Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

Okay okay okay. So. I devoured the first one, read 6SR, and hopped straight into this one. The first 30-40% of this book is distrust, trauma, and political disasters, without a ton of action right away. It picks up really nicely from the last one but it didn't seem like a ton of super super important stuff happened until after the first third-ish of the book. It felt like some stuff could've been cut out, but it's weird bc the ending felt a little rushed? Like everything needed to end with a nice bow bc we're done with oraya and raihn now. If some of the earlier stuff had been swapped to fill out the end more I would've liked that better. The stakes didn't feel quite as high this time I think, which is weird considering the circumstances of this book? But I think it's bc there weren't really any major character deaths and the action took a minute to get to.

raihn and oraya's takeover at the very end should've been more complicated than it was. Idk maybe it's just me but a time skip of a few weeks and summing it up to "we scared everyone out of rebelling and now they're probably loyal to us?" felt too easy. I don't mind a lot, I think I'd rather have that over the mildly-drawn-out politics of the beginning of the book again, but it did feel very glazed over. I think something like listing a few names of nobles who didn't bow down right away would've been good to slip in and keep in her back pocket for later would've been good, but idk. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Getting more story with Vincent and Septimus was great, but I feel like more on Jesmine would've been nice too though. I like Vale but he felt a little flat compared to who he was in 6SR, so I'm definitely glad I read the novella first otherwise he might've been easy to dislike. I'd have liked Lilith to be more than kind of a plot device for the main event that happens with her and Vale in this one? But I'm super attached to Lilith at this point tbh.

Watching oraya deal with her loss of trust in Vincent first and then raihn immediately after was very relatable and it was nice to see that there is no easy, one-size-fits-all answer for having conflicting feelings about loving someone who hurt you and broke your trust. Especially with Vincent, realizing someone close to you did a bunch of fucked up shit, even in the name of what they thought was love and protection, and then dealing with all of that baggage. Damn dude. Hit the nail on the head to see her reconcile with that and not find an easy solution, or one at all.

Overall the plot isn't quite as edge-of-your-seat as the last one until the last third of the book, give or take. Still an excellent book. I loved that the first one was enemies to lovers and the second one did it all over again but without it feeling repetitive. There were still "folds" and "slit" in the smut, which I boo wholeheartedly, but it didn't make me hate it. The romance and intimacy was very good, some of it had me actually grinning. There's a particular couple of chapters with dual POV bitey smut and when I tell you WHEW I mean WHEW. 🥵 So good. But ANYWAY very good book, despite being a little slow sometimes. Seeing oraya and raihn come apart and back together to save their home was fulfilling and I really enjoyed it. I'll be waiting eagerly for the next one. 🖤

Content Warnings

alyssanue's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

To be honest, yes, I liked it but it left me wanting a little more of the MC and the story. Going into a last book of a story you always have a lot of expectations for a satisfying ending but I have to say that this ending left me a little unsatisfied. The "red string" in the storyline was a little jumpy and so much was happening to advance the plot line. And at the end *SPOILER* Oriya chooses Rhain AGAIN over everything else. I get it girl, you love him, but goddamn you could have been so powerful ... And please tell me that Septimius will come back cause that open ass ending after the "fade to black" on the battlefield was just not it ...

Content Warnings

edilyaaang's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Usually, when I really like the first book, the second one doesn't usually meet my expectations. But this one topped it, damn it. The first few chapters were slow but when it gained momentum, it took me to a rollercoaster ride. I can't wait for Mische's story!

Content Warnings

urtchen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

abundance_of_fiction's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Felt that the sequel had a bit of a slow start, and I was not prepared for all the angst, but it made a lot of sense to depict how the MCs were dealing with grief and change. Again, a lot of the plot was predictable from hints but still enjoyable! I devoured Oraya and Raihn’s story and cannot wait for the next duology in the universe!

Content Warnings

reads_all_the_books's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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