how dismissive he was of her feelings and anger (also how he couldn’t stay with her during the night without any sex *eye roll*) etc. I will not continue with the series, I really do not want to upset myself more 😅 but if you decide to make a video after the 3rd book comes out, I will definitely watch it! Love your videos 😊❤️
I loved both books but it's always refreshing to hear someone else's opinion, especially when it differs from what everyone else is saying. I personally enjoy reading romance and this series was my first real spicy book read. The world building in from blood and ash actually made me put down the book for a week. It was exactly how you said it was, very much dot point information being thrown at us. I actually found Poppy in the first book to be really annoying, I can't quite describe it lol but she just seemed immature and naive to me. Once she found out who Hawke was it was just fighting and having sex until the book ended, not that I'm complaining about the spicy stuff but it was repetitive. I didn't really like how we had to read every single day from morning to night. So yeah I agree with you about the characters just staying in one location for so long, it made the story feel sort of stagnant.
You know what really annoys me, JL wrote a romance but the very first s3x scene between the two characters is sexual assault because Poppy was under the impression that she was consenting to Hawke, not Prince Casteel. It’s sexual assault through deceit and it’s an issue. Also JL already created a really similar world in her Covenant series (and I actually think that it is a much better series which is weird because she wrote it years ago) Completely agree that she let the cat out of the bag when it cane to the plot twist. I guessed as soon as the first ‘jaw thing’ happened, where his anger was really clear and I was like oh so he’s the prince in disguise. I think the series needs a proper edit bc chunks of dialogue need to GO. I’ve just finished the third, and I don’t understand how this will be dragged out to 6 books with these two ‘heartmates’ (gag) as a couple. Kieran is the best part of the series and I’m already sick of his ‘questions’ line. Okay essay over 🤪
Dead me too poor Kieran like give him better lines. I get it’s supposed be like an inside joke or whatever but if I have to read that one more time oh myyyy goshhh
I stumbled upon one of your videos a couple of days ago and now I'm a fan! Really like the way you put humor between explaining so it's not too serious or too intense :D
When I saw the thumbnail and the title of the video I literally said “oh my sweet child stumbled into one of the prominent romance writers.” Her books are pretty steamy, pretty tropey, sometimes problematic. It was fun hearing all of your thoughts about the books.
I tend to go in to books pretty blindly. I'll have usually heard some sort of hype about it and just picked it up based off of that, so I've *_definitely_* had the experience of reading something that's completely different from what I thought was being offered (and since I'm such a mood reader that can really kill my vibe 😂)
omg i read this a week ago, not knowing romance took the front seat. i felt like it was too much for me loll. i prefer my slow burns too (and i didn't like hawke very much). i recommend "a trial of sorcerers," one of my favorite fantasy ya books with a good slow burn
Your b-roll footage of Korea makes me miss it so much. I studied abroad for a semester in 2013 and Seoul was such a nice city to live in. Doesn't help that I had a dream about it last night. I'm so nostalgic right now...
i didn’t like this book... especially the ending, i just didn’t get it. i dont like hawke and towards the end poppy’s decisions just made absolutely no sense to me. i love fantasy romance books, but this book was off for me.
100% felt like she wanted to write a smutty romance and had to throw a random vampire-not-vampire storyline behind it to make up for the biting thing hahhah
I usually say "I like Hawke but not Casteel"... As in I liked him in the first book but not the second... For the same reasons Cari was saying there! I didnt like the sexual jokes/laughter when Poppy had just been through so much! Where did the sensitivity go??
AHH I loved Rylan too but Vikter’s part killed me more 🥺 I enjoyed this series in a guilty pleasure read kinda way haha but I see what you mean 😂😂 On the fantasy side, I can’t wait for the next book bc the ending w the wolves, mist, and blood wow
I normally really enjoy fantasy romance, but I read the first chapter of Blood and Ash and got such strong Sarah J Maas/badly written erotica disguised as high fantasy vibes and immediately DNF`d it.
I'm so glad I watched this video. So many of the comments you made were things I said while reading. I am currently debating reading the third one because I don't want to buy it but feel the need to know what happens next even though I know I just keep digging my grave by reading the next one lmao. Thanks for your review!!
I'm so happy you made this video because i wanted to know what this series is like but definitely did not want to read it atall 🤠 btw Cari you should definitely read These Violent Delights if you haven't!!! slow burn gang for the win🏃
I personally think the third and fourth are my favs so far in the series, the second one being the worst… they literally are just traveling and kissing the whole time in Flesh and Fire
I was unreasonably happy to see you back at milestones coffee!! This was a funny vlog to have watched with 0 intention of reading these books (not my kind of thing!), the commentary was 10/10 lol
I can totally relate to this Cari, this book sounds appalling to me 😂 although to be fair, i actually hate romance in books with a passion, so if i‘d read this by accident i‘d have probably DNF‘d it immediately 😂
i absolutely loved this book review! is was so enlightening seeing a different perspective of the series. i now realized that my top two reading styles is fantasy with a pinch of romance and romance with a pinch fantasy (which is something i didn’t realize was a thing). i can’t wait to watch your review on the third book (i’m currently reading) and see it from your perspective. i adore casteel but after hearing points i definitely have learned that i definitely like the trope of toxic men.. if that doesn’t say a lot about me lol
Actually, I just saw on the author's profile that the series will have 6 books. And then there will be one or more containing Casteel's POV haha. 😆 I really wanna know how you feel about that. Also, if you want you can also vlog the whole experience while reading them! Love you 💞
I'm the Alexandra from the Goodreads comment (so thank you so much for explaining your review!) and honestly, I laughed so much during your video 😅 I could see myself reading it again. Like you, I also picked the book expecting a "classic" ya/na fantasy story. But I was just "Oh... Ok. Well, that's spicy 😳...... And I'm not mad 😏😏". I was also super confused at the beginning of the 1st book but I think I ended up enjoying it more because I haven't really over-analysed everything and just went with the flow? No idea. I think book 2 is just a build-up for the last one. I ended up loving the 2 books, reading them in 4 days, and can't wait for the 3rd book to be released in April to see what's going to happen and see more or Kieran because I'm curious, what's going on with him/Cas and the new status of Poppy?! Call me thirsty, I'm owning it now hahaha Thanks again for this video Cari, like always ♥️
I had the opposite problem with The Cruel Prince!! I thought it was a romance based on how it was advertised on social media (my mistake) but it’s a fantasy first romance second!! So I totally understand not enjoying it as much because of that, I had to soft DNF TCP until I was in a fantasy mood for sure.
I‘m so late. But I just finished the throne of glass series last week and started with from blood and ash this week and just finished it. I didn‘t have a clue what it was about. On the positive side - it was really nice and easy to read and the pages flew by. But that also has to do with that there is so much less content on nearly 700 pages. I thought it was also fantasy first, love second like you did. Realized it in the first chapter and was like „alright, so less fantasy, more spice and not really that deep storywise“. I started reading it as „alright, this is just a kinda trashy spicy fantasy“ and it actually made fun. I also knew right away that he‘s the dark one and realized that there are vampires and werewolves, it was really not that hard to realize. But the one thing that made me buy the second and third book: I was reading really late, just before bed and that scene came up where she‘s stabbing him in his heart. I was like „okay, she‘s escaping, nice“ and then he bites her… and they have s*x?! I was so confused, I nearly died laughing. This was so weird 😂 tbh, I just want to continue reading, because that was one of the best laughs I ever had from books and I hope the spicy scenes will continue in just as bad 😂
I think it's a fallacy that we need to like characters just because other characters like them. No i would not forgive Hawke but I'm not Poppy. Just something to consider.
thank u. finally someone is talking about how hawke sexually harassed poppy for the majority of book one (I only read this one) and he was literally ignoring her when she tells him to let her go, forcing things on her and calling her a liar when she says something he doesn’t like 🙂🙂🙂 And those last chapters in book one made me want to through my IPad into the wall because it made ZERO sense. She was stupid and he was so repulsive 🤢 it made me cringe alotttttttt.
