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Laura Hi! I've actually been getting this question a lot and I did a Twitter thread about it. I'm compiling it here so it can be easily found.

"Hey y'all. I'…more

Hi! I've actually been getting this question a lot and I did a Twitter thread about it. I'm compiling it here so it can be easily found.

"Hey y'all. I'm seeing some discussion of the violence in Ash Princess so I want to talk a bit about that so that readers can go in with open eyes. AKA here are some trigger warnings. I'm going to try to be vague enough to avoid spoilers, but there may be some very light ones.

Ash Princess is about a conquered country where the original inhabitants are all slaves. About half of the main cast of characters are or were slaves and they talk very frankly about their experiences, including being beaten, starved, and raped.

To be clear: there is no on-page rape or attempted rape in the book. The discussions of it happening off-page aren't graphic or explicit.

One of my biggest pet peeves in storytelling is when rape is used as a plot device. I didn't want to do that here. But at the same time, it would have been been disingenuous to write about colonization without including it.

Though there isn't on-page rape, there are some scenes where the unspoken threat of it hangs over Theo's head. There are scenes with uninvited and inappropriate touching.

There is also physical and psychological abuse including one graphic whipping scene. Again, this kind of violence was not something I set out to write and, in all honesty, they were the hardest scenes for me. But again, I felt they were necessary.

Theo's world is an ugly one and I found its roots in real history. Not including the violent aspects and the ripples created by them would have been, I felt, to gloss over the atrocities of war and colonization that persist to this day in our very real world.

However, the last thing I want to do is to blindside people who already understand that all too well. If anyone has any questions about this, please feel free to reach out to me through DMs."(less)

Community Reviews

 · 45,230 ratings  · 5,266 reviews

Start your review of Ash Princess (Ash Princess Trilogy, #1)

I picked up this book because my friends loved it and I wanted to follow their hype! Unfortunately it wasn't for me. So much of the plot followed the standard YA fantasy checklist without adding anything new. What bumped this down to 2 stars for me is that I couldn't stand the main character. For someone who has an entire country depending on her to reclaim their land, she does nothing other than act wishy-washy and indecisive. It drove me crazy that she kept on talking about having to kill peop I picked up this book because my friends loved it and I wanted to follow their hype! Unfortunately it wasn't for me. So much of the plot followed the standard YA fantasy checklist without adding anything new. What bumped this down to 2 stars for me is that I couldn't stand the main character. For someone who has an entire country depending on her to reclaim their land, she does nothing other than act wishy-washy and indecisive. It drove me crazy that she kept on talking about having to kill people without actually doing it because she was stuck in her head so much. Even when it comes to conspiring treason, other characters had to guide her along and make the decisions for her. She played no active role at all, and I was so tired of being stuck in her head. Please, I'm begging you to make a decision for once in your life!! ...more

Is it better to have your life ended by someone who hates you or someone who loves you?

Ash Princess has a heroine desperately trying to reclaim her stolen throne, a mindlessly evil tyrant who stole said throne, and a love triangle... What's that, you say? You've heard this one before? Yeah, me too.

That being said, to give credit where it's due, it stands out for being compulsively readable and entertaining.

Plot and character-wise, it resembles many other YA fantasies. But I was just complai

Is it better to have your life ended by someone who hates you or someone who loves you?

Ash Princess has a heroine desperately trying to reclaim her stolen throne, a mindlessly evil tyrant who stole said throne, and a love triangle... What's that, you say? You've heard this one before? Yeah, me too.

That being said, to give credit where it's due, it stands out for being compulsively readable and entertaining.

Plot and character-wise, it resembles many other YA fantasies. But I was just complaining in my review of Sky in the Deep about how I keep reading a lot of "shallow and emotionless" YA fantasy books, and this happens to be one that breaks the pattern. I can't deny it is very compelling, though it relies heavily on violence, abuse and misery to keep us turning the pages.

I'll spare you a plot summary - you can probably guess it anyway - and just say there's a rightful queen held captive by the conquerors of her kingdom who must assist the underground rebellion and reclaim her throne. Whilst fighting off the hot dudes along the way, of course.

Many are comparing this to Red Queen, which I did think was shallow and emotionless. Instead, I'd compare it to Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes - both books are heavy on the violence, feature slavery as a theme, have a love triangle (sort of) and an evil tyrant driving the drama and action. They are also similarly paced and engaging.

Aside from an awkward infodump in the first chapter, it goes down smoothly. The violence and unfairness make it easy to keep turning the pages. Shortly after the book opens Theo is forced to murder her father, and nothing gets me reading like a nice dose of fury at the injustice of it all. Theo's undercover manipulations are also fun to read.

Some of the major plot aspects seem illogical, such as why the new king (called the Kaiser 🙄) would leave the rightful heir alive. The book tries to explain it away but it doesn't really make much sense. Surely if you want to dampen any hope of reinstating the rightful monarch then you would just kill the rightful monarch.

I should warn that it is at times grim and gory. Slavery is a norm; beatings, torture and rape (non-graphic) are common. The divide between the dark-haired, olive-skinned Astrean people and the pale-skinned, blonde-haired Kalovaxians is clearly along racial lines.

BUT what can I say? It is also an entertaining pageturner. If you have room in your heart (and on your bookshelves) for another fantasy with princesses, evil rulers, rebellion and romance, then you could definitely do worse than this one.

TW: graphic abuse and torture; rape (non-graphic); racism.

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...more

Nov 07, 2017 Melanie rated it really liked it

ARC provided by Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

"My name is Theodosia Eirene Houzzara, Queen of Astrea, and I will endure this."

Friends, I couldn't put this down. This was such an addicting and captivating read. This was the first book of 2018 that I read in one day, which is saying something because this book is almost 450 pages. I was just so invested with the romance, the rebellion, and the betrayals, that I couldn't stop turning the pages.

Ash Princess is La

ARC provided by Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

"My name is Theodosia Eirene Houzzara, Queen of Astrea, and I will endure this."

Friends, I couldn't put this down. This was such an addicting and captivating read. This was the first book of 2018 that I read in one day, which is saying something because this book is almost 450 pages. I was just so invested with the romance, the rebellion, and the betrayals, that I couldn't stop turning the pages.

Ash Princess is Laura Sebastian's debut novel, which is a story about a girl named Theodosia (yeah, I'm going to be singing Hamilton all day after writing this review), whose ruling mother was murdered, and their land taken over by another kingdom when she was only six-years-old. the Kaiser allowed her to live, but only so that she could live among them, while they take everything she has ever known away. She is used as a reminder for her people that the Kaiser has enslaved, and when they do anything to rise up, Theodosia takes the punishment. Her back is incredible scarred from the whippings she has had to endure, but the Kaiser also inflicts so much mental and emotional abuse alongside the physical.

"The last person who called me by my true name was my mother, with her dying breath."

The Kaiser conquered Theodosia's land because there are caves that run beneath four major temples that her people worship (air, fire, water, earth). And gems come from those caves to give people magic, but they also give people with an affinity for the element(s) a lot of magic. The caves have so much magic inside them, that when Theodosia's mother would rule, people would go down and stay in the caves, most dying, but some emerging and proving that they are worth the element the god and goddesses gave to them. Now that the Kaiser rules, he forces the slaves down there to mine, but most lose their minds after being around the power(s) for too long, and eventually lose their lives.

Theodosia's only friend is a girl named Cress, whose father is the one who swiped the blade across her mother's throat. Inside, Theodosia feels a constant battle about what she can do while feeling so absolutely helpless. Yet, Cress also lost her mother when she was very young, so an unconventional friendship grew from two girls both mourning the mothers they never got to know. I loved seeing their friendship develop and become what it was by the end of the book. But Theodosia is constantly reminded of all the things she lost alongside her mother, but she is forced to do the only thing she can: survive. That is, until one day a boy from her past comes and offers her a way out, and a way to maybe right a few wrongs that have happened to her people.

"A life where a crown—gold or ash—doesn't weigh heavy on my head."

As I said above, this is a dark story about a girl who is forced to live among the people who ruined her life and killed her mother. Trigger/Content Warnings for racism, enslaving humans, abuse, torture, graphic beating, humiliation, captivation, gore, murder, death, loss of a loved one, bullying, talk of rape in the past, talk of animal murder in the past, sexual assault (unwanted touching), and rebellion/war themes.

The other thing I'd like to talk about is that the Kaiser and his people are white with light features, where Theodosia and her people have darker features and are said to have a "tawny" skin color. On top of the fact that this is a story about how one empire colonizes another, and puts the remaining population in chains and are force them to work (and die) in the mines harvesting gems.

"Maybe his interest in me isn't just about saving the damsel. Part of him also wants to be saved. If he's stained by his father's sins, then maybe I'm the only person who can absolve them."

My favorite thing about this book was easily the romance. Now, a lot of books have kind of vague, blurry, love triangles, but Ash Princess just has a blatant one, and I loved it. Theodosia is torn between her childhood friend and first love, Blaise, and a boy whose father has taken everything from her, Søren. It is legitimately friends to lovers and enemies to lovers and my shipper heart was so full of happiness. I personally like the enemies to lovers side of the triangle more, and I was falling off my bed, swooning so damn hard, during the last tunnel scene. Like, that is my romance kink, 100%, and if you've read this book you'll know what scene I'm talking about. The romance in this is perfect, and I will read Lady Smoke at midnight upon release to see how these romances progress, because your girl is invested.

"You could ask me for the ocean itself and I would find a way to give it to you."

So, you're probably asking, "Melanie, why did you give it four stars if you enjoyed it this much and won't stop gushing over it?" And that's because, I'll be honest, this story doesn't bring anything new to the YA Fantasy world. If you read a lot of other reviews on Goodreads, you're going to notice the same line of "this is nothing new" and it is true. A lot of reviewers are also comparing this to Red Queen and An Ember in the Ashes, but I haven't read either of those! Basically, this isn't groundbreaking or even unique, but it's super well written and crafted and it truly made for an un-put-downable read for me.

Overall, I truly loved and devoured this. This was easily the most addicting thing I've read in 2018 thus far, and I completely recommend it with my whole heart. Again, it might not be the most original thing, but that doesn't make it not worthwhile. I loved the characters, the twists, the plot, the friendship, the perfect romances, the atmosphere, the writing, I loved it all.

"We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive."

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The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

...more

Feb 12, 2018 sunny rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: fans of Red Queen, Falling Kingdoms and Ruined, but this is BETTER

Edit: I accidentally read this as Ass Princess and that's what I'll always see when I look at this title.

This book is everything I wanted Red Queen to be. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 What a fantastic debut. I loved this so much, I deadass want to reread it and experience all the feels all over again. It was just so addicting and I was unable to put this down!! I devoured this 400+ page book in two days.

Ash Princess is a trope-filled book with a very common story line. Theodosia, or Theo, was six years old when she

Edit: I accidentally read this as Ass Princess and that's what I'll always see when I look at this title.

This book is everything I wanted Red Queen to be. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 What a fantastic debut. I loved this so much, I deadass want to reread it and experience all the feels all over again. It was just so addicting and I was unable to put this down!! I devoured this 400+ page book in two days.

Ash Princess is a trope-filled book with a very common story line. Theodosia, or Theo, was six years old when she witnessed her mother's (the queen) brutal murder and had her country conquered from her. In her country there are magical caves that run underneath the temples. For fire, air, earth and water. These are very sacred and only those who have proved themselves to the gods completely can go and get the magical gems. Now, Theo's people are forced to work as slaves in these mines and dig up the magical stones.

