Monthly Book Club Review: A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane

While I devoured A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane and hoped to put together and post this review last week, I unfortunately caught a cold! As I’ve said in a previous post - life happens - but here I am with that review. 

Because a book like this deserves to be posted about and recommended.

A Heart of Blood and Ashes is Book 1 in Milla’s A Gathering of Dragons series. If I could describe this book briefly, I’d say it’s one of the most gripping fantasy romance novels I have had the pleasure of reading. It blends brutal vengeance, intense passion, and rich world-building. Goodness, the world-building alone! 

At 555 pages, this novel delivers an epic journey filled with political intrigue, action-packed battles, and a slow-burning yet explosive romance between two complex protagonists, Maddek and Yvenne.

Don’t ask me who I love more. Please. I will, however, be happy to talk about each of them even more below.

Character & Romance

Maddek is a quintessential barbarian warrior—fierce, loyal, and driven by rage and duty. His initial perception of Yvenne as weak and deceitful makes their dynamic one of tension and distrust. Constantly. This tension exists for most of the book as Maddek struggles to believe in Yvenne’s truth, blinded by his own assumptions and grief. 
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However, as their journey progresses, his respect for her intelligence and resilience grows. Yvenne, despite being physically fragile due to the abuse she survived at the hands of her family - another royal family in this story - she proves herself to be a force to be reckoned with. She wields her mind as skillfully as any weapon, proving that strength comes in many forms. 

One form, Maddek realizes, he is sorely lacking.

I enjoyed who they are as characters, and their individual journeys. The romance between them is fiery, rooted in conflict yet growing into something deeper. Slowly, but surely. Their relationship evolves from hostility to an intense partnership, filled with both physical and emotional battles. My favorite moment between them is hard to pinpoint. Certainly, not without a spoiler. The way they teach and grow to love one another inspired me, though. 

I think it might inspire you, too.

Plot & World-Building

Set in a world recovering from war and ruled by a fragile alliance, the story initially follows Maddek, a fierce Parsathean warrior, who seeks revenge for his slain parents. A king and queen in their own right. His rage is directed at Yvenne, the daughter of the treacherous king he believes responsible for their deaths. However, when he captures her, he discovers that she is not the villain he expected. Instead, Yvenne is a strategic and determined woman who has suffered under her father’s rule. She offers him an alliance through marriage—a political union that could allow them both to reclaim their rightful thrones and take down a common enemy.

Milla crafts a richly detailed world where brutal customs and deep-seated traditions shape the lives of her characters. The way they think, react, and act. It’s characterization at its finest.

More than that, the Parsathean culture - with its warrior ethos and strong moral codes - contrasts sharply with the more deceptive and oppressive rule of Yvenne’s homeland. The author’s descriptions of landscapes, battles, and political intrigue immerse the reader in a realm where survival is earned through strength, wit, and loyalty. 

Their story is one told in immense contrast. Somehow, their pieces manage to fit. Jagged - cutting - at first, but by the story’s end, perfectly notched.  

Writing Style & Pacing

As a writer, I live for good writing. Detailed description, effective dialogue, complex world-building, and most of all: immense saturation of character voice and point-of-view. I especially look for this in dual point-of-view narratives, like this one.

Milla’s writing didn’t disappoint. In fact… 

Her writing is raw and evocative, perfectly suited for the intense tone of the novel. The action scenes are vivid and intense, while the quieter moments allow for deep character exploration. The dialogue is sharp, with Maddek and Yvenne engaging in clever and emotionally charged exchanges that highlight their chemistry. Conversations which return, over and over, in meaning. They are not just exchanges held in that minute, but kept and meant and lasting.

​Given the cross-country journey that Maddek and Yvenne had to make for their safety, I liked the pacing. It’s realistic for the world built, for the battles needing to be fought. I can see how some of the readers in my book club might have thought it would be slow, but for me, the tension—both in the plot and the romance—kept me engaged. It was a hard book to put down.

Final Thoughts

A Heart of Blood and Ashes is a dark, gripping fantasy romance that delivers both in terms of world-building and emotional depth. Fans of strong heroines, fierce warrior heroes, and high-stakes political intrigue will find much to love in this book. While some of its more violent or intense moments may not be for everyone, those who enjoy sweeping epic romances with complex characters and slow-burning passion will be thoroughly satisfied.