I only discovered your channel recently so sorry for the late comment! I really enjoy your videos and your thoughts on these books, and often find myself filled with such relief to know "I wasn't the only one", if you know what I mean. I just wanted to throw out a couple thoughts I had because I never really got to vent my frustrations with this one... When I first read FBAA, I mostly enjoyed it. The thing that bothers me the most about JLA's writing style is the way she gets so wordy and repetitive with people's thoughts. She recaps thoroughly and constantly, and I remember at some point letting out a huge sigh and muttering, "Come on," as we were once again taken through a deep dive of Poppy's confusion and confliction after having a similar episode a few chapters back. It felt like JLA was just trying to "pad her runtime" and it bored me to tears. Otherwise, I actually liked it until the end of book 1 when Poppy's character began to derail for me... I feel like, when it came to writing Poppy, JLA wanted to "have her cake and eat it, too". Poppy was supposed to be both the feminine ideal (pure, demure, empathic) and also the warrior (literally trained in combat) and her execution of this didn't work for me at all. It felt way too inconsistent. Poppy starts off very feminine and kind and empathic, which I was excited about at first because I thought, "We rarely get female main characters who are strong in their femininity!" and so I really liked her initially. But then we see Warrior Poppy, which I thought was fine at first because her reasoning was sound...until she throws a dagger at Cas and quickly starts turning into an SJM heroine with all the banter and "playful" threats of physical violence (I'm so over that, it's so overdone). In addition to Warrior Poppy, we see Martyr Poppy, who was entirely focused on how she didn't want to be the maiden and it wasn't fair and her life sucked, peppered with constant crises of faith, and I had a hard time believing her backstory and the way she was raised was true. Where did this doubt come from? We don't get to see, because when the book starts, she's already knee-deep in it. Granted, there's nothing wrong with being worried about your future and doubting the story you've been told all your life, but, despite JLA's long-winded internal monologues, she didn't give these threads enough attention to draw a clear line between one mental state and the other. What really set me off about Poppy's character was how her femininity was set up almost as a blockade to her "true self" (which turns out to be a carbon copy of all the other saucy female warrior MCs littering YA and NA fantasy these days), as though that feminine part of Poppy was somehow a weakness (or at least representative of her childish skin she sheds to grow). She had these moments of incredible empathy - like her devastation over some of the brutality she witnessed or literal episodes of feeling everyone's emotions - that didn't seem to jive with how (unconsciously) self-absorbed she was and prone to brutality that she became as the story progressed. By the end of the book, she practically goes feral with rage (because life's not fair) and everyone around her, all the supposed good guys, approves of this version of Poppy. And this is who she ultimately ends up being - a sharp-tongued, over-confident, bad-ass fighter. This is the version of her we are supposed to applaud and cheer for. She only has any ounce of her original femininity or empathy when JLA wants to contrast Casteel or needs a stalling tactic. The way she bounced back and forth between caring about others' pain and being angry at/resentful of them for their betrayals was dramatic and frustrating. Cas was actually a far more consistent character up until the end when he makes his big reveal. He goes from being this super understanding, caring, adoring guy to being the withholder of information just so JLA could stir up enough misunderstanding and sense of betrayal to justify Poppy's rage. Up until this point, I actually liked Cas (even though it was painfully apparent, as you pointed out, who he was from the beginning) and found his character arc surprisingly straight-forward despite the obvious subterfuge. I felt like I knew what his goals were, why they changed, and could draw a clear line between the plot points of his thought process up until that "shift" at the end that just derailed everything worth liking about the characters. Also, the whole scene of her making out with Cas, knowing she wanted him and loved him despite the lies, stabbing him, instantly regretting it, running away, then immediately having sex with him - it was like bad fanfiction. You could practically see JLA "herding the sheep" with the way this sequence was so purposefully arranged. Everything about it upset me because it essentially highlighted the way JLA wrote the entire book: it doesn't matter what makes sense for the plot or the characters, all that matters is what I want to happen. I read book 2 because the friend who recommended the series to me told me that Poppy got better, but I found it boring and long-winded and filled with more of the character development I didn't like in the first book. I haven't had any desire to pick up book 3. Obviously, this is just my perspective and I know most people probably saw Poppy's development very differently than I did. A lot of people really enjoyed this series and it's not my intention to insult it. It just didn't work for me in the end, which I hate because I initially really did like it and was excited to see how it developed. Edit: Oh my gosh, I just realized how long this comment is... So sorry! I guess I had a lot more to say than I thought I did.
I can see how you were taken back by the fact that this was a romance. I actually read all of jla books and i know her writing style and her type of worldbuilding, so this was not a shock to me. I guess if you're not really used to read romance books this one would come across as crass and maybe sometimes plotless 🤣 but i assure you if you try and re read the series with another mind set you could "probably" change your mind🤭. That said i liked both books, that may have been some parts that could have been avoided or wrote in a better way but after all it kept me company during the first months of lockdown and it also gave me something to look foward to (2nd book release). I would't say this is a GREAT book but, in my modest opinion, it is quite enjoyable😊
Coming back to this after just finishing FBAA. Couldn’t agree with you more Cari! I get the ick so badly from these kinds of relationships, liberate yourself Poppy dammit 😂
I like how you mentioned the repetitiveness because as I was reading it I did notice it but I kinda just pushed it to the back of my mind. And now I see how ridiculous it was 🤦♀️ I really enjoyed these books because it was a romance, but also it was frustrating to read because you only see the world through poppy’s perspective. I’m still going to read the third book of course and hopefully JLA does a lot better with the battle scenes, which I can guess there will be. Also, I know JLA came out with the Red Pearl scene from Hawke’s perspective, did you read it? If you did, what did you think of it?
Can finally come back to this video and watch it after I started the series and it feels so good to have my feelings validated 😭 In the first book, when she was in chains in the cell, realizing whats going on, losing her life and her friends and he came to her AND KEPT MAKING SEXUAL JOKES? Like "haha its really funny how you're trying to escape now, if you keep moving your body like this a lot more is gonna happen" jahsgdjahdkajmjdlamsd I haven't read the second book but there is NO redemption for me after that 💀
I have!! If you watch my vids about ya fantasy i talk about my mixed feelings hehe i think cardan needed more time to grow as a character for us as readers to forgive him for his actions in the first book but overall i like the series!