For ten years she has been living under the Kaiser and his brutal rule, living quietly and trying to please him to survive. All of that ends when she's forced to kill someone and her childhood friend comes and offers her an escape and make things right for their people. She's filled with hate and determination to take back her kingdom and avenge her mother and people.

Sounds so common, right? Hmm let's see, it sounds so much like Ruined, Red Queen, Falling Kingdoms (a lot of other YA books I can't think of right now), and the brutal world resembles a lot to An Ember in the Ashes. But, I fucking loved this. In my opinion, this book was so much better than Ruined and Red Queen.

This world is so fucking brutal and violent, a lot like An Ember in ashes. Theo is always whipped publicly whenever her people try to rebel. There is mention of rape, slaves are treated horrible, people are always being killed, like in Falling Kingdoms. But unlike, that book, Ash Princess isn't shit-ily written. People are being experimented on and a lot of gore and bloody things occur. There is horrible enslavement that Theo's people go through in the mines and there is vivid descriptions of the horrific things that go on there.

There is also a lot of racism that happens in this book. The Kaiser and his people are white while Theo and her people have darker skin and described as "tawny." Theo's country is colonized and her people are enslaved and suffer through a lot of horrific shit. Theo is also mentally and physically abused, so trigger warnings for all that.

Theo is a character that I really loved and sympathized with from the very beginning. Her life is horrible. Every day she has to be someone she's not and endure the humiliation and abuse from the Kaiser. She has no privacy of her own (literally, three guards called Shadows watch her 24/7, even when she's changing!!), cannot express her thoughts freely and lives in constant fear of the Kaiser. One wrong move and she'll piss the Kaiser off. Then when that happens and she learns of the horrors her people are going through, she snaps.

She still has to pretend, but this time instead of fear, she's filled with hate. She's taking risks to meet with her people. She has to learn that the only way to win and survive is by hate and violence. She's also have an inner conflict with herself over her close friend in the castle and her growing feelings for the crown Prinz. She doesn't want to kill them, but if she is to take back her home, she's going to have to.

I really understood her constant inner-battle. Her friend, Cress whose father slit Theo's mothers throat and whips her, is someone she's known for ten years in the castle. Cress helped her and stood up for her against bullies and has been nothing but kind to her. And now she's expected to kill her???? what.

Oh no, my guys, this has a LOVE TRIANGLE!!! [cue the groans of every person on the planet] LISTEN, I know y'all hate love triangles and I DO TOO!! but this one is somehow bearable, even though it annoyed me a lot. Theo has feelings for the Prinz and her childhood friend, some dude, whose name I forgot, because I DON'T FUCKING SHIP THEM. He's a really good guy, but Prinz Soren and Theo all the way, bitch. Like, they're both good boys, but idk something about the Prinz, man.

Okay, so this is fucking trope-filled and cliche as fuck so everyone's probably going to hate it but I loved it somehow so please read it!!! :( I'm joking, don't listen to me. Y'all probably gonna hate it LMAO. 😔

I, personally, really loved this trope-y ass book and would recommend it!! Please give it a try!

Pre-review:
I'm only reading it for the gorgeous cover. The plot sounds like 1000 other YA Fantasy books out there, but I still have hope that this'll be badass. ...more

Nov 09, 2017 C.G. Drews rated it really liked it

This was a pretty dark and politically twisty fantasy, and I was pretty sold! It had powerful magic and intriguing world building and I am so there for this.

Seriously tho: world building!
It actually takes time to show us languages and cultures and there were a lot of "fantasy" words flying about, but I didn't get confused. I felt really sucked into the world after only a few chapters. Plus it had a lot of fantastic details so everything seemed super vivid!

It has a lot of "prettiness" in it to

This was a pretty dark and politically twisty fantasy, and I was pretty sold! It had powerful magic and intriguing world building and I am so there for this.

Seriously tho: world building!
It actually takes time to show us languages and cultures and there were a lot of "fantasy" words flying about, but I didn't get confused. I felt really sucked into the world after only a few chapters. Plus it had a lot of fantastic details so everything seemed super vivid!

It has a lot of "prettiness" in it to balance the horror of the conquerors.
It's absolutely about a conquered nation, and Theo is basically a trophy, tortured daily for the crimes of her people but kept alive despite the horror she has to go through. So she's like lavished in pretty dresses and wears pretty makeup and goes to banquets and has books. Her BFF is one the daughter of a very powerful dude and she's all pretty and light and flippant. But then in the background you have the conquered people being murdered and enslaved in mines and Theo's being whipped if they rebel. It was a brutal and visual contrast.

This one had such a stunning world and so much potential for sequels. It's about wicked conquerors and the glitter and jewels people will pile on top of festering poison and murders and I was definitely intrigued.

...more

3.5 stars

There's no denying:

--This could have been more intricately plotted.
--The characters could have been more developed.
--Some of the violence, because there are repeated beatings, could have been written with more emotional and physical impact
--There is a half-hearted triangle. (sorta? Maybe more of a red herring.)
--After 400+ pages, I'm still not entirely sure how all the magic works.

And yet...I enjoyed it! It doesn't hurt that the book starts off with a doozy of an act, one that clearly

3.5 stars

There's no denying:

--This could have been more intricately plotted.
--The characters could have been more developed.
--Some of the violence, because there are repeated beatings, could have been written with more emotional and physical impact
--There is a half-hearted triangle. (sorta? Maybe more of a red herring.)
--After 400+ pages, I'm still not entirely sure how all the magic works.

And yet...I enjoyed it! It doesn't hurt that the book starts off with a doozy of an act, one that clearly shows you the girl you are dealing with. (view spoiler)[Theodosia kills her own father as an act of mercy. (view spoiler)[I KNOW. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] The measured way Theodosia makes decisions and feels about her relationships makes me like her a lot, particularly in how she deals with her parents and her old Astrean friends, and maybe above all, in the tenuous bonds she's formed with the Kalovaxians who enslaved her people. The country is at war, and Theodosia is at war with herself over how she feels about her friend Cress. But she is clear-eyed about Cress loving her in return as she would a favored pet, and about her romance with Soren being untrustworthy, because he doesn't truly know her. I also like that the book is honest about how a person in Theodosia's position would use whatever means she has, including her feminine wiles, to gain advantage and to deceive, without making her lose integrity or the reader's trust.

I found this to be compulsively readable and I was eager to get back the audio version every time I took a break. Saskia Maarleveld's narration also sounds very much like Eva Green as Vesper Lynde in parts, which is incredibly seductive to listen to. She gives each character subtle inflections and shading, and her performance was highly enjoyable to me.

If you swooned over The Winner's Curse as a whole or responded with excitement to the action elements of The Valiant (or maybe even the action parts of An Ember in the Ashes), this is definitely worth a read.

An audio review copy was provided by the publisher.

Screw it, I'm rounding up because I enjoyed it.

...more

Mar 17, 2018 Katie.dorny rated it it was amazing

EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK. IT IS PHENOMENAL.

Theo is so strong, and actually a normal character who relates to things normally which i loved, felt i could relate to her a little better. Magic, kings, war and spying. i could barely put it down! I'm so excited for the sequel already and i can't believe i have to wait another year!

And I know it had a love triangle, but it was so believable for me.

And the struggle, omg. And the humiliation. Jesus Christ.

Theo reminds me a little of Tris from

EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK. IT IS PHENOMENAL.

Theo is so strong, and actually a normal character who relates to things normally which i loved, felt i could relate to her a little better. Magic, kings, war and spying. i could barely put it down! I'm so excited for the sequel already and i can't believe i have to wait another year!

And I know it had a love triangle, but it was so believable for me.

And the struggle, omg. And the humiliation. Jesus Christ.

Theo reminds me a little of Tris from divergent but she is such a strong young woman.

...more

Apr 08, 2021 Bhavya rated it liked it  · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Someone looking for a typical YA book

Recommended to Bhavya by: Nashita, Katie

"Because that's how water works. The river flows, pushing against a stone, even as it knows it won't move it. It doesn't have to. Enough currents go by, over enough time, and even the strongest stone gives in. It might take a lifetime or more, but water doesn't give up."

~ Rating- 3 stars ~

Content/ Trigger warnings- Beating, Blood, Captivity, Emotional abuse, Gore, Human experimentation, Inappropriate and unwanted touching, Mass killing, Murder (brutal), Physical abuse, PTSD, Racism

"Because that's how water works. The river flows, pushing against a stone, even as it knows it won't move it. It doesn't have to. Enough currents go by, over enough time, and even the strongest stone gives in. It might take a lifetime or more, but water doesn't give up."

~ Rating- 3 stars ~

Content/ Trigger warnings- Beating, Blood, Captivity, Emotional abuse, Gore, Human experimentation, Inappropriate and unwanted touching, Mass killing, Murder (brutal), Physical abuse, PTSD, Racism, Rape (mention), Slavery, Starvation, Trauma, Whipping {Source}

-No mention of these in the review-

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian is a very hyped up book. It's also one of my close friends Nashita's favourite series. That was the reason I wanted to pick this book, to see if it was worth it.

I would say this is the kind of book I would have adored had I read it a few years back, but now... not so much.

There isn't anything in this book that makes it unique, and I think that is why it falls flat. But, I didn't completely hate this book.

The plot

When Theodosia was six, her mother, The Fire Queen, was murdered right in front of her eyes. On that day, The Kaiser took her land, her title and her name. Theodosia is forced to endure the ridicule and abuse of the Kaiser and his court- and is crowned Ash Princess, a title of shame.

"You're a lamb in the lion's den, child. You're surviving. Isn't that enough?"

But when the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable, Theodosia plans to strike. She plans to take over the kingdom, and bring The Kaiser to ruins.

"I was a princess made of ashes; there is nothing left of me to burn.

Now it's time for a queen to rise."

I was not a huge fan of the plot of the book. It was extremely predictable, to the point where I knew what would happen at ch 3 itself. There is nothing in it that will keep you at the edge of your seat, yet it is not so painfully boring that you wouldn't want to read further.

It is basically a cookie cutter YA, and I was surprised it came out in 2018 as I thought the book was older while reading it.

I did find a few plot holes , and questions we don't get proper answers to. Why is the Kaiser keeping Theo (Theodosia) alive? The reason we get is so that he can oppress her, but wouldn't the people be more shattered if their only hope was dead?

Another thing is that Theo was only 6 when her mother died, and that is heartbreaking for a child, but how is it that she has so many clear memories of her past? How does she remember almost everything? That didn't make much sense to me.

I think this book started out strong, and ended strong, but the middle was more of a filler. Regardless, I still liked it a bit.

The world building

I liked the concept of the gem stones in this book, but I didn't like execution so much. There wasn't much of an explanation regarding its usage, and how exactly do Guardians work.

There are so many unanswered questions: How many Guardians are there? How are they trained? What are their abilities? Where are they trained? Does each one have a different ability? And a lot more.

I think the word was the only unique aspect to this book, but even that wasn't explored in detail which was sad to see.

The writing

I personally did not like the writing. From a 400+ page book, there were a few quotes here and there that I enjoyed but otherwise it wasn't that great.

We have everyone's favourite sentence

"I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding."

And we have A LOT of repetitions of words. I made a huge list in the comments, as everything won't fit here, but a few for now-

Smile

"I'm fine," I say instead, forcing a smile she sees through immediately.

"You're right," I lie with a smile.

"I tell her with what I hope passes as a demure smile."

"I paste a smile on my face as well."

"Crescentia adds with a dimpled smile."

"I give her a reassuring smile as Søren helps her off the ship."

"I don my most innocent smile and link my arm through Erik's."

"Kaiser's orders," he says with a tight smile. "I'm sure he has his reasons."

