4.25 ⭐

Thrilling Dark Twisty Exhilarating

I loved this book! I fell in love with the characters and enjoyed the plot. I never knew what was coming next and ATE. IT. UP!

The ending has me clawing at the bits for the next book. It was dark, morbid and exhilarating! I could not put this down!

There were times where I was confused on whose POV I was reading but it came together. During some POV's some characters had different personalities/characteristics than during other POV's.

Ex. in the beginning the MMC seemed like an arrogant A hole from the FMC perspective, a hopeless weak boy from the sisters perspective and a sarcastic witty character from his perspective. I understand that everyone has a different view point on people (especially based off what they are told or how they are expected to react) but the other characters seemed to stay the same no matter the POV.

A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash has the foundation of a wonderfully deep and unique fantasy world. The main character—particularly Mal was extremely compelling; she embodies the essence of a badass warrior princess, while the prince’s soft side adds a sincere and intriguing contrast. Despite these strengths, the story ultimately falls a bit short—not due to a lack of content, but rather how that content is handled. The pacing often felt a bit too slow, and while the book introduced strong ideas and plotlines, many of them felt underdeveloped or unfinished. The use of multiple character POVs was a nice touch, though I found myself less interested in some perspectives than others. Overall, this fantasy novel has the potential to be great but ends up feeling somewhat disjointed for me.

This book was fun but for me unfortunately it was a bit long. I understand why we needed everything fot the story to end were it did. But if I am reading a book for too long I kind of just wish for it to be over at the end. And I understand that this is a me problem. If I would have just read this book and not the other I did at the same time maybe this would have been rated higher. But I still believe it to be a good book and 4⭐️ is also a great rating. Ash was like a breath of fresh air. He was nothing like the standard MMC:s we usually see. Mal was freaking awesome. I pictured her exactly like the art on the front cover, badass! There is something great about a book with a lot of different types of people and magical creatures and powers. You never know how everything is going to work together. I am exited to read the next book in the series and find out where the story is going to go after a wild ride of an ending.

5 ⭐ WOW. wow. This book gave me the same feeling as when I first discovered Throne of Glass. I was immediately engrossed in the world, and Johns does a fantastic job developing an intriguing plot without sacrificing on the world building. The world itself is intricate, filled with a rich and well developed history and a conflict that makes our main antagonists (the witches) extremely nuanced. You can understand exactly why they have turned to violence and revenge, and at times, despite our main characters actively fighting against them, it is hard to fully vilify them. I LOVE when authors are able to accomplish this.

Our main character, Mal, is extremely fierce and unyielding, and I truly enjoyed her as our FMC (if Manon from TOG is your favorite, you will no doubt LOVE Mal!). Every time Johns described her vicious smile, I could see it so clearly in my mind. And Ash... ASH!! Our MMC has so many layers to him. He is a deeply misunderstood character, who is a warrior but often times his greatest battles are within his own head. He has a stutter, and the weight of this and the constant worrying about what others will think of him is enough to drown him in anxiety, so much so that he often avoids speaking in more than one or two word sentences, and avidly avoids large groups. He is a kind yet fierce soul, despite his (false) reputation for cruelty across the kingdoms. This is a common theme we see throughout this book, as our characters are constantly fighting against the expectations imposed on them to forge their own paths.

This book contains multiple POVS, and I really enjoyed this aspect. We get the POV of both major characters and side characters, and I never felt like I was lost or that a certain POV didn't meaningfully contribute to the story. Everything felt purposeful.

Without giving any spoilers, I will say that the ending left me feeling a bit confused, and I am still unsure of how to interpret it. It felt a bit like it came out of nowhere, and maybe there were little breadcrumbs spread throughout the book, but I didn't pick up on them. Either way, I absolutely can not WAIT for this book to be released and for everyone to see how incredible it is. Mark my words, this is going to be a hit! I absolutely devoured it in two days.

Thank you SO much J.F. Johns and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Firstly, I enjoyed the world over all. I like the idea of all the different kingdoms and animals. I also get the pacing overall - we have to get where we're going in a timely fashion so that we can get to a second book. However, going from hating someone with a vehement passion to loving them in like 5 days was unbelievable to me overall. The main characters were ok, unremarkable I suppose. Overall, this was readable and decent but just ok. I probably won't read the sequel.