i love itttt. (Still currently reading it), i have come to realise that i love romance as a sub plot when reading books. which also makes sense on why i didn’t like it ends with us and many more popular books lol
I haven’t finished the whole video yet, but I didn’t find Poppy very forgiving at all! She held onto that anger for a while, which I def respect. I didn’t mind the whole Casteel lying thing, mostly because he didn’t intend to hurt her. He just wanted to save his brother. Not to defend his methods, but I don’t mind it because he is a good person and he only wants justice and to help the brainwashed citizens of the....vampire capital lmao. I don’t remember the name
SPOILERS: Honestly I love and hate these books a lot like i like the romance but then there is the crushing idea that poppy will (supposedly) NEVER be with another person without hawk so like we are talking about a girl who was never met/been/known (with) other people and now she has like her whole life figured out at 18 and not even by a conscious choice she made... idk im hoping for some character development and not just the “they are heart-mates so its ok that he’s 200 and a whole lifetime older than her” thing... also loved when she tried to kill him and love her personality
For me book 1 was okay .. I'm that person who doesn't continue to book two if I didn't enjoy book1, for me the second book mixing with first it's the best book I ever read and I was just satisfied, left me really happy and I can't wait for book 3
I mean same I thought I was in for fantasy and got romance, i dont read romance but now im too invested in this and I need to know what’s actually going on 😂 btw its 6 books total +1 in Cas POV for the first book
I know I'm really late to the party but I've just recently discovered this series and even more recently this channel and I cannot stop myself from commenting lol! First of all, I love how different people see this book, I really love all the perspectives and it's so much fun to listen to you even if I kinda love this series. Like for example, I totally didn't connect with the jaw twitching so him being the dark one was a bit of surprise, like I had my suspicion but it was not a sure thing. Anyway, I'm saying this because you were saying how you don't like that he is icky and stuff but to be honest... I wouldn't be logically smart for him "Poppy, guess what? Imma be betrying you soon" 🤣🤣 Also, I'm not sure if you have given up on this series for good, but recently the newest book came along (5th I believe) and almost the whole book is Hawke pov (let's not talk about if this is necessary or not cuz it's giving anime filler episode vibe 😅 but okay) and there we can see a lot more of his struggle towards "should I do it or nah" of course, in the end it doesn't really matter cuz his urges were stronger but still it was good to see that he at least was struggling with this plan. But yes, this series is definitely not perfect and the SMUT is A LOT lol. That's why I can understandall the critic towards it but sometimes you just gotta love a difficult book and that's me for you 🤪. Also ngl I really like Jennifer from the beautiful age of 16-17 so I'm a bit sentimental. Although, I think that if you want more action and plot the 3 and 4 book are better in that area. Ps. I enjoy your energy so so much. I hope you have a great year! ❤
I’m actually hoping for the third book on the series to have quite a bit more action. Also, if Poppy+Cas+Kieran aren’t a this on the third book, I will be mad.
Lol I actually liked this one better than acotar 😅😅 Poppy is SUCH a better character than Feyre like miles better. Feyre was the blandest most milk toast character I've ever read! Every time I go into a book I have to figure out what perspective I need to be in, and for this series I knew it was romance and s3x heavy which I like, and I also knew it was captor/captive because I specifically was looking for that trope. So I went in with my "this is purely p*rny fantasy with enemies to lovers and lots of k*nky sh*t which will be problematic" mindset and I think having that perspective hat on from the get go really helps to not find these things problematic. Because I totally get it, that's when good writing comes in for me to save the day because if I'm in that world...I'll forgive a lot as a reader. BUT I have definitely been annoyed with the writing and it tends to take me out of the story a lot which leads me to think and analize what it is I'm reading from the perspective of our real world and makes it feel ickier. For example, I read and loved Sea of Ruin by Pam Godwin which is one of the most horrific books I've ever read full of terrible tropes and really problematic stuff but I read it like I would watch p*rn, purely as sexy fantasy with lots of k*nk and I loved it for what it was. It's why I always try to get a good idea of what to expect from a book, so I can shift my mindset prior to reading. It helps enjoy books a lot better. Again tho, I like these tropes in my trashy fantasy romance so it's giving me what I need but from your perspective everything you said is so valid. Also, what's up with the... everywhere in this book? She goes...every few paragraphs for no grammatical reason! Why dot dot dot why...
If the premise seemed intriguing then maybe Red Winter by Annette Marie will be more for you. It has no sex scenes, the romance is slow burn, and the romance isn't the main focus. Also, the magic system is anime inspired.
After watching too many vlogs praising the book, I am here to learn of your critical input because I really didn't like the book that much. The foreshadowing was bad that all the revelations towards the end didn't really come as a surprise, tbh.. lol Hawke is like a mix of Darkling and Rhys (especially in "A Kingdom of Flesh and Bone"). And the banter between him and Poppy (in the second book) is "trying to mirror the dynamic between Rhys and Feyre but in a pre-mature or less convincing way. lol I just didn't like the writing style for this one as it made characters unlikeable with zero chemistry. Nonetheless, it was a bit enjoyable and I'm currently on the second book because I'm curious as to how this story pans out. lol I'm a romance reader and I just didn't get this one. lol
Hey queen! So I just wanted to recommend a series I think you're gonna absolutely LOVE. It's called the Arc of a Scythe series by Neil Schusterman and takes place in a future where humanity has cured all our problems and conquered death. The only institution run by humans left is the Scythedom, a government of people who keep population growth under control by killing a certain number of humans a year. This series is a rollercoaster and it's so philosophical and thought provoking, I know you'll love it!!
Have you read rangers apprentice by John Flanagan? I haven’t seen it in any of your videos and I wanted to recommend it cause I love the series. It was my second series I read in 3rd grade and that’s when my love for books started😊
the way this book is written and the god-awful poor dialogue completely ruined it for me! it totally reads like a fan fiction. and hawke wasn't even sexy half the time - he was a complete jerk and crossed so many boundaries even after poppy expressed her discomfort. he was soooo creepy, esp after the big """reveal"", i just felt so gross. additionally, the only POC character in the whole book is literally named after the colour of her skin, and ugh, idk, this one was a huge let down for me. the Goodreads reviews/star rating is verrrrrry misleading!
I know this video is old but I needed some validation on how angry this book made me. I honestly kinda enjoyed the world building, it was SO OBVIOUS that Hawke was an Atlantian, but UGH what the FRICK. I like steamy I think its fun, but I hate muddy consent. I recently came out of ACOTAR, and I REALLy loved book 2, I like how it touched on the trauma bond relationship, how Feyre latched onto Tamlin even though they so obviously weren't right for each other, and when she was with Rhysand, I liked kinda *KNOWING* they were gonna be mated but the bomb drop that they were mated since the BEGINNING of the series, and Rhysand was being patient and giving her the choice and actually letting her come to her own conclusion that she wanted to be with him. ACOTAR is not perfect, but I liked it. From Blood and Ash, I was so fucking mad. The way they went about the plot twist pissed me off, when she was like "was any of this real" and he just never answered??? and like??? JUST TELL HER U LIKE HER???? Like it just hurt my feelings idk it was really painful to read cuz I really felt for Poppy, I was literally crying when Vikter died and she killed the Lord. That was a great scene and really hit home for me as someone who's had their own trauma and a father I love a ton. AND THEN FUCKING HAWKE/CAS??? JUST??? CONTINUES TO???? DO THIS SHIT???? Idk how to put my thoughts in order here. This book made me so mad. That scene where she stabs him and he chases her out of the fucking. House. castle. Place. Idk. I hated that. It was disgusting, he literally just finished being like "no Im not gonna do that ur just blood horny" then he just. Does it. "do u want this?" "yes" "good because if you didn't it would Kill me" Okay abusive language Ive heard from my past boyfriends. And of course shes gonna say yes!!! THE POWER IMBALANCE IS INSANE? she is SEVERELY unexperienced, she has so many confusing YOUNG feelings about love and sex, she is in this terrible, TERRIFYING situation, those mf LITERALLY just murdered her. LIKE. I hate it I hate it I hate it. I will not be reading the rest of the books, I thought i would, but after those last few chapters I hate this whole situation and I KNOW that shes going to stay with Cas the whole time whos an abusive prick who I wish died to that dagger. He is no better than all the men who violated her while she was in Masedonia and it makes me. Angry. Stories like this hurt my soul. It started off as something that was talking about religious trauma, finding yourself, making your own choices, taking back power over your life and body, then she ends up with this guy who just. Takes all of that away. AGAIN!!!!! Just. Disgusting it was disgusting. Im mad. Maybe Ill go read a court of mist and fury again to make myself feel better. Bring me more men that are held to some fucking standards PLEASE.
