Absolutely loved this. The world building and plot had me hooked. I did not anticipate the plot twists or ending. Highly recommended

This was my first ever ARC read and all I have to say is it was great!

The cover of this book was the thing that really caught my eye while browsing and I’m so glad I decided to read it.

I was so invested in all of the characters and appreciated the multiple POV throughout the book. The world building and the plot were great. It is full of action, magic, twists, betrayals and more.

I’m very happy excited to read the next book!

"Let them all believe I am the villain of this tale. As long as they are safe, I do not mind being the truest monster of them all."

I was tricked from the very beginning. Everything you think you know, WRONG. The plot twists were crazy. I loved every second of it. A phenomenal ride.

The chosen one and cursed one with forbidden love. Chefs kiss. I was constantly questioning their true intentions with how complex their relationship was.
With how Mal’s powers were described, it was so hard to think of what she was going to become.
Where it says, ‘Witches have this sort of green smoke appear on their fingertips when they do magic.’ I knew she couldn’t just be a witch because she didn’t have the same manifestations but then a massive bomb drops of her being a shadow walker?!

I adored Alina and Kai’s relationship. I’m praying in the second book they do get together. I related to her so much with her not feeling like she had any purpose because she was constantly being there for everyone else but herself, especially Ash. Her character development is great when she’s starting to finally choose herself.

It was such a shock to see that Tabitha Wysteria had been alive that entire time, hiding away in the cursed forest. It’s clear there’s more to why she created the curse, and kept away the Gods. I can only imagine the catastrophes that await in the next book.

A fantastic novel! Can’t wait to continue the series.

This book was PHENOMENAL 6 stars! I will 100% be buying a physical copy. The writing was stunning, the characters were all so complex and had such vivid backgrounds - I felt connected to everyone and I never minded jumping around POV. The writing just really brought me the emotions and I adored this book. I will be pushing it on everyone.

Honesty, A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash is one of those guilty pleasure fantasy romance reads that you just fly thought. If you'rw into cursed kindoms, badass but a bit lost heroine and a dark broody live interest (with a tragic past of course), you'll love this book. The world is well-built with that classic vibe (divided kingdoms, forbiden magic, familly secret, ect) with just enought twists to keep thinks interresting.
Character-wise there is plenty of tension (and yeah frustration not gonna lie) between the leads. If you like slow burn and ennemies to lover energy, that lean in that direction. The writing is smooth and easy to get into. It's a fun and addictive book

Thank you JF Johns for this read!

Wow this book definitely is killed with action, twists, magic, betrayal, curses and so much more! I have to say, I got totally lost into this world.

The author really began to bring this world to life. There are ALOT of characters and kingdoms but I didn't feel lost at all. It was easy to follow and told through mixed POVS.

Romance wise - there is so much happening! Multiple love stories, arranged marriages, enemies to lovers, opposites attract and more. There are a few spicy scenes and some surprises along the way.

There is alot that occurs in the last part of the book the ending sets up book 2 straight away. The author shocked me with a few of their choices leading up to the end and I thoroughly look forward to seeing where they take book 2! I can't wait to dive back into this world.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the early ARC copy!*

Ahhhh I loved it!!!
This was a highly anticipated story for me and I loved how much I loved it! Dark magic, secrets, dragons, Shadow daddies, witches, enemies to lovers. READ. IT. NOW!

This Romantasy had all the things!!! Witches, Dragons, Shadow Riders, Wolves, Pegasuses, Curses, Arranged marriage. I really enjoyed this book!! Thank you for the chance to read it first!! Do not hesitate on this one, READ it!!

I loved the world building and I found it very creative, compared to other famous romantasy books. The ending was wild, I seriously want book 2 now!!

This one’s for all my fantasy and romantasy lovers out there.

Princess Mal Blackburn has always been the odd one out in her royal family. As the unexpected fourth-born in the Wyverian royal family, she has no clear purpose. And her witch-marked eyes don’t help her case, especially in a realm where witches were hunted to extinction a hundred years ago. In an effort to find purpose, Mal agrees to marry the cruel fire prince in a political alliance. But her mission might involve more than just diplomacy… it might require murder.

The worldbuilding? Chef’s kiss. I loved the structure of the eight kingdoms, each rooted in familiar fantasy creatures but with fresh twists. The author clearly took inspiration from well known stories such as TOG and Fourth Wing, though I didnt mind this as she did something knew with it. What did thre me off a bit was they clear insparition of some of our main characters names (Mal Blackburn, anyone?).

That being said the writing was beautiful, very descriptive in the best way possible. The story was definetly exciting and the plot kept moving. My only real struggle was with the multiple POVs. For a first book in a series, it felt like a lot. Early on, I just wanted to stay with Mal and Ash. As the story expanded, I found myself losing interest in their POVs as well along with the others, with the exception of Wren, who was an absolute standout and hilarious.

