From Blood and Ash

I just couldn't put this book down! I enjoyed following the story through only one point of view (the female main character). I liked the level of suspense and how aspects of the worldbuilding are unveiled slowly. All is told through the point of view of The Maiden, our main character Poppy. She is a guarded figure in the realm, nobody can interact with her. So she doesn't know the world outside and we as readers are there with her discovering nasty secrets about the kingdom. The romance was interesting. It's not really enemies to lovers in the beginning, it's more like stranger-bodyguard romance (Hawke) that turns into enemies to lovers. This book had some plot twists that got me by surprise. I was expecting a typical “enemies to lovers” romance trope plot, but it actually had some surprising elements I was not expecting. The romance is not "happily ever after". I was not fully prepared for the ending. I was shocked by the final plot twist ( SPOILER: Hawke was disguised as a royal guard all this time just to capture Poppy, and he is an Atlantian, aka "The Dark One" who basically wants to destroy Poppy's kingdom). Hawke turns out to be a ruthless, brutal killer. It's a very complicated relationship, and it got me curious to read the second book in the series.
But I still enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would.