I must admit I had a lot of expectations for this book (the cover looks so cool too) but it was a meh for me. I finished it but I have no interest in reading book 2...
Hello, I’ve been watching your videos all day and i would love to suggest a few books. These are not YA fantasy tho more like romance. The first one is a sequel by Paige Weaver, promise me darkness and promise me light also there’s a third and fourth book (promise me once & promise me forever) but they’re not exactly about the same characters, however i loved it far more than the first two. Short summary of the 3&4, the guy is a cowboy and the girl is a “princess” type of character but what’s different about this series is that after a few pages they fall into a war and have to fight for their lives. And the second series i recommend is beautiful disaster, i absolutely loved it and every single book in the series is about a different love stories with its own plots but all the main male characters are brothers. Please let me know your thoughts on it if you read any.🤗
Actual footage of me (I'm the screaming child) - instagram.com/reel/CKqVqFBo9bR/
But also, you know that while I do take ages to forgive these kinds of characters, books often grown on me so even tho this video is up on the internet unchanging, my opinion on this series might change!
I actually had the opposite problem the first time I read Six of Crows this fall. I didn’t know anything about that book or that world going into it, but multiple friends of mine hyped up the romance aspects of the story and talked about how much they loved Kaz. Needless to say, when I read it, I was confused...
I ended up DNFing it halfway through and absolutely hated it. Now, I’m rereading it fully knowing that it’s just a heist story with a bunch of morally grey characters (and virtually no romance) and I’m actually loving it! I’m not even done with SoC, but I already bought crooked kingdom. Being in the right headspace for a book/having the appropriate expectations is sooooo important lol.
it really is!! from the first chapter of this book i was like...i got on the wrong ride hahahhaa
Wait why are we the same person? I could not understand why everyone shipped Kaz and Inej!! I was so lost. I didn’t even like Kaz like at all (still a little indifferent about him). Once I understood thats how it be, I started to really like it. Nina is my fav. I’m currently reading the second book and I’m enjoying it much more cause now I know what’s going down lol.
@@Talia778 I don't like Kaz bc his back story doesn't make sense to me. My fav character is Jesper. Inej deserves a lesbian lover 💯
@@KD-CD I love Jesper too. That’s my baby!! Also yes Inej as a lesbian would be everything. I’m not a huge fan of how Kaz is just sorta good at everything hahahahaha. But I understand some people are just that smart lol. And he’s not nice to his crew at all. So I don’t get why ppl like him 😪
@@Talia778 if you ever watch Peaky Blinders, Kaz is Tommy Shelby. But I honestly don't like bad boy tropes even though I did like Kaz at times he was just inconsistent at points where I needed him to be bold
This reminds me of Shadow and Bone. Girl falls for soft boy who is a bad boy but is actually VERY bad boy lol
very bad boy indeed!
But alina killed him at least
The fact that Poppy made out with him the moment she attempted to kill him is sooo confusing
ummm a wee bit more than made out. But yeah ur right. Ig he got a knife kink
I completely forgot that even happend and just laughed out loud 😂 tbh if there were less sex scenes and the action scenes were expanded on more I'd definitely enjoy the series much more but I still enjoyed reading the books for the most part. Kieran is my favorite character I love him so much 😭
I completely agree with what you have said: the second book had no plot apart from them realizing they were in love, but I was there for it. I love romance driven fantasy stories, so this was quite good for my taste. However, I wouldn’t complain for there to be a bit more action, especially on the battle scenes (I hated the s*x scene during the battle, I just wanted to see some epic action. Also wtf, people are dying out there fighting and you’re just having s*x?).
Lol, I literally laughed out loud when I read the carriage scene because I could not believe that was happening! So unnecessary and bizarre! 😂
When I started reading the series, I thought it was going to be a regular magic system/ fantasy novel. But nooo lol 😭. I didn't realize it was a vampire/werewolf book until they mentioned vampry for the first time. They were so many clues and they just flew past me 🤣.
I totally missed the fact that they couldnt go out in the day and then when it was mentioned later i was like OOOHHHH
"I wanted ketchup with my fries."
I thought you'd say "but I got a fry with my ketchup."
LMAO i should have 😂😂😂
Omg I thought exactly the same!!!!
Same I was thinking the same thing!
I could hear you talking about books all day bcs how you describe the books it's just AMAZING✨
LOL thank you!!
I sooooo feel editing Cari's first disclaimer. I love fantasy, and I'm also a HUGE romance reader, but I want to know what I'm getting myself into it! I have v different reading expectations for a romance that takes place in a fantasy world vs. a fantasy story that might have a little romance in the background.
exactly!! i was thinking it was going to be more like crescent city which does have a lot of plot and action but this was just a whooooole 'nother thing hahaha
i'm so happy someone else went thru the same experience!!!! i didn't know so many things going into this book and was so surprised... i was like where are the fairies? whe-- oh now they're biting each other. ahhkhj
yeah once it got to the mutual biting scene i was sooooo far gone with this book lmfao
I was under the impression that it was a YA book and that it was a fantasy with romance like INSERT YOUTBET NAME HERE but once I saw it was by Jennifer A I knew I was wrong lol
I got this book recommended by my friend and finally someone liked Rylan! I was so devastated by his death that I didn’t even like hawke and grieved for Rylan throughout the rest of the book 😂
I also feel like Jennifer L. Armentrout writes 500 pages of nothing but waiting and romance and crams the drama/plot twist/action into the last 100 pages
I’m a teenage boy, just so you know you have that demographic. I expect to be pandered to in future videos. Ps, loving Kafka on the shore right now because of your recommendation.
glad youre enjoying it!!!
I can’t believe I’ve finally found someone who feels the same way as me about this series and these characters!!
I felt this in the first pages and then don't bought the book lol
I am a romance reader, or at least I had a strong romance phase, and to be honest I'm really grateful for this series because it got me into reading fantasy! I read it in November and I was expecting it to be a romance and I was amazed at how different the romance felt when it had fantasy elements, at that time it felt so...magical, I don't know. I actually agree with everything you say, although I did enjoy the first book a lot and the second book less (even I was bored at some point). But! It was literally the first "fantasyish" book I read in a long time, and it helped me rediscover the genre of fantasy and from that moment I've been reading fantasy non-stop and enjoying it so much!