"He always does," I reply, hoping my smile looks more natural than it feels.

"I force a high, false laugh, keeping my smile frozen and speaking in Astrean for extra measure."

Elpis is bewildered. "Smile," I tell her"

"I look up at the guard and give him my sweetest smile, though it doesn't seem to do much good. His face remains frozen."

"Søren grimaces, but his eyes are smiling"

"I tighten my smile so that it looks vaguely forced"

"All it takes are wide eyes, tentative smiles, and a wolf at my heels."

"I shrug, but my smile is feral."

"Her eyes linger on me a moment longer before her mouth curls into a tight smile and she clasps her hands in front of her.

"Her smile is wan."

"Her mouth twitches into something that might be a smile."

"but he was a gangly boy with an easy smile."

"I smile pleasantly at the barrage of courtiers"

"I say, forcing a smile."

"Blaise must see where it's going, because a grim smile stretches across his face."

"The thought of it causes a smile to rise to my lips."

"I smile."

"I give Elpis a smile of thanks"

"Cress smiles, relief flooding her face"

"Have you ever seen him smile?"

"My father doesn't smile much either."

"I force a smile."

"Her smile is sweet but false."

"Her words rankle, but I try not to show it, forcing a smile instead."

"Her smile grows somewhat warmer as she calls for Elpis to come dress her hair."

"She glances at the pin in my hair, set with simple pearls, lips pursing thoughtfully."

"I add with a smile."

"He smiles, relieved."

"With a gracious smile..."

"her eyes boring into me no matter how many reassuring smiles I give her."

"but I force a smile and try not to let him see it.

He manages a smile, but he still doesn't look at me."

"but he catches my look and smiles.""

"He shakes his head and smiles. It's the first time I've seen him really smile,

"He shakes his head and forces a smile."

"Søren softens, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"He smiles and passes me the fork."

but Crescentia's smile"

"Her smile faltered."

"but I resisted and after a moment she nodded."

"I smile at her"

"I don't answer him except to nod."

"If I were alone, I might smile."

"I say, hoping for a smile."

"she says with a smile so sweet I know it must be fake."

"Art's smile turns feral"

"Her smile is cruel and mocking."

""but I get the feeling he's nodding."

"giving him a dimpled smile here"

"... watch Crescentia as she gives the Kaiser a dimpled smile"

"Crescentia turns our way and her blinding smile grows wider."

"I tell her with a forced smile I hope seems natural."

"she replies with a smile that feels like a blow to my heart."

"her mouth is smiling as she nudges me toward him."

"She smiles slightly, her shoulders relaxing."

"... taking my hands in hers and smiling."

"She gives me a smile so sad..."

"... fair eyebrows arched over a bemused smile."

"An uncertain smile tugs at her lips..."

"Her smile lingers for a moment..."

"She has the same smile as Søren."

"Elpis gives me a small smile."

".... she murmurs, her smile rare and wide."

"... I say, smiling."

"Her smile is genuine, relieved."

"After a second, she gives me a smile"

"Cress's smile softens into something more natural."

"I ask with a bland smile..."

"I glance up at him through my eyelashes and summon my sweetest smile."

"His smile broadens and he leans back in the chair, which creaks under his girth."

"Søren's open smile on the boat"

"I can't help but smile."

"A small smile works its way to Elpis's mouth,

"He breaks into a lopsided smile when he sees me."

"Even with the wall between us, I know she's smiling."

"I nod, fighting a smile."

"Cress's smile is beatific as she does just that, picking up the book of Elcourtian histories."

"I'm going to miss her smile."

"Her smile is a brittle."

"She smiles and gives my hand a squeeze before releasing it."

"She smiles, relieved."

"She looks back to me, pale eyebrows raised, smile tentative."

"I try to smile at him"

"He means it as a comfort and I smile at him and pretend to be comforted,"

"I am rage and hurt and hatred, but I force that aside and give him a small, tentative smile,"

"He smiles like a wolf closing in on its prey"

"...and I will smile"

"... and though he flashes a smile at Søren""

"I say with a half smile."

"Heron smiles"

"When I comply, a smile ghosts across his face."

" She was smiling bigger than I'd ever seen her."

"She smiles and it is wild and triumphant, despite everything."

"Crescentia was pretty and sweet and always smiling."

"I say, twisting my mouth into a cruel smile."

"Her mouth tightens and she mirrors my mockery of a smile."

"I hope my smile looks more real than it feels."

"I can't help but smile."

"... my smile slides away."

"and he almost smiles."

"He's smiling"

"he says with a tired smile"

"Then wave, at least, and smile"

"... it doesn't have the warmth my mother's smile always held."

"I tell her, pasting on the fake smile I always wore at court."

"We do," she says, matching my smile.

"... her smile has gone feral."

You can tell with this that, Ash Princess needed a ton of editing. I know it is a debut, but this is too much for me to excuse. This was only 'smile', there are a lot more words, some I marked below and some I lost patience for.

I understand it's difficult to completely avoid this, BUT so many repetitions in the same book? I find it annoying.

The characters

Theodosia

"My name is Theodosia Eirene Houzzara, Queen of Astrea, and I will endure this."

I liked Theo a bit as a character. We do see her face a lot, and I found her reactions to everything reasonable.

"I am angry.

I am hungry.

And I promise myself that one day I will watch them all burn."

But I have a feeling her POV would have been a lot more impactful if it was from third person. Even then, I think her character was alright.

Søren

I honestly found Søren's character to be a bit unrealistic. He is a Prinz (yes, it's spelled that way) and he doesn't act like one.

"I know who I am because of it; I know what matters to me and what I'm willing to fight for. Can you say the same?" [Theo to Søren]

I found him to be very unsure of himself, and he seemed very willing to do whatever was told. He was far too trusting for a prince, and just too kind. There was no one to teach him kindness.

I felt like he should have grown a backbone, I hope that happens in book 2.

The Kaiser

I was quite indifferent towards the Kaiser. What he does to Theo is evil, but as a ruler he never intimidated me.

"My father wants things and he takes them," he says. "Everyone else be damned."

He seemed like an old man sulking on the throne and getting everyone else to do his work, which made me not have any emotions for his character. I wish he was more of a stronger villain, as that would have made this book more complex.

Cress

I think Cress was an ok character, and surprisingly I liked her a bit. She isn't fully fleshed out, but she wasn't all bad either.

"That's the difference between us, I suppose: Crescentia yearns for love, and I prefer destruction."

I think a lot of people will be irritated by her character, but I feel her arc will play a major role in the rest of the series.

Art

Now Art is the character I am actually invested in.

"We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive. We do not apologize for them," she says quietly, eyes never leaving mine. "Maybe they have broken you, but you are a sharper weapon because of it. And it is time to strike."

I will definitely love to read a book from her PoV!

Blaise

Blaise is Theo's childhood best friend, who she never mentions till he randomly shows up.

I don't really have anything to say about him. He was just there.

The romance

*sighs*

There is a love triangle, which is full of insta-love. I don't like any of the love interests. That's all I can say spoiler free.

I have quotes regarding it which are spoilers, so I'll put in tags.

(view spoiler)[

"Because falling in love with Blaise was always going to happen" [Theo]

"You could ask me for the ocean itself and I would find a way to give it to you." [Søren]

"I love you," he says after a deep breath. "I just want you to know that first. I love you and I would never want to do anything to hurt you." [Søren]

"I know that I love you."[Søren]

(hide spoiler)]

Why did I rate it 3 stars?

Despite the many flaws in this book, it was not so bad that I didn't want to finish it. I am still going to continue the series to see where it goes.

Final thoughts

I felt Ash Princess could have been a very powerful book, had the love triangle not existed. We see Theo's struggles and it would have been empowering for her to face the Kaiser independently, without her decisions being impacted by the love interests.

This book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately it did not deliver. However, I would still recommend it if this is the kind of book you are looking for. I hope the rest of the books are better.

"I should not be calm, but I am. There is one path ahead of me now, and I can see it clearly lit. It is an awful path, one I hate. I will never forgive myself for walking down it. I will not come out the other side the same.

But it is the only path I can take."

Thank you to Maddie for buddy reading it with me! (Click on the link for her review)

Note- My status updates have mild spoilers. Do not see them if you haven't read the book.

DISCLAIMER- All opinions on books I've read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite

............................................................................

This is definitely a 3 star.

It has a lot of issues, but I still wasn't completely bored with it. The beginning and ending were strong, but it felt flat in the middle.

It has a fairly predictable plot line. I saw everything coming, nothing surprised me. Even then, it wasn't all bad.

Detailed review to come!

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Aug 13, 2018 Kiki rated it liked it

So earlier this year I took a trip to the south of France, notably the Périgord, which is filled with lovely relaxed people with sun-kissed skin and floaty skirts, a nice contrast to my jumpy pasty ass (I was in the middle of an existential crisis and musing over whether or not to quit my job and become a starving artist, and The Results May Surprise You!).

While I was there I went to this antiques shop filled with retro fridges and dusty comics and amazing vinyl albums from the 80's, from befor

So earlier this year I took a trip to the south of France, notably the Périgord, which is filled with lovely relaxed people with sun-kissed skin and floaty skirts, a nice contrast to my jumpy pasty ass (I was in the middle of an existential crisis and musing over whether or not to quit my job and become a starving artist, and The Results May Surprise You!).

While I was there I went to this antiques shop filled with retro fridges and dusty comics and amazing vinyl albums from the 80's, from before I was even born, my dudes, which makes me look like a foetus or whatever. Anyway, I was agonising over this fucking incredible standing lamp with an old aged leather lampshade, teeth clenched over the €150 price tag, but... Okay. Let me paint you a picture, here. The lamp was about my height, and the lampshade was at the top, of course, but it was balanced on this handmade ye olde globe, and the globe was being held up by a faux-gold almost-life-sized sculpture of Atlas. It was like a blend of everything I love: good light to read by, inaccurate old-timey maps, and Greek mythology. I was just standing over this lamp, a thread of drool wetting the front of my sweaty t-shirt (it was upwards of thirty degrees all week, and that's not safe for a pale Celtic weirdo like me), trying not to reach into my purse for my credit card.

Eventually, I talked myself out of it. Okay, that's a lie. I tore myself away from it, like one might tear a glob of gum from their hair, because that lamp would look so fucking good in my flat, next to the K-2SO figurine and the red thread pinned into the plasterboard and the giant snail in the tank in the living room. I kept cursing it, cursing how poor I am, until I came across a cardboard box full of - no, not false nails or chicken feet. No. It was full of carnivale masks.

They weren't the lamp, but they were pretty cool. I dithered between two of them, one with a big velvet ruff and covered in bells, and another smaller one with a salty little smirk on her face. I eventually chose the one with the bells, and it was only like €15, which was... acceptable. Jesus Christ, it wasn't the damn lamp, but it would do. I liked it.

It took me a while to get the mask home, because there wasn't enough room in my luggage, but some weeks later I was balancing on the back of the ugly pink armchair, one eye on the TV watching Kurzgesagt and trying not to press a push pin through my finger. Then the mask was up, and it looks cool, and but le sigh. I'll never forget about the lamp. It will live on in my heart forever.

So here's the thing. When you read this next part, you'll probably envision me tapping away at my crumb-filled 2012 MacBook next to my giant snail, surrounded by crystals and dusty ornaments and sporting a tin-foil hat, and save for the tin-foil hat, you're not wrong. The point is that on the Ghoul Boys scale, I'm not a Boogara, but nor am I a Shaniac. I'm sort of in the middle, and I have my own theories, and all I'm saying is HEAR ME OUT.