⚔️Eight kingdoms in the brink of war.
👑An arranged marriage to broker peace.
🩸One curse that can end them all.

Filled with fantastical creatures, dragons, wyverns, plot twists, and court intrigue-this dark fantasy is perfect for fans of “Fourth Wing”, “From Blood and Ash”, and Manon from “Throne of Glass”.

📖 Synopsis: Mal Blackburn is the 4th born child of the House of Shadows-a child born with no inherited role and mysterious purple eyes. Her lack of familial position has her feeling without a purpose in life, until her parents arrange to have her married to the Prince of the Fire kingdom. The Fire Prince, Ash, is rumored to be a ruthless monster; yet Mal views this as an opportunity. She doesn’t want to capture the prince’s heart-she wants to stab him in it. There has been a curse upon the eight kingdoms for the past 100 years, and a prophecy foretold that one of the royals must die for the curse to be broken.

But all is not as it seems here. Mal is hiding her own potentially deadly secret, outright war is at the doorstep, and everyone around her has an ulterior motive as to whose death is required to lift the rumored curse.

******

I love a good character-driven story. While the world-build and plotting are immersive, it’s the characters that truly shine here. Each one has threads of own side plots weaving together throughout the book, getting the reader emotionally invested in what is happening. As a “feelings” type of reader, that is what I want to be…emotionally invested in the story. ❤️

I also loved the magical creatures in this story, especially the shadow “spirit animals” that are assigned to the Drakkonians at birth. I loved how the creatures weren’t just part of the world, but were immersed with the characters as mirrors of their own personalities.

This book did end on a cliffhanger and I already am looking forward to the continuation of Mal (and everyone else’s!) journey.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early!!!

Wow. I didn't know what to expect going into this book, having never read the author's work before. While it started a little slow for me, once it got going I was absolutely hooked! Mal is a really great fmc who is strong and confident and truly caring. Ash is not your typical mmc and just tugs my heartstrings. The familial relationships are really touching and I appreciated the closeness and camaraderie shared between siblings. Kai is my man and I need more of him in book 2. Overall, I laughed, I cried and my heart was pounding. The ending has me dying for more and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book!

This book was a solid, enjoyable read with some standout moments—but it didn’t completely blow me away and wasn't anything I hadn't read before. The plot had great potential, and there were definitely parts that had me wanting to find out more.

That said, there were a few things that held it back for me—maybe a slower pace in the middle, or characters I couldn’t fully connect with. Still, the writing was engaging, and I appreciated the main twist of the story and also the change in POV is something that I always enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

First of all the cover is absolutely gorgeous. Beyond that story is essentially all over the place. The world building was a bit lackluster. The background had potential and the magic system was decent. There was potential there but it fell flat. However, there were points in this book where the character development/decisions became very annoying, rushed. Not exactly true enemies to lovers, which tends to annoy me. I felt the story was slow at times with the ending hitting you with so much action and whiplash. Overall, the pace was too inconsistent for me. It’s not always the best sign when the side characters take away from the main. The side characters I felt in some ways had more of a personality. Overall, it was meh. I can see how the ending set you up for continuation of the series so it may still be a few others cup of tea, but just not mine.

GUYS. G U Y S. This is not a drill, I absolutely ate this up. The only reason it took me two days to finish is the fact that I picked it up on Sunday evening, I WOULD not have left my armchair, I would probably have given cereal to my children for dinner, I genuinely thought of taking a sick day and just stay in bed and froth this one up.
I enjoyed EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of this book!!! The premise was intriguing (who doesn't love an ambiguous century old curse?!.) The writing (it has been criticized a lot but I found it descriptive enough to flesh out the world and the lore) and sprinkled everything and everyone with that whimsical dark fairy tale/fantasy sprinkle. All the different kingdoms, houses, characters and creatures were so interesting and even though there was a fair amount of information to digest, I thought it was relatively easy to follow and I enjoyed creating those images in my head so much!

I felt that the multiple POVs was a brilliantly executed device and even though some might argue it doesn't make us feel massively invested in Mal and Ash, I actually found it very refreshing (and in a funny way very cinematic?) and allowed me to relate to almost every single character but also make the supporting characters that much more interesting and real. Some times you read a book and anything other than scenes which include the main characters feel like a filler, well THIS IS NOT IT. I found the subplots to be (possibly?) even more satisfying at times (Alina and KAI?!). Tabitha's diary entries were so good at tying everything together and setting the ground/ tone at the beginning of each chapter.

