Reread: 4/5 stars
See, this is a case of 'you should never read books in a bad mood.' The first time I read A Heart of Blood and Ashes, I was tipping into a reading slump (I don't like that word but basically I wasn't really enjoying anything I was reading). However, on reread I can really appreciate all this book has to offer. A strong and intelligent soon to be queen, even though she's small and people underestimate her. A warrior with a revenge plot and his own growing to do. This book really does do some heavy lifting when talking about working with what you have. I LOVE YVENNE. She is such an amazing character. Though it took some time to warm up to Maddek I fell in love with him in the end, too.

I felt that at the end it started to drag but really this was a great start to a series. I will check out the rest of the books!

Original: 2/5 stars
 I don’t know, man.