It started on the day that the mask arrived in my home. On that day, I experienced my very first lucid dream. It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever fucking witnessed and someday, if anyone's interested, I'll talk about it. I took notes down on my phone the second I woke up, but I needn't have bothered: I remember the dream so vividly, and I also remember the absolutely paralysing fear that I experienced. I know it was a lucid dream, and within the dream I was aware that I was dreaming; I said the words to myself inside my head: I am in a dream. But it was baffling, visceral, and indescribably frightening. I woke up feeling like I had already lived through a day. The full story is for another time but that's still notable.

Something changed when the mask went up on the wall. I was sitting in the living room, watching Friends and drawing with my crusty old tablet, and I heard the shoeboxes in my bedroom stir, like they were being shuffled around. My flat is fairly small, and the front door opens out to a short hallway with the bedroom to the left and the living room to the right; the noise was therefore loud enough for me to hear over my roaring laughter at the timeless joy of everyone's favourite 90's sitcom and two (albeit open) doors. An important thing to note here is that there are only two shoeboxes and they're fairly big, so it's not easy for them to topple.

I texted my sister about this, and she seemed spooked. At the time, surprisingly, I wasn't worried. I also woke up the morning after the shoebox incident with blinding lateral foot pain that was so bad I couldn't walk, though I had run 4km the day prior to that so I put it down to overexercise. Though I should mention that I had completed that same 4km run many times before with no trouble and had also been exercising quite diligently for weeks before that, so... Make of it what you will.

A couple of days later I was lying in bed at about 9am* scrolling through Tumblr, and I heard a funny clattering in the bathroom, like something being knocked by an elbow. Now, my bathroom is stacked absolutely full of useless crap, including but not limited to empty toothpaste boxes, empty shampoo bottles, face masks, 40 vol bleach bottles, a dying orchid, and like eight pairs of sunglasses (???) so it's easy to turn around and knock stuff over. I glanced at the door, then went back to scrolling on Tumblr. Whatever, dude.

*Don't hate me, but I tend to write off any paranormal experiences that start with "I had just woken up". Sleep messes with your mind, guys. Stuff like false awakening and sleep paralysis can seriously dick around with your perception of reality. I've experienced false awakening before and later discovered after some extensive research that what I thought was a crazy paranormal experience was just my brain tricking me into thinking I had three arms. I'm always open to suggestion but I tend to take anything that happens just after waking up from REM sleep with a big, big pinch of salt. What makes me pause on this is that I woke up at 8am and had been solidly awake but lying in bed for about an hour, scrolling through social media, when this happened.

Last night, just after I had settled down to sleep, I heard what sounded like the fridge door closing. This gave me pause, because before I go to bed I obsessively check the locks on the door, check to make sure the sockets are off at the wall, check to make sure the taps are off, and check to make sure the fridge and freezer are shut. This is a ritual, because if I haven't double, and sometimes triple, checked these things then I lie awake all night getting anxious about it. I did these checks, of course, and then the fridge door shut. Okay.

My flat has been sweltering all summer. It's still warm outside. My flat is now cold. Throughout the entire summer, whenever I opened a window, flies and bees and wasps always buzzed inside and annoyed the crap out of me. The windows have been open every day since the mask entered my home and I have not seen a single bug. There are creaks and small movements in the night. I wake every now and again at between 3 and 5am, though I usually sleep like a corpse.

Am I imagining it? Probably. But I've seen and heard enough creepy shit in my life to believe that there's more out there than what we can see. And I had prepared, throughout my years, for something of this ilk to happen to me - I had imagined what it might be to live alone and wonder if maybe I wasn't really as alone as I thought. Every time I pictured it, I saw myself terrified and unable to sleep and back in my old childhood home where I could not shake the feeling of being watched.

But the thing is that I just honestly don't give a damn. I'm stressed and trying to break into publishing is a fucking disaster and I'm just, like, okay. Whatever. You can haunt my home if you want to, as long as you stay in your corner and I stay in mine. Just don't break anything and we're cool. I can sit at my weird hoofed coffee table and write and this thing, whatever it is, if it even exists, can pulse away inside that mask that feels like it's staring at me, as long as it doesn't scare my friends or pick at the wallpaper. It's cool. I'm fine with it. Let's just both move on with our lives and coexist.

You were wondering where the book comes in, right?

I feel the same way about this book as I do about the mask. The book's very pretty, but its contents aren't to my taste. That said, I don't harbour any ill feeling towards it. Some years ago I'd have hissed and spat at this book for being so simplistic and depressing and at the same time boring and expected (elemental magic? Really? Come on. It's 20gayteen) but now, as a grown woman, I'm fine with it. It's whatever. It was very, very standard YA fare and I doubt I'll remember it in 6 weeks' time. It'll sit on my book...shelf, no, not a shelf, just a stack on the floor, and as long as it doesn't fall and crush my toe or anything, then it can do its thing and I'll do mine. I can move on from it and forget about it and lament nothing about my time with it. It was blah and thinner than rice paper but I really can't force myself to care.

Maybe I should be more pissed off about the book than the ghost, but the ghost cost €15 and the book only set me back like £7.99. The ghost is a better investment, probably, but given the barren fucking wasteland that is my life right now, I'd say they're both equally irrelevant. The only thing I'm cheesed about is the collective £21.35 I paid for a very low-key haunting and a long eye roll. Thanks, Brexit.

...more

--2.5 stars--

This book was... fine. It wasn't horrible, it wasn't particularly great, it was just okay. It reads like literally any YA fantasy book you've ever read. If you're looking for something groundbreaking or innovative, then there's nothing to see here. It felt like the author had a YA Fantasy 101 handbook to refer to during the writing process. Like, there isn't a single thing I can think of about this book that gives it its own identity. Feels like it was made by a machine that figured

--2.5 stars--

This book was... fine. It wasn't horrible, it wasn't particularly great, it was just okay. It reads like literally any YA fantasy book you've ever read. If you're looking for something groundbreaking or innovative, then there's nothing to see here. It felt like the author had a YA Fantasy 101 handbook to refer to during the writing process. Like, there isn't a single thing I can think of about this book that gives it its own identity. Feels like it was made by a machine that figured out the algorithm to create the perfect cookie cutter YA fantasy novel, marketable and safe.

I find it hard to believe that this is a 2018 release. This book would've been somewhat interesting if it was released, like, 2013 or something. Are we really still doing torn-between-two-guys love triangles in this day and age? Like, come on. Next thing you know, they're gonna be revealed to be brothers or some shit. I know in this book's case that's literally impossible, since the two love interests are of different ethnicities, but hey, it's YA. The two guys always end up miraculously being brothers lol.

Honestly I really wanted to DNF this book but I powered through it cause I wanted to see how it would end. I wanted to see if this book had something that would surprise me, but nope. Nothing. I'd suggest skipping this if you're looking for something new and refreshing. If you wanna read more of the same, though, look no further. This is about as basic as it gets.

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Aug 16, 2019 Helena Paris rated it really liked it

WOW. That was EXCELLENT.

Everyone who compared this to the Winner's Curse was pretty on the money, except that it was reversed. It's as if we're following Arin's story, rather than Kestrel's.

Me likey. I can't wait to start Lady Smoke!

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian is the first book in the young adult fantasy series, Ash Princess Trilogy. This is one that is on the darker side with violence, abuse, slavery and a hint of rape so beware to those with issues with these triggers. There is also a hint of a love triangle involved with the main character, a boy from her past and the son (prince) of her captor.

The story begins as we meet Theodosia Eirene Houzzara who by all rights should be the Queen of Astrea. However ten years bef

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian is the first book in the young adult fantasy series, Ash Princess Trilogy. This is one that is on the darker side with violence, abuse, slavery and a hint of rape so beware to those with issues with these triggers. There is also a hint of a love triangle involved with the main character, a boy from her past and the son (prince) of her captor.

The story begins as we meet Theodosia Eirene Houzzara who by all rights should be the Queen of Astrea. However ten years before Theodosia's people were overthrown and her mother the queen was killed in front of her. Since that day she has done whatever she can to stay alive despite the torture she's endured.

When Theodosia's father who once was a guard in her kingdom is brought into the court for "trial" and sentenced to death at her own hand it sparks something in the fallen princess. She knows that many of her people have died but even if it costs her own life she must do what she can to regain her throne.

I suppose the first thing to say about this one would be that no, it isn't a highly original tale but more of one done before. However, when they mention a series like Red Queen in comparison I was hesitant to even try this one because of finding that one so slow and dare I say boring. Ash Princess may have hints of the same type of young adult fantasy read as others before it but it was strangely enjoying to me regardless and I felt myself get caught up in the story as it went along.

The writing in here seemed to flow rather easily for such a dark tale and had a compelling feel to it I've missed in other books of this type. The stage has been set in this first book and with a somewhat cliffhanger type of ending it seems there are sure to be some big developments to come with the plot so yes, I will definitely continue the series on to see how it goes from here.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/

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In YA, everyone piles onto the bandwagon of the latest trends. A few years ago it was dystopian fiction but now we've a glut of fantasy on our hands. As someone who loves fantasy, this should be a good thing, but the YA machine keeps churning out subpar, derivative works that are less good world-building and action-heavy plots than wallpaper fantasy settings for tepid romance.

In this regard, ASH PRINCESS is no exception.

I'm really annoye

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In YA, everyone piles onto the bandwagon of the latest trends. A few years ago it was dystopian fiction but now we've a glut of fantasy on our hands. As someone who loves fantasy, this should be a good thing, but the YA machine keeps churning out subpar, derivative works that are less good world-building and action-heavy plots than wallpaper fantasy settings for tepid romance.

In this regard, ASH PRINCESS is no exception.

I'm really annoyed about that because the book started out really good. Theodosia is the ex-princess of a country that has been invaded by conquerors. All of her people are slaves but for some reason they keep her around as a court mockery, forcing her to wear an ash crown that stains her clothes, while mocking her and subjecting her to public beatings for her people's infractions.

Obviously this means that when rebellion inevitably stirs from resentment about the genocide and the slavery and the torture, Theodosia is going to be chosen as the figurehead. And her jaded bitterness in the beginning gave me hope that despite the stupid names for everything (kaiser and prinz, seriously? why German names if it's not a German-inspired country? did you just choose foreign words for ruler than sounded "exotic"), I was hoping that this would be a fantasy novel cast in the mold of THE WINNER'S CURSE, my ultimate favorite.

The problem occurs when Theodosia is supposed to seduce the - cringe- "prinz," Soren, in order to get information about his people and their future plans for conquering before killing him. She drops that jaded bitterness right quick and Bella Swans it up, despairing about how much it'll hurt to kill such a cute boy when she betrays him, conveniently forgetting about all her people dying in slave mines. Similar whining occurs when she realizes she may have to kill her best friend, the daughter of the evil kaiser's closest adviser and the man who whips her before everyone to punish her.

Great choice in friends.

The other side of the love triangle is Blaise, one of her own people who is involved with the revolution. She's known him since childhood, although she never mentions him until he shows up on the scene bringing tidings of revolution. Go figure. I didn't really care for him, but after I found out that Prinz Soren is a cat murderer, he could never redeem himself for me. I guess I don't find wishy-washy heroes who can't stand up to their tyrant fathers and kill small animals attractive?

Theodosia does, though. She hardly bats an eye at the cat murdering bit.

