The Crown of Gilded Bones

Blood and Ash, Book 3

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen

Length: 25 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

Bow Before Your Queen or Bleed Before Her...

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes book three in her Blood and Ash series.

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...

©2021 Jennifer L. Armentrout. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Jennifer L. Armentrout has absolutely blown me away with this entire series! I've turned into a swooning fangirl!"—New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione 

"Completely unputdownable and utterly unforgettable. Armentrout grabs hold of you from the first page of TCOGB with her flawless storytelling, engaging characters and the unforeseen twists and turns."—New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg 

"I didn't know I could be a bigger fan of this series than I already was, but boy was I wrong. Jen Armentrout surprises me at every page turn with higher stakes, hotter heat, shocking revelations, and a knows-no-bounds love that hits me deep, and I am here for it."—New York Times bestselling author Laurelin Paige 

The real enemy is Poppy’s inner monologue.

Have you ever had someone tell you a story about something interesting and then instead of telling you about the interesting thing, they spin about inane details like “it was in May, no June, wait, maybe it was winter? No had to be April. 3rd? Gosh, 25th? That can’t be right because the azaleas weren’t blooming...” and you’re like WILL YOU GET TO THE PART WHERE YOU FOUND $20???

That’s this book.

That’s this whole series.

The story is really good. But for some reason it’s hidden behind painfully redundant conversations and inner monologues. And it’s hidden well.

Too much smut and not enough action

The first couple books were awesome. They had just the right amount of Love Story and Action. This book is all sex and no story. It’s very frustrating since I want to know about what happens yet I find myself skipping large chunks just to return to the actual story and not all the smut. I have been waiting months for their book to come out and it has turned into a giant disappointment.

There r no words, but...Holy SH*T (Kieran's voice)

GODS!!! where do I begin...
That freaking CLIFFHANGER!!!! UGH I loathe it. but,.. EPIC!!!!

I find myself so totally engrossed in this story/book. Jennifer goes into SO much detail. Sometimes I find it a little too much LOL. but not to the point that it drives me crazy, personally, but I can see why some ppl will complain. There is MANY parts that are overly dragged out. Example was when the little girl got into the carriage accident. We we're in Poppy's head for like over 20mins. explaining what she was seeing, who was looking at her, what she felt off them, what she feeling in herself, all the way to the point of how her skin felt, then thinking about how the little girl was. It was dramatically overly drawn out, unnecessarily so. So anyone who complains about how SLOW this book is. I understand because it truly is. However... and this is a BIG HOWEVER
There is just so many layers to unfold, just like Hawks (Cass) masks. These instances where certain things are drawn out, help to peel back some of these interesting complex layers. It's a complex story, with a lot going on. Between what Poppy is, what happened to her parents, who are her parents, what is her heritage, her brother, her relationship with Cass, her connection/notem to the wolfven, the kingdoms, the lies on top of SO many lies, the twists and turns, who is out to kill her and why, on top of all that you have her sheltered life and being naive to so much and watching her growth. From the abused caged maiden, to being so completely loved & seen for her for once by a prince, to then being a queen. & for someone who has grown up the way she has you have to see and feel her growth. There are those difficulties and complexities the author hammers out, peeling back those layers 1 by 1 and I have to say Jennifer does an amazing job. She really puts us in Poppy's head.
Also that amazing narrator, she does such a great job. She REALLY and TRULY makes these characters come to life. You feel them like you are with them. Stina, gets 5 stars all around. She is outstanding.

Also need to note... The sex, GODS so much sex. It was like every other chapter for half if not more of this book & jezz poor Cass doing all the work LOL. Literally, while Poppy just takes haha. but OMG is he funny and sexy and attentive and just an absolute dream man.
And Cass with that damn BOOK. LOLOLOL I was laughing out loud. I just adore Cass.

Another note, there is so much humor. I found myself laughing out loud a lot. While food shopping I burst out laughing in the isle and had a lady just stare at me. I told her she needs to read this book haha no lie!

Slight SPOILER here....


In book 2, and then around chapter 5 before Poppy gets free. I found myself thinking what's beyond the mountains??? Like there cant be nothing. Why can't Alantia people move out that way.
I love that the author must of painted a subliminal in this story somewhere, to lead us to parts of this journey. This happens often and I love it. Just another point to show the brilliance of this author.

UGH!!!! and now, I am going to go CRAZY waiting for the next book. since it also takes FOREVER to come on audible :(

I can also see this becoming a movie. Like better then teenie bopper Twilight. More like a Game of Thrones. It's that good and has all the potential. With Travis Fimmel as Cass. Let's make that happen LOL or I can pretend LOL

Awful

This book was a mess, when it could have been so good. It was as if the author couldn't make up her mind on what she was writing. The very explicit sexual content was clearly meant for mature audiences, but the dialog was juvenile and laughable in many cases. And the narration was done as if this very powerful young women talked like preteen. Ugh, terrible writing, terrible reading. Save your credit.

Way drawn out

I felt like this was a 24 hour lead up to a 1 hour book.

Could have been better

I read the first two books love them both. This book was clearly a filler. It was written as stepping stone to another book. Too many sex scenes, repetition, and contradictions. It was very frustrating.

