The Primal of Blood and Bone

Blood and Ash, Book 6

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen, Tim Campbell, Dane Williams

In the shadows and flames, Primals will fall…

And from the blood and ash, new gods will rise.

What was dreamt.

Poppy was never meant to awaken, and the consequences are devastating and far-reaching, stirring ancient powers from their slumber and transforming Casteel and Kieran in ways even the Fates couldn’t have foreseen. But what that means is the least of their concerns. For now.

What was foreseen.

The Blood Crown has fallen, but what has risen is a far greater danger than they’ve ever faced. From flesh and fire, the Great Conspirator has returned to the mortal realm, and he wants only one thing. They must stop the true Primal of Death before he regains his strength, and it won’t be easy. Even weakened, his influence is undeniable. His power, unthinkable.

Has come to be.

While the future of the realms rests upon them, they won’t stand alone. The gods have awakened—each harboring their own blood-soaked secrets. But they must navigate an unbalanced realm, where every choice—past and present—has the potential to not only undo everything they’ve fought for but also destroy the very bonds that have Joined them together.

For the Harbinger and the Bringer of Death and Destruction has risen.

©2025 by Jennifer L. Armentrout. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Darn 😕

Unfortunately, this was a disappointing read for me. I have been SO EXCITED for this book to finally release. If you’ve made it to book 6, then you’re already a fan of this series like I am. One of my favorite things about books 1-4 is the relationship between Cass, Kieran and Poppy. The banter, the comfort, the joy of a heart mate and best friend, the bonds and unbreakable loyalty to one another. That entire dynamic was destroyed in this book. I can honestly say that I don’t even like Casteel anymore, that’s how different his character is. And he was one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE MMC. The characters are just not the same loveable characters of the first four books and that’s tremendously disappointing to me. It feels like there was a ton of unnecessary angst. I was hoping to see the three of them working together to destroy Kolis. I will definitely be waiting for book 7 but the chances of me ever rereading book 6 is zero. I’ll end the rereads at book 5… especially if Cass and Kieran and Poppy don’t reconcile in a way that I can be happy with.

Repetitive Slog

This book was easily twice as long as it needed to be. Very little action but a whole lot of rather meaningless melodrama. And after being hyped as the conclusion to the series it appears that it will drag on for at least another book. Since the main characters have become so boring and predictable it hardly seems as though there is any incentive to revisit them in a year or so, cliffhanger ending notwithstanding.

Disappointing first half, but better last half

3.5 ⭐️s for the story. The first 10ish hours of this was SO incredibly SLOW. I had to force myself to keep listening and even once they finally got out of the stupid bedroom it was slow to get better. The first half of the book was disappointing and had so much useless inner monologue. The second half got better, but it was really the last couple of chapters that had me excited. Overall, this is my second least favorite of the series and I hope the next can make up for that. Cas was so annoying and why is Poppy still shocked/embarrassed by so much?! I feel like Poppy hasn’t really grown as a character and that feels at odds with the badass Primal she’s supposed to be.
Narrators were fantastic as always!

I knew it

This story was what I thought it would be. A setup for another one. In the previous books I liked Casteel - but in this one? Not so much. He was depicted as someone way too controlling. I still enjoyed the story though. Waiting for the next one.

Disappointed

Once again, information was repeated too many times and felt like filler. What happened to Poppy and Kieran’s relationship?! They didn’t cuddle, sleep next to each other, nothing. It definitely didn’t feel like a bonded relationship. I really hope the next book is better.