I'm giving this 2.5 stars because it was entertaining and the concept of elemental "Spiritgems" giving people powers over fire, air, water, and earth kind of sounded like something straight out of one of those JRPGs, specifically the Mana series (in fact, if you haven't watched it already, I recommend that you check out CollegeHumor's "Every JRPG Ever." It's weirdly appropriate for this book). The world really should have been developed more, and Theodosia should have had more of a spine (and less of an, "oh, woe is me! I'm in love with two boys!" attitude). You know a heroine's in hot water when your sympathies lie with the people telling her to get her act together and not with the heroine herself. Like, "Yeah, get your act together! You're an effing princess! Stop dallying around!" But then again, this is YA fantasy and at this point, I pretty much come in expecting to be disappointed.

Thanks to Netgalley/the publisher for the review copy!

2.5 stars

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Aug 24, 2017 Simona marked it as to-read

Please tell me "Prinz" is a typo in the synopsis and that it's not how they spell prince bc I don't think I could cope with that tbh xD
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pssssstt i know it's german for prince now. thanks(: Please tell me "Prinz" is a typo in the synopsis and that it's not how they spell prince bc I don't think I could cope with that tbh xD
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pssssstt i know it's german for prince now. thanks(: ...more

May 31, 2020 Sofia rated it liked it

Edit: If I read this now, I would probably give it two stars. But I read it over a year ago when I was basically a walking dumpster. Hence the high rating.

Theodosia, called Theo by most, is a princess of a forgotten land, Astrea, whose inhabitants are now slaves to Kalovaxia. She is imprisoned in the Kalovaxian castle, where she is forced to wear a crown of ashes as a sort of subtle threat to the Astreans.

You can probably guess what happens next.

Theo teams up with a group of rebels, they set

Edit: If I read this now, I would probably give it two stars. But I read it over a year ago when I was basically a walking dumpster. Hence the high rating.

Theodosia, called Theo by most, is a princess of a forgotten land, Astrea, whose inhabitants are now slaves to Kalovaxia. She is imprisoned in the Kalovaxian castle, where she is forced to wear a crown of ashes as a sort of subtle threat to the Astreans.

You can probably guess what happens next.

Theo teams up with a group of rebels, they set up some complicated schemes, she escapes the castle, they gather an army, et cetera. Couldn't get more basic than that.

This was derivative, basic, cliche, and cringeworthy at times, but I still had a good time reading it. It was a lot fresher than a lot of YA fantasy (except for the love triangle, kill me now). It definitely wasn't a masterpiece, but it was mindless fun, and sometimes I need that in my life.

Ash Princess, while riddled with plot holes, was actually a lot more realistic than other books I've read. It never sent the message that you can always get everything you want, which is a pet peeve I have with a lot of books. I'm tired of things ending up happy in the end, or even worse, if the aLmIgHtY lUrV solves everything. Theo loses Soren, Crescentia, and her entire way of life. She's in a pretty tough situation by the end.

What I hated most about this book was the

absolutely horrid, unnecessary, cheesy love triangle. We have Blaise, the Childhood Friend. We have Soren, the Cute New Mysterious Guy With a Soft Heart. Who will Theo choose??

Um.

No.

CHILDHOOD-FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS IS NOT COOL. You knew each other when you were little and now you're in lurvvv??? One, it's concerning that an adult fell in love with the child version of their friend. Two, I don't buy it.
You know what's worse? Instalove-childhood-friends-to-lovers. Or "I've loved you since I first laid eyes on you." No. That's just weird.

Besides the pointless love triangle, the plot had more holes than Swiss cheese:

1. Spiritgems are jewels that give the user powers, which are dramatically increased if you know how to use them properly. The Kalovaxians have no idea how to do so. Conveniently, Theo does. According to her, Fire gems can easily destroy the entire palace. There are hundreds of Spiritgems in the castle. Theo can easily swipe one. She's done so before. So why isn't she?! If you have Spiritgems, use them. And what's her argument against it? She doesn't want the gods to damn her in the afterlife. She has thousands of Astreans relying on her! At this point, she doesn't even believe in the gods. So why is she holding back? She could use a Fire gem, burn down the palace, and her problems would be solved. Her people are no longer slaves, her enemies are all dead, other kingdoms are free from Kalovaxia. It's not that hard.

2. Why is Theo still alive? There doesn't seem to be a reason. Apparently, the Kaiser is using her to keep the Astrean rebels under control, but it's clearly not working. Besides, why should they care about this one girl trapped in a castle, doing absolutely nothing to help them? It's not like they even hear about her torture. Plus, Theo is definitely not being treated like a prisoner, apart from her punishments. She lives in luxurious rooms and wears gorgeous clothes. She's even allowed to make friends with nobles. This isn't a great way to run your country, Kaiser. She's doing nothing except amusing him occasionally. Even for the Kaiser, that isn't a good enough reason to keep her alive. She's just a risk to his carefully crafted empire.

3. Soren is way too nice to be a Kalovaxian Prinz. From what we've seen of the other nobles, there's absolutely no one to teach him to be this kind. They're all spoiled, entitled, or just plain cruel. I doubt his mother would have the guts to be a good role model, anyway. So where does he get this strange kindness? If you grow up around brats with no other exposure to anyone else, you're going to become a brat, too. This isn't rocket science.

This was a good guilty pleasure read, but it definitely had a lot of flaws. I probably won't read the sequels. But it was a pretty decent book.

3 stars

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May 18, 2018 Ben Alderson rated it it was amazing

So glad I read this book. Really enjoyed the politics, magic and character in this one. I also could not predict what was to happen in the story. Something that is rare for me these days. Regardless if it took me a week to finish I would happily read this one over and over.

Yay! First book of 2019! Pretty solid fantasy read. A little bit tropey at times, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story. I was rooting for this character and I wanted her to make it so badly. The plot kept me invested from start to finish, and I look forward to reading the sequel. Yay! First book of 2019! Pretty solid fantasy read. A little bit tropey at times, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story. I was rooting for this character and I wanted her to make it so badly. The plot kept me invested from start to finish, and I look forward to reading the sequel. ...more

May 03, 2019 booksNpenguins rated it really liked it

She gets to her feet and I know that I should rise as well and curtsy, but I'm frozen in place. "Some advice, little lamb? Next time you close a window, make sure it doesn't open a trapdoor beneath your feet."
She's halfway to the door when I find my voice. "I don't know what I'm doing," I admit, barely louder than a whisper.
The Kaiserin hears me, though. She turns and regards me with that disconcerting, unfocused stare of hers. "You're a lamb in the lion's den, child. You're surviving. Isn't

She gets to her feet and I know that I should rise as well and curtsy, but I'm frozen in place. "Some advice, little lamb? Next time you close a window, make sure it doesn't open a trapdoor beneath your feet."
She's halfway to the door when I find my voice. "I don't know what I'm doing," I admit, barely louder than a whisper.
The Kaiserin hears me, though. She turns and regards me with that disconcerting, unfocused stare of hers. "You're a lamb in the lion's den, child. You're surviving. Isn't that enough?"

(yes, that chocolate-covered oreo was my bookmark. and no, it didn't last long.)
____

Previously on: How I Met This Book

I didn't know what to read so bae picked this one for me among the books I received last week.
I already told him that if it's not good, he's gonna sleep on the couch. His reply was: "I just randomly picked it, you were the one who bought it and brought it home. Now go read. You know where the couch is, just in case."

So, yeah... I really hope I'll end up liking it lmao

____

Apparently I can keep my bed, 'cause this book was pretty great.

When it comes to what makes a good book a good one, I think smooth writing, relatable and morally gray characters, and a fast-paced plot are probably the three main elements that shouldn't miss, and for me, Laura Sebastian totally hit the point with this novel.
The magic system and the whole story are not of the most originals, but it's fresh and action-packed enough to make you close an eye on it.
Theodosia is not an easy lovable main character. She's very insecure, immature, sometimes a bit of a hypocrite, and the kind of intense that can become too much.
On the other hand, I found that her insecurities and immaturity made her extremely real.
I often read books about teens who are overly good and ready to sacrifice themselves for the rest of the world and, despite how good-hearted a person (fictional, mostly) might be, I see this kind of behavior as too heroic to be 100% true to the gray nature of the human being.
I was glad to read about a character who was, for a change, afraid for her life and ready to be a little selfish in order to survive.

There's romance, in case you're asking. There's some sort of love triangle, too.
I usually get frustrated with this kind of trope, but it didn't bother me at all this time.
The romance is good, it makes sense (a bit too rushed, maybe, but I learnt there's nothing slow about this book), yet I guess I didn't care much who Theo ended up with because I sort of like both boys equally (though Prinz Soren is a cat person and that means he has to be my favorite of the whole bunch) and because I was more concerned about what other madness she was being thrown into by the author.
If I had to compare it to another series, it'll definitely be Falling Kindoms by Morgan Rhodes, though this one is possibly darker, has shorter chapters (bless you, LS), and it's clear that the author here cared deeply for shock value deaths/twists.
Not that I'm complaining, of course, because I think that overall this was a really well done job.
For people like me, who don't always have time to read and have to squeeze their reading breaks between smelly diapers and house chores, but at the same time don't want to give up to the pleasures of an intricate and entertaining plot, this is perfect because it allows you to put the book down and resume reading it without losing both the adrenaline and the threat of the story.
That is, if you're able to put it down.
I know sometimes I couldn't.

I only have a few little 'complaints' that'll make you understand why I didn't give this book 5 full stars, despite liking it deeply:
-I would have find it less cringey if the characters were at least a year older.
I really don't know how to explain this but I felt that the way they speak, act and carry themselves is too mature for characters who are so young, broken and reckless. I get that a tough life makes you wise by default but we're talking about that kind of deep boldness that comes with age and that made Thora and company sometimes look like clichéd caricacatures.
-I ended up loving Thora, but being inside her head all the time was a little hard. Like I said, she isn't a character you fall for instantly and for people like me who are not fond of the first person POV, having to relate on Thora's pov alone and all the time, was somehow stressful.
That's it, so you see, it's really more of a personal matter than this book being somewhat faulty.
Despite these little flaws, I enjoyed every second of it.

Laura Sebastian is an amazingly talented author and Ash Princess is a real page-turner that definitely built up the setting for a new story and a new villain in a sequel that I honestly can't wait to read.

I also can't wait to tell bae about his magical book-picking skills.
Thinking about it...I should let him pick scratch cards, too, from now on...

"Yana Crebesti, remember?" he says. "Will you trust me in this?"
"Yana Crebesti," I tell him, even as it breaks my heart.

ACTUAL RATINGS 4,5/5

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Mar 09, 2017 Cindy ✩☽♔ rated it really liked it

"We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive."

This book definitely helped pull me out of my book funk, so praise 🙌

*Review to come*

"We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive."

This book definitely helped pull me out of my book funk, so praise 🙌

*Review to come*

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May 13, 2018 Cesar rated it really liked it

4 stars

"Now it's time for a queen to rise."

I'm gonna be honest: This was better than Red Queen

I know, I know, that's such a bold claim to make. But I stand by it. Ash Princess was a surprisingly good read. I knew it had the same tropes as most YA fantasy does: Rebellion, princesses, love triangle, etc. But I was invested in the story as well as Theodosia's character development.

This took me a while to read not because it was boring, but because of finals. I read in-between studying but once fina

4 stars

"Now it's time for a queen to rise."

I'm gonna be honest: This was better than Red Queen

I know, I know, that's such a bold claim to make. But I stand by it. Ash Princess was a surprisingly good read. I knew it had the same tropes as most YA fantasy does: Rebellion, princesses, love triangle, etc. But I was invested in the story as well as Theodosia's character development.

This took me a while to read not because it was boring, but because of finals. I read in-between studying but once finals were done, I power-read the hell out of this book.