Overall, I think the story would have benefited from a more focused introduction to the world and its characters, but I’m still very excited to see where this series goes. The potential is definitely there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the world building and lore of this story. I’m also a sucker for a strong FMC and Mal was definitely that! I think fans of the genre will like this book a lot. So, if if you like stories involving dragons, wolves, and other magical creatures I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR!

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review!

WOWOWOWOWOW. I cannot say enough good things about this book. The world building, the relationships, the magic, the tension… I read it in 24 hours on my Kindle, and will DEFINITELY be buying a physical copy. I cannot wait to see where the story goes in book 2, and see what happens with my favorite characters!

Court Politics, Romance, Suspense, Wyverns, Dragons and much more!!

Mal Blackburn, the fourth child, the outsider with the purple eyes, finds herself in the middle of a long forgotten curse, where she needs to act to save her people.

I loved the main characters, the strong FMC, the families and side characters.

I did struggle with the length of the chapters and the pacing. But it was worth the perseverance.

A must read for anyone who likes enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, court politics and magical creatures.

A Kingdom of Ash and Shadow by J.F. Johns delivers an immersive fantasy experience with rich world-building and intriguing characters. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic adds tension, and the court intrigue keeps the stakes high. However, while the story is engaging, I found the pacing uneven at times, making certain sections feel slower than expected. Despite this, the novel offers a compelling mix of magic, mystery, and romance that fans of the genre will appreciate.

Fans of Tamora Pierce and Sarah J. Maas’ works will LOVE this new series, “Kingdom of Gods”. In Book 1 we see a Wyverian princess being married off to a Draconian prince- long standing enemies united by this new alliance. However, witches are stirring in their fallen land, powers are rising, alliances can and will be broken through murder and deceit.

I think it’s been proven that if you throw a dark fantasy theme, strong female main character, and a murderous plot into a blender it creates one damn fine book. “A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash” WORKS, and I cannot wait for my GR friends to get their hands on this story.

The world building is on point with history, kingdoms, ruling families, and spectacular beasts (think giant wolves, dragons, wyverns, phoenixes and more). The characters are complex with their own personalities, traits, and arcs- good & bad.

Run, fly, swim, just don’t walk to order this epic tale!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a copy!

This book was so fun! It was so empowering, and I loved the fmc! The fantasy elements were perfect! I hope to read more from this author!

First, a million thank you’s to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

This book BLEW ME AWAY. It gave me the same feeling as reading ACOTR the first time. If you like fourth wing, ACOTR, and Game of Thrones you need to read this book. Is enemies to lovers one of your favorite tropes? I ate it up in this book. Or MMC and FMC are enemies to lovers back to enemies then back to lovers! My poor heart could barely handle it. I need book 2 in my hands ASAP.

Also, daddy Kai am I right? 😘

I would give this book a 5/5! It was such a great read, feeling almost like Game of Thrones meets Fourth Wing. I can't wait to read the next installment and I will recommend this book to every fantasy reader!

Thank you Net Galley and J.F. John’s for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

My overall rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

The story follows Mal Blackburn who is the fourth born in the Kingdom of Darkness who is bound to an oath marriage to the Fire Prince.

The book is written in 3rd person and has many characters and POV’s throughout the book. While I typically love this writing style I found it somewhat hard to become emotionally invested in these characters and to actually know them on a deeper level, simply due to the changes in POV after almost every chapter. I found it hard to want to pick the book back up when I took any breaks.

I absolutely loved the enemies to lovers, tension filled slow burn between Mal & Ash…until it completely went away. It didn’t feel believable that all of the sudden they fully trusted each other and loved each other after only a few weeks of knowing one another. I actually loved Kai (Mal’s brother) & Alina (Ash’s sister) storyline to be better and actually believable.

Overall, the book was good and I would recommend giving it a try! The series definitely has potential to get better.

- a lot of things drew me into this book. first, the cover - the original cover. i’m not sure why it was changed to this one. it’s more, cartoony. in my opinion. second, the description of the book. you got witches, dragons, wyverns, a curse, etc.
- the book started off really slow. & i really wanted to DNF. i almost couldn’t get pass how the author tried to make eating fruit, sexual. but there was NOTHING sexual happening in the scene. i thought it was mainly filler. i probably would have wanted to learn more about why wyverians eat rotten food or what would happen if they didn’t eat rotten food.. than reading about the “feel of the juices” from the fruit… or just more history/culture.
- the book does have a slow pace to it. enemies to lovers & definitely a slow burn. there are also two love stories. i couldn’t decide who i “shipped” more. i think i just couldn’t relate to the characters. the whole book has so much potential. but it wasn’t holding my attention. i wanted to DNF twice.
- what i thought was really great that the author did, was that beginning of each chapter, there was a snippet of history that actually ties in with the story & what’s going on - kind of like a diary of one of the characters. & i like how wyverns are greatly incorporated - we don’t get a lot of those. points for being different.