Mal is a brilliant MFC and was everything I would like to see, strong, resilient and a true warrior in her own right (better than most men due to her lifelong training). Ash was so easy to love and it was great to see a MMC who is insecure and struggling with his vulnerability. Their romance for me made sense and was delivered well. Kai and Alina's storyline stole my heart and I found her character arc the most satisfying, given that the next book is called Kingdom of Sand and Ice, I am here for her era of female rage, CANNOT wait. If you're wondering about the spice, I would say that it is a bit on the YA/ NA side but for me it worked really well.

The last 20% of the book kept me on a chokehold and I will be absolutely picking the next one up, not sure what to do with myself given that the first book has not even been published yet! And, as superficial as it might sound, the COVER is everything, absolutely breathtaking. I think that anyone who loves Sarah J Mass, Jennifer Armentrout, Charissa Broadbent, Kristen Ciccarelli will devour this, I really hope this blows up to be the next best thing. I am so excited for what J. F. Johns has in store for us, she is just getting started.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my review copy, I immensely enjoyed this one. All opinions are my own.

📚 Book Review: A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash by J.F. Johns
✨ Genre: New Adult, Romance, Sci Fi & Fantasy
📖 Page Count: Not sure
📅 Date Finished: 28 April
📆 Release Date: 31 May

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📝 Synopsis (No Spoilers!)
Set in a world of eight kingdoms ruled by different magical beings, this fantasy novel follows Mal, the fourth child of a royal family, as she navigates a political marriage alliance that spirals into a gripping tale of magic, secrets, and betrayal. The dramatic, twist-filled plot and rich magical elements are what pulled me in.

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💭 First Impressions
This was an eARC from NetGalley (thank you!) As a fan of Jennifer L Armentrout, I was drawn to the book by its premise and world-building—it sounded like the kind of sweeping, immersive fantasy I enjoy. The story opens with a secondary character (Tabitha Wysteria) whose diary excerpts break up the book, and it was instantly tragic and gripping. This kept up - I’ve got a few books on the go at the moment but this was the one I kept coming back to, wanting to know what would happen next.

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👥 Characters
Mal is a strong and confident protagonist, though her character development felt quite static over the course of the story (a weird thing to say as a lot happens to her, but I don’t think her reactions to events change vastly from beginning to end). In contrast, Alina stood out to me with the most significant arc - changing and growing the most. I loved Kai’s character a lot - especially the cupcake moment and his relationship with Mal, and the Kai/Alina arc as well. But some characters I think could’ve been developed a bit more (especially Hagan, and Ash a little bit). And I think the Ash/Mal arc needed a little bit more seeding (especially from Mal’s perspective - why do her feelings change? I’m not sure). That said, it is quite a feat to have so many compelling ensemble characters in one book with multiple plots and subplots.

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🌍 World-Building / Setting
The world-building is a definite strength. Each kingdom is distinct, and the lore behind the magical beings and alliances adds depth. I like the small details like how the food, fashion and culture changes in each court. You can definitely see elements/tropes from other books - I think there’s a bit of ACOTAR courts in the eight different kingdoms for example, and the marshlands at the beginning felt very Lord of the Rings. But it’s a well-constructed fantasy universe.

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✍️ Writing Style
The prose leans toward the descriptive and traditional high fantasy style. It’s detailed and atmospheric. I tend to prefer a slightly more direct and punchier approach, but still found myself rushing through the book despite a bit more lyricism than I’d normally enjoy.

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🔥 Favourite Moments / Quotes (Optional)
The ending. OMG. This is a book that you will close and then need to sit for a minute staring at a wall to emotionally process. It was a lot. Now I need the sequel, like right now.

Also I need to honourable mention Chapter 8. That chapter made me feel physically and emotionally unwell (in a good way!) I’ve mentioned elsewhere about drawing elements from other books, but I’ve never seen arranged marriage handled as stomach-churningly directly as here.

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🎢 Pacing & Plot
The pacing was generally strong. While a few sections were slower due to the dense descriptions, the overall plot moved forward with intrigue, twists and high stakes. The ending, especially, amped things up significantly.

