As you might already know by now, Jennifer L. Armentrout is one of my autobuy authors. i’ve read most of her books/series now and I love most of them. I was highly surprised by From Blood and Ash and have read every book set in this world so far. In the end of October, it was time for the third book in the “Flesh and Fire” series, the prequel to From Blood and Ash, called A Fire in the Flesh. Warning, there are spoilers for the earlier books in this series about Sera and Nyktos ahead. Although this not being my favorite series, I was really curious what direction this story was moving in.

About the book

• Title: A Fire in the Flesh
• Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Series: Flesh and Fire #3
• Publish date: October 31, 2023
• Publisher: Blue Box Press
• ISBN: 9781957568430
• Number of pages: 560
• Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy

From #1  New York Times  bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes book three in her Flesh and Fire series… The only thing that can save the realms now is the one thing more powerful than the Fates. After a startling betrayal ends with both Sera and the dangerously seductive ruler of the Shadowlands she has fallen madly in love with being held captive by the false King of the Gods, there is only one thing that can free Nyktos and prevent the forces of the Shadowlands from invading Dalos and igniting a War of Primals. Convincing Kolis won’t be easy, though – not even with a lifetime of training. While his most favored Revenant is insistent that she is nothing more than a lie, Kolis’s erratic nature and twisted sense of honor leave her shaken to the core, and nothing could’ve prepared her for the cruelty of his Court or the shocking truths revealed. The revelations not only upend what she has understood about her duty and the very creation of the realms but also draw into question exactly what the true threat is. However, surviving Kolis is only one part of the battle. The Ascension is upon her, and Sera is out of time. But Nyktos will do anything to keep Sera alive and give her the life she deserves. He’ll even risk the utter destruction of the realms, and that’s exactly what will happen if he doesn’t Ascend as the Primal of Life. Yet despite his desperate determination, their destinies may be out of their hands. But there is that foreseen unexpected thread—the unpredictable, unknown, and unwritten. The only thing more powerful than the Fates…

My review

Beforehand, I had not much expectations for several reasons. Firstly, I am not the biggest fan of Sera’s and Nyktos’ story. Secondly, I couldn’t remember what happened at the end of the previous book. The problem with this series is that each book is building up very, very slowly and I have the attention span of a goldfish lately. Normally, the story picks up around the last 20-30% and I didn’t expect this to be different.

Oh boy, I was right. In this book, I didn’t like the characters. I found Sera possibly even more annoying than before. She still lacks personality to me and quite frankly, she is too similar to Poppy. Okay, that’s kind of logical in a way whenever you know the story, but I want them to be portrayed differently and for them to have their own personality. We barely get to see Nyktos in this book. Eventually, he makes an appearance and that’s where the pace picks up. The majority of this book we have to deal with Kolis and his scinister mind. I wasn’t therefore a fan of the characters, I even started to dislike them more and more.

The writing was good. I wanted to keep listening because Armentrout has a way of pushing you right into the story. In my opinion, the writing was easy to follow and therefore this book has been an easy listen. However, the story is not as likeable.

As I stated before, this series has the tendency to start really slow before speeding up in the final 20-30% of the books. This was definitely no different this time around. However, I was bored out of my mind. In fact, nothing really happened and it felt too much like an infodump for the remainder of the books in the “From Blood and Ash” series. I understand the necessity of this, but to be honest I already forgot about 95% of it. The final parts of this book were the best for me. I also have to admit that a certain dragon book was begging for my attention and that made me power through this book a lot. Nevertheless, that won’t change my opinion and I’m wondering whether there will be more books about Sera and Nyktos. It’s a little too much and therefore they become less intriguing.

A Fire in the Flesh by Jennifer L. Armentrout probably couldn’t have been released at a worse time than this. A certain other popular book was released shortly after and that one was begging for my attention. Furthermore, I’m slumping and I have the attention span of a goldfish nowadays when it comes to books. The book itself didn’t help much in my enjoyment too, because I’m unfortunately not a Sera and Nyktos fan. They lack personality and chemistry to me and therefore are not interesting to read about. I’m liking Poppy and Casteel way better, especially their banter. Besides, the plot was moving so slow and there was too much of an infodump. The writing however, was good. I powered through this book a lot and couldn’t wait for it to be finished though. This story feels finished to me, but I don’t think it actually is. I’m not sure if it’s possible to continue From Blood and Ash without reading Flesh and Fire though. But if it is, I might probably do so.