Overall definitely think it was a good book. The Fantasy was really good, the pacing was a little wonky but I am a little picky so might have just been a personal thing. Still would recommend.

"She longed to feel the weight of her sword slicing through flesh, to see crimson bloom across her fingers, to hear the gasping chokes of those who deserved it."

~ A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash, J.F. Johns

☆☆.75/5

Mal Blackburn, the fourth child of the King and Queen of the House of Shadows, finds herself thrown into an arranged marriage with the Fire Prince, Ash Acheron, hoping to bring the seven war-ridden kingdoms together again. The eighth kingdom, The Kingdom of Magic, filled with witches and warlocks, is a rising threat against which the seven kingdoms must stand united or fall one by one. This is a story of love and pain, of duty and choice. Finally, a story about a curse, a chosen, and a cursed.

As per my rating, there are a few things I disliked about this book. Firstly, the beginning was so verbose that it was hard to keep reading. Every sentence was laced with "fantasy" sounding words, which gave the impression that nothing was ever regular or insignificant. This, in turn, made it difficult to discern when important events or places were being described. As the story progressed, this stopped being an issue.
Secondly, tied with the first point, and one of my main issues with it, was that the story felt like it was being told at me, instead of to me. Especially in the beginning, everything was bluntly stated and then explained, leaving absolutely no space for the reader to think about the events and connect the plot on their own. At one point, the over-explaining became so frequent that I considered stopping. This, just like the first point, got fixed as the story progressed, and I attributed it mainly to an increase in dialogue.
Now, let's talk about the multiple POVs. Usually, I love reading a book with more views since it gives more context to the story, but here specifically there were more than five. It is really difficult to have so many storylines at the same time and have them all be of high quality. The chapters were not long, so often, the POV would change right after an interesting event, making it difficult to connect with the next character's perspective, and generally disturbing the flow. This also significantly slowed down the plot.

My favourite part of the book was the last 30 or so pages, where the plot twists were well thought out, and the story finally picked up pace and intensity. Even though it was hard for me to believe that Mal and Ash hated each other in the beginning, the relationship they struck after truly committing to one another was entertaining to read. I also really liked how the protagonists were flawed, but learnt to live and develop with their flaws, not despite them.
Also, I would like to take a moment for the stunning cover!

All in all, this was an entertaining book that, while it has its lows, definitely had highs. I'm not sure if I will be picking up the next book, but I truly wish the author all the best!

What a brilliant read.

The plot was so well written - intricate and twisty but still completely comprehensible and well paced. It’s written in 3rd person with chapters from multiple characters (and not just FMC and MMC, but supporting characters as well). However unlike a lot of books that have 4+ character POVs, it’s not at all confusing, so really well done there.

The relationship between FMC and MMC is great - forced marriage, enemies to lovers, all that good stuff. It maybe goes from
‘meh’ to ‘let’s bang all night long’ a smidge fast, but it wasn’t insta-love at all. However! The relationship between side characters Kai and Alina is way more interesting (and I am already looking forward to seeing Kai’s reaction to what happened to Alina at the end). Their relationship makes total sense and is really well fleshed out.

Kingdoms, wyverns, murder plots (plural), ‘touch her and you die’, witches, complex and well developed characters, a hell of a twist at the end, what’s not to enjoy.

WOWOWOWOW. This story felt like a quiet storm—a slow build, a steady ache & then suddenly you’re drowning in emotions. I finished it & just sat there—completely wrecked in the best way. 🫠💔

The eight kingdoms are so well-crafted & vividly described. From the way people speak to their strengths, even down to the little details like clothing—it’s all so immersive. ✨️

I don’t usually reach for 3rd person books because I struggle to connect with the characters sometimes—but THIS?! This was so well done. Some chapters don’t flow perfectly into each other, but I feel like that was intentional to give each POV its own voice & pace—it worked for me! 👏🏼