One thing I did think could be maybe expanded on a little bit was “themes”. I think there was a sprinkling of some very interesting themes: the power of storytelling and fake narratives; gender dynamics and sexism; hurt people hurt people. But it felt like just a sprinkling. I wonder if these will get picked up and expanded in the sequel.

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📚 Overall Thoughts
I really loved this book. This is a great pick for fans of immersive fantasy worlds and twisty plots. I’d recommend this book to fans of Jennifer L Armentrout, Sarah J Maas and Game of Thrones, but I think to bump up from a 4 to 5 star rating I’d want it to have something that made it really unique, as I felt like lots of elements were drawn from lots of different existing tropes. Sometimes I wanted a slightly leaner writing style, but I recognise that could just be personal preference and you might lose some of the lyricism. But more widely the plot and character arcs for supporting characters were excellent.

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⭐ Rating: 4/5 stars

Mal Blackburn, is forced into a political marriage with the notoriously cruel Fire Prince, she enters the lion's den with a deadly mission: assassination. Her determination to end a curse, a truth dismissed by most, adds a layer of intrigue and raises the stakes considerably. Mal is not simply a pawn; she's a woman with a purpose, driven by a secret that could either save or doom everyone around her. This internal conflict, coupled with her "witch eyes" and connection to the forbidden past, makes her a compelling and relatable protagonist.
The plot unfolds with a satisfying blend of political intrigue, simmering romance, and magical elements. The world-building is rich, painting a vivid picture of the eight kingdoms, their histories, and their prejudices. The shadow of the destroyed witch kingdom hangs heavy over the narrative, adding a sense of underlying dread and the potential for explosive conflict.
Overall, its an engaging read and one I highly recommend!

Dragons, wyvern, witches and shadows… what more could you want from a fantasy! This was a fun and intriguing read, with many twists and turns and an ending that left me longing for the next book!

I thought this was a really interesting story that took elements from many favourite fantasy books and created this fun, new story. The world building was really vivid and really added to the dark magic vibes, I found this so easy to picture, and I liked the contrast in scenery when we went to the fire kingdom. I liked the different characterises between kingdoms and I felt each character had a really vivid and unique voice. I kind of wish the magic system was explored more. Other than the witches and a few powers that seemed linked to certain characters, I felt unsure of where exactly the magic fit into

Firstly, thank you for gifting me an ARC to read and review. I hope to read more of the author's future releases!

A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash is a beautifully written fantasy romance full of magic, tension, and forbidden love. It follows Mal, a fourth-born daughter from the Kingdom of Darkness, as she’s pushed into a political marriage with the son of the Kingdom of Fire, Ash. At the centre of a prophecy which mentions a curse placed many years ago, the two strive for peace amongst the kingdoms that were once there before the witches were eradicated. Or so everyone believed.

Written in third person, the book gives an outward view into the different kingdoms, primarily focusing on the Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Fire. Our main character Mal, is born as the fourth born and with purple eyes (which seems indicative of Mal having the magical abilities of a witch), not only does it defy the previous tradition of only having 3 children, but also leaves questions such as if she is cursed.
Ash, one of two children from the Kingdom of Fire, is a well-built, golden-haired man with his own problems. From childhood, he has struggled with his stutter and therefore chooses to be a man of few words. Known by Mal for his reputation of being ruthless and cruel, but that is not what Mal finds when she is finally in his presence.

Personally, I loved the multiple viewpoints of the different characters, however, I would have preferred if Alina (Ash's sister) and Kai's (Mal's brother) story were its own book. The tension between the two was gripping. I would love to know more about the two of them outside of the glimpses we get of them. The same for Kage (Another one of Mal's brothers) and Wren (A seer from a neighbouring kingdom). I do not believe it took anything away from the story; the different viewpoints of each character gave insight.

Dragons, wyvern, witches and shadows… what more could you want from a fantasy! This was a fun and intriguing read, with many twists and turns and an ending that left me longing for the next book!

I thought this was a really interesting story that took elements from many favourite fantasy books and created this fun, new story. The world building was really vivid and really added to the dark magic vibes, I found this so easy to picture, and I liked the contrast in scenery when we went to the fire kingdom. I liked the different characterises between kingdoms and I felt each character had a really vivid and unique voice. I kind of wish the magic system was explored more. Other than the witches and a few powers that seemed linked to certain characters, I felt unsure of where exactly the magic fit into the story and who could do what. I think if there had been less characters this maybe could have been explored in a bit more detail.

