‘The Crown of Gilded Bones’ by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Reading My Most Anticipated Release of 2021!

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• Title: The Crown of Gilded Bones
• Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Publisher: Blue Box Press
• Pub. date: 20 April 2021
• Series: Blood and Ash #3
• Pages: 659
• Genres: adult fiction, high fantasy, romance, action & adventure, LGBTQ

She’s been the victim and the survivor…

Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers.

The enemy and the warrior…

Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life, not the lives of others, but now she must choose to either forsake her birthright or seize the gilded crown and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire. But as the kingdoms’ dark sins and blood-drenched secrets finally unravel, a long-forgotten power rises to pose a genuine threat. And they will stop at nothing to ensure that the crown never sits upon Poppy’s head.

A lover and heartmate…

But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans, ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each other.

And now she will become Queen…

Spoiler warning: If you’re reading this, I’ll assume that you have already read Book 1 and 2, so there will be mild spoilers from the previous books peppered throughout this review!

I have been waiting for The Crown of Gilded Bones ever since I finished reading A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire all the way back in September last year! I prepped myself this time with a full read of both books one and two, giving myself plenty of time to absorb all the action, plot twists, romance, and steam that led to this book!

The story picks up right where A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire left off. True to its predecessors, The Crown of Gilded Bones takes us deeper into the mysteries surrounding Poppy Balfour’s identity and heritage. While enjoying their matrimonial bliss, Poppy and Casteel are on a mission to save their brothers and their people from the Blood Crown along with their loyal wolven and Atlantian friends. But this might be their greatest test yet since this time they’ll be involving the Gods as well.

With the growth Poppy went through in the last two books, she levelled up in this book. I love how badass and empowering her character became in The Crown of Gilded Bones, and it is making me very curious and excited to see what is in store for her in the next 3 books!

I don’t know how it is possible but I might have fallen even more in love with Casteel Da’Neer now. I love that the author gave us a good look at his world since we have been enmeshed in Poppy’s side of the kingdoms since Book 1. I loved reading more about his past and his relationships with family and friends, especially his brother Malik!

Then their romance? Off the charts here! Since they are married in this book I loved all their moments together. Somehow their relationship grew a lot deeper and more meaningful throughout TCOGB and I am so excited (and hella nervous, am I right?) about how their dynamics will progress in the upcoming books!

I would be doing a huge disservice without giving Kieran some of his own screen time on this review! I absolutely loved him in this book! Among all the main characters, I think we got the most backstory and history about Kieran here. I adored his scenes with his family and him opening up to Poppy.

And, um, the friendships in this book? Absolutely loved them! There were so many iconic scenes that truly pushed Poppy, Casteel and Kieran’s friendship to the limit, and I love how they grew much closer together!

Since the story moved to a whole new location in TCOGB, there were many new characters introduced. This world is growing huge, readers, and I love it! Despite all the newness, I loved that we got more of the OG gang because all of them together made for such amazing, hilarious moments! Can’t wait for more of their scenes in the books to come!

Lastly, the villains! I feel like Jen really pushed herself extra this time and came up with some iconic villain content! I really felt like a lot more of the puzzle pieces added up together after I read this book, but I’m in that state where I am not sure who to trust! LOL! Isn’t that pure genius?

TCOGB certainly started out with a huge bang! The first five to ten chapters were very tumultuous with lots happening and emotions running amok. I had to take breaks here because all the adrenaline really got to me and all that gasping probably would have left me breathless! LOL!

The middle bit of the story – and pretty much the bulk of the book – was slower with some amazing world-building and getting to know new people. I enjoyed the romantic – *cough* steamy – scenes very much here, and I feel like Jen really let the readers see the romance grow. There were so many wholesome scenes that I kept going back to re-read because my heart needs that fluff and steam!

And that ending… I am honestly surprised I didn’t hurl my tablet across the room! I cried, okay? And I am still not okay! I am still spending copious amounts of hours on the FB Spoiler Group to work through this trauma!

Mini-meltdown aside, I liked the overall pace and tone of TCOGB. I have read reviews where readers did not really think the slower middle bit was necessary, but in my opinion, it was essential to world-building. There were loads of questions that got answered and a lot more political intrigue that came with that. I love a complex plot that takes me in circles and this was it. Also, the climax was truly epic and I am still mindblown two months after I read this.

Like I said, lots of world-building happened here!

Jen really introduced us to Atlantian culture and politics here. I loved reading about what the normal people are like as well as all the palace intrigue. It was really well done, in my opinion, and I enjoyed it. Yeah, it might be a bit of an info dump to some, but I was already wondering about all this from Book 1 so I absolutely loved how much detail and time Jen took to set down the scene.

This might be a huge spoiler for some readers so I’ll have to be a bit vague, but I am also very excited about the other new location that Jen lets us see bits of. I can’t wait for A Shadow in the Ember to give us more deets!

Also, since this is a fantasy, there were some magic systems of sorts that played a bigger role in TCOGB than in the previous books. It was exciting and holds so much potential. Absolutely excited for more!

One of my favourite bits in this book was the love and (heartmates) soulmates concept. It really impacted the ending of this book too because I feel like Jen really amped up the romance here so that ending hits us as hard as it can! And yes, readers, the steam went up a few levels too!

Politics took up a big chunk of this book since there were Councils introduced, negotiations being planned and lots more juicy stuff happening!

There were empowering female roles left and right here! Poppy is, of course, our reigning queen. But I liked seeing other women in power, like Eloana and the Blood Queen get their own share of scenes. And, of course, the Contou family women stole the show as well!

Like I mentioned before, friendships were a highlight of TCOGB. Kieran’s connection to Poppy and Casteel evolved throughout the book. Also, the whole gang with Emil, Delano, Netta and everyone else was just incredible. I feel like Jen always does found families and friendships really well in her books, so I can’t wait to see what is in store for these guys!

Phew! That was a ramble-y book review! But yes, I loved The Crown of Gilded Bones! I loved the world-building, and how the character dynamics evolved! I loved how Poppy just levelled up like a Pokémon and gave me all the boss b*tch vibes I was craving! Now I just need to find a way to survive till March 2022, which is also my birthday month, so next year is possibly going to be my best birthday yet! LOL!

Did you read The Crown of Gilded Bones or do you plan to?

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