The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood And Ash Book 3)

Helen

I’m obsessed with this epic romantasy

"EPIC. This book is absolutely epic. I was gripped by the plot, the characters, the development, the romance, the spice. Everything about this book had me in an absolute chokehold and I freaking love every single heart-pumping moment. I love Casteel. His smirk, his arrogance, his heart, his dirty flirting, how he cares for Poppy and his friends. He is my favorite fantasy book boyfriend. And I adore Rhysand. (maybe a tie, but seriously, Casteel is everything). And Poppy? Her transformation from book one to the end of this book is nothing short of masterful. She is strong, emotional, brave, and honest about her fears. She’s a fighter and by the end of this book, she was a complete baddie. No notes. Awesome. And finally, Kieran. Lord help me but I am really hoping he gets more love in this next book bc ugh, he’s just yummy. Is this a literary masterpiece? Probably not, but my only real critique is that sometimes the author uses current day language breaks that the imaginary wall for me. Like, “we got this” That line actually stopped my reading flow. But overall, the development, the adventure, the challenge and the romance are all working. I laughed and cried and held my breath. The spice is great but not so spicy that if you aren’t a spice girlie, you can’t sort of skim over (but why would you??). Anyway, read this whole series. So so so good. 5+ stars. 2 peppers ["

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September 5, 2025 Verified Purchase

Laura Owens

Okay, that ending? Holy gods.

"The bad: The entire time I was reading this book, I was convinced it was going to be a 4 star review. Armentrout has a tendency in this series to end chapters in the middle of conversations rather than important or natural ends to scenes, which is incredibly frustrating. I get it - as an author you want people unable to put the book down, reading 'just one more chapter' - but it made reading multiple-chapter-long conversations extremely exhausting. I felt like most of this book was a lot of extra words to pad the page count. Because, you know, you're already three books in so you can afford to drag it out because you're already successful. Heavy worldbuilding is still happening three books in, but it came as frustratingly long conversations between Poppy and someone. She'd go off on a few paragraphs 'thinking' of questions and what the consequences would be, and then ask those questions and get really long answers of some things she might have already thought of. Repetitive and UNNECESSARY word count padding. I contemplated a 3 star review at many points in this book. The writing was just... meh, compared to the previous two books. There were several instances of typos, wrong words, and just really poor conversation dynamics. It felt super forced and stiff, and once again adding conversations/responses/declarations when they were really unnecessary. Again, an attempt at word count padding. This book, while the story was perfectly executed, felt like it was rushed to get published and did not go through as many edits/reviews as it needed. The good: Obviously, I ended up giving a 5 star review. Partly for these things, but mostly for what I'll finish this review with. We started out with a BANG. It picks up right where we left off (which after a short break between reading book 2 and 3, I did have to go back and reread the last chapters so I didn't forget what happened) and that was an EXPLOSIVE ending to book 2. That meant the start here was just as intense. A little confusing, but intense nonetheless. The steam was once again amazing. Poppy and Casteel have some very inappropriate times to be heated, but that's also why we love it. Their relationship is by far the best part of this series (raise your hand if you've discovered a knife kink through reading this series). I will never not love their banter. The story continues to get better as secrets are uncovered, plots become clearer, and the betrayals/discoveries/friendships are always good sparks. I can't say any of the plot points really came as massive 'surprises' or twists, but they were still executed quite brilliantly and made for an enjoyable read. Here's where I decided that all of those bad things were background noise and this book deserved a 5 star review. THE LAST CHAPTER. I kept thinking, 'hmm, this book should have been over a few chapters ago... what sort of bang are you going to give us?', because by now I've come to expect a massive, mic-drop-intense ending to each book. AND HOLY GODS IT WAS EVERYTHING. Anyway, 5 stars for that last chapter, and it carries such a heavy weight, it overpowered my negative feelings toward the rushed book. ["

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July 5, 2021 Verified Purchase

MrsLeif

I need the next book!