The multi character pov really helped to add depth to the story, but I do agree with some in that the jumping between characters was maybe a bit too frequent and sometimes stilted the pace of the story.

I found the second half of the book much better than the first. I found some of the sentence structure a bit clunky, and the pace felt off in places. However after the halfway mark I think the author really got into her groove with the story and it seemed to flow much better. The plot really started to move, and the twists in the last quarter or so were really satisfying. Looking forward to book 2!

4.5!!!!
incredible.
I ate this up!
world building, enemies to lovers, I simply need more asap! It was so good!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash was just, WOW. What a read. Where to start?! Dark magic, wyverns, a crazy plot with forbidden romance, this checks ALL the boxes for me.

I mean, c'mon, dragons will get me every time😂

The world building, it's there. Magic and mayhem, wyverns and ancient curses, it hooked me from the start. There is so much intrigue twisted with secrecy and rebellion, I couldn't put it down.

That ending was brutal😭 all I will say is that I need the next part!!

This has the potential to become a really good series!!
I think it has a really interesting world, I enjoyed the descriptions of each kingdom and how different they are from each other - from the weather, to their values/norms, to their people, etc. I loved the Wyvernian siblings, they might be my favorite characters in this book. Mal, the FMC, she's wonderful!
The pacing did feel a little off at times but I think that might have to do with the fact that it is written in 3rd person and has multiple POVs. It did get a little confusing/overwhelming at times.
I loved Mal and Ash's relationship build up but when it finally happened, I did get a little disappointed. I wish it had been more fleshed out on page than it was. When they first get together, it goes from 0 to 100 real quick. It felt too insta-lovey for me, which I'm not a fan of.
I did also enjoy how we got little snippets of Tabitha's diary entries, those were really interesting.
I'm intrigued to see where this story goes!

Thank you to the author and to NetGalley for giving me an arc!

This book had me reeling the entire time! From the love stories throughout to the twists of the plot - I was hooked from the first page! With bated breaths, I’ll be waiting for A Kingdom of Sand and Ice!

From the first stunning chapter header I was hooked. The artwork immediately grabbed my attention, a beautiful mixture of whimsy and magic...but then I met Mal.



If somehow Manon Blackbeak and Karlach (Baldur's Gat 3) met, fell in love and impossibly conceived... that badass, iron willed baby would be Mal Blackburn. It's honestly so refreshing to have such a fleshed out FMC. Mal is not just a passenger in her own story, she is driving her own destiny and giving tough as nails Lzzy Hale vibes whilst doing so. If Mal has a million fans, I'm one of them.; if she has one fan, it's me; if she has no fans, I am dead.



Our MMC? Again, another exciting change of pace. Ash is a misunderstood sweetheart, he's a darling golden retriever man, with insecurities that immediately endear him to the reader. Now, I love my morally grey shadow daddies as much as the next girl, but Ash? Swoon. Having a misunderstood loverboy as our male lead was such a balm.



Genuinely, I liked the way all the characters were written and the dynamics between them felt super organic. I could spend this entire review effusively listing all the positives about each character. It'd get boring, so let's move on...



The writing style is fantastically descriptive, but not overly flowery. The way the world and setting is described is extremely immersive and left me wanting to learn more about each of the eight kingdoms. Right now, it's definitely a trend for there to be multiple kingdoms/courts with distinct powers, ecologies and cultures, and A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash definitely has this. Luckily, in Kingdom of Gods it seems that so far there is a deeper relationship between the kingdoms and cultures. The people of the nations all look very different depending of where they hail from, which leads to that classic Fantasy trope of subtle racism and sexism(although not so much from our protagonists) - I really enjoyed the explorations of misogyny in particular.



Each of the kingdoms is associated with its own magical creature (yay!). Mal has a wyvern, Ash rides a dragon and we also see rideable dire wolves and pegasi. I love a mythical beast, and I honestly wish we saw more of them. I also can't wait to see more of the creatures from the kingdoms that we didn't spend much time with.



One last thing... Those twists at the end? They came thick and fast, and whilst I'd hoped for one and dreaded another that came to be, there was one or two that I did not see coming. I really enjoyed them and how they left things at the end of the novel, especially as it set things up for the rest of the series without actually leaving us with a cliffhanger per se. Phenomenal, start to finish I loved this book!