Reviews - The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

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The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

“She looked at him like he was the sun. And he looked at her like she was the moon.”

sobbing. SOBBING. this book/series felt like a culmination of a bunch of other series (ACOTAR, FBaA are the ones that immediately come to mind), and while the tropes that she wrote into the story weren't necessarily original, I think she did such a good job executing it. The second book picked up right where the first ended, and like the first there was never a point where I felt things were dragging or rushing.

I loved how she handled Oraya and Raihn's relationship. In so many of these stories I feel like there isn't enough tension or conflict before the mcs are falling for each other again. Ofc some things are quickened but this one felt way more real and paced. Vincent is one of the most complex characters I've seen. No one knows his thoughts or motives or secrets, and ig we'll never know since he's DEAD HAH. He's terrible obv but you can really tell how ambiguous he is just based off how he treated Oraya.

I'm so glad the author ended it at two books, really solid ending at a great time. No need to make this a seven 800 pAGE SERIES . . . super excited to hear about Mische's journey since there were so many unanswered questions about her and her arc has so much potential. much love.

jacintasousa's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bexbringsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

I am not unhappy about how this duology resolved, but over the course of my reading, my opinion went through a huge range of how much I was enjoying it. Still lovely writing, the actual prose is beautiful, but it didn’t hold my attention the same way book one did. Possibly because this one pivots from the plot/action focus of the first one to a more character driven story. Most of the time I enjoy a character study, however by the time I was two thirds of way through, it felt like the plot had been sacrificed on the altar of character. I just don’t think it felt balanced enough. That said, after putting the book down for literal weeks because it wasn’t holding my attention, the last quarter of the book pulled the three stars I was going to rate it up to four. I would read more about these characters but I also think it would be cool to see how the way this ended would be referenced in the future of this world, as history. How the decisions made changed their world, and the consequences that result. Because even though this was AN end, it definitely wasn’t THE end.

kassafras's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sydneyglander5's review against another edition

3.0

Hey guys, I'm back to review this.

When compared to the first book of this series, this one flopped so hard. Its plot was decent, and progressed alright, but its actual writing style and feel was just so off. The dynamic of Raihn and Oraya was sort of the same as the first, but their tension completely disappeared. I often zoned out, or just kinda skipped through some of the chapters after the first 200 pages because the flow of the book just kinda stopped in the middle of it. I could guess the ending once I got to about the halfway point, which really dulled this read. There was no crazy twist or page-turning tension, and the ending itself was just ok. Nothing special or super unique for this type of book. Overall, it didn't live up to the hype of the first book, and the writing was plain. 3/5.