Mal is rough around the edges but so quietly desperate to love & be loved. She’s carrying the weight of duty, curses & impossible choices. And Ash—my soft man. He battles anxiety & a lifetime of people expecting him to be a monster. The way he loves Mal is so gentle—it’s a love that builds in glances, in careful words & in the way he shows up for her. 🫶🏽 Their love isn’t fast & it isn’t perfect—it’s slow, painful & earned. I was clinging to every moment, desperate for them to finally find peace together. 😭

As for the rest of the crew...Alina did have me side-eyeing her a few times, but she pulled through in the end & I kinda love her for that. If we’re talking favorites—Kai Blackburn & Wren Wynters stole my heart. They’re the kind of characters that make the story feel real—so unapologetically themselves & fiercely loyal to those they love. 🔥

I haven't been able to finish this book. I truly wanted to like it and the world building was very interesting. However, the writing was a struggle for me along with so much description.

I loved this story! it was different to anything I have read before.

Ash and Mal were so cute, and it was different kind of MMC than a book I have read before.

The only thing I didn't like was that the side characters relationship developed a lot faster than the the main characters but I think this will pick up from where it left off in Book 2 and really bring the story together.

Can't wait to continue the rest of the story when Book 2 is published!!

🩷 Book Review 🩷
📚 A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash
✒️ J.F. Johns
💫💫💫💫💫

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing and unique and un-put-downable!
The writing style is just truly breath-taking and draws you in so well that you feel immersed. My favourite aspect was the character growth. It felt genuine and a part of the story, not as a second thought process like some other books I have read.
Despite having the core elements of already written fantasises, the story was vastly different and enjoyable.
Book 2 cannot come fast enough!

My first J F John’s book. It was really promising. I enjoyed the world building and the characters stories. I look forward to more by this author.

I absolutely loved this book. I honestly couldn’t tell where the book was going to end up next. I loved the twists in the book and honestly didn’t see most of them coming. They were so unexpected and shocking. And the story itself was so captivating I absolutely loved it and can’t wait for the next book.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and can be found below.

A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash by J.F. Johns
──

Cursed kingdoms. A marriage meant to end in blood. But what if love is the deadliest twist of all?

This story follows Mal Blackburn and Ash Acheron—a fourth born princess born with forbidden magic and a ruthless fire prince feared across the realm. Forced into a marriage neither of them want, their union is the final thread in a curse that’s poisoned their kingdoms for centuries. But nothing is as it seems. Mal’s plan is to kill Ash and break the curse… except their enemies may not be one another after all. Between witches, wyverns, fae, dragons, and unraveling prophecies—this romantasy has it all, and grips you from the first page.

The world building? Expansive and vivid. The magic system is layered, the kingdoms feel distinct, and the lore is so well-woven I was immediately pulled in. The multiple POVs were seamless—never once confusing. I always knew whose head I was in, and every perspective added something crucial. By the end, I was blindsided in the best way—twists I should’ve seen coming flew right past me because I was too immersed to even look for them. That’s how you know a book has you.
The writing is clean, immersive, and cinematic. It gave me everything I wanted: romance, betrayal, ancient magic, cursed bloodlines—and dragons, obviously.

The beginning did lean a little heavy on setup and exposition, and while I personally liked it, some readers might feel a lull before the action really ramps up. Stick with it—it’s worth it! Also, the romance is definitely slow burn, so don’t expect immediate spice. It’s more about the tension.

This was originally a 4star for me, but the more I sat with it, the more I realized how much it checked all my boxes. Great characters. Great world. Great writing. Total 5star read. I need book two ASAP!!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved this ARC! A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash is the kind of romantasy that pulls you in from page one with its effortless world-building and memorable characters. The world itself was easy to follow despite its scale—eight distinct kingdoms, each with their own unique flavor (dragons, wyverns, WOLVERINES!? Yes please)—and it never felt overwhelming or confusing.

The multi-POV structure was a huge win for me. We get to spend time in the heads of several characters (at least half a dozen), but the shifts were seamless and never jarring. I always knew exactly whose perspective I was in, which kept me grounded in the story.

