The Primal of Blood and Bone Book Review
“That bell has been rung. The die cast. The bridge burned. The last chapter of the story written…”
-Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Primal of Blood and Bone
A Detailed Review without Spoilers!
At First Sight
Book Title: The Primal of Blood and Bone
(Book 6 of the Blood & Ash Series)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Spice Meter: 3/5
Pacing: Medium
Introduction & Immediate Reactions
I thought I prepared myself for what I was getting into, but I still became undone by the end.
Leading up to the release of the"Primal of Blood and Bone,” I made sure I read the preceding books in the Blood and Ash series in tandem with the Flesh and Fire series, as well as book 1 of The Awakening Series, “Fall of Ruin and Wrath.” When I began to read the POBAB, I was comfortably armed with all of the backstories and lore. I quickly realized I needed to pace myself and needed a reminder to do so throughout the entirety of this read. Jennifer likes to leave easter eggs everywhere, introduce characters from other parts of this world who are main characters in her other series, and drop vital information when you least expect it. The Primal of Blood and Bone exceeded my expectations and of course, left me with the worst book hangover.
The World & Magic
There’s incredibly high stakes in this installment of the Blood and Ash series with this book being Poppy & Casteel’s penultimate.
We get answers and confirmation that we as readers have been holding on to since “Blood and Ash” as well as the Flesh and Fire series. And without giving it away, yes, the uniqueness of POBAB’s covers reveals much. Of course, the ending is, well, a classic JLA ending: perfect.
The Characters
Poppy, Casteel, and Kieran are still our main characters in POBAB. While we have witnessed these three grow and develop into their own selves throughout the Blood and Ash series, I feel it is in POBAB that we see their complexity and vulnerability is greater than ever before.
I do feel the overall timeline of events in this installment is a bit slower, but by doing so, we are able to dig even deeper into the characters' thoughts and see what they reveal. It’s through multiple point of views that the reader is able to relate to each character on a more intimate level, thus allowing themselves to become even closer to the characters within the story.
🌶️ The Spice Report
(For reference, my Level 5 Spice rating: Claiming of Beauty Series)
Spice Level: 3/5
Quantity v. Quality
Less number of spicy scenes and they’re straight to the steamy point.
The theme here is maturity: yes, Poppy and Casteel are still deeply in love with each other and express their desire for each other any time and place, but they realize they can only be close when the time is right. Both have obligations and responsibilities they must keep. There’s such heavy notes of desire and yearning on both sides that when they finally do get together, they give in to their primal urges and desires, not caring who is around them. I do feel the quantity of spicy scenes is somewhat less than in previous books. By putting emphasis on desire and longing, the reader is able to realistically able connect with the characters on a deeper level so that when a spicy scene plays out, it hits its mark exactly where you want it to…every time.
Final Feeling:
“The Primal of Blood and Bone” took me on a wonderful ride I thought I was thoroughly prepared for and yet it still had me undone by the end. While so many of my suspicions were answered, they were immediately replaced with feelings of “well that complicates things” and “wait, where’s so-and-so” to “great, now what?”
At the end I was left taking the biggest deep breath of my life.
I highly recommend reading the Primal of Blood and Bone by Jennifer L. Armentrout, but only after you’ve caught up and have read the other books in the Blood and Ash series, as well as the Flesh and Fire prequel series.