Ash Princess is the story of Theodosia living in her country Astrea that has been invaded by the Kalovaxians. The Kalovaxians have completely colonized Astera, taking away all of the cultures of Astera as well as killing off a good chunk of the Asteran population. Theo witnessed her mother getting killed at the age of 6 and has been living as a token to the Kaiser. Theo wants to fight for her freedom and for Astrea. When the opportunity comes in the form of a rebellion, she knows joining the rebellion is the only way to take back Astrea.

There is context warning I want to put out as this series does have some troubling aspects. Those include Slavery, torture, violence, abuse, mention of rape.

As mentioned earlier, Ash Princess does carry the same trope as many other fantasy novels out there. I was not impressed with the idea of a love triangle because I feel like most fantasy/dystopia have love triangles and I'm sick and tired of seeing them. Along with that, there's also rebellions and princesses fighting for what is right, etc. It's all formulaic, but I didn't mind that in Ash Princess. Still didn't like the love triangle, but I did have a good time reading Ash Princess.

The Pros:

I very much liked Theo as a character. She is the reluctant protagonist who is very determined to get back her country and avenge the death of her mother. She wants what's best for herself and her people. I really sympathized with Theo with all she had to go through. What with her mother's death and the abuse she goes through, she comes out still determined to fight for her country.

The world building, while shallow, is interesting because of the many countries the Kalovaxians have invaded. Ash Princess has a map and seeing all the other countries and possible exploring makes me giddy to see more of the world.

This is a dark book, especially for a fantasy. I know the issues of abuse has been in different fantasy stories, but I like how Laura Sebastian didn't hold back because this made the story all the more entralling.

The Cons

There is a love triangle here and I didn't hate it, but I definitely thought it was unnecessary. This is something I fail to understand why so many authors include a love triangle in their fantasy/dystopia books. Can't we just have a novel where our protagonist has ONE love interest instead of two? Because having two people pinning after you sounds tiring.

Verdict

Ash Princess, while bringing nothing new to YA fantasy, was a great read. If you do enjoy novels where there are rebellions and lies with an engaging plot, then Ash Princess is definitely the book you want to read. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks for reading my review!

-Cesar

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This review contains no spoilers 💫

Ash princess follows Theo, a girl whose country was colonised by the Kalovaxians. Theo is essentially Queen but since the murder of her mother and a shift in power, she's been demoted to 'ash princess', kept in the same castle where she once was royalty in.

Subjective grade- 85%
Plot - 90%
Writing & dialogue- 85%
Worldbuilding - 80%
Character development - 60%
Character relationships - 75%

Subjective grade:
I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought that the political atmos

This review contains no spoilers 💫

Ash princess follows Theo, a girl whose country was colonised by the Kalovaxians. Theo is essentially Queen but since the murder of her mother and a shift in power, she's been demoted to 'ash princess', kept in the same castle where she once was royalty in.

Subjective grade- 85%
Plot - 90%
Writing & dialogue- 85%
Worldbuilding - 80%
Character development - 60%
Character relationships - 75%

Subjective grade:
I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought that the political atmosphere of this book was interesting and Theo was actually an interesting character. Also, the magic system reminded me a lot of Avatar the Last Airbender so that's a plus.

Plot:
This book touches on a lot of heavy topics like racism, colonisation, discrimination and privilege.
We see elements of privilege in Cress who time and time again ignores the brutality Theo faces because of her race. She basks in her clear privilege and avoids talking about any of these issues because it's too 'uncomfortable' for her.
Sound familiar right?
Oh, and how the Kalovaxians move from country to country after looting the last of all its resources.
*ehrm* Britain, 16th century *ehrm*
This book did a great job of discussing all said topics, embedding them in the plot itself. If I had read this book when I was younger, I doubt I would've been able to see the full scope of this book.

Worldbuilding:
Political environments play a large role in worldbuilding and I really enjoyed the politics in this book. Which is to say I liked the world-building quite a bit. The magic system was explained to some extent but it wasn't elaborated on. This is hella irritating because half the book I was there like "Oo, shiny rock that has firepower. Oooo shiny rock that makes people pretty, nice."

Character development:
Theo's development felt extremely rushed. It didn't make much sense that she went from doing nothing for her people to putting her life on the line in a matter of a few chapters. I get that the story only really starts after she's decided to stand up for herself and her people but if the author had taken a little more time elaborating on Theo's inner conflict, it would've felt more realistic.

Character relationships:
Where things fell a bit short was the romance. Why oh why was Blaise even there? Theo x Blaise is giving major Katniss x Gale vibes and I'm not here for it. But Theo and Soren....
amazing.
They are what Cal and Mare wish they were.
I said what I said.

Cress and Theo's friendship is extremely toxic. Cress is a clear example of a bystander and that in itself is bad, but it gets worst. Theo thinks that she should be happy that Cress had befriended her so she doesn't speak out about everything clearly wrong with how she's treated by Cress. And I had a strong impression that Cress had only befriended Theo so she could have someone to rant to without having to deal with their issues as well. A one-sided friendship.

Overall, this book did have its ups and downs but I did enjoy it a lot so 4.3 stars!

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May 09, 2018 Paromjit rated it really liked it

This dark YA fantasy is the debut novel of Laura Sebastian, it is the first of a planned trilogy. 16 year old Theodosia Houzzara has suffered the nightmare of 10 long years as a prisoner of the Kalovaxians and the tyrant King Kaiser. Her mother, the Queen, was murdered in front of her eyes when she was 6, the country was conquered, land taken and resources pillaged. Theo is shamefully known as the Ash Princess, and her people have been enslaved, any murmurs or acts that challenge the dismal mise This dark YA fantasy is the debut novel of Laura Sebastian, it is the first of a planned trilogy. 16 year old Theodosia Houzzara has suffered the nightmare of 10 long years as a prisoner of the Kalovaxians and the tyrant King Kaiser. Her mother, the Queen, was murdered in front of her eyes when she was 6, the country was conquered, land taken and resources pillaged. Theo is shamefully known as the Ash Princess, and her people have been enslaved, any murmurs or acts that challenge the dismal misery of the Kaiser's rule results in Theo being cruelly punished, torture has left her body with a mass of scars. Theo has put up with the horror that is her life, but when she is forced into unspeakable territory by Kaiser, it is the last straw. She has had enough, there has to be more to life than this, and even though she knows she could die, she finds the backbone to resist and fight back. She is smart and intelligent, this will take her far, and she is not alone, there are others who will do anything to remove the violent oppression under which they live.

Sebastian does some intricate world building, and within the kingdom there are powerful caves with magical gems, although one has to earn the ability to use the gems. Rebel leadership takes its toll on Theo, she experiences inner turmoil as to the price and consequences of her actions and decisions. It is not surprising after the life she has led that she should struggle, not to mention that she is young and facing a steep learning curve, and there are expectations of her that she has to mentally sort through. This is a story of intrigue, betrayal, gods, loss, brutal savagery, friendship, magic, war, complicated romantic entanglements and unbearable injustice. The narrative travels a well trodden path with its established fantasy tropes, but the tale is told well, well plotted and packed with twists. I found it a compelling and atmospheric read with its wide cast of characters. I should warn readers that there is abuse and rape in the novel. Many thanks to Pan MacMillan for an ARC.

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"I was a princess made of ashes; there is nothing left of me to burn.
Now it's time for a queen to rise."

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

A great surprise!

I didn't expect much from Ash Princess when I bought it for 99 cents a couple of weeks ago. So I am all the more pleased to be able to say that I really liked it.

The story itself is not very imaginative, but I think the character development during the course of the book is very well done. At first glance, princess Theodosia Eirene Houzzara is like

"I was a princess made of ashes; there is nothing left of me to burn.
Now it's time for a queen to rise."

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

A great surprise!

I didn't expect much from Ash Princess when I bought it for 99 cents a couple of weeks ago. So I am all the more pleased to be able to say that I really liked it.

The story itself is not very imaginative, but I think the character development during the course of the book is very well done. At first glance, princess Theodosia Eirene Houzzara is like any other female protagonist; stubborn, strong-willed, a bit annoying and unaware of the fact that she's, guess what, The Chosen One.
But the more you read, the more you realize that she actually has some depth and a very good and realistic personality. Theo is clever, shows compassion when others do not and actually has a guilty conscience over betraying someone she likes, even if this person is an enemy of her and her people. She also doesn't jump the gun when dealing with decisions affecting the lives of others, especially those of innocent Kalovaxians (which, at the end of the day, are still her enemies). A quality a good queen needs.

All in all, the characters were very well written in my opinion, the only exception being Blaise. I really can't stand his guts. He reminds me a lot of Gale Hawthorne from The Hunger Games - another guy I'd like to push down a cliff. I'm not going into too much detail because the ranting wouldn't stop, but let me just tell you that he's nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to Søren or my precious litte buttercup Heron. Oh, Heron. I really hope you get the happy ending you so much deserve.

Anyways, I'm really hooked now and can't wait to continue with this series! Give it a shot and let me know if you've enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thanks for reading, lovelies!

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

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Aug 24, 2017 Kayla rated it really liked it  · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of ToG, Falling Kingdoms & Kiss of Deception.

Hey Ya'll!

I received this ARC of Ash Princess, coming out April 24 of 2018, from a Goodreads giveaway and I picked it up immediately when it arrived at my house. This book, as you'll read in other reviews, started out trying to be the Falling Kingdoms series. I'm not even going to lie, the first maybe 15% wasn't that unique. But by the end of the book it had come into it's own and earned itself a 5 star rating from me, which as you guys probably know not many books get. A book really has to blow

Hey Ya'll!

I received this ARC of Ash Princess, coming out April 24 of 2018, from a Goodreads giveaway and I picked it up immediately when it arrived at my house. This book, as you'll read in other reviews, started out trying to be the Falling Kingdoms series. I'm not even going to lie, the first maybe 15% wasn't that unique. But by the end of the book it had come into it's own and earned itself a 5 star rating from me, which as you guys probably know not many books get. A book really has to blow me away to get 5 stars, and this one really did. Keep on reading for my in-depth, spoiler-free review on this ARC.

You can also see this review here, on my blog.

Synopsis
Theodosia was very young when her country was taken over by the Kalovaxians and her mother, the Fire Queen, Daughter of the Fire God Houzzah, was slaughtered before her eyes. She never knew why her life was spared. She is being kept prisoner, regularly punished for things her people do in rebellion, and has been dubbed the Princess of Ashes. All of this hasn't broken her, but when one of her people is captured and she is forced to carry out his punishment, her resolve is broken and it's the start of Theo rebelling against the cruel Kaiser who has kept her under his thumb for all of her life.

Working with three other rebels, Art, Blaise, and Heron, she works to bring down the Kaiser from inside. The rest of the book is the group playing out their plans, including inciting the rebellion of the Crown Prince against his father, poison, and murder.

My Thoughts
The World

The first thing I want to talk about is the world, because this is the weakest part of the book and almost dropped it down to a four star for me. To be honest, there really wasn't that much about the world that was super unique, and I think maybe because there really wasn't much focus on the world or the world building at all. This book very much focused on the intrigue, drama, and plot and unfortunately that really left something to be desired in the world building aspect of the book.

"Today is done, the time has come
For little birds to fly.
Tomorrow is near, the time is here
For old crows to die." (296)

The first thing I need to address is the big "conflict" at the beginning of the book. This is what makes her finally want to do something about her situation, but it was honestly really not that conflicting. She does what she needs to, but honestly she doesn't seem that broken up about it, and I expected her allies to be pissed when they learned about it and they weren't. That really confused me, if I'm being honest.

