Fantasy• Romance

Review: A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash by J.F. Johns

January 28, 2026

Synopsis:

Two enemies. One cursed fate. An enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance that will set the world on fire.

The eight kingdoms have not spoken for 100 hundred years after destroying the land of the witches, turning the kingdom into a wasteland.
Until now.
Mal blackburn will end the feud between the kingdoms by marrying the fire prince, known across the lands for being cruel.
But Mal is not looking to conquer the cruel prince’s heart.
She wants to stab it.
For if Mal kills the fire prince, she will end the curse no one believes to be true. However, killing him might not be so simple…
The witches want revenge.
And everyone seems to keep secrets in the land of fire and dragons.
Including Mal Blackburn, the girl with witch eyes. The fourthborn child of the kingdom of darkness. The one that is hiding a secret that could doom them all.

Or save them.

Review:

It gets harder and harder to surprise me with a book of this genre. This one did its job very well. Not perfect, but a lot better than most.

It took me a few pages to get into it and after that, I was instantly emerging in the story. The world building was not too complex (sometimes I feel like my brain cannot deal with too complex setups) but complex enough to bring some new elements that did not fell like copy & paste.

What I enjoyed a lost was the fact that we have our FMC & MMC being put into a position they did not have much to say in. It was obvious, that we have to characters, that seems so different in how they grew up and what made them who they are today. Both were a product of their surrounding and once the found common ground they had something connecting them. I appreciated the slower tempo, allowing both to build a connection.

Where it lost me a bit was when the physical aspect became very dominant. I could have done with a bit less. The ending was for sure high stakes and taking the tempo down just a little bit could have been beneficial in my opinion (to let it really sink in).

Overall, a very enjoyable read that was different and kept me entertained. With the whole series (Trilogy) being available, I will for sure continue the series.

🌙 Recension: A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash (Kingdom of Gods #1) by J.F. Johns
📚 Genre: Fantasy, Romance
📅 Release Date: May 31 2025
📱 Read as: Kindle
📗 included in Kindle Unlimited
💸 I received a free copy of this book, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 600
⭐️ 4/5