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sweetchocolatez's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: War, Violence, Grief, Murder, Death, Mental illness, Slavery, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Blood, Alcohol, Torture, Death of parent, and Colonisation
rinku's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, Confinement, Colonisation, and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping and Rape
words_and_dreams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
In Book 3 its the final battle as Theo fights to take back her kingdom and free Atrea.
It had a much faster pace than the 2nd book and a lot more happened plot wise.
I like how the trilogy as a whole tackles the complexities of war, how nobody can stay 'innocent' in decisions that need to be made.
I felt that most of the characters had a pretty natural progression in their character arcs, I especially liked Artemisia's. There was alot of action in this installment and we got to see alot more of this worlds magic in use. I enjoyed the dynamic of Theo and Cress, although can't help but wish it had a slightly different conclusion. I was divided in my opinion about Theo as a character, sometimes she was decisive and strong, the next she was telling two different love interests she loved them.
The world was gritty and brutal ( as much as it can be in a YA story) with some pretty awful things happening to people. This made the stakes always feel high. While a couple of the plot points seemed extremely convenient, I did enjoy it and read it really quickly, enjoying the author's writing style.
I like the overall message of how we can do better than what came before, how to not let our trauma define us and how we can find strength and help in others.
Moderate: War
Minor: Blood, Death, Child death, and Torture
tiana_king's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, Grief, Torture, Colonisation, Classism, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Child death, Genocide, and Suicide
Minor: Rape
m_r3ads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Slavery, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
navibo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War, Violence, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Blood, Colonisation, Slavery, and Grief
savanhahope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Torture
Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian is the last book in the Ash Princess series. Honestly, this book fell a little bit flat for me, and felt a bit predictable.
We pick up with Theo existing the Fire Mine, and it turns out it amplified her fire powers. She's stronger than the fire Guardians, but remembers nothing from the mine. Over time pieces of it come back to her, and she realizes she must have passed tests of some sort.
We still have a bit of a love triangle, but luckily for everyone's sake, Blaise and Theo realize they love each other, just not romantically. Speaking of which, Artemisia is definitely aspec, Aromantic at the very least, but she does get a little bit of sapphic action (alloaro maybe?). I loved Heron and Erik's relationship in this one, I'm a sucker for banter.
Cress is straight up crazy in this book, now that she's been scarred by the Encatrio. Her fire power seems to be stronger, but more unstable than Theo's. She is now trying to recruit other women to take the Encatrio to see if any survive to join her in taking down the patriarchy. Although Cress's goal of dismantling the patriarchy is understandable, she goes about it in ways only an oppressor can think to do it. I found Cress to be a commentary on "White feminism" or selective feminism.
I felt like the plot of this book was very predictable, and I felt there were only a couple of scenes that were somewhat exciting. I just expected more bang for the last book of a trilogy. It was nice reading a series where the oppressed actually get the justice they have been fighting for.
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Blood, and Suicide
Minor: Rape and Sexual content