yay!! welcome to the fantasy world^^
OMG haha I wasn't expecting you to read this series but I'm glad you gave it a shot!! I personally enjoyed both books a lot, but I think I went into them with the mindset that I wanted to read a romance-heavy book and not so much a fantasy book w a side of romance. It honestly shouldn't even be primarily categorized as a fantasy since its soooo heavy on the romance w not a lot of plot development. I don't read romance that often either (its typically not my cup of tea lol). and I loved casteel's character .... not really sure what that says about my taste in men but I'm gonna ignore it. LMAO
lmao!! had i know anything more about the series i probably wouldnt have read it but here we are hahahha
Wait I’m cackling at the number of times his jaw is mentioned like DID WE ASK
Good for you for being more bold with your opinions!! Because I know you’re wondering, the romance community is totally NOT offended lol💗 I know you’re working on being more unapologetic & I see that😌👏🏻
💗💗💗
maybe it's good to read a book by mistake every so often, luckily there aren't many consequences to literary mishaps
it was definitely an interesting ride hahahh
Thank you for your video, I completely agree with you. I picked up the book as an avid reader of fantasy-ish romance and I found myself appalled by the male protagonist’s actions (esp after the big reveal). I felt uneasy as well, especially towards the later half of the book, of how dismissive he was of her feelings and anger (also how he couldn’t stay with her during the night without any sex *eye roll*) etc. I will not continue with the series, I really do not want to upset myself more 😅 but if you decide to make a video after the 3rd book comes out, I will definitely watch it! Love your videos 😊❤️
It's been two years, Cari, did you read book three? Did you like it? I WANNA KNOW😅
I loved both books but it's always refreshing to hear someone else's opinion, especially when it differs from what everyone else is saying. I personally enjoy reading romance and this series was my first real spicy book read. The world building in from blood and ash actually made me put down the book for a week. It was exactly how you said it was, very much dot point information being thrown at us. I actually found Poppy in the first book to be really annoying, I can't quite describe it lol but she just seemed immature and naive to me. Once she found out who Hawke was it was just fighting and having sex until the book ended, not that I'm complaining about the spicy stuff but it was repetitive. I didn't really like how we had to read every single day from morning to night. So yeah I agree with you about the characters just staying in one location for so long, it made the story feel sort of stagnant.
JA books can be hit or missed, butttt i really liked this one. i cant wait for book 3. this book got me out of a book funk. :)
At first I generally liked the first book. But when I thought about it a bit more I found so much things I didn't agree with anymore
yeah its easy to get caught up in it all but then you actually think about what went down and its a little....not great hahah
You know what really annoys me, JL wrote a romance but the very first s3x scene between the two characters is sexual assault because Poppy was under the impression that she was consenting to Hawke, not Prince Casteel. It’s sexual assault through deceit and it’s an issue.
Also JL already created a really similar world in her Covenant series (and I actually think that it is a much better series which is weird because she wrote it years ago)
Completely agree that she let the cat out of the bag when it cane to the plot twist. I guessed as soon as the first ‘jaw thing’ happened, where his anger was really clear and I was like oh so he’s the prince in disguise.
I think the series needs a proper edit bc chunks of dialogue need to GO. I’ve just finished the third, and I don’t understand how this will be dragged out to 6 books with these two ‘heartmates’ (gag) as a couple. Kieran is the best part of the series and I’m already sick of his ‘questions’ line.
Okay essay over 🤪
Dead me too poor Kieran like give him better lines. I get it’s supposed be like an inside joke or whatever but if I have to read that one more time oh myyyy goshhh
I stumbled upon one of your videos a couple of days ago and now I'm a fan! Really like the way you put humor between explaining so it's not too serious or too intense :D
thank you so much!!
When I saw the thumbnail and the title of the video I literally said “oh my sweet child stumbled into one of the prominent romance writers.”
Her books are pretty steamy, pretty tropey, sometimes problematic.
It was fun hearing all of your thoughts about the books.
Rt to all of that
This was so fun, I was halfway through Kingdom of Flesh and Fire and I sped through the end so I could hear your thoughts too 😂
ngl I LOVE these two books and have read them three times 😂
Same
I tend to go in to books pretty blindly. I'll have usually heard some sort of hype about it and just picked it up based off of that, so I've *_definitely_* had the experience of reading something that's completely different from what I thought was being offered (and since I'm such a mood reader that can really kill my vibe 😂)
yeah its always a little like whiplash hahahha
omg i read this a week ago, not knowing romance took the front seat. i felt like it was too much for me loll. i prefer my slow burns too (and i didn't like hawke very much). i recommend "a trial of sorcerers," one of my favorite fantasy ya books with a good slow burn
Your b-roll footage of Korea makes me miss it so much. I studied abroad for a semester in 2013 and Seoul was such a nice city to live in. Doesn't help that I had a dream about it last night. I'm so nostalgic right now...
i didn’t like this book... especially the ending, i just didn’t get it. i dont like hawke and towards the end poppy’s decisions just made absolutely no sense to me. i love fantasy romance books, but this book was off for me.
100% felt like she wanted to write a smutty romance and had to throw a random vampire-not-vampire storyline behind it to make up for the biting thing hahhah
This author definitely needs to just accept that she’s a romance author...
@@katelynharrison3779 and get an editor
I feel like almost everyone is sooo in love with Hawke/Casteel except me. I actually do not like him that much. sorry! 😂
right?! if he talked to me that way i'd be so uncomfortable!
Same!! I prefer Kieran and wish he were the love interest honestly.
Low key wanted her to ditch him for Kieran but guess not :(
He is so repulsive 🙂
I usually say "I like Hawke but not Casteel"... As in I liked him in the first book but not the second... For the same reasons Cari was saying there! I didnt like the sexual jokes/laughter when Poppy had just been through so much! Where did the sensitivity go??
AHH I loved Rylan too but Vikter’s part killed me more 🥺 I enjoyed this series in a guilty pleasure read kinda way haha but I see what you mean 😂😂 On the fantasy side, I can’t wait for the next book bc the ending w the wolves, mist, and blood wow
omg yeah!! i am wondering whats going on with the vikter/alister comparisons (i have a really icky feeling about alister...)
next a writing vlog YESSS !!!
loved this video btw!! i love the way you describe what you’re reading
^^~ thank you!!!
I normally really enjoy fantasy romance, but I read the first chapter of Blood and Ash and got such strong Sarah J Maas/badly written erotica disguised as high fantasy vibes and immediately DNF`d it.
I'm so glad I watched this video. So many of the comments you made were things I said while reading. I am currently debating reading the third one because I don't want to buy it but feel the need to know what happens next even though I know I just keep digging my grave by reading the next one lmao. Thanks for your review!!
I'm so happy you made this video because i wanted to know what this series is like but definitely did not want to read it atall 🤠 btw Cari you should definitely read These Violent Delights if you haven't!!! slow burn gang for the win🏃
its high on my list!!!
the amount of times you said jaw, sex and sexual lmfao😌
i promise you wont hear me say those words that often ever again lol
@@caricanread haha
seeing this after the videos in the new house gives me nostalgia 🥲
I personally think the third and fourth are my favs so far in the series, the second one being the worst… they literally are just traveling and kissing the whole time in Flesh and Fire
"jaw action-- OKAY BYE" i kennut
LOL
I was unreasonably happy to see you back at milestones coffee!! This was a funny vlog to have watched with 0 intention of reading these books (not my kind of thing!), the commentary was 10/10 lol
Yayyy, I love your reading vlogs!! So cozy!
this ones a little spicer than usual hahaha
I’ve been trying to finish this book for months now lol the first book was way better
its a journey for sure ahhaha
I can totally relate to this Cari, this book sounds appalling to me 😂 although to be fair, i actually hate romance in books with a passion, so if i‘d read this by accident i‘d have probably DNF‘d it immediately 😂
LOL yeah it was a trip hahhaha
i absolutely loved this book review! is was so enlightening seeing a different perspective of the series. i now realized that my top two reading styles is fantasy with a pinch of romance and romance with a pinch fantasy (which is something i didn’t realize was a thing). i can’t wait to watch your review on the third book (i’m currently reading) and see it from your perspective. i adore casteel but after hearing points i definitely have learned that i definitely like the trope of toxic men.. if that doesn’t say a lot about me lol
Actually, I just saw on the author's profile that the series will have 6 books. And then there will be one or more containing Casteel's POV haha. 😆 I really wanna know how you feel about that. Also, if you want you can also vlog the whole experience while reading them! Love you 💞
I'm the Alexandra from the Goodreads comment (so thank you so much for explaining your review!) and honestly, I laughed so much during your video 😅 I could see myself reading it again. Like you, I also picked the book expecting a "classic" ya/na fantasy story. But I was just "Oh... Ok. Well, that's spicy 😳...... And I'm not mad 😏😏".
