Abby's Reviews > A Soul of Ash and Blood

All right. I'll admit it. When I saw that A Soul of Ash and Blood was being marketed as Hawke's retelling of From Blood and Ash, I was skeptical. I didn't know how necessary it was going to be, if it was just going to read like a cash grab, or what. But girlies... I was wrong. I was THOROUGHLY wrong. Allow me to explain.

The basic premise of ASoAaB is Poppy has entered stasis in order to unlock her full abilities. Translation, she turns into Sleeping Beauty, except Cas's kiss won't wake her up. She also has a slim chance of not knowing who anyone is when she wakes up, including Cas, Kieran, and even herself. But Cas isn't about to let that happen. So, he talks to her, and ends up retelling FBaA from his perspective.

To answer your first question: no, this is not just a retelling of the same scenes we saw from Hawke's perspective. To answer your next question: yes, this reads like its own independent story with brief present day interludes.

Essentially, ASoAaB does replay all of Poppy and Hawke's interactions from Hawke's perspective, but there is so much more in between. We get to see scenes that were alluded to, but never downright explained, like Hawke killing the duke. We also get to see so many scenes of Hawke and Kieran scheming, and discussing how said schemes change as Hawke starts to develop feelings for Poppy. It becomes clear very early on that this isn't the story of the Maiden from a different perspective. This is the story of the broken prince that tries to abduct her for leverage, and falls in love with her instead.

One of the things I love most about this retelling is how we really get to understand all of Hawke's motives and reasoning. I especially appreciate this in regards to everything that happens after his big reveal in the shed, because when I first read that in FAaB, I got the ick. Like, hard core. But now? I understand. It makes sense. I also loved getting to see Hawke still struggling with the darkness he was forced to endure and how slowly, Poppy helped him start to find his way out. That wasn't an angle that we really got to explore in FBaA, and it just adds so much depth and stability to the foundation of Poppy and Hawke's relationship.

I'd also like to give a quick shout out to Hawke eavesdropping on Poppy and Tawny discussing the infamous Red Pearl encounter and his running internal commentary. I seriously had to stop and reread certain sections because I was laughing so hard.

Overall, this book was well paced, solidly built, highly entertaining, and a new member on my favorites shelf. In all transparency, I feel like it is the Tower of Dawn of the Blood and Ash series, where we really could have had the important plot points added in to the prior book, and nothing would change besides not having Hawke's retelling. And let's be clear, Hawke's retelling isn't necessary. Did I enjoy it, though? Hell yeah.
*** Original review ***
What. The. Actual. Heck? Review to come when my sanity returns… I don’t know when that will be though… HUH?!

From Blood and Ash review - 3
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire review - 4.5
The Crown of Gilded Bones review - 5
The War of Two Queens review - 4.5