The only things that really set this book apart from others world-building-wise was the Spiritgems, the underlying religious aspects that come up, and the Kalovaxian culture that is introduced, specifically the Kaiser and his part in everything, as well as the Kalovaxian conquering of quite a few countries. I am really hoping that in the next book, Lady Smoke (which comes out Spring 2019), we will get to learn more about the history of the Kalovaxians and get to explore the world more now that Theodosia isn't tied to her castle.

As for the Spiritgems, I really enjoyed reading about Theodosia's inner struggle regarding using them. In this world, you are not supposed to use Spiritgems unless you have earned them. You earn them basically by going on a pilgrimage and spending a lot of time praying to your chosen God, who might then decide you are worthy and gift you magic, THEN you can use the Spiritgems. The Astreans, Theodosia's people, believe that using the Spiritgems without the blessing of your god will result in being denied access to the After, and your spirit will be forced to walk the world as a Shade, never to see your loved ones again. This is why even though Theo has quite easy access to Spiritgems if she wanted, she chooses not to use Houzzah's power that runs in her blood, because the one thing that has really kept her going when she had no one was knowing she would see her mother in the After.

The Characters

The next thing I want to talk about is the characters, which were very well-developed and were all very distinct from each other. I'll go from my most favorite characters down to the characters I'm meh about. I'm actually going to talk about the character Crescentia first, because she started out as a very flat, annoying character and turned into a vengeful badass and I can't wait to see what she does in the next book.

Crescentia, or Cress, is the daughter to the Theyn, the man who slit Theo's mother's throat. Cress, despite the odds, became a very good friend to Theo over the years of her capture, and really did what she could to make Theo, or Thora as the Kalovaxians call her, feel like she belonged. It's hard to talk about her development without spoilers, but throughout the book you will realize that Cress really does her best to ignore all the bad things that happen to Theo and her fellow Astreans. She doesn't care that she was inadvertently a part of enslaving an entire race of people, and doesn't even blink an eye when she talks about all the countries the Kaiser has conquered before Astrea.

"It may be that I was a fool to trust Cress, not because of who she is but because of how she was raised. This is the only world she knows, and though it's a nightmare to me, it's a world she's at home in. I suppose it's easy to be at home in a world where you are on top. It's easy not to notice those whose backs you stand on to stay there. One doesn't even see them" (250).

To me, when Cress finally shows her true self everything starts to make sense. Cress' main motivation as a character is marrying the Crown Prince and becoming the future Kaiserin; she is definitely a character that would put her ambitions above anything else, and will do petty things to people who are supposed to be her friends to be successful in her goals.

"You as well, Lady Thora. You both look lovely, of course," he says pulling my chair out for me. When he goes to push me in, he drops his voice low so that only I can hear it. "Did you lose a bet of some kind?"
I stifle a grimace. "Crescentia was kind enough to lend me her dress."
"Yes," he says, barely holding back laughter. "Very kind." (157)

Theo is my next favorite character, clearly with the strongest backstory of them all as the main character. All Theo can think when Blaise first comes to try and save her is that she will finally escape, but she puts the needs of her people above her own and chooses to instead stay and try to gain any information she can.

"Something in me is waking up. This is not my home. I am not their prize. I am not content with the life they have so kindly spared. Ampelio can't save me anymore…I have to figure out how to save myself" (34).

She struggles with the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders, and the expectations of Art, Blaise, and Heron and tries to live up to their expectations as best she can. But she also struggles with the things they want her to do, to people she has come to see as her friends, Kalovaxian or not. Her strength as a character is incredible, I can't imagine living through the punishments she's been dealt her entire life, and still be standing as long as she has. I also understand through reading this book, that so far a lot of her character we've seen have been personalities she seems to be able to conjure out of thin air, and she herself separates these personalities in her head. "Thora" is a broken Ash Princess, who only wants to stay alive and please the Kaiser, and is Cress' best friend. She is "Theodosia" when she needs to be seen as a queen by her people, often her tell for this is literally just her behavior. She tries to act like her mother, commanding, shoulders back, pride in her stature. She always has to stay in one of her "characters" no matter who is around. When Art, Theo, and Heron are around she feels she can't relax, because if they see her break under the pressure of her situation she will lose their respect. When she is Thora, she can't afford to play anything but the broken girl she's been for years, for fear of punishment by the Kaiser.

The next character I've come to really love and understand is Art, or Artemisia. She starts off, plainly, as an asshole. She believes that Theo has lived a plush and comfortable life in a gilded cage, and really doesn't understand why Theo needs "rescuing". She really had no respect for her, and always comes across very caustic and rude. She is the daughter to Dragonsbane, a pirate that has been a thorn in the Kaiser's side since the conquering of Astrea, and is equally a badass. Her story eventually expands an we learn more about her past and the development of the eventual friendship between Art and Theo.

Blaise is pretty okay as a character. He is a blast from her past, as they used to play together as children, and really ends up being a built in love interest for Theo. I honestly wasn't upset about it at all, even if it is pretty trope-y, because it's so tragic, and if something happens in the next book that I think is going to happen I will be seriously so upset.

"This is a kiss of acceptance, for him as well as me. It's forgiveness for things we've done that are unforgivable. I love him, but the realization doesn't feel like plunging into ice water the way it does when I try to pull apart my feelings for Soren. Because falling in love with Blaise was always going to happen, even if we lived in a simpler world where the siege never happened. Even if we were both unscarred. We were always going to end up here.

I can see it before me as clearly as if I'm looking through a window: our parents still alive and happy and teasing us for every tiny show of affection, Blaise and I walking through my mother's garden hand in hand, kissing him goodbye when he leaves for his Guardian trials, kissing him hello again when he finally returns. I want that life so badly my chest aches, and there is nothing wouldn't give to have it." (303)

Then there's Heron, Dragonsbane, Soren, and the Kaiser. Honestly, these are all characters I am pretty meh about. Soren was a total hypocrite, saying he wanted to be nothing like his father and then turning out to be exactly like him. Heron I just don't know enough about and I really want to. Dragonsbane I feel like I just am never going to like, because of who she is and what she could have done but never did. Finally, I feel like the Kaiser is just the typical villain. There's nothing about him that's redeeming, or that makes him human. At least the Theyn was human in that he loved his daughter more than anything, but honestly the Kaiser seems to look at everything as an experiment in economics, science, and cruelty. He's, plainly put, a psychopath.

The Storyline

Honestly, it was very well written. All the different plots and subplots, and scheming and character development was incredibly well done. There were definitely flaws, but this was the kind of book I could pick up and read in one sitting. That, for me, pretty much completely wipes out the tiny things that annoyed me.

I don't know that I agree with what happened with Soren at the end of the book, but it certainly sets up a lot for the sequels (this is meant to be a trilogy at series-end).

I definitely have some questions that need to be answered, and things that definitely need to improve and pan out in the sequels to make me happy with the way the first book went, but I won't know until then if the whole story ARC is 5 stars.

Random Comments on the Book/Series as a Whole

I couldn't find the page because I didn't mark it, but there was only one (1) "I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding", which is a pretty good thing to note as that phrase pisses me off beyond belief.

I want certain things to happen with Cress in the future books and I'll be pretty upset if they don't. I want Cress to accomplish her goal of being the Kaiserin but in a different way than she originally planned. I want a dual perspective storyline, with Cress being the secondary narrator.

I'm also hoping we see more of Art. She was a totally boss character, which you will definitely dislike when you first meet but I promise she will win you over.

To be honest, I have so many expectations for book two and I don't know how it's going to go if she doesn't meet or exceed them. I really hate second book syndrome, and I'm seriously hoping that the rest of the books live up to the standards that have been set from the first book in the series.

All quotes were taken from an Advanced Reading copy and are subject to change upon publication.
___________________________________________________________
It had it's faults but honestly that was one of the best books I've read in a pretty long time. And now I have to wait until 2019 for the next one *facepalm*

GUYS I JUST GOT MY ARC AND IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL ;D
I am so picking this up after I'm done reading All the Crooked Saints

Getting the notification that I was a winner for the goodreads giveaway for this book actually made me do my happy dance.

At least GR has my back when Edelweiss doesn't. Yeah, im still mad about that.

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*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher (macmillan)*

*This does not affect my views or opinions*

To start off with, the writing was wonderful. It was so well written, it flowed so well, was descriptive, but not overly so.  The pacing was spot on, and the world building was wonderful. The characters were all well developed too, and I liked them and had interest in whether or not they survived from pretty early on in the book.

However, the thing is, it a

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher (macmillan)*

*This does not affect my views or opinions*

To start off with, the writing was wonderful. It was so well written, it flowed so well, was descriptive, but not overly so.  The pacing was spot on, and the world building was wonderful. The characters were all well developed too, and I liked them and had interest in whether or not they survived from pretty early on in the book.

However, the thing is, it all felt familiar. The characters all felt like ones I'd met before, and the story felt like one I'd already read many times. The general feel of the book was very stereotypical of a YA fantasy, and had elements that I've read in a lot of other YA fantasy. There just wasn't really anything unique or different about this particular book. The Magic system was the only thing that had slight difference, but it wasn't enough to make this book unique, or make it stand out from all the other YA fantasies out there.

Hopefully the story will develop more, and become more unique in the following books, because I really enjoyed the writing, but unfortunately, the plot was just too samey for me to rate it any higher than I have.

Rating breakdown:

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 4.5/5

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⭐️ 2.5 Stars ⭐️

Theodosia, also known as Theo, is the princess of Astrea. But when the Kalovaxians attack Theo loses everything. Her mother, the queen, is now dead, and all the citizens of Astrea are now slaves to the Kalovaxians. Theo was named the Ash Princess and is now a captive in her palace. She has endured relentless abuse from the Kaiser and was portrayed as a weak, broken little girl. But after the Kaiser makes her an unthinkable act, she realizes that she must fight back for her kingdom

⭐️ 2.5 Stars ⭐️

Theodosia, also known as Theo, is the princess of Astrea. But when the Kalovaxians attack Theo loses everything. Her mother, the queen, is now dead, and all the citizens of Astrea are now slaves to the Kalovaxians. Theo was named the Ash Princess and is now a captive in her palace. She has endured relentless abuse from the Kaiser and was portrayed as a weak, broken little girl. But after the Kaiser makes her an unthinkable act, she realizes that she must fight back for her kingdom and not just survive.

The plot of this book is unoriginal, and nothing interesting happens. It's a predictable plot, and you can guess what happens. Theo teams up with rebels. They then come up with complicated schemes to tear down the Kalovaxians. She escapes the castle and forms an army. The plot just seemed like any other YA Fantasy book, which was a disappointment. I wish it had unexpected twists that you would not be expecting. But it doesn't.

The love triangle in this book was unnecessary and cheesy at times. For contender one, we have Blaise, who is Theo's childhood friend from birth. For contender two, we have Soren, the Kalovaxian Prinz, who has a soft heart. We did not need this at all. I think it would have been better if Theo didn't have a love interest, let alone two. I feel like it would have been more empowering to show that she doesn't need a man, but she can survive. But no, we have to get a love triangle.

As we know, Theo was kept alive by the Kaiser, which doesn't make much sense to me. Yes, they do explain why but the reasoning makes no sense. If you keep Theo alive, she could rally the people of Astrea to revolt even if you beat her and degrade her. She is still going to inspire hope for the Astreans to gain their land back, so why do you even risk the chance of having that happen. If you want to stop the reinstatement of a rightful monarch, you would kill the monarch. It makes the Kaiser look dumb for making that decision and diminishes his character.