I was also super confused at the beginning of the 1st book but I think I ended up enjoying it more because I haven't really over-analysed everything and just went with the flow? No idea. I think book 2 is just a build-up for the last one.
I ended up loving the 2 books, reading them in 4 days, and can't wait for the 3rd book to be released in April to see what's going to happen and see more or Kieran because I'm curious, what's going on with him/Cas and the new status of Poppy?! Call me thirsty, I'm owning it now hahaha
Thanks again for this video Cari, like always ♥️
Oh Jennifer L. Armentrout said it's actually a 6 books serie! So for sure there will be more to add in the mythology!
"Oh... Ok. Well, that's spicy 😳...... And I'm not mad 😏😏".
AHAHAHHAHAHA
I had the opposite problem with The Cruel Prince!! I thought it was a romance based on how it was advertised on social media (my mistake) but it’s a fantasy first romance second!! So I totally understand not enjoying it as much because of that, I had to soft DNF TCP until I was in a fantasy mood for sure.
I‘m so late. But I just finished the throne of glass series last week and started with from blood and ash this week and just finished it. I didn‘t have a clue what it was about. On the positive side - it was really nice and easy to read and the pages flew by. But that also has to do with that there is so much less content on nearly 700 pages. I thought it was also fantasy first, love second like you did. Realized it in the first chapter and was like „alright, so less fantasy, more spice and not really that deep storywise“. I started reading it as „alright, this is just a kinda trashy spicy fantasy“ and it actually made fun. I also knew right away that he‘s the dark one and realized that there are vampires and werewolves, it was really not that hard to realize. But the one thing that made me buy the second and third book: I was reading really late, just before bed and that scene came up where she‘s stabbing him in his heart. I was like „okay, she‘s escaping, nice“ and then he bites her… and they have s*x?! I was so confused, I nearly died laughing. This was so weird 😂 tbh, I just want to continue reading, because that was one of the best laughs I ever had from books and I hope the spicy scenes will continue in just as bad 😂
ive never even heard about this book nor do I plan on reading it... i just love hearing u talk about books :D also editing cari is too great
LOL thank you (from editing cari)
1 minute in and I already love this 😂
😂💀
I think it's a fallacy that we need to like characters just because other characters like them. No i would not forgive Hawke but I'm not Poppy. Just something to consider.
I rlly could not stand from blood and ash omfg 😂
yeah i cant believe there are going to be 6 of these!!
thank u. finally someone is talking about how hawke sexually harassed poppy for the majority of book one (I only read this one) and he was literally ignoring her when she tells him to let her go, forcing things on her and calling her a liar when she says something he doesn’t like 🙂🙂🙂 And those last chapters in book one made me want to through my IPad into the wall because it made ZERO sense. She was stupid and he was so repulsive 🤢 it made me cringe alotttttttt.
Hi. I just wanna say I love your blouse (aka t-shirt) from the beginning of the video. It's very cute
🙈 thanks!
I only discovered your channel recently so sorry for the late comment! I really enjoy your videos and your thoughts on these books, and often find myself filled with such relief to know "I wasn't the only one", if you know what I mean. I just wanted to throw out a couple thoughts I had because I never really got to vent my frustrations with this one... When I first read FBAA, I mostly enjoyed it. The thing that bothers me the most about JLA's writing style is the way she gets so wordy and repetitive with people's thoughts. She recaps thoroughly and constantly, and I remember at some point letting out a huge sigh and muttering, "Come on," as we were once again taken through a deep dive of Poppy's confusion and confliction after having a similar episode a few chapters back. It felt like JLA was just trying to "pad her runtime" and it bored me to tears. Otherwise, I actually liked it until the end of book 1 when Poppy's character began to derail for me...
I feel like, when it came to writing Poppy, JLA wanted to "have her cake and eat it, too". Poppy was supposed to be both the feminine ideal (pure, demure, empathic) and also the warrior (literally trained in combat) and her execution of this didn't work for me at all. It felt way too inconsistent. Poppy starts off very feminine and kind and empathic, which I was excited about at first because I thought, "We rarely get female main characters who are strong in their femininity!" and so I really liked her initially. But then we see Warrior Poppy, which I thought was fine at first because her reasoning was sound...until she throws a dagger at Cas and quickly starts turning into an SJM heroine with all the banter and "playful" threats of physical violence (I'm so over that, it's so overdone). In addition to Warrior Poppy, we see Martyr Poppy, who was entirely focused on how she didn't want to be the maiden and it wasn't fair and her life sucked, peppered with constant crises of faith, and I had a hard time believing her backstory and the way she was raised was true. Where did this doubt come from? We don't get to see, because when the book starts, she's already knee-deep in it. Granted, there's nothing wrong with being worried about your future and doubting the story you've been told all your life, but, despite JLA's long-winded internal monologues, she didn't give these threads enough attention to draw a clear line between one mental state and the other.
What really set me off about Poppy's character was how her femininity was set up almost as a blockade to her "true self" (which turns out to be a carbon copy of all the other saucy female warrior MCs littering YA and NA fantasy these days), as though that feminine part of Poppy was somehow a weakness (or at least representative of her childish skin she sheds to grow). She had these moments of incredible empathy - like her devastation over some of the brutality she witnessed or literal episodes of feeling everyone's emotions - that didn't seem to jive with how (unconsciously) self-absorbed she was and prone to brutality that she became as the story progressed. By the end of the book, she practically goes feral with rage (because life's not fair) and everyone around her, all the supposed good guys, approves of this version of Poppy. And this is who she ultimately ends up being - a sharp-tongued, over-confident, bad-ass fighter. This is the version of her we are supposed to applaud and cheer for. She only has any ounce of her original femininity or empathy when JLA wants to contrast Casteel or needs a stalling tactic. The way she bounced back and forth between caring about others' pain and being angry at/resentful of them for their betrayals was dramatic and frustrating.
Cas was actually a far more consistent character up until the end when he makes his big reveal. He goes from being this super understanding, caring, adoring guy to being the withholder of information just so JLA could stir up enough misunderstanding and sense of betrayal to justify Poppy's rage. Up until this point, I actually liked Cas (even though it was painfully apparent, as you pointed out, who he was from the beginning) and found his character arc surprisingly straight-forward despite the obvious subterfuge. I felt like I knew what his goals were, why they changed, and could draw a clear line between the plot points of his thought process up until that "shift" at the end that just derailed everything worth liking about the characters.
Also, the whole scene of her making out with Cas, knowing she wanted him and loved him despite the lies, stabbing him, instantly regretting it, running away, then immediately having sex with him - it was like bad fanfiction. You could practically see JLA "herding the sheep" with the way this sequence was so purposefully arranged. Everything about it upset me because it essentially highlighted the way JLA wrote the entire book: it doesn't matter what makes sense for the plot or the characters, all that matters is what I want to happen.
