Free Audiobook : From Blood and Ash, By Jennifer L. Armentrout

In a world where destiny dictates her every move, Poppy's life has never truly belonged to her. As the chosen Maiden, her existence is solitary, forbidden from physical contact, gaze, or spoken words. Pleasure is a foreign concept to her, and she merely awaits the day of her Ascension, a fate decided by others. Despite her longing to stand alongside the guards and fight the evil that took her family, the choice has never been hers to make.

Her duty holds the weight of the entire kingdom's future, a responsibility she's unsure she even desires for herself. Within the confines of her role, Poppy discovers she possesses a heart, a soul, and desires of her own. The arrival of Hawke, a golden-eyed guard bound to ensure her Ascension, complicates her sense of destiny and duty as desire and need entwine with her sense of purpose. Hawke challenges her beliefs and ignites a forbidden longing within her.

Meanwhile, a fallen kingdom, forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, rises once more with a thirst for vengeance and violence. As the cursed shadows draw near, the line between what is forbidden and what is right blurs. Poppy faces the risk of losing her heart, being deemed unworthy by the gods, and even her own life as the threads holding her world together begin to unravel in a blood-soaked tapestry of turmoil.