A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire)

Reader by the Mountains

A Thrilling Escape into the World

"**Early/Advance copy given for an honest review SPICE, SPICE, SPIRCE BABY. Just kidding. It is a slow burn in it’s own right but it doesn’t stop you from loving characters that you have had glimpses of. Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort. However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot. Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death. A Shadow in the Ember – A masterpiece of it’s own right. Through the fandom of FBAA, we get glimpses of Sera and Nyktos, however this series truly delves into their story. Jennifer L Armentrout is absolutely a queen of her own right within the world. I have always been a fan of her writing and it absolutely astonishes me that she can always grip my attention with something new and exciting. This was another favorite in the series and the cover always blows me away for her books. I am definitely swooning over Nyktos and him being my book husband. Claimed and never can be annulled 😉 He isn’t just Nyktos, but rather Daddy Nyktos. He is everything you would want in the King of Gods and Primals. An intimidating character that falls at the feet of beautiful Sera for her wittiness and her sass towards him. Sera is a gorgeous and badass heroine and truly can make anyone speechless. She was raised from birth to make her husband fall in love and become his weakness to kill him. This was her only identity that she has known but she definitely does not allow herself to be stepped on by worse characters. I love that Jen’s characters are always people I want to grow up and be – no matter how old I am right this second. Seraphina is beautiful and definitely does not need anyone, man or Primal to make her feel anything more. Getting a glimpse into Poppy’s actual side of the family makes me realize how much I adored her all over again because family traits. You’ll want to laugh, cry and everything in between for this book. I felt so much anguish for the characters in the series. You get Primals, gods, badass heroines, drakens and all of the above in the series and I am not mad about it. I have heard some people get mad that it sounds similar to FBAA – Congrats, you are in the FBAA world just ahead of the time of where we met Poppy and Casserole. While this is a prequel, you get more questions answered in this book alone vs if she continued onto the fourth book of the series. ["

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October 19, 2021 Verified Purchase

Ana S.

Simply amazing!

"Actual rating is 4.5 stars. I got an E-ARC copy of this amazing story in exchange for an honest review by JLA, so I'm about to get real with you! It should come as no surprise to all of you that once again, queen JLA is releasing another book series and she killed it! I mean it's hard for me to describe to you how good it was, because it's like I've said this at least 20 times with Armentrout's books, they are great. There is nothing less to it, every story she puts out, it's just amazing (to me anyway.) A Shadow in the Ember is no exception. You might be questioning my rating if literally paragraphs ago I said it's an amazing book, and it is, but there were a couple of things I felt a bit repetitive. Sera and Nyktos remind me of a couple Armentrout already introduced us to. They are amazing on their own way, but at the beginning it felt like rereading one of her other books. Though it quickly changed, it still made the first like 20 percent of the book drag on a little bit. But I think the reason why it was a little bit slower to begin with is because of what was to come. I cannot explain to you how good this story is without giving you major spoilers, but I will try. Seraphena is a Maiden. She was promised to the Primal of Death as his consort. She has been trained, but not in the way you might think. She was trained to bring the Primal of Death to his knees. She is expected to end him. To use love as a way to end him and end with a century's old debt. Sera is ready for this task, but somehow she fails miserably, why you ask? Because the Primal of Death has no need or want for a consort. So it's her fault (not really, but that is what she believes,) everyone and their grandmother blames her for it. So now she is trying to fix it somehow, she has no idea how, but she is looking for a solution. She is a trained assassin, she can kill you in less time that you'd have to blink, so maybe that will help... if it doesn't get her in trouble first (spoiler alert, it does). This story is all about Sera, about her journey to accept what she really is and what she is worth. There is a silver-eye-god that's gonna be there and they will have a fun time learning all about her and what she is capable of doing. There is so much that happens in the first installment of this series that if I tried to describe everything about the book, this post would be infinite, so I'll just summarize a little bit some of my favorite parts. There is death, that is something you should expect a lot of, but also some of it it's not in the way you might be thinking of. A silver-eyed god. Banter. Ash. Exciting lake scene. Ash. Power, her gift is just… *chef’s kiss* but at the same time, could be dangerous. Banter. Asher. Sexy banter. Nyktos, ruler of the Shadowlands. Amazing entrances. Nyktos. Blood. Lots and lots of blood. Lives (that will make sense eventually). That ending. Oh gosh, I mean I was kind of preparing myself for that, I kind of had a feeling, but it was still pretty epic. But most of all, NYKTOS. I mean, you guys just got to read this story, it’s amazing, I think you will really enjoy it and it will bring a lot of joy to your life. ["

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October 19, 2021 Verified Purchase

Alyssa M.