Mal was everything I want in a fantasy heroine: clever, strong, morally grey in all the best ways—but with a soft side that made her so easy to root for. And Ash… soft, sweet, and flawed in a way we don’t often get with male leads. His vulnerability and quiet strength made him feel refreshingly real and human without ever making him weak.

Their slow-burn romance had a great build-up, but if I’m honest, I wanted that tension to stretch just a bit longer. Once they finally communicated (verbally and... otherwise wink), it tipped into insta-lovey territory a little faster than I’d have liked.

The side characters? Absolutely addictive. I could’ve read whole chapters just on Kai and Kage. And Wren was hilarious—I hope we see even more of them in the next book.

The pacing was spot on, with writing that flowed beautifully—simple enough to be smooth and engaging without ever feeling too dense or overdone. Plus: no cringe dialogue, which is always a relief in this genre.

A super strong start to a world I can’t wait to return to. 4.5 stars!⭐️

I give this one 3.5 stars. The good is that this book does have a reasonably unique storyline. Just over 100 years ago a curse was cast and in present day they are desperate to end the curse before all kingdoms are doomed. There’s magic, some unique magic and unique world building elements mixed in with common elements like fae and witches. The negatives for me was the writing style and constant POV changes. I think there’s over 7 different POVs, some changes happening mid chapter with a page break. The writing style is overly descriptive which makes it a bit long winded and keeps it from being a fast paced read. I also struggled with some of the additional storylines/ live story with Kai and Alina. Maybe this is necessary for book 2, but it felt like extra unnecessary content. I can typically fly through a book, but this was a struggle for me to finish. I do think that the author has promise and future works may be much easier to read.

I was provided a copy of this book for free by NetGalley. The book is available now.

I really tried to get into this book but at the 25% mark, I decided to DNF. At that point I had been reading for several hours and it seemed like more should have happened. I wouldn't call this book a slow burn, it just felt slow and stodgy. So many moments were overwritten, there were times when I felt whole paragraphs could have been edited out to the benefit of the story's flow. Sometimes, something interesting would happen, like when Mal fell from her wyvern while they were traveling to the Kingdom of Fire, but then it was just over and the story moved on. There were three solid chapters just for the first of the wedding feasts. Each chapter felt disjointed, "Here is a character, see them do something. Okay, on to the next character.".

I also could not shake the feeling that some sibling wanted to be more than siblings, specifically Kai with Mal and Alina with Ash. It felt weird to read interactions with them, it just felt like they wanted to "keep in in the family".

Phrases were repeated a lot as well, often in the same chapter. "The princess with the purple eyes." was the most common, I think I noted it 3 or 4 times in one chapter.

I think this story has great potential, but it needed a more firm hand when it comes to editing.

Thank you to net galley and the author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be reading book 2. Enemies to lovers, Forced marriage and arranged royal alliance.

So Mal is wyverian, and she must marry a prince to end the strife between kingdoms. But an ancient prophecy says she must actually unalive him. But can she do it? Multiple POVs which I always love in books and twists that I did not see coming. Some of the characters fell abit flat. And it took a little for me to really like Mal, but overall loved her determination and drive through the story. The world building was atmospheric and immersive but at times it felt abit disjointed over the book as a whole

I had such high hopes for this book and am very conflicted on how I feel about it.

I loved the writing style — the descriptions, the magic, the wyverns, all of it was so beautifully written that the immersion into the world was fantastic. However, I did find that at times the description was simply TOO much and there were sections where it somewhat killed the plot a little.

I went into this book hoping for an enemies to lovers, as was alluded by the assassination plot, but I think this is where the book fell short. The two characters were enemies in title alone, and I felt that there was no hatred whatsoever between them and that the romance somewhat suffered because of it. It lacked the tension and the anticipation that is often found in this trope.

I also found that the POV change was confusing and somewhat unnecessary. I think just sticking to the points of view from the main characters would have been perfect, but instead we switch between several different characters in each chapter and I found it difficult to follow along in places and it really took me out of the story.