"Well, that was exciting! I can not wait for the next book. I thought it was a trilogy and now I learned there are going to be six books! I do hope the next book is the end for our main couple and maybe there is room for other characters to find happiness (*cough - Kieran - cough*) or not. Whatever, JLA decides, I'm still going to be reading it. So, we were left with a huge cliffhanger on the second book and The Crown of Gilded Bones begins right after. The first few chapters were action-packed and I devoured them or maybe I should say, I sped my audiobook to a speed I have not gone to before. Anyway, it was so worth the wait. Poppy is in the hot seat. She will have to make a choice, become Queen of her own free will and help Atlantia or walk away. As the reader we know, she will never walk away from her responsibility but it was nice that for once she was not forced into something. Poppy has started to realize that she needs to stand up for herself and that she will always have the support of Cas and Kieran. Now, the middle of the book did slow down for me (despite the speed). Would I call it boring? Not really but I felt like there was not much to it. Then the last part is heartstopping with its greatness and let me tell you, if you are a writer and you need your audience to keep on reading your series, THIS IS THE WAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN! What a perfect last scene! So many positives in this series. Poppy and Cas complement each other well. Kieran is so cool that I wish I could be friends with his wolf. I want a HEA for him too (with Tawny, please!). I love the mythology surrounding this series and I welcome the action I know JLA will bring. The only thing left to say is: I don't want to wait and I hope we get the next book this year. We need some happiness after 2020. Cliffhanger: No 4/5 Fangs ["

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May 5, 2021 Verified Purchase

Tiffaney

I need more and everyone needs to read this series!!

"The Crown of Gilded Bones is the third installment in the From Blood and Ash series, and should not be read as a standalone. From Blood and Ash was a surprise release from JLA last year that brought about a whole new world and set of characters. We were lucky to receive the second book only a few short months after the first. It took a bit longer to receive the third book, but not as bad as the full year I used to have to wait between Lux Series book releases. That was a real struggle. I’m happy to report the wait was worth it and the 3rd book did not disappoint. My first thought when I finished the book was, Poppy is a bad$$.” My immediate second thought was... do I really have to wait to find out more (insert whining voice and foot stomping)? I’m always so nervous that the new books won’t live up to the hype in my mind, but that is never the case with a JLA book. Highly recommend everyone check out this series! ***Spoiler Alert*** Don’t continue on if you haven’t read and don’t want to be spoiled! The 3rd book picks up right where the 2nd ended. Poppy just released her wrath upon the group of Altantians that attempted to stone her in Nyktos Chambers and we learned that she carried the blood of the King of Gods within her. As can be expected all hell breaks loose following that revelation. Things are touch and go there for a bit, and I thought we were about to see Cas and Kieran throw down. Luckily the flames were extinguished and the groups dispersed. From there we get to learn more about Poppy and what exactly caused the stir. The first twist occurs very quickly following the open scene and I for one did not see it coming. I don’t want to give away all of the story, but you will quickly realize who is on Poppy & Cas’s side and who is against them. There are a few very tense chapters where I was about to throw my kindle, but happy to report it works out (for the most part). We spend a good majority of the middle section learning more about the history and experiencing Altantia through Poppy’s eyes. As to be expected with any JLA book, the last quarter of the book is filled with action packed anxiety inducing scenes. I almost wanted to stop at 80% because everyone was in a good place and I was afraid to be left wanting more until the next book release. Of course, the book is full of all our favorite elements like snarky and intense romance between the main couple, strong supporting characters, action, light banter, and friendship. Although Poppy and Cas’s relationship really developed in the 2nd book, you see it grow even more through the course of this story. There are times their intimacy is so strong I almost feel like I shouldn’t be experiencing it along with them. They really and truly love each other. Everyone’s favorite best friend, Kieran, is ever present in the new story. I so enjoy the growing relationship between Kieran and Poppy. I always get a chuckle out of her questioning him.(I think he secretly enjoys it). There are a slew of other favorites that make their appearance like Vonetta, Niall, Delano, Tawny, and more. We also get to meet a lot of new and exciting characters. One word, dragons. I love the growing dynamic of the group, and can’t wait to find out more. Honestly, I loved everything about the new installment. I thought it was a great continuation of the previous entries and I can’t wait to see what comes next. As much as I wanted to throw my kindle and smack some characters upside the head, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m so excited to find out more. Here’s hoping the next one comes soon. I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold out, and will have to pass the time with a reread. ["

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April 23, 2021 Verified Purchase

Sarah Riddell

Unpopular Opinion But Still an Enjoyable Read!

