A Heart of Blood and Ashes was a pretty good romance book! It had a decent storyline and plot. The romance did progress pretty quickly (over the short span of one month) HOWEVER it advanced the plot well. The character progression was done really well, it was a trajectory of growth. The ending was rushed as compared to the first half of the book. I did like Mila Vane's ability to link the characters' romance plot to the plot that was going on with the world. I'm interested to see what else is going to happen in the world.