A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

                Title: A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire #1) 

            Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Pages: 647

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Publisher: Blue Box Press

Release Date: October 19, 2021

Buy: Amazon|Chapters Indigo| Kobo 

*ARC received from author for honest review* 

*I do recommend that you have read From Blood and Ash before reading this*

Summary (Goodreads) 

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.

Review: 

Where do I start, as I'm still feeling all the emotions after finishing this book. Only Jennifer L. Armentrout knows how to deliver an amazing companion novel to the Blood and Ash series. But be prepared to be hooked with amazing characters and a lot of intrigue! Move over Cas and Kieran because Nyktos has now taken over and has become one of my favourite book boyfriends along with them. I'm already looking forward to what will happen next after that ending! 

Set in the same world as From Blood and Ash series, A Shadow in the Ember follows Sera who is the Maiden. I would say Sera is definitely one of my favourite characters because she is very similar to Poppy in many ways. Sera was the Maiden and was chosen from birth to offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort. She trained and sacrificed herself for her kingdom to make the Primal fall in love with her and then kill him. This is such a magical world with so many secrets, that we are just beginning to find out! There is some very steamy and swoony moments that you will fall in love with Ash most of the book. 

I hope everyone loves this book as much as I did because you definitely get so invested in this series that you have to pay attention to every detail. I've been a huge JLA fan for a decade and all her books have blown me away because they are so addicting with really well created characters. Sera is definitely on that list. I'm not going to forget mentioning Nyktos because I really enjoyed him. I found he was really sweet and so swoony. Plus the banter between him and Sera was so great, even if he is the Primal of Death. He is for sure a rival with Aiden and Cas.

A Shadow in the Ember was perfection! It had the perfect balance of romance and action. It was a slow burn romance which I felt was the right fit for both Sera and Nyktos. I loved every minute of reading their story. Also that ending was OMG, so I will be patiently waiting until the next book comes out which will probably be after reading The War of Two Queens in March. Thank you Jen for allowing me to review this because it was by far one of my top favourites. Be sure to grab this amazing book because you won't be able to put it down!! 

5/5