I wasn't a fan of Theo. She practically lives in luxury for the most part. She gets to wear fancy dresses, go to events in the palace, and have Cress as a friend, who is a Kalovaxian. I'm not diminishing her punishments and the ridicule she faces. I'm just saying that besides that, she is living in luxury. After the first girl said she would help Theo escape, the girl betrays her. Since then, She has done nothing. Her people are dying in the thousands from the mines, but she does nothing. She doesn't do anything till she sees Blaise and then plots to take her throne back. But she can't even carry out the plans because she cares too much for the people they want her to kill. She is too indecisive, and her inability to care out plans causes her to be annoying.

I wish we got more from the spirit gems. In the book, we are told spirit gems that give the user powers, and they are more powerful if you know how to use them. The Kalovaxians don't know how to use them and instead use them for basic needs like warmth and beauty. Theo knows how to use them (Which how does she if Astrea was destroyed when she was six and has not allowed the possession of one since.) She has swiped them before, and there are hundreds of them in the castle. I don't understand why she doesn't take one and use it. As the queen, she can't use them because she won't make it to the afterlife. Honestly, Theo wouldn't you want to save thousands of your people in exchange for going to the afterlife? It seems like a no-brainer. There are still many questions I have about the spirit gems like…

- How were they made?
- Why were they made?
- Why are they important?
- How do you become a guardian and who decides what spirit gem each one uses?

I would have liked to know more about them, and I feel like we only got the bare minimum about them. It's an intriguing concept that I wish was expanded upon more.

The author also has a tendency to repeat the same words to describe the character's reactions. I'm not exaggerating but it's a lot! Here is a list that shows most of them. Credit to Bhavya for the list!

Smile
"I'm fine," I say instead, forcing a smile she sees through immediately.
"You're right," I lie with a smile.
"I tell her with what I hope passes as a demure smile."
"I paste a smile on my face as well."
"Crescentia adds with a dimpled smile."
"I give her a reassuring smile as Søren helps her off the ship."
"I don my most innocent smile and link my arm through Erik's."
"Kaiser's orders," he says with a tight smile. "I'm sure he has his reasons."
"He always does," I reply, hoping my smile looks more natural than it feels.
"I force a high, false laugh, keeping my smile frozen and speaking in Astrean for extra measure."
Elpis is bewildered. "Smile," I tell her"
"I look up at the guard and give him my sweetest smile, though it doesn't seem to do much good. His face remains frozen."
"Søren grimaces, but his eyes are smiling"
"I tighten my smile so that it looks vaguely forced"
"All it takes are wide eyes, tentative smiles, and a wolf at my heels."
"I shrug, but my smile is feral."
"Her eyes linger on me a moment longer before her mouth curls into a tight smile and she clasps her hands in front of her.
"Her smile is wan."
"Her mouth twitches into something that might be a smile."
"but he was a gangly boy with an easy smile."
"I smile pleasantly at the barrage of courtiers"
"I say, forcing a smile."
"Blaise must see where it's going, because a grim smile stretches across his face."
"The thought of it causes a smile to rise to my lips."
"I smile."
"I give Elpis a smile of thanks"
"Cress smiles, relief flooding her face"
"Have you ever seen him smile?"
"My father doesn't smile much either."
"I force a smile."
"Her smile is sweet but false."
"Her words rankle, but I try not to show it, forcing a smile instead."
"Her smile grows somewhat warmer as she calls for Elpis to come dress her hair."
"She glances at the pin in my hair, set with simple pearls, lips pursing thoughtfully."
"I add with a smile."
"He smiles, relieved."
"With a gracious smile..."
"her eyes boring into me no matter how many reassuring smiles I give her."
"but I force a smile and try not to let him see it.
He manages a smile, but he still doesn't look at me."
"but he catches my look and smiles.""
"He shakes his head and smiles. It's the first time I've seen him really smile,
"He shakes his head and forces a smile."
"Søren softens, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"He smiles and passes me the fork."
but Crescentia's smile"
"Her smile faltered."
"but I resisted and after a moment she nodded."
"I smile at her"
"I don't answer him except to nod."
"If I were alone, I might smile."
"I say, hoping for a smile."
"she says with a smile so sweet I know it must be fake."
"Art's smile turns feral"
"Her smile is cruel and mocking."
"but I get the feeling he's nodding."
"giving him a dimpled smile here"
"... watch Crescentia as she gives the Kaiser a dimpled smile"
"Crescentia turns our way and her blinding smile grows wider."
"I tell her with a forced smile I hope seems natural."
"she replies with a smile that feels like a blow to my heart."
"her mouth is smiling as she nudges me toward him."
"She smiles slightly, her shoulders relaxing."
"... taking my hands in hers and smiling."
"She gives me a smile so sad..."
"... fair eyebrows arched over a bemused smile."
"An uncertain smile tugs at her lips..."
"Her smile lingers for a moment..."
"She has the same smile as Søren."
"Elpis gives me a small smile."
".... she murmurs, her smile rare and wide."
"... I say, smiling."
"Her smile is genuine, relieved."
"After a second, she gives me a smile"
"Cress's smile softens into something more natural."
"I ask with a bland smile..."
"I glance up at him through my eyelashes and summon my sweetest smile."
"His smile broadens and he leans back in the chair, which creaks under his girth."
"Søren's open smile on the boat"
"I can't help but smile."
"A small smile works its way to Elpis's mouth,
"He breaks into a lopsided smile when he sees me."
"Even with the wall between us, I know she's smiling."
"I nod, fighting a smile."
"Cress's smile is beatific as she does just that, picking up the book of Elcourtian histories."
"I'm going to miss her smile."
"Her smile is a brittle."
"She smiles and gives my hand a squeeze before releasing it."
"She smiles, relieved."
"She looks back to me, pale eyebrows raised, smile tentative."
"I try to smile at him"
"He means it as a comfort and I smile at him and pretend to be comforted,"
"I am rage and hurt and hatred, but I force that aside and give him a small, tentative smile,"
"He smiles like a wolf closing in on its prey"
"...and I will smile"
"... and though he flashes a smile at Søren""
"I say with a half smile."
"Heron smiles"
"When I comply, a smile ghosts across his face."
" She was smiling bigger than I'd ever seen her."
"She smiles and it is wild and triumphant, despite everything."
"Crescentia was pretty and sweet and always smiling."
"I say, twisting my mouth into a cruel smile."
"Her mouth tightens and she mirrors my mockery of a smile."
"I hope my smile looks more real than it feels."
"I can't help but smile."
"... my smile slides away."
"and he almost smiles."
"He's smiling"
"he says with a tired smile"
"Then wave, at least, and smile"
"... it doesn't have the warmth my mother's smile always held."
"I tell her, pasting on the fake smile I always wore at court."
"We do," she says, matching my smile.
"... her smile has gone feral."

Mouth Pursing/Pressing
"She purses her lips."
"I purse my lips and turn the question over in my mind."
"I say, and do my best impression of stone-faced Søren, furrowing my brow and pursing my lips.
"Her mouth purses before curving into a grin."
"she says pursing her lips."
"... jaw tight, eyes hard, mouth pursed..."
"She nods, pressing her lips together thoughtfully."
"I press my lips together."
"I press my lips together to keep my protest down."
"She pauses and presses her lips together..."

Tight
"Kaiser's orders," he says with a tight smile
I keep a tight hold on my smile.
"What is it you want from me, my lady?" she asks me, her voice tight ."

Grunt
"He gives a grunt that I interpret as acceptance, but it isn't a promise."
"He grunts in response and I have no choice but to take that as assent."
"he grunts..."

Wrinkling Nose
"I wrinkle my nose."
"I tell him, wrinkling my nose."

Nod
"I nod toward my vanity"
"She nodded"
"She nods, her eyes solemn."
"She nods, pressing her lips together thoughtfully."
"My throat tightens so much that I can't speak, only nod."
"She nods once at me before turning her attention to the Kaiser..."
"I nod, trying to look placated"
"The Kaiser nods to the guard behind me"
"I nod."
"I nod my thanks..."
"I nod even though I'm not sure he's right."
"He nods."

Shakes Head
He shakes his head and smiles."
He shakes his head and forces a smile."
"He shakes his head."
"Søren shakes his head."
"He shakes his head."

How did the author and editors notice the repetition of the same words?!?!

It just felt like any YA book to me. Bland characters, a reused plot, and a magic system that was somewhat different but still felt similar to others. There was barely anything fresh and new. The characters felt like other characters I have read about before, and the plot was recycled from countless other books.

TW: Slavery, Blood, abuse, torture, and rape (non-graphic).

Check out my review on my blog: https://inkingandthinking.wordpress.c...

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Jun 18, 2018 Riley rated it it was ok

2.5/3 stars

This wasn't horrible but the similarities to Ruined by Amy Tintera are so much that I am side-eyeing a bit. The plots and characters were almost identical.
The romance played a big part in this book and it was so bland I ended up skimming those scenes.

I probably won't continue this series since it added nothing new to so many YA fantasies I've read before.

2.5/3 stars

This wasn't horrible but the similarities to Ruined by Amy Tintera are so much that I am side-eyeing a bit. The plots and characters were almost identical.
The romance played a big part in this book and it was so bland I ended up skimming those scenes.

I probably won't continue this series since it added nothing new to so many YA fantasies I've read before.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! I have to say; this completely exceeded my expectations. I went into this thinking that I'd probably be bored, but boy was I wrong. Laura Sebastian is an excellent writer. From the way she constructed the words to the way she made the story flow is... *chef's kiss*

I loved the universe that the Ash Princess was built in. Elemental powers from stone gems? Maybe I'm just a newbie to the YA world, but that made me giddy. I ravaged this book because I was just very immersed in the world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! I have to say; this completely exceeded my expectations. I went into this thinking that I'd probably be bored, but boy was I wrong. Laura Sebastian is an excellent writer. From the way she constructed the words to the way she made the story flow is... *chef's kiss*

I loved the universe that the Ash Princess was built in. Elemental powers from stone gems? Maybe I'm just a newbie to the YA world, but that made me giddy. I ravaged this book because I was just very immersed in the world.

I also loved the inner battle Theo had, whether to stay silent with her head down or risk everything and maybe be free. It is a very beautiful story, with commentary about war, injustice, and subtle racism.

I especially loved Søren. He is unique in my eyes and a much better love interest than plain old Blaise. Reading all of Theo's scenes with Søren made me smile like I was experiencing them myself. I giggled few times while reading that boat scene. Finally, there was Cress. I have to say, I kind of saw it from the beginning of how her relationship with Theo would end. Deep down, though, I still wished that maybe Cress would also turn. I guess that's just wishful thinking.

Annyyywaaaayy, this is definitely 9/10 worth the read. Would've been 10/10 and 5 stars if only there were more... explicit scenes. Lol.

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This is just not happening right now, but I do think I might enjoy this some other time, so I'm setting it aside for now. I think I just need to get over this ridiculous burnout I have RE: "lost royals" stories in YA fantasy. This is just not happening right now, but I do think I might enjoy this some other time, so I'm setting it aside for now. I think I just need to get over this ridiculous burnout I have RE: "lost royals" stories in YA fantasy. ...more

I write YA books and I'm also entrusted with taking care of other people's children. I write books about girls who are strong in all different ways, usually with a healthy dollop of magic and a few dragons.

I live in NYC with my extraordinarily fluffy dog, Neville.

I write YA books and I'm also entrusted with taking care of other people's children. I write books about girls who are strong in all different ways, usually with a healthy dollop of magic and a few dragons.

I live in NYC with my extraordinarily fluffy dog, Neville.

...more

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