"Before I jump into my (likely unpopular!) opinions of The Crown of Gilded Bones, let’s recap where things left off in A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire. Poppy and Casteel had A LOT to work through since he basically kidnapped her to use as ransom against the Queen of Solis in From Blood and Ash. Understandably, there’s a ton of conversations in which Casteel, Kieran, and everyone else has to convince Poppy that the Atlantians aren’t the enemy and that they really are (mostly) peaceful people, but it takes awhile for Poppy to come around. There is also lots of chatter about the impending marriage of Casteel and Poppy, which clearly she was not down for since Casteel whisked her away from Masadonia. However, as the novel progresses and more evidence of the horrors of Solis are exposed, Poppy’s hatred of Casteel starts to dwindle and she realizes that even though his approach to wooing her wasn’t ideal, she really does love him. Eventually the two marry (right before a straight up battle goes down in Spessa’s End… YIKES!), and she and Casteel travel the rest of the way to Atlantia to meet up with Casteel’s parents. Long story short, everything goes to heck in a handbasket, as Poppy is attacked and it is revealed that she is the true queen of Atlantia by bloodright. Then BOOM! We had to wait for the next book on that wild cliffhanger. As I mentioned in my reviews for the other two books in this series, I thoroughly enjoy the way Armentrout has crafted this universe. I won’t lie to you all: There are still times that it is so complex that my head spins a little and I forget things, but I think she and her editors knew this would happen, as there are often clarifications added into those points to jog the reader’s memory. However, in terms of plot, I felt like the storyline drug on for too long at some points and that not enough details were included in others. The plot still flowed nicely from point to point, but the inconsistent pacing was jarring sometimes as I was reading and messed with my ability to fully absorb what was happening at times. Since From Blood and Ash, Poppy has come a long way in terms of character development. This was particularly evident in the leap from From Blood and Ash to A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, with less development occuring in The Crown of Gilded Bones. This totally makes sense in a way because Poppy has so much coping to do in the first two books that probably things that were happening around her didn’t shock her a ton in the third book except for some more traumatic experiences that went down (no spoilers, I swear!). I will say that I was pleased to see that she does become more comfortable in her own skin and isn’t afraid to speak up as much in TCOGB, and I was always so excited to see her put her foot down and basically command any room she was in. Through everything, I was so pleased to see that Poppy is still super kickbutt at fighting and being all stabby, and I hope this trait continues to be a part of who she is in the books to come because it is my absolute favorite thing about her. I can’t really talk about the ending because *spoilers*, but I will say that that was my absolute favorite Poppy moment to date and I hope the fire we see in her then will stick with her in the next book! Oh, Casteel. Okay, so like I said, this review is going to have some unpopular opinions in it, and this could be one of the big ones for those of you who are fictionally married to this guy. I’ll start with the positives here: He’s super smokin’, has some really dope combat skills (just like Poppy those his methods of murder are somewhat unconventional), he does everything he can to protect those he loves, and when he takes a notion to joke around, he’s super witty and funny. However, I really had an issue with Casteel in The Crown of Gilded Bones. It has been established that Casteel loves the people of Atlantia, but that didn’t really shown through since he was more concerned about Poppy 99% of the time. Yes, he should care about her, but sometimes I felt like it was at the expense of others which just doesn’t line up with how devoted he was said to be to his people. Additionally, he was selfless to the point of no return. I love a good character that is willing to do anything for those they love, but some of his actions just seemed unnecessarily heroic to me. I know some of you want to punch me and that’s fine (unless you actually try to… then please refrain!), but something about Casteel just wasn’t it for me in this book. I have faith that the next book may change my mind about him, but alas it is too soon to tell! A huge plus for me was getting to reacquaint myself with all of the amazing supporting characters in this series. Kieran has my freaking soul, and dare I say this… I like him so much more than I do Poppy and Casteel at this point. I’m not even sure why that is but I can’t help but smile every time his name popped up or he cracked some joke at the most inappropriate of times. Delano, Naill, Vonetta, and Emil just keep getting better and better, and it was so good to see more dialogue pop up with these guys in it in TCOGB. I’m super excited to see more of these guys in the next installment, and I hope they have even more opportunities to showcase their personalities then becuase I literally live for them! And here I go, beign the bearer of bad news. Unfortunately, there were some additional aspects of this book that just didn’t jive for me. The first is that the partnership aspect of the romance is starting to fizzle for me a bit. For some reason, it just felt like Poppy wasn’t as invested in being a support system for Casteel when he is firmly invested in providing emotional support to her. This one-sidedness really got on my nerves, and I really hope this gets turned around in the next book because I really want to love this couple. Speaking of romance… Each book in this series has been someone scandalous in one way or another, but I felt like TCOGB took this to an extreme that, for me, disrupted the plot in not great ways. I totally understand that one of the big things about Poppy’s character is the fact that she has been forced to not have physical connections to other people, but it just seemed like certain types of moments were overused in this book. As a whole, I really enjoyed The Crown of Gilded Bones. The worldbuilding was exceptional, the supporting characters were so much fun to get reacquainted with, and, per Jennifer’s style, the plot twists just kept on coming. While I can’t say this book didn’t have some (what I would consider) flaws, the overall reading experience was enjoyable, and I am eager to get my hands on the next installment, The War of Two Queens, in March of 2022. Thank goodness I have A Shadown in the Ember, a spin-off novel, releasing in just a few months to tide me over until next year! ["

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November 3, 2021 Verified Purchase