yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed seeing things from Cas’s perspective. Especially after knowing everything we know. I kind of liked this one better than the first.  It was nice to see what he was going through and a little bit into why he made the decisions he did. The ending really surprised me and I did not see it coming.
I love the bond the three of them have. I wasn’t expecting Cas to shift and I just want to know if she recognized them! I will be heartbroken if she doesn’t

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zg0612's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was really good! I loved how we got the story told from Casteel’s pov, so we don’t just hear what he’s told Poppy before, but how he actually feels about all of it. The chapters based in the present throughout were also nice to have.
BUT CASTEEL SHIFTING?!!!!! LOVED THAT!!!!!
Can’t wait for the next book!!!

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hey_mj's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Was this basically just a glorified retelling of FBAA from Cas's POV? Yes. 

Was that cliffhanger fucking rude? Yes. 

Did I absolutely eat it up? Every single page. 

And I would do it again for KOFAF and TCOGB too. I fell in love with Cas all over again reading this and I loved watching Cas fall in love with Poppy before he even realized it was happening.

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mlglenn's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes

5.0


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taryn_g's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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kdez's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

From Blood and Ash is my favourite of this series, so getting to relive it through Hawke’s POV was such a delight! I loved getting to see his take on events and the feelings he had while going through it all. Especially my favourite scenes. Each of those felt like a little treat ❤️

I also appreciate how it was a bit of a breather. There’s so much that happens in this series CONSTANTLY so just getting to experience this walk down memory lane was much needed.

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janeywaneyb's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Let's be honest this is just a retelling of From Blood and Ash but in Casteel's voice. Nothing happens, even the normal cliffhanger isn't that great, that you don't already know, I maybe have a little bit more love for Kieran. It was good to revisit the start of their relationship and hear how Cas fell in love with Poppy but reads a little like fan fiction. I'm still not convinced this book was needed. I would have preferred for the story to be moved on and for us to meet the Primals and gods but especially Nyktos, Sera and Kolis. 

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hbae's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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cryosphinx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I loved this and was so happy to experience FBAA again but from Casteel's perspective. No surprise here, it was advertised as such. Because of the POV shift, I'd say the flashbacks were evenly split between filling in information from Casteel's POV and just retelling a scene with his monologue instead of Poppy. But I loved it and it may be my favorite of the series.

There is some present day that takes place every few chapters which makes the book still a bridge between books 4 and 6.

I feel like the inner monologue was much less repetitive from Casteel's perspective that Poppy's which makes it a bit more polished. I'll also still complain that random modern jargon is very weird (I mean...at one point a character says spoiler alert...). And I would have liked more substance from the present day sections since they were pretty sparse until the last couple sections.

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charlsie4's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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