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RedditIn this The Crown of Gilded Bones book review I will be sharing my thoughts on the third book in the Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L Armentrout. As with most of my book reviews I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum though there may be some small spoilers.
“I will not replace the veil you loathed with a crown you hate.”
Jennifer L Armentrout The Crown of Gilded Bones.
The Crown of Gilded Bones is the third book in the adult fantasy Blood and Ash series. It’s a heart breaking, heart warming, terrifying, and beautiful book. I have read this series twice so far and will likely read it again and again because I love it that much.
Blood and Ash Series Reviews:
Trigger Warnings
Since we don’t always get trigger warnings on books I like to give trigger warnings in my reviews. This can help people avoid certain triggers that could hurt their mental well being.
Possible Triggers in this book are:
- Alcohol
- Assault
- Blood
- Bones
- Branding
- Death
- Decapitation
- Gore
- Kidnapping
- Poisoning
- Sexually Explicit Scenes
- Skeletons
- Torture
- Violence
For a list of the triggers I look for you can check out this link here. This may or may not be a complete list of triggers for this book, I do my best to make sure I mark anything that could be a potential trigger but I may accidentally miss triggers.
Synopsis and Author
After arriving in Atlantia and visiting a temple on their route a group of rebels attack Poppy which leads her to lash out with her powers and their growing stronger and faster. These powers reveal that she is more than just mortal but a deity who has now taken the bonds of every wolven.
With those bonds she also has a claim on the crown of Atlantia. That’s not the biggest problem off the bat. With a group of rebels who believe she will bring the doom of Atlantia, they try to stop her. Casteel and the wolven must help their queen and take down these people before it’s too late.
In the meantime Poppy and Casteel must decide if they are going to take on the role of being King and Queen of Atlantia. Poppy gets to see Atlantia, meet with people, stop rebels, and find out who she is and who her real parents are all while trying to save her brother, Casteel’s brother, and stop a war before it starts.
Jennifer L Armentrout writes a heart stopping story about our beloved characters as they need to think quickly and make choices that will protect Atlantia and it’s people. She brings Atlantia to life, shows unbelievable growth in our characters, and takes us further into the emotional roller coaster of the Blood and Ash series.
The Crown Of Gilded Bones Reading Experience
The majority of The Crown of Gilded Bones is set in The Kingdom of Atlantia. Here we see a world with a crown that actually cares for the people. Plumbing and electricity are in every home and the people while they have struggles are nowhere near as destitute as the people of Solis.
Once again our main point of view is through Poppy though as always Jennifer L Armentrout writes from this point of view in such a way that you can feel the emotions of all our main characters.
The plot and pacing of this book is steady and more about receiving answers and solidifying plans. We are finding out more information about Poppy, who she is, and who she is related to.
War, Family, and Love are the main themes of this story as we see a couple finding their strength together to make decisions that will change the entire world and save people in both kingdoms.
Writing Style
This book is 647 pages and 50 chapters of an emotional roller coaster that is filled with action, terrifying scenes, secrets and truths revealed, and a love that will get our characters through anything.
Once again, every single part of this book is necessary with enough description so we can visualize and feel what’s happening in this world with very little fluff. The twists and hope for our characters to succeed push this book along beautifully.
The Crown of Gilded Bones Book Review
Once again Poppy and Casteel take the main stage for me as favorite characters. The love they have for each other and their sheer will to overcome all problems and face them together is absolutely beautiful. I absolutely love their bond.
Keiran just literally owns my heart. He’s turned into a protector and brother for Poppy just like he’s always been for Casteel. He will go to no end to help Poppy on this journey and that loyalty is beautiful.
Most of the main wolven make it on my favorite characters list. Just like I thought Jasper moved up from will grow on me to one of my favorite characters as well.
Miss Willa makes an appearance again in this book and if you know, you know. I absolutely love everything about Miss Willa.
Alastir, Commander Jensen, and The Blood Queen are all on my absolutely hated list. If you know, you know. I really don’t want to spoil anything for you.
I really hope that Queen Elona and King Valyn grow on me because I really don’t want to hate these two. They don’t seem like horribly bad people and I think they just want to do what is right for the kingdom they serve.
My personal thoughts on this entire book is that while we got some twists I know that it is truly setting us up for an epic 4th book and the completion of this series. We are going to see unbelievable twists in the next book and this book was just setting us up for that while providing action, love, and emotional growth of our characters so they can face the battle ahead.
If you like high fantasy with gods, vampire-like references, and dragons, this series is going to be for you.
Star Rating
Before I rate this book I want to give you a bit of background about what my rankings mean. I typically read books that I check out through the Libby app with my local library or through Kindle Unlimited.
I rarely buy ebooks unless they are cheaply priced or on sale. I also very rarely buy physical copies of books. I’m a bit of a minimalist so I have to absolutely adore a book to buy a physical copy that will be proudly displayed in my home.
So my ranking system is as follows:
- 5 Stars equals I am buying a physical copy of this book. I will read this book at least 10 more times, it is the best ever.
- 4 stars equals a great book. I might buy an ebook version when it’s on sale so that I can re-read it at least one more time.
- 3 stars equals a good book. I likely won’t read again but I appreciate the story.
- 2 stars equals “Meh.” I will not read this book again, it had a lot of problems and I did not care for it.
- 1 star equals a bad book. I barely finished this book and I will never recommend anyone waste valuable book reading time on this book.
- 0 stars is a did not finish book. I will never finish that book and it is banished.
The Crown of Gilded Bones gets 5 stars from me. I cried a lot from the beginning of this book all the way through. The love, growth, and support for Poppy from everyone around her is unbelievably strong. The ending will leave you feeling unbelievably ready to see her step into her strength and become unstoppable.
Likes:
- Poppy’s personal growth in this book is absolutely stunning.
- The anticipation for what is to come in the fourth book.
- The true love story between Casteel and Poppy is so sweet.
Dislikes:
- At the end of the book I was ready to riot. I know that it’s part of the story and I’m not going to say it shouldn’t have happened, but I am legitimately mad about it.
Final Thoughts on The Crown of Gilded Bones
In books I like to feel an array of emotions and so infrequently get that. We don’t often get plots and storylines that leave you raging or unbelievably broken and I have had countless of those throughout this series.
Jennifer L Armentrout is a fantastic author and I am sitting on the edge of my seat just waiting for the fourth book in this series, The War of Two Queens. I cannot wait to see what happens and can only hope that our worst fears do not come true.
Have you read The Crown of Gilded Bones? What are your thoughts on the book? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your favorite book boards.
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