Book Review: The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout
WHAT 🤯 JUST 🤯 HAPPENED 🤯
Why yes, that is my entire review on Goodreads after finishing The Crown of Gilded Bones 😂 Kidding. Kinda. I had to step away and process because HOLY CRAP. If you haven’t read this yet, but LOVED book 1 and 2, well, all I have to say is that you are NOT PREPARED.
Blog Contents
The Story
The Characters
Steamometer
Content Warnings
Overall Thoughts
The Series
ARC + Promotional Box
Aesthetic & Playlist
Shop My Library
Fun Facts & More
The Story
spoiler-free
SO HOLY CRAP THE TIME HAS COME! We’ve all been anxiously awaiting the release of The Crown of Gilded Bones and it’s here!!! I was lucky enough to have received an advanced copy and promotional box through Social Butterfly PR, the company that does most, if not all of, Jennifer’s / Blue Box Press’s PR work (THANK YOU TO ALL!). I dive into that a little bit more later! But read on for a spoiler-free recap and review of The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout. HOWEVER. If you find even the smallest of details to be spoiler-y sometimes (like I do) do not continue reading. Skip the next section or two!
So we leave off at the end of A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire with this REALLY HUGE and INTENSE showdown, plot twist, cliffhanger in true JLA fashion where you think you know what’s going on, but in the next breathe you’re like, “Wait…what. Is that what just happened… did that just happen? WHAT JUST HAPPENED.” It’s the best and THE WORST, especially when you have to wait for the next book! 😂 Personally, I could NOT tell what Cas was doing and was totally, totally freaking, freaking out. BAD. This is where book friends come in and talk you down off the ledge of a book hangover spiral.
So, The Crown of Gilded Bones (book 3) picks up right after the events of A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (book 2). This is one thing I really love about JLA’s series. There are typically no time lapses and you can easily dive back into the plot once you get to the next book. So, yes, we pick up in the same location and same intense scene as to where we left off in AKOFAF. And I was just so happy to be back in this world with Cas and Poppy! Naturally, the story starts out with a BANG and doesn’t stop. It’s action-packed, nonstop, and utterly thrilling from page 1. There are huge twists and mind-blowing turns all throughout the story and, of course, at the end in natural JLA style. We also get subtle Game of Thrones vibes. I KNOW RIGHT. Obsessed.
But, ultimately, we follow Poppy as she discovers who she really is, navigates through multiple intense discoveries about her heritage, strengthens her bond with Cas, the wolven, and herself, and decides whether to take the crown and throne or not. She meets lots of new people and gets to see lots of new places. There are minor quests and journeys and traveling to places that feel like quiet, in-between moments where we get to learn more about our favorite characters, some new ones, and the world! Poppy’s goal is still to find and reunite with her brother, Ian, save Tawny, and ultimately take down the Ascended and Blood Crown. She’s still coming into her own and learning A LOT, and therefore as readers, we’re learning A LOT, too. At times, it can feel like an information dump, but it’s totally worth it. The beginning and the end were the best, in my opinion, and oh yes, do be ready for some steamy, steamy scenes.
And I get it, this doesn’t sound like much, but I don’t want to spoil a thing, and literally so much happens, so just go read it right now!
The Characters
Our favorites have returned with some new additions! There’s even one I’m not going to mention AT ALL because it was the best surprise EVER.
Poppy, to me, still feels like she’s growing and coming into her own. She’s still headstrong and determined and does not put up with shit which I love, but at times, it still feels like she’s a bit naive and, maybe sometimes, oblivious.
Cas is still amazing and I adore his love and protection of Poppy. A bit of his past allure was missing for me, though, in this book. Still love him, though.
Kieran continues to be the best and potentially the funniest.
Eloana is the queen of Atlantia and Cas’s mother. Completely unsure how I feel about her, honestly.
Valyn is the king of Atlantia and Cas’s father. I am also unsure about him!
The Wolven are still the protectors of Poppy and lots more come out of the woodworks when they arrive in Atlantia.
The Council of Elders keeps the Atlantian crown in check and includes some of the oldest Atlantians.
Gods, Goddesses, and Mythical Creatures, oh my. There are many and you will need a family tree. There is one if you want it, too!
The Blood Crown and Their Court do make a heavy and major appearance in this book.
A short, more collective list, yes, but there are honestly SO MANY new and awesome characters that if I continued I’d never finish this 😂 And also because there were so many new voices, lots of them weren’t necessarily fully developed in this book, at least to my eyes and were honestly more of side characters. There’s still so much we can expect from them in future books, though, for sure. But, for me, the above were the main characters and groups of characters that seemed to propel the story forward and continue to stand out in my mind the best after finishing and marinating on the book. Don’t forget, there’s one character I haven’t mentioned because I don’t want to spoil the surprise!!!
Steamometer
🔥 - oh there’s steam, but i want more.
I had a hard time rating this one! It was FOR SURE steamy. Like there are what seems like endless steamy moments, but that’s all they are - moments. There are some that are more intense than others, but at every single one, I found myself wanting more, more, more. This book is less steamy than the last 2 books, but has MORE steamy moments. Take that as you will.
