A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash - J.F. Johns

"She was chaos and divinity woven together, a creature sculpted by the Sun God himself, made of midnight and flame."

First thing's first; I'd like to thank NetGalley and J.F. Johns for the opportunity to read the first book in Kingdom of Gods series prior to release, and wow how grateful am I? I devoured this book, and was left hungry for more. By far the best book I've read in 2025 so far.

I don't know where to start with this review, because I want to gush and gush and gush about how much I enjoyed this book. In my opinion, if you are a Sarah J Maas fan, you'll be an instant fangirl like me. This was a great blending of High Fantasy and Romantasy; I'm going to try my hardest to keep spoilers to minimum because this story really deserves to be experienced first-hand.

Let's jump to it, because I have so much to say!

Trigger and Content Warnings

There are a few open door spicy scenes, but they're not too explicit.

TWs:

• Violence

• Murder

• Mutilation

• Decapitation (off page)

Tropes

• Enemies to lovers

• Multiple POV

• Arranged marriage

• The chosen one

• The misunderstanding

• Prophecy

• Multiple courts/kingdoms

Book Summary

The eight kingdoms have been at odds for a hundred years, ever since they joined forces to destroy the witch kingdom. That is until Mal Blackburn is betrothed to the cruel Fire Prince in an oath marriage meant to bring unity back to the kingdoms.

But Mal doesn't want to fall in love with the Fire Prince, she wants to kill him and break the curse that nobody else believes in, finally bring peace to their world.

Will it really be that easy?

In a kingdom so different from her own, Mal begins to discover that maybe things aren't as they seem, and perhaps there is more to the stories she grew up hearing than anyone realises. And maybe, just maybe, there's more to Mal than anyone realises.

And the witches?

They want revenge.

My Reading Journey

From the first stunning chapter header I was hooked. The artwork immediately grabbed my attention, a beautiful mixture of whimsy and magic...but then I met Mal.

If somehow Manon Blackbeak and Karlach (Baldur's Gat 3) met, fell in love and impossibly conceived... that badass, iron willed baby would be Mal Blackburn. It's honestly so refreshing to have such a fleshed out FMC. Mal is not just a passenger in her own story, she is driving her own destiny and giving tough as nails Lzzy Hale vibes whilst doing so. If Mal has a million fans, I'm one of them.; if she has one fan, it's me; if she has no fans, I am dead.

Our MMC? Again, another exciting change of pace. Ash is a misunderstood sweetheart, he's a darling golden retriever man, with insecurities that immediately endear him to the reader. Now, I love my morally grey shadow daddies as much as the next girl, but Ash? Swoon. Having a misunderstood loverboy as our male lead was such a balm.

Genuinely, I liked the way all the characters were written and the dynamics between them felt super organic. I could spend this entire review effusively listing all the positives about each character. It'd get boring, so let's move on...

The writing style is fantastically descriptive, but not overly flowery. The way the world and setting is described is extremely immersive and left me wanting to learn more about each of the eight kingdoms. Right now, it's definitely a trend for there to be multiple kingdoms/courts with distinct powers, ecologies and cultures, and A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash definitely has this. Luckily, in Kingdom of Gods it seems that so far there is a deeper relationship between the kingdoms and cultures. The people of the nations all look very different depending of where they hail from, which leads to that classic Fantasy trope of subtle racism and sexism(although not so much from our protagonists) - I really enjoyed the explorations of misogyny in particular.

Each of the kingdoms is associated with its own magical creature (yay!). Mal has a wyvern, Ash rides a dragon and we also see rideable dire wolves and pegasi. I love a mythical beast, and I honestly wish we saw more of them. I also can't wait to see more of the creatures from the kingdoms that we didn't spend much time with.

One last thing... Those twists at the end? They came thick and fast, and whilst I'd hoped for one and dreaded another that came to be, there was one or two that I did not see coming. I really enjoyed them and how they left things at the end of the novel, especially as it set things up for the rest of the series without actually leaving us with a cliffhanger per se. Phenomenal, start to finish I loved this book!

Peaks

• The setting and world building blew me away. I really felt as if I could visualise the world and felt a part of it.

• The characterisation was on point. I really rooted for Mal, Ash and their siblings.

• The magic system (for lack of a better word). I really can't go in to detail about it without spoiling a whole chuck of the story, but I love how integral it is to the plot and character development.

• Those twists!

• The mythical creatures. I love them. Especially the shadows the wyverian contingent have.

• We had healthy family dynamics! Loving parents and loving siblings!

• A very different take on the classical Hero's Journey, I'm hoping we keep the High Fantasy Vibes going forwards.

Pits

• I found the curse kinda confusing. I understand that it was intentionally so (the characters all had very different interpretations), but I definitely had some 'huh?' moments.

• In general, I just wish all characters in all communicated better with each other rather than keep secrets and causing a misunderstanding. I know this wouldn't work, but it does irritate me.

• My biggest pit is that I have to wait for the next book.

The BookCat’s 9 Lives

I would read this in nine out of nine lives.

The breakdown:

Writing style 😻

Pacing 😻

Plot and storyline 😻

World building 😻

Magic system 😻

Originality 😻

Emotional impact and engagement😻

Lasting impact 😻

Character development 😻

This was a slam dunk. I could talk about this book for days and days; I'm obsessed. I read the entire thing in one sitting and am now so entirely invested. A definite must-read for ACOTAR/TOG fans, I can guarantee this will be your next obsession.

Get your copy on 31st May, on Amazon and at all good book stores!

"But I learnt that fear is nothing but a specter of the mind. And I realised that I am stronger than the smallness of their scorn. Stronger than their trembling voices, their wary glances. Yes, they watched, they whispered - but their fear is not mine to carry. It is nothing I cannot bear."

Thank you for reading my latest ARC review, please let me know below how you found it and any way that would improve my future reviews.

Life before death, fellow Radiants <3