That being said, this was still a fun read and I definitely did enjoy it — the characters were enjoyable, the world immersive, and the writing style poetic. Overall three stars but I’d be tempted to rate it higher!

A more detailed review will be posted on my instagram @Vellichorvibess soon.

* Received as an ARC on NetGalley in return for an honest review *

I really enjoyed this book, it felt different from the standard Romantasy we have been receiving for a while now.

Mal has my heart she is so fiery and sure of herself it is everything you want in a FMC.

The whole wyverian family was extremely interesting and captivating.

I don’t want to spoilt to much of the book however I did feel as if the chapters were a little wishy washy at times, was hard to keep up with what was going on. Towards the end of the book it also felt as if it dragged a little but overall was an amazing read! Can’t wait for #2!

This book was such a surprise in the best possible way! I usually have a hard time connecting with third person narratives, but not here. I was instantly pulled in and didn’t want to stop reading.

The writing is so descriptive and immersive. It made the world feel dark, magical, and alive. You can feel the tension building from the first few pages and it just keeps going in the best way.

I LOVED the whole worldbuilding in this book. Usually, first books leave me with a million questions and I just hope the next one explains things… but not here. Here, you get the full dark and mysterious picture right from the start 😍

Mal is hands down my favorite character. She’s so grounded, honest, and just unapologetically herself. I really connected with her.

And okay yes, the dragons are obviously amazing 🐉, and the wyvern?? A magnificent beast. But my favorite ended up being… the shadows. Those eerie, beautiful animal companions stole the show for me. I loved the whole concept. They are dark, mysterious, and weirdly elegant. And now? Yeah, I absolutely need my own. Preferably one that follows me around and looks menacing 😌🖤

Can’t wait for book 2 already. I need more of this world, this magic, and these characters!

I loved this book. The writing is captivating, the author has such an amazing way with words, everything just comes alive.
The last quarter of this book had me on the edge of my seat! The twists and turns, love and betrayal, everything just had me gasping. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!
The book is multiple POV (around 10 characters) which I wasn’t sure about but it did blend together seamlessly and allowed a really good vision of every part of the story.
I am crying that I need to wait for book 2 now!!

Umm this was amazing! Romantasy is my jam and this was top tier.

A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash delivers a gorgeously imagined fantasy world brimming with magic, political intrigue, and a sprinkling of forbidden romance (my fav kind of romance).

Our FMC Mal Blackburn stands out as a formidable heroine, navigating a cursed fate with strength and complexity. I enjoyed seeing her character grow and change as we moved through the story. The enemies-to-lovers trope is executed with a slow burn that keeps the tension simmering throughout. I loved the multiple POVs and the intricate, vivid world-building really drove the story forward for me. All in all, this was a promising start to a new series that leaves me eager to see where the journey leads next.

This was an excellent start to a series. Some of my favorite tropes were included. Like any first book in a series, there has to be world-building, and I have always felt that the first 50% of a book takes longer to read than the second 50%. My biggest concern was the number of characters that we meet in the first half of the book. I had a hard time remembering who was who and from what house. I did love that, with the amount of POVs we had, we saw the start of relationships and friendships. But I was confused for most of the book until I started connecting more with the characters. I liked our FMC Mal, she is someone who was overlooked but ends up being more than what was thought of her. She was so fine making sacrifices for her family, which led her to find out some truths. Haven, Kai, and Kage were great. I loved them all. When I got to about 60% of the book, I was finally able to read the story without having to really put thought behind whose POV I was reading, and from where exactly this person was from. This story has so many fantasy aspects that I love. It was wolves, dragons, wyverns, far, etc. Some things that I would have loved more of were the main MMC and FMC's love story. There was so much going on that the banter and main love story were put to the side. I do hope to have more of their story in the second book. I also want to get to know more about Ash, I feel like we didn’t get to know him as much as Mal. He is such an interesting character because he has to overcome some of his fears and issues, but I want to see more of his training and fighting skills. I LOVED the plot twist towards the end and everything else that was discovered. It was such a great climax to the story, and I’m so excited for the second book!

4/5 🗡️🐉