In like a lion out like a pissed off goddess!!!

This book...gods above this BOOK!!! It hits the ground running and just does not stop. Action, comedy, intrigue, drama, and sex, sooo much sex. It has everything you could possibly want from an epic fantasy romance and so much more. This book is without a doubt in my mind the best work Jenifer Armentrout has produced thus far.
There are many things that i could gush about, from the surprising number of broken troupe's to the nail biting intrigue and suspense as Poppy tries her best to untangle all the lies and half truths woven around Atlantia and Solace, but i am sure there will be many others in these reviews who will do that for me. I want to talk about something i found both surprising and kind of refreshing. I want to talk about the sex. Lol i know, some people don't really like that part, though why you would read a romance book or the third book in this series and not want sex , seems rather silly. However it is not baffling fans i want to discuss but how much fun the sex in this book is. So many romance books treat sex like some serious sacred ritual thingy. Something that must be treated with the utmost gravity and reverence, rather than two people who are attracted to each other wanting to experience pleasure , passion, and...well fun together. I love the fact that in this book, while they treat their love and relationship with the respect it deserves. They treat sex with a certain.. irreverence. They joke, they tease, they laugh, and they just play. Hell they kind of spend time talking about possible threesomes, and no one gets jealous or moody about it. it's practically a miracle. I just found it interesting that instead of skipping a repetitive sex scene i was looking forward to hearing their banter and seeing just what they would get up to next. I found it very enjoyable and satisfying. Though i sometimes wonder if Cas might be a bit of a female fantasy icon.... He really likes giving oral. lol
I am looking forward to the next book and cannot wait to see how this all plays out. Especially now that a pissed off goddess is going to war at the head of an army of freakin DRAGONS!!! Hurry Miss Armentrout i must have MORE!!!

Skip the middle

Didn’t expect this to be a sex book, but that’s what we got. If you’re more interested in the story, skip the whole middle. I got to the point where I was skipping huge sections and never regretted it. Unfortunately, poppy is more interesting when she’s on her own. It’s too bad.

Disappointing

The story has potential to be something good. This author loses me with her repetitive dialog and constant unnecessary sex scenes. The book could have been 50% shorter had she written the bulk of that out. I found myself pushing through to the end, never a good sign that you were enjoying it.

Eh it was okay.

I really struggled to finish this one. After reading the first two books, I was really underwhelmed by the third. The plot was lacking, there were a lot of repetitive conversations and the characters seemed off. We know Hawke and Poppy love each other and in every chapter it seemed as though we were reading the same sort of reassuring conversation. There was plenty of spice but there were a couple spots I found myself shaking my head because it seemed unnecessary and kind of strange for the chapter. I'll still read the next book but I'm hoping for better for number 4.

What on earth 🤯

Okay.... okay.... so this book... starts at 100 and moves to 1000 in a matter of minutes! Jennifer l Armentrout didn’t f**k about when writing in this novel.
Just outstanding! I will look forward to the next instalment! Fingers and toes crossed it’s not too long!

brilliant!!!!

once again Jennifer L Armentrout has written an excellent story. now that I have more love for the characters I can appreciate the story more!!!

OMG when is the next book?!?!

Couldn’t stop listening! Only got this on Monday , it’s now Thursday evening. Yes I know I’ve hardly slept 😁 GRIPPING, EXCITING, INTERESTING. Really enjoyed this story, I recommend reading the first 2 books. Cannot wait until the next book !! Thank you for keeping me thoroughly entertained.

Steamy but Stretchy

Hot hot hot! Fell asleep in the middle with the complex politics and history, but the last 10 chapters were fun and feisty. Great banter and Stina depicted each character with so much love, lust and loathing that it made me smile. Great job ladies!

My Favourite of this Series!!!

My Gods! I need the next to be released ASAP! love Stina Nielsen's reading of this book! I was gripped the whole book! I so need a Cass in my life! Thank you Jennifer for this fantastic writing!

Gripping

I am looking forward to the next instalment and sad that I have finished this one already, since I could not put it down. The main characters are well developed and this is easily the best series yet written by Jennifer Armentrout. I hope many more books are written with these characters , their friends and about Atlantia and the surrounding lands. I am really looking forward to the publication of the next book in the series. The narrator to the audio book is brilliant. Jennifer, I am wishing for at least another two books in this series - minimum! Your tales have kept me sane during COVID.

Steamy, fantastical fun!

For fans of steamy fantasy fun! I was hoping for a bit of a stronger plot but if you’re here for Cas and Poppy you’re in for a treat!

amazing

loved it my favourite so far. Best books ever. definitely give it a try
amazing amazing amazing amazing!

Just AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Not only is this series a fully on guilty pleasant of a book series, but it is also so addictive due to its world, writing style and characters; that I cannot express in words how much I need the fourth book this very second....in fact not even this very second, the very second I finished the last word at the end of the final chapter. Need I say more, though of course I have to say, the ending... I did not see that coming.

Unreal

One of the best series I have EVER read. The author is an extraordinary writer (the voice actor is also an exceptional story teller). this series is what got me back into my deep love of reading. Cannot wait for the next one.