From Blood and Ash: Jennifer L. Armentrout's Complete Reading Order
April 6, 2026
Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash was originally self-published in 2020 and became one of BookTok’s foundational romantasy recommendations — a series that was already beloved before ACOTAR and Fourth Wing turned the genre mainstream. It remains essential reading for anyone exploring the romantasy space.
Blood and Ash Reading Order
The complete Blood and Ash reading order is on the series page.
Note on Book 5 — A Soul of Ash and Blood (2023): this book retells the events of Books 1–4 from Hawke’s point of view. It’s optional but extremely popular with fans who want more of Hawke’s interior experience. Read it after Book 4.
The Flesh and Fire Prequel Series
A prequel series set in the same world, centuries before. Read the main Blood and Ash series (Books 1–4) first — the prequel hits much harder with that context.
The Premise
Poppy is the Maiden — a holy figure chosen by the gods, veiled, untouchable, her future already decided. Hawke is her new guard. The forbidden relationship that develops operates within a strict social hierarchy that makes every interaction dangerous.
Armentrout’s strength is the slow burn: the tension between Poppy and Hawke across the first book is sustained across 622 pages without breaking. The world-building — the gods, the Ascended, the mythology — expands substantially across the series.
Why BookTok Loves It
From Blood and Ash has several hallmarks BookTok responds to intensely:
- Forbidden romance (the Maiden’s situation makes any relationship impossible)
- A male love interest with a hidden identity and secret depth (no spoilers on Hawke)
- Found family dynamics as the series progresses
- Significant revelations that recontextualise earlier events
- Explicit content from Book 2 onwards
The series benefits from being read in close succession — the books end on cliffhangers and the arc doesn’t resolve until later in the series.
Content Notes
From Blood and Ash begins with moderate content; A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Book 2) becomes significantly more explicit. The series is firmly adult fiction despite the YA-adjacent trappings of the first book.
Violence, including references to sexual violence in the story’s backstory (handled carefully but present), features in the world-building.
What to Read Next
Finished the series and need something similar?
- A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas) — the other essential romantasy series. Similar forbidden romance structure, fae world. Full ACOTAR reading order
- The Serpent and the Wings of Night (Carissa Broadbent) — dark romantasy with a comparable slow-burn forbidden romance. Carissa Broadbent reading order
- Fourth Wing (Rebecca Yarros) — dragon riders, enemies-to-lovers, comparable romantic intensity. Full Empyrean reading order