5/5 Must read

"This prequel absolutely hooked me. Seraphena and Nyktos’ story was powerful, emotional, and full of the kind of chemistry that builds slowly but burns endlessly. I loved how this book expanded the universe and gave new meaning to everything in From Blood and Ash. Sera’s strength and defiance made her one of my favorite heroines, and Nyktos was complex and deeply honorable. Armentrout balanced mythology and emotion perfectly. A Shadow in the Ember felt like a tragic love story unfolding in real time—haunting and utterly addictive. ["

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October 28, 2025 Verified Purchase

Ruby

do i like Nytos more than Casteel??

"(minimal spoiling) i never thought i'd say this but it might be true... Nyktos is quiet and gentle, until he's not. he's charming and a little cheeky and everything about him gives such soft daddy vibes- including the way he is with taking care of his own people. his interactions with sera were heart pounding and the yearning in the beginning gave me butterflies. i was, at times, a little frustrated with the story because there were multiple times that things could have been cleared up with a simple conversation, but my love for the characters and finding little things that connected flesh and fire and blood and ash kept me loving this book. the entire cast of side characters is really fun and i LOVED seeing little reaver and baby jadis SO much! i need more of everyone immediately and i can't wait to eat up more of the history and lore of this world. Is Seraphina going to actually fulfill her duties? or is she going to find a family who actually loves and cares for her? ["

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May 11, 2025 Verified Purchase

Teresa Alvarado

Good book but many errors

"This book was good but I definitely feel like it could’ve been better. There’s an alarming amount of typos that I don’t understand how they made it into a final draft of a book. How did an editor not catch so many mistakes? The actual content of the book is pretty good, however. The story is very interesting and new to me (I haven’t read Blood and Ash series yet). I love the concept of the gods and the mortal realm and the Chosen. And all the twists & turns were good, even if some were predictable. The execution wasn’t always the best—I feel like the amount of word vomit that comes out of Sera and Ash’s mouth is just too much. That could’ve been dialed back. Also I thought wayyyyy too many characters were introduced all at once. It was really difficult to keep them all straight. **spoilers ahead** one of my biggest gripes is that Sera is utterly unlikable. I can’t stand it when authors make their female protagonist an angry jerk. Does Sera have any feelings other than 90% anger and 10% lust? She literally gets mad and picks a fight over ANYTHING. Also are we supposed to ignore the fact that she murders & doesn’t ever feel something about those murders? She’s literally a monster. You can blame her training and her mom telling her to assassinate people but she should still feel SOMETHING when she kills. There’s no “mark” on her, as the author puts it. Another annoying facet was when people will tell her “stay” and she’ll just immediately do whatever she wants as soon as they’re gone. She even would flat out agree to stay put and then rush into something dangerous. Are we supposed to think she’s brave? Strong? I don’t, I just think she’s stupid because she has no rationale behind half of her impulsive decisions. Also, she sits there thinking about how she has to kill Ash to save her land but never once does she try to find another solution. Even when she continuously admits how nice and compassionate he is. She never considers if there’s any way to spare him and still save the land. And if she hadn’t found out that his death was unrelated to the land I am not convinced she wouldn’t have tried to murder him. She is just not my favorite character and I feel like she’s just an awful representation of a 20 year old woman. If you’re going to make a female character strong you do not need to make her a bratty, entitled little a-hole. My only hope is that she’s going to have some character development in book 2. She seemed like she was getting slightly better by the end of this one so I am really praying book 2 has a very different, less angry Sera in it. This review was quite negative but keep in mind I still am giving it 4 stars because I did enjoy the storyline and the world building. I definitely agree with all the reviews on here. If you’re on the fence about reading the book then you should just go for it. I’m very interested in seeing how the sequel plays out. ["

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February 12, 2022 Verified Purchase