A Shadow in the Embers
A Shadow in the Embers is a spin-off from the fantasy romance saga Of blood and ashes. In turn, it is the beginning of a new saga called of meat and fire. Therefore, and according to its author, it should be read before the fourth book of the main collection, that is to say: after A crown of golden bones. After which it is necessary to read The war of the two queens, to have the complete context of the universe created by L. Armentrout.
The work that concerns us in this review It was published in Spanish in 2022 by the Puck publishing house. At the beginning of the writer's release, readers didn't quite understand why she was so emphatically asking for the public to dispose of her sagas in a specific way. However, some people have argued that, otherwise, many of the events that occurred in the macrocosm of Of blood and ashes they would not be very clear.
Synopsis of A Shadow in the Embers
Mirror plots?
Initially, the conflict presented by the main characters of A Shadow in the Embers is very similar to what Poppy and Cas had to go through. It is necessary to remember that Penellaphe was a maiden chosen from her birth to serve the Gods. But, at the same time, she was trained by Vikter so that she would have a chance to defend herself against her. Meanwhile, Seraphena Mierel is the first Maiden, the one who must not only serve a god, but also marry him.
Like Poppy, Sera was chosen from the day she was born. Her public duty as her maiden is to marry Nyktos., the powerful Firstborn of Death. However, beyond her white veil and her apparent submissive attitude, she has a secret mission: to assassinate her husband to restore peace to her people.
If there are similarities between the protagonists, it is because there are. The cliché of enemies to lovers and the fake relationship.
A plan that will never be fulfilled
To save her people, an ancestor of Sera offered her to the service of the Gods, resulting, for the first time, in the role of the Maiden. But Sera is so much more than the Maiden. In fact, she was trained as a weapon, the deadliest of assassins.. This with the sole purpose of making the Primal of darkness and Death fall in love with her, and then kill him mercilessly.
In case of failure, Sera will have to watch as the entire kingdom of Lasania and herself are slowly consumed by the Rot.. In addition to existing to carry out orders, the protagonist of this story is very clear about her place within the kingdom: she is a monster, a blood-soaked specter. Seraphena keeps this thought until she meets the one who will become the Hawke of A Shadow in the Embers:nyktos.
Poppy and Hawke / Sera and Nyktos
contemporary youth literature, especially the one that advocates romance, is full of characters very similar to each other: young and beautiful women with some kind of insecurity —usually about his physique or intellectual ability. They, deep down, are strong warriors, but externally they do not stop behaving like girls. The love of their lives, at first, is presented as their enemy, the man to be brought down.
This ultimate anti-hero is often absurdly attractive and sexualized, intelligent, wealthy, politically influential, an invincible fighter… Couples like Jace and Clary from Shadowhunters, Daniel and Luce, from Dark, and Poppy and Hawke, from Of blood and ashes they check it. Do Sera and Nyktos meet this formula?: They do. In the end, as always, she falls in love with the one she is supposed to kill, and she realizes that everything she has been told is a lie.
The setting is the hook
In the same way as its predecessor, A Shadow in the Embers It is inspired by Greek mythology. The construction of a society where, this time, the gods are much more present: it is overwhelming. Unlike the start of Of blood and ashes, where the divine regents are asleep, here the yearlings reign on earth, and society is managed in a very unequal way to which L. Armentrout accustomed his readers.
In this new saga by the author it is also possible to find interesting fantastic creatures, trips to exotic places, secondary characters with their own motivations, beliefs and religions very different from those already seen, proxy wars, political and warlike conflicts. To put the reader in context about all these new situations, L. Armentrout's narrative pace becomes very slow.
A Shadow in the Embers makes it clear that nothing is what was thought
During the construction of Of blood and ashes, its conflicts, characters, and history, readers had a certain fundamental basis that made them believe that they had managed to put together, at least, a small part of the puzzle that represents the magical plot that intertwines each event of the saga. However, A Shadow in the Embers completely sweeps away that certainty.
The new information provided by the author often contradicts what had already been established. It is for this reason that Jennifer L. Armentrout was so insistent with her request to her readers: they should read this spin-off before the fourth book of the main saga, because it is from here where the biggest changes occur at the plot level. The twists are the order of the day, as are the scenes spicy, that cannot be missing.
About the author, Jennifer Lynn Armentrout
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Jennifer Lynn Armentrout was born in 1890, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States. The works of this author are increasingly reaching internationally. His fantasy and youth romance stories have made more than one reader sigh. She is often compared to the writer of A short of roses and thorns, Sarah. J. Mass, but the truth is that L. Armentrout has carved out her own name in the literary world.
Other books by Jennifer Lynn Armentrout
Covenant Saga
- Daimon (2011);
- Mixed race (2011);
- Pure (2012);
- Deity (2012);
- Elixir (2012);
- Apollyon (2013);
- Sentinel (2013)
Titan Saga (Covenant Spin-Off)
- Return (2015);
- The Power (2016);
- The fight (2017);
- Prophecy (2018)
lux saga
- Shadows (2012);
- Obsidian (2011);
- Onyx (2012);
- Opal (2012);
- Origin (2013);
- Opposition (2014);
- Oblivion (2015)
Arum (Lux Spin-Off)
- obsession (2013)
Origin Saga (Lux Spin-Off)
- the darkest star (2018);
- Burning Shadow (2019);
- The Brightest Night (2020);
- The Fevered Winter (TBA).
The Dark Elements Trilogy
- Bitter Sweet Love (2013);
- Hell's Kiss (2014);
- Hell's Caress (2014);
- Hell's Breath (2015)
The Herald Trilogy
- fury and storm (2019);
- Rage and Doom (2020);
- Grace and Glory (2021);
Fairy Hunter Trilogy
- fairy huntress (2014);
- demihuman (2016);
- Brave (2017)
Blood and Ash series
- Of Blood and Ash (2020);
- A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (2020);
- A Crown of Golden Bones (2021);
- The War of the Two Queens (2022)
Flesh and Fire Trilogy (Blood and Ash Spin-Off)
- A Shadow in the Embers (2021);
- A Light in the Flame (2022);
- A Fire in the Flesh (2023)