Rating: 3 Stars ⭐️
Spice: ⅕ 🌶️ (Sexual scenes, but with very limited details)

🐉Fantasy
⚔️3rd Person POV
❤️Enemies to Lovers
✨Forced Proximity

Woah, okay… Where do I even start? I have just put this novel down and I am feeling so many emotions, but what I do know is that the overall story absolutely captivated me to continue reading until the very end.

Let’s dive in and start off by saying this book took me a little off guard because it is in the 3rd person POV and there is a lot of chapters that we swap back from one person to the next. Our main characters, I think, I hope, is Mal. Mal is the fourth daughter of the King and Queen of the kingdom of Darkness. What’s unusual about this is that up until now, every king/queen from the kingdom of Darkness has only had 3 children. So when Mal is born as a fourth born and with purple eyes (which indicates witch abilities), not only does it defy the previous tradition of only having 3 children, but also leaves questions of if she is cursed. Having previously been enemies of the Kingdom of Fire, Mal is to be married to the prince of the Kingdom of Fire, Ash, in order to create peace between the two kingdoms. However, there is talks of Ash and Mal being the chose ones — the prophecy states that one must kill the other in order to truly break the curse of all 8 kingdoms.

Starting off this book, I was a little confused by the abrupt changes in POV’S. Mind you this is all 3rd person POV. One chapter, I am reading about Mal and Ash, then the next we are reading about a scene that is between Kai(Mal’s Brother) and Alina (Ash’s Sister). Then it goes back to Mal and Ash,only to then switch again to Kade (Mal’s other brother) and Wren ( A princess from one of the other 8 kingdoms). This makes it extremely confusing and lacks the depth and connection I usually crave for in my novels. Not only did it leaving me wanting more of my main characters, it made me very confused about the overall rules, and story building of the world. For the first half of the book, it felt like things were constantly thrown in without any previous explanations or mentions. It made me wish that there was just a little more attention to detail in the writing that fully explained things clearly.

I’ll be the first to admit, I never realized, until reading that this book, that I don’t think I have ever really read many novel’s in 3rd person before. With this being said, I am incredibly amazed by the author’s ability in the overall plot points, to still keep me intrigued and captivated to continue reading a novel that I didn’t fully connect with. It’s truly such a unique and very complex plot,that I am still intrigued by, but I feel if this was a dual POV written in 1st person, it would have truly been a hit with the book community. Something about the 3rd person POV is what truly throws the entire book off.

Moving on to the overall tropes of this book. We get enemies to loves, forced proximity, arranged marriage and a little bit of forbidden love from some of the other characters in the book. The spice in this book is little to non existent — we have a few scenes where it’s very loosely implied that it leads to more, but it’s not in depth for what I most new-adult novels would include. I think this is more of a YA fantasy than a new adult fantasy because of this alone. As a romance/ dark romance girly, I usually like my books with at least a few smutty scenes throughout the book and I was so sad because the slow burn build up was there, but it just fizzled out 🥺

While I feel this book was missing a depth of connection with the reader, I will still be picking up the 2nd book to find where the author takes us with this story. After all, after that cliffhanger, how could I not?! If you’re someone who is looking for a story that doesn’t have a whole lot of spicy, is very complex, and keeps you page turning, then you will enjoy this book!

Thank you for gifting me an ARC to read and review.I hope to read more from the author and hope the next book is even better 💕

Mal Blackburn, cuarta hija del reino de la oscuridad, ha vivido temida por sus ojos morados, como los de las brujas, aunque sus padres le aseguraron que no lo era. Su vida da un giro cuando una vidente le revela que para acabar con una maldición ancestral y poner fin a la guerra, debe matar al cruel Príncipe del Fuego. Sin embargo, poco después, su padre le anuncia que su matrimonio ha sido arreglado con nada menos que el mismo príncipe que debe asesinar. Todo parece que se esta alineando para poder cumplir con la profecía, pero cuando conoce al temido príncipe se da cuenta que no es nada de lo que esperaba y empieza a dudar.

Mientras secretos y traiciones surgen en un reino lleno de dragones y magia, Mal deberá enfrentarse a su destino y decidir si lo que oculta en sus ojos podría ser la clave para salvar o destruirlo todo.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you"re looking for a book with: An action packed narrative, Toe curling tension, and a storyline world you'll want to immersive yourself in through every page this is the book for you! Similar world building and development to Sara J Maas. The main character is strong, badass, and everything you want out of a woman! Did I mention its a slow-burn enemies to lovers in the midst of all this! A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash should be on your TBR ASAP!

“A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash” by J.F. Johns was absolutely incredible! I couldn’t put this book down! The world-building is phenomenal, with an amazing cast of magical humanoids—witches, draconids, phoenixes, valkari, and more. The story is full of everything I love in a romantasy: prophecies, romance, unexpected twists, and so much more. Every page kept me hooked, and I’m already counting down the days until the next book is released. If you love a captivating blend of magic and love with an unforgettable plot, this is definitely a must-read!