I read book 2 because the friend who recommended the series to me told me that Poppy got better, but I found it boring and long-winded and filled with more of the character development I didn't like in the first book. I haven't had any desire to pick up book 3. Obviously, this is just my perspective and I know most people probably saw Poppy's development very differently than I did. A lot of people really enjoyed this series and it's not my intention to insult it. It just didn't work for me in the end, which I hate because I initially really did like it and was excited to see how it developed.
Edit: Oh my gosh, I just realized how long this comment is... So sorry! I guess I had a lot more to say than I thought I did.
I can see how you were taken back by the fact that this was a romance. I actually read all of jla books and i know her writing style and her type of worldbuilding, so this was not a shock to me. I guess if you're not really used to read romance books this one would come across as crass and maybe sometimes plotless 🤣 but i assure you if you try and re read the series with another mind set you could "probably" change your mind🤭. That said i liked both books, that may have been some parts that could have been avoided or wrote in a better way but after all it kept me company during the first months of lockdown and it also gave me something to look foward to (2nd book release). I would't say this is a GREAT book but, in my modest opinion, it is quite enjoyable😊
i was excited for the third book thinking it was the last but jla is writing SIX?! idk how im going to handle this hahah
@@caricanread ahahahahah i know!!!
Coming back to this after just finishing FBAA. Couldn’t agree with you more Cari! I get the ick so badly from these kinds of relationships, liberate yourself Poppy dammit 😂
Thanks for the disclaimer, cos as a reader/author of romance, I didn’t have the best immediate reaction to this thumbnail lol.
"No action is happening."
Well it seems like some action is happening...
Ugh missed this yesterday but I’m so excited to watch it now hahah
I just bought this on kindle... hopefully I like it 😬
i hope you get your money's worth hehe
I like how you mentioned the repetitiveness because as I was reading it I did notice it but I kinda just pushed it to the back of my mind. And now I see how ridiculous it was 🤦♀️ I really enjoyed these books because it was a romance, but also it was frustrating to read because you only see the world through poppy’s perspective. I’m still going to read the third book of course and hopefully JLA does a lot better with the battle scenes, which I can guess there will be.
Also, I know JLA came out with the Red Pearl scene from Hawke’s perspective, did you read it? If you did, what did you think of it?
Can finally come back to this video and watch it after I started the series and it feels so good to have my feelings validated 😭
In the first book, when she was in chains in the cell, realizing whats going on, losing her life and her friends and he came to her AND KEPT MAKING SEXUAL JOKES? Like "haha its really funny how you're trying to escape now, if you keep moving your body like this a lot more is gonna happen" jahsgdjahdkajmjdlamsd
I haven't read the second book but there is NO redemption for me after that 💀
Off topic but: really cute backpack! May I ask where you got it? ☺️ (19:20)
READ THE CRUEL PRINCE!! A lot of people didn't like it bc they thought it was romance first and fantasy later, but it was the opposite. You'll love it
I have!! If you watch my vids about ya fantasy i talk about my mixed feelings hehe i think cardan needed more time to grow as a character for us as readers to forgive him for his actions in the first book but overall i like the series!
i love itttt. (Still currently reading it), i have come to realise that i love romance as a sub plot when reading books. which also makes sense on why i didn’t like it ends with us and many more popular books lol
I haven’t finished the whole video yet, but I didn’t find Poppy very forgiving at all! She held onto that anger for a while, which I def respect. I didn’t mind the whole Casteel lying thing, mostly because he didn’t intend to hurt her. He just wanted to save his brother. Not to defend his methods, but I don’t mind it because he is a good person and he only wants justice and to help the brainwashed citizens of the....vampire capital lmao. I don’t remember the name
SPOILERS: Honestly I love and hate these books a lot like i like the romance but then there is the crushing idea that poppy will (supposedly) NEVER be with another person without hawk so like we are talking about a girl who was never met/been/known (with) other people and now she has like her whole life figured out at 18 and not even by a conscious choice she made... idk im hoping for some character development and not just the “they are heart-mates so its ok that he’s 200 and a whole lifetime older than her” thing... also loved when she tried to kill him and love her personality
I googled “books that are purely romance,” and this was the first one that came up, so I bought it.
For me book 1 was okay .. I'm that person who doesn't continue to book two if I didn't enjoy book1, for me the second book mixing with first it's the best book I ever read and I was just satisfied, left me really happy and I can't wait for book 3
i just want to know what happens but also am not going to commit to 6 books in a series hahahha
@@caricanread yah I understand especially that last page of book two.. she put everything on one page and I was like now I have to wait for 8months ,
casteel.. like the toothpaste?
I mean same I thought I was in for fantasy and got romance, i dont read romance but now im too invested in this and I need to know what’s actually going on 😂 btw its 6 books total +1 in Cas POV for the first book
NO ITS NOT omg i thought this was a trilogy. No WAY and I reading 6 of these??????
@@caricanread yeahhhh 😂😂 the good thing is she writes books quickly so it’ll probably be over next year
Thank you for the new video, I really enjoy your videos❤️
thank you so much :')
so it’s not only me who loves Rylan even though he was dead on the quite early chapters, i’m devastated
I didn't know this was a romance going in, I picked it up for a book club read last year and I got quite the surprise! haha!
I know I'm really late to the party but I've just recently discovered this series and even more recently this channel and I cannot stop myself from commenting lol!
First of all, I love how different people see this book, I really love all the perspectives and it's so much fun to listen to you even if I kinda love this series. Like for example, I totally didn't connect with the jaw twitching so him being the dark one was a bit of surprise, like I had my suspicion but it was not a sure thing. Anyway, I'm saying this because you were saying how you don't like that he is icky and stuff but to be honest... I wouldn't be logically smart for him "Poppy, guess what? Imma be betrying you soon" 🤣🤣 Also, I'm not sure if you have given up on this series for good, but recently the newest book came along (5th I believe) and almost the whole book is Hawke pov (let's not talk about if this is necessary or not cuz it's giving anime filler episode vibe 😅 but okay) and there we can see a lot more of his struggle towards "should I do it or nah" of course, in the end it doesn't really matter cuz his urges were stronger but still it was good to see that he at least was struggling with this plan.
But yes, this series is definitely not perfect and the SMUT is A LOT lol. That's why I can understandall the critic towards it but sometimes you just gotta love a difficult book and that's me for you 🤪. Also ngl I really like Jennifer from the beautiful age of 16-17 so I'm a bit sentimental. Although, I think that if you want more action and plot the 3 and 4 book are better in that area.
Ps. I enjoy your energy so so much. I hope you have a great year! ❤
I’m actually hoping for the third book on the series to have quite a bit more action. Also, if Poppy+Cas+Kieran aren’t a this on the third book, I will be mad.
Have you read the third book?
@@carys7417 yess i did
@@carys7417 i finished it the day after it was released 😂
I’m 25% done with the 3rd book but low key does it happen lol
@@julissaramirez3538 there’s no joining (thank god)
Totally unrelated but, your skin is glowing, esp in editing cari's clips
I went to the dermatologist thats why hehehhe 😂
Okay I totally commented this like 30secs into the video so forgive me, I haven't gotten to the dermatologist part yet 😄 anyway, you look fab
Currently reading book 2, i’ll come back to this video when done
"Lots of jaw action" - hhahahahah. Unintentional mukbang video. ^J^
lol!!