For those who are unfamiliar with my Steamometer, check it out below!
❤️ nice and sweet
💃🏼 sassy spice
🔥 steamyyyy goodness
🥵 my ovaries are bursting
🖤 smutastic
Content Warnings
None that greatly stood out to me during or even after reading, except blood, fighting, death, and potentially smut (if you’re not into that kind of thing).
Overall Thoughts
Loved it! Honestly so good. I love the vampire / mythology cross over and that only intensifies in this book! But while I LOVED being back in this world and hanging out with Poppy and Cas and the whole gang again… this book felt a little different to me. I’m struggling a bit with why, but I’m going to try and outline below. It was just small things that I either didn’t notice or that maybe just didn’t bother me before. Ultimately, the book didn’t hold my attention as much as the first two, sadly! Don’t get me wrong, though, I still LOVE this book and the characters and the story. I still gave it 5 stars because it is AWESOME, but like I said, just some little things that I struggled with this time.
Poppy + Cas’s Relationship - Okay, so I love them, truly. Cas is the ultimate love interest, hands down. Like I’d pick him over Rhys… until this book. I’m now wavering for some reason. Part of his allure in the last two books was lacking for me this time. I think it’s because he and Poppy are actually together and actually openly, loving each other, rather than hiding how they feel - which makes literally no sense. But the anticipation and the angst are gone and while I loved watching their relationship blossom, at times, I felt like it was slightly unrealistic. I love how much Cas loves Poppy and wants to protect her and give her literally everything, but… will he ever challenge her again or will she just always be right, no matter what, in his eyes? Some of those parts where he’s just blindly standing up for her seemed… unbelievable. I love the sentiment, don’t get me wrong, but I also want a love interest who challenges and questions and pushes. Now, they’re probably still in the infatuation stage, right? Because they JUST basically met and got together and that’s when your partner can seem to do no wrong and those beginning, budding relationship feels… but still. I hope he starts to push and challenge her in future books because he DID in previous ones.
Poppy’s Questions - Oh man… the number of questions Poppy has in this book was comical and for me, just got to be a little too much. This was one thing I didn’t notice in the last two books, but absolutely recall it happening. I think it goes back to this book having a lot of new information. It was a great way, especially during travel/quest periods and quiet moments, for Poppy, and us as readers, to learn new aspects of the world. But I totally understand the telling vs. showing world-building now.
Telling vs. Showing - I didn’t fully grasp what this was, especially in this world, until this book. It’s where the author constructs or presents the world by basically having a Q&A with characters in the book. Typically, in TCOGB, where Poppy is asking the questions, and Cas or Keiran are telling her how things are. It’s NOT a bad way of doing things, it’s just something I noticed this time around and it made me pause.
Again, I LOVE THIS WORLD. I love this book and I love this series. Just a few things that stood out to me this time that I struggled with!
The Series
Also, YES! This book is part of a fantasy series. It’s the third book in the Blood and Ash Series. There are 6 books planned for this main series. JLA has also plans for a spin-off series, Flesh and Fire, which will have at least 2 - 3 books. There will also be a couple of books from Hawke’s POV! Lots of good stuff coming.
ARC & Promotional Box Recap
So, as I mentioned early, I was super lucky enough to have received an advanced physical copy and a promotional box of The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout through Social Butterfly PR! How do you ask? Well, initially, I reached out to the publisher, Blue Box Press, and expressed my excitement and love for this series and requested a copy that way. Jillian, at Blue Box Press, is the best! She let me know that all ARCs go through their promotional / PR company, Social Butterfly PR. So, I signed up to be one of their bookstagrammers who promote upcoming titles and can potentially receive promotional materials. You can sign up for that here! When it was time for their marketing campaign for The Crown of Gilded Bones, I got an email to sign up and that’s what I did! It was a huge surprise when I got the box in the mail!
The Crown of Gilded Bones Aesthetic & Playlist
I’m really getting into mood and aesthetic boards and playlists when it comes to the books and series I love! I found a really awesome Mood & Aesthetic Board by JLA for FBAA + AKOFAF on Pinterest and snagged some of my favorite shots that encompass The Crown of Gilded Bones with some additions. Just add Dragons and maybe Mount Olympus, and you’ve got TCOGB!! You can check out the full board here!
Shop My Library
Shop The Crown of Gilded Bones and my other 2021 reads to date
Or click the cover to shop at Bookshop.org, if available
Fun Fact
The Crown of Gilded Bones was also one of the highly anticipated fantasy books releasing in 2021 I was looking forward to reading this year! If you missed that blog check it out below.
More Bookish Posts From The Cheeky Life With Leah
The Ultimate List of Paranormal Fantasy Books
35 Fantasy Book Series That I Want To Read
Highly Anticipated Fantasy Reads Of 2021
7 Romances I’m Looking Forward To In 2021
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I’m Leah. Cozy connoisseur and bountiful book buyer. I have a minor obsession with getting lost in the pages of a good book, guzzling coffee, and thriving at home. Yoga pants, wine, and essential oils are also my jam. I'm truly just a homebody at heart with a knack for content creation, flatlays & cozy shots. This is my creative space.
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