The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L Armentrout. Review

“Armentrout surprises me at every page turn with higher stakes, hotter heat, shocking revelations, and a knows-no-bounds love that hits me deep, and I am here for it.” –Laurelin Paige, New York Times bestselling author

The Crown of Gilded Bones, the all new gripping and intense third installment in the epic fantasy Blood and Ash series from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout is out now, and we have an inside look!

Synopsis

She’s been the victim and the survivor… Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers. The enemy and the warrior… Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life, not the lives of others, but now she must choose to either forsake her birthright or seize the gilded crown and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire. But as the kingdoms’ dark sins and blood-drenched secrets finally unravel, a long-forgotten power rises to pose a genuine threat. And they will stop at nothing to ensure that the crown never sits upon Poppy’s head. A lover and heartmate… But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans, ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each other. And now she will become Queen…  

Review

  5 « shocking revelations and cliffhanger from hell” stars. “You’re safe here,” he told me as he placed the dagger beside my hand. “But just in case, if anyone comes in here, stab first and ask questions later. You should be familiar with that mentality.”   Holy guacamole!!! I have spend the last hours in a mad rush reading and reading, glued to my kindle, because the tension was mounting and mounting …as my heartbeats! I just had to rush to the finale…to be left on a cliffy!!! Gah! How will I wait???   Sorry for this disorganized review but I am bursting with so many emotions I had to vent. Okay, no spoilers, promise. I will stick to what’s written in the synopsis and some thoughts about that third instalment.   First thought: Poppy is badass! I knew it already but here, she is taken to a whole other level of badassery (I know I know, that’s not a word). What I mean is that she went so far from the Maiden, deprived of any freedom and any choices. She will raise to the occasion and be so empowered in this book! She will fight with amazing skills and new powers. Don’t anger her because it’s like detonating a nuclear bomb!

“You’ve faced Craven and vamprys, men wearing masks of human flesh, creatures without faces, and stared down Atlantians who wanted to harm you with the kind of strength and bravery most lack,” he whispered. “Remember what you are. Fearless.”

No kidding. And what I adore about Poppy is also her huge compassion. She is so selfless and wants to heal and help everyone. She also has a huge empathy. Poppy is a good person.   Second thought: Casteel is just amazingly supportive. Not only is he extremely sexy, disarmingly and disturbingly charming but he also truly gives wings to Poppy. Even if he would like to protect her in battles, usher her to safety, he knows that Poppy need to take her own fate in her hands and fight her own battles. She has been so wounded as a child that it’s very important to her to know that she is strong and can defend herself. And Cas gets it. Completely!

“I do not want to be party to forcing you into yet another role you did not ask for nor desire. I will not replace the veil you loathed with a crown you hate. If you do not want to take the Crown, I will support you,”

I loved him so much for that! He truly freed Poppy and helped her to become who she was always meant to be. Equality is a recurring theme in this book. Poppy would never be placed above Casteel (well in the bedroom maybe…wink wink) and neither would he overpower her. They truly are partners.

“You are the foundation that helps me stand. You are my walls and my roof. My shelter. You are my home.”

    Third thought: fasten your seatbelt and think of peeling your jaw from the floor because I promise you will be left slack jawed many times! Jennifer Armentrout sure knows how to keep her readers on their toes. I never would have predicted the turn this story took! But it took some time for me to understand as it was like talking in riddles at the beginning. But then, you will grasp it. And when you have been sucker punched by a big reveal, there is another one just waiting to finish the work and knock you out! The plot is thickening and you won’t know who is the good one and who is the bad one.  I’d say everyone is bathed in grey light.   Four thought: I don’t know how I will wait for the next book! I really do hope that JLA will release them just in a few months because the wait will be torture!   To sum it up, Jennifer has written a series that gets better with every book, mixing fantasy elements, strong characters, lots of romance, very hot sex scenes and twists aplenty! I am really happy that I ordered several special edition boxes as I know it will remain a favorite for many years to come!

Bow before your Queen today! Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pGJq9l Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/CrownofGildedBone Apple Books: https://apple.co/35KztA5 Kobo: https://bit.ly/3pFzRHW Nook: https://bit.ly/35JKgu9 Google Play: https://bit.ly/2ISWebS Hardback: https://bit.ly/3nG8L1z Paperback: https://amzn.to/35J310H

Excerpt

A sudden growl of warning came from the largest wolven I’d ever seen. Kieran and Vonetta’s father stood to my right. Jasper had officiated the marriage between Casteel and me in Spessa’s End. He’d been there when Nyktos showed his approval by briefly turning day to night. But now, the steel-hued wolven’s lips peeled back, baring teeth that could tear through flesh and break bone. He was loyal to Casteel, and yet instinct told me that it wasn’t just the guards he warned.     Another snarl came from my left. In the shadows of the blood tree that had sprouted from where my blood had fallen and then grew to a massive height within seconds, a fawn-colored wolven crept into my line of sight, head dipped low, and wintery blue eyes iridescent. Kieran. He stared down Casteel. I didn’t understand why either of them would behave this way toward the Prince, but especially Kieran. He had been bonded to Casteel from birth, meant to obey and protect him at all costs. But he was more than a bonded wolven to Casteel. They were brothers, if not by blood then by friendship, and I knew they loved each other.     Right now, nothing about the way Kieran’s ears were pinned back was loving.     Unease skipped its way through me as Kieran sank down, the sleek muscles of his legs tensing as he prepared to attack…Casteel.     My stomach plummeted. This wasn’t right. None of this was right. “No,” I rasped, my voice hoarse and barely recognizable, even to my ears.     Kieran didn’t appear to hear me or care. If he had been acting normally, I would’ve just assumed he was attempting to ignore me, but this was different. He was different. His eyes were brighter than I ever remembered seeing, and they weren’t right because they…they weren’t just blue now. His pupils glowed silvery-white, an aura that seeped out in wispy tendrils across the blue. My head jerked to Jasper. His eyes had changed, too. I’d seen that strange light before. It had been what my skin had done when I healed Beckett’s broken legs—the same silvery glow that had radiated from me minutes earlier.     Icy bursts of surprise raced through Casteel as he eyed the wolven, and then I felt…relief radiate from him.    “You all knew.” Casteel’s voice filled with awe, something no one standing behind him felt. Even the easy grin was absent from the auburn-haired Atlantian. Emil looked at us with wide eyes, broadcasting a healthy dose of fear, as did Naill, who had always appeared utterly unfazed by everything—even when he’d been outnumbered in battle. 

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About Jennifer L. Armentrout #1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. She spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Border Jack Apollo. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was an Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins. She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over a hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more.

Connect with Jennifer Facebook: http://bit.ly/2xSL7u5 Instagram: @jennifer_l_armentrout http://bit.ly/33GWn8R Twitter: @JLArmentroutnews http://bit.ly/2QvDYpT Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dnOSIi Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2U5Jemy BookBub: http://bit.ly/2U2Fe63 Stay up to date with Jennifer by joining her mailing list: https://bit.ly/2qBce5m Website: https://jenniferlarmentrout.com

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