Lol I actually liked this one better than acotar 😅😅 Poppy is SUCH a better character than Feyre like miles better. Feyre was the blandest most milk toast character I've ever read!
Every time I go into a book I have to figure out what perspective I need to be in, and for this series I knew it was romance and s3x heavy which I like, and I also knew it was captor/captive because I specifically was looking for that trope. So I went in with my "this is purely p*rny fantasy with enemies to lovers and lots of k*nky sh*t which will be problematic" mindset and I think having that perspective hat on from the get go really helps to not find these things problematic. Because I totally get it, that's when good writing comes in for me to save the day because if I'm in that world...I'll forgive a lot as a reader. BUT I have definitely been annoyed with the writing and it tends to take me out of the story a lot which leads me to think and analize what it is I'm reading from the perspective of our real world and makes it feel ickier. For example, I read and loved Sea of Ruin by Pam Godwin which is one of the most horrific books I've ever read full of terrible tropes and really problematic stuff but I read it like I would watch p*rn, purely as sexy fantasy with lots of k*nk and I loved it for what it was. It's why I always try to get a good idea of what to expect from a book, so I can shift my mindset prior to reading. It helps enjoy books a lot better.
Again tho, I like these tropes in my trashy fantasy romance so it's giving me what I need but from your perspective everything you said is so valid.
Also, what's up with the... everywhere in this book? She goes...every few paragraphs for no grammatical reason! Why dot dot dot why...
If the premise seemed intriguing then maybe Red Winter by Annette Marie will be more for you. It has no sex scenes, the romance is slow burn, and the romance isn't the main focus. Also, the magic system is anime inspired.
Blood and ash has been on my tbr for a year now
its...an interesting book hahaha
After watching too many vlogs praising the book, I am here to learn of your critical input because I really didn't like the book that much. The foreshadowing was bad that all the revelations towards the end didn't really come as a surprise, tbh.. lol Hawke is like a mix of Darkling and Rhys (especially in "A Kingdom of Flesh and Bone"). And the banter between him and Poppy (in the second book) is "trying to mirror the dynamic between Rhys and Feyre but in a pre-mature or less convincing way. lol
I just didn't like the writing style for this one as it made characters unlikeable with zero chemistry. Nonetheless, it was a bit enjoyable and I'm currently on the second book because I'm curious as to how this story pans out. lol
I'm a romance reader and I just didn't get this one. lol
Please do ACATOR!!!!!!! Or any Sara Mass
One of your new subscribers💜
Just saw your video on the book recommendation based on hogwarts houses and subscribed right away😊
Thank you 🙈🙈🙈
Hey queen! So I just wanted to recommend a series I think you're gonna absolutely LOVE. It's called the Arc of a Scythe series by Neil Schusterman and takes place in a future where humanity has cured all our problems and conquered death. The only institution run by humans left is the Scythedom, a government of people who keep population growth under control by killing a certain number of humans a year. This series is a rollercoaster and it's so philosophical and thought provoking, I know you'll love it!!
LITERALLY MY EXACT REACTIONS TO THE BOOK AHHHH
sounds like erotica to me... more than romance lol!! But weird that they advertised it as a fantasy novel :/
definitely!
Have you read rangers apprentice by John Flanagan? I haven’t seen it in any of your videos and I wanted to recommend it cause I love the series. It was my second series I read in 3rd grade and that’s when my love for books started😊
the way this book is written and the god-awful poor dialogue completely ruined it for me! it totally reads like a fan fiction. and hawke wasn't even sexy half the time - he was a complete jerk and crossed so many boundaries even after poppy expressed her discomfort. he was soooo creepy, esp after the big """reveal"", i just felt so gross. additionally, the only POC character in the whole book is literally named after the colour of her skin, and ugh, idk, this one was a huge let down for me. the Goodreads reviews/star rating is verrrrrry misleading!
I know this video is old but I needed some validation on how angry this book made me. I honestly kinda enjoyed the world building, it was SO OBVIOUS that Hawke was an Atlantian, but UGH what the FRICK. I like steamy I think its fun, but I hate muddy consent. I recently came out of ACOTAR, and I REALLy loved book 2, I like how it touched on the trauma bond relationship, how Feyre latched onto Tamlin even though they so obviously weren't right for each other, and when she was with Rhysand, I liked kinda *KNOWING* they were gonna be mated but the bomb drop that they were mated since the BEGINNING of the series, and Rhysand was being patient and giving her the choice and actually letting her come to her own conclusion that she wanted to be with him. ACOTAR is not perfect, but I liked it.
From Blood and Ash, I was so fucking mad. The way they went about the plot twist pissed me off, when she was like "was any of this real" and he just never answered??? and like??? JUST TELL HER U LIKE HER???? Like it just hurt my feelings idk it was really painful to read cuz I really felt for Poppy, I was literally crying when Vikter died and she killed the Lord. That was a great scene and really hit home for me as someone who's had their own trauma and a father I love a ton. AND THEN FUCKING HAWKE/CAS??? JUST??? CONTINUES TO???? DO THIS SHIT???? Idk how to put my thoughts in order here. This book made me so mad. That scene where she stabs him and he chases her out of the fucking. House. castle. Place. Idk. I hated that. It was disgusting, he literally just finished being like "no Im not gonna do that ur just blood horny" then he just. Does it. "do u want this?" "yes" "good because if you didn't it would Kill me" Okay abusive language Ive heard from my past boyfriends. And of course shes gonna say yes!!! THE POWER IMBALANCE IS INSANE? she is SEVERELY unexperienced, she has so many confusing YOUNG feelings about love and sex, she is in this terrible, TERRIFYING situation, those mf LITERALLY just murdered her. LIKE. I hate it I hate it I hate it. I will not be reading the rest of the books, I thought i would, but after those last few chapters I hate this whole situation and I KNOW that shes going to stay with Cas the whole time whos an abusive prick who I wish died to that dagger. He is no better than all the men who violated her while she was in Masedonia and it makes me. Angry. Stories like this hurt my soul. It started off as something that was talking about religious trauma, finding yourself, making your own choices, taking back power over your life and body, then she ends up with this guy who just. Takes all of that away. AGAIN!!!!! Just. Disgusting it was disgusting.
Im mad. Maybe Ill go read a court of mist and fury again to make myself feel better. Bring me more men that are held to some fucking standards PLEASE.
Ok random, but where did you get your black backpack from?
its from a random shop here in korea :'(
@@caricanread oh that's too bad :(
I must admit I had a lot of expectations for this book (the cover looks so cool too) but it was a meh for me. I finished it but I have no interest in reading book 2...
yeah the covers had me excited for an action packed fantasy hahah
Have you ever read the Nevernight series? That is such a good fantasy series and has excellent battles!
What books of V.E Schwab did you read? I'm really curious
I was weirdly attached to Rrylan as well lol and i was actually upset when I realized he was really dead. But i loke books that make me feel that way.
Hello, I’ve been watching your videos all day and i would love to suggest a few books. These are not YA fantasy tho more like romance. The first one is a sequel by Paige Weaver, promise me darkness and promise me light also there’s a third and fourth book (promise me once & promise me forever) but they’re not exactly about the same characters, however i loved it far more than the first two. Short summary of the 3&4, the guy is a cowboy and the girl is a “princess” type of character but what’s different about this series is that after a few pages they fall into a war and have to fight for their lives. And the second series i recommend is beautiful disaster, i absolutely loved it and every single book in the series is about a different love stories with its own plots but all the main male characters are brothers. Please let me know your thoughts on it if you read any.🤗