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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This book is so uncompromisingly brutal and ruthless that it left me with a hangover where I just stared into the distance wondering, Who am I? What do I have to live for?
Theo is the rightful ruler of her country, conquered by the Kalovaxians when she was little, and the Kalovaxian king keeps her around as a puppet member of his court so that he can use her as a whipping boy whenever he feels like it. She has to survive by pretending to buy in to Kalovaxian court life, when really she wants to burn it all down. Ash Princess is basically the chronicle of Theo burning everything down.
Ash Princess skirts the line between "compellingly horrible" and "TOO horrible." There were moments where I was just like... yeah, everyone in this world should just kill themselves. There is no escape, and there's nothing they can do to make it better. Just end it. For me, though, it landed just barely on the side of "compellingly horrible." If the later sequels are able to pull it out, and show that there is, actually, a way back from the darkness, I'll be a fan. If it just gets worse, honestly I don't think there's any point in exploring worse.
The """"""tropey YA fantasy"""""" type elements didn't bother me. The so-called "love triangle" isn't really a love triangle because And what she does to Crescentia? The fact that she refrains from using spiritgem magical powers despite how desperate she is 100% of the time, because doing so will mean she won't see her mother again in the afterlife and that's all she holds on to? There is plenty here that's unique, and I cared a whole lot.
Theo is the rightful ruler of her country, conquered by the Kalovaxians when she was little, and the Kalovaxian king keeps her around as a puppet member of his court so that he can use her as a whipping boy whenever he feels like it. She has to survive by pretending to buy in to Kalovaxian court life, when really she wants to burn it all down. Ash Princess is basically the chronicle of Theo burning everything down.
Ash Princess skirts the line between "compellingly horrible" and "TOO horrible." There were moments where I was just like... yeah, everyone in this world should just kill themselves. There is no escape, and there's nothing they can do to make it better. Just end it. For me, though, it landed just barely on the side of "compellingly horrible." If the later sequels are able to pull it out, and show that there is, actually, a way back from the darkness, I'll be a fan. If it just gets worse, honestly I don't think there's any point in exploring worse.
The """"""tropey YA fantasy"""""" type elements didn't bother me. The so-called "love triangle" isn't really a love triangle because
Spoiler
she betrays and captures one guy and the other guy isn't going to live long enough to be a love interest.
ill be lying if i said this was spectacular writing, it wasn't. there was no imagery, no depth, to the main characters. after reading books like red queen, the selection, his fair assassin series, and every single badass female mc book, this one fell short. i just didn't care and a lot of characters didn't even stick with their original actions. idk why i kept reading this series, im pretty sure these were the only books available at my library.
I am so excited to read the next book! This has everything. Adventure. Unique magic. Court intrigue. Strong character development. Enemies to lovers. It also was everything I wanted from Throne Of Glass and didn't get from that series, which is a cool bonus.
Even though this is yet another book about a princess who lost her family and wants to take over her kingdom again, it felt so different than other stories. For once, our main character was not this strong female character who could do everything alone. She was real. She struggled, she did not know what to do, she had the hardest time doing what should be done, instead of doing what she had done for the last ten years, ignoring her people and their suffering.
It was great to see a story about a young woman who had no clue how to save her kingdom, who was basically raised by the enemies, therefore her own judgment was clouded. At the beginning of the book, we see her waiting for ten years until someone comes and saves her. When she has to kill Ampelio, her father and only hope, she doesn't see that she has to fight to save her people. To be honest, I did not expect her to see it at that moment. People had to go to her, tell her that they believe in her, and even then, she often wanted to be selfish and just live out her life as it was. I get it. She did not ask to be queen, she has lived longer under the oppression of the enemies than in her own lovely, heartwarming home, she is not used to ruling a kingdom, and when she saw her mother rule, she was only a small child, not feeling any responsibilities yet. She has flaws, throughout the whole book, and that is one of the main reasons why I loved it so much. I could understand her, her doubts, her pain, and her reasoning because she was just this seventeen-year-old girl, who just wants to live and not have to spark a rebellion to take back her country. She is not ready for that kind of responsibility, and at the end of the book, I was still doubting if she was ready.
Let's talk about the love triangle. It is very well done, it did not bother me, it is only a small part of the story, and I even doubt if there is any love between Thora/Theo/Theodosia and Blaise. Their first kiss was very strange, and the second time they kissed it felt more as if they were reassuring themselves to be okay, not out of love. So if we are going towards that romance, I hope that the storyline will get more realistic.
The romance with Søren felt real. Søren really seemed to care for her and I think she cares a lot for him as well. I wonder how the story had gone if her Shadows hadn't pushed her to be against him so much. I believe that they could have had a great rebellion with the two of them against the king. However, probably one of them would die and if the author would not have gone that way, the book wouldn't have had five stars as I have given it now.
I loved her highly disturbing friendship with Cress. Obviously, she had no idea how to love someone and only wanted people she could command around and who would have done anything for her. Theodosia had no one, thus she was the perfect best friend. I love the contrast between the friendship and hate that these two characters endure during this story and how their friendship develops.
Overall, I love this book so much because it felt real. The magic system was nice, but not special. The story itself was nice, but not special. The characters, realness, and not shying away from the brutality of it all, made it special for me.
I read a review of someone saying that authors should not use the brutality of the enemies as a way to make their main character strong. I do not believe that our main character was supposed to be strong. She was supposed to be flawed, broken, and afraid. The only reason why she kept going, was the people who started to believe in her and depend on her. Not the brutality of her enemies.
It was great to see a story about a young woman who had no clue how to save her kingdom, who was basically raised by the enemies, therefore her own judgment was clouded. At the beginning of the book, we see her waiting for ten years until someone comes and saves her. When she has to kill Ampelio, her father and only hope, she doesn't see that she has to fight to save her people. To be honest, I did not expect her to see it at that moment. People had to go to her, tell her that they believe in her, and even then, she often wanted to be selfish and just live out her life as it was. I get it. She did not ask to be queen, she has lived longer under the oppression of the enemies than in her own lovely, heartwarming home, she is not used to ruling a kingdom, and when she saw her mother rule, she was only a small child, not feeling any responsibilities yet. She has flaws, throughout the whole book, and that is one of the main reasons why I loved it so much. I could understand her, her doubts, her pain, and her reasoning because she was just this seventeen-year-old girl, who just wants to live and not have to spark a rebellion to take back her country. She is not ready for that kind of responsibility, and at the end of the book, I was still doubting if she was ready.
Let's talk about the love triangle. It is very well done, it did not bother me, it is only a small part of the story, and I even doubt if there is any love between Thora/Theo/Theodosia and Blaise. Their first kiss was very strange, and the second time they kissed it felt more as if they were reassuring themselves to be okay, not out of love. So if we are going towards that romance, I hope that the storyline will get more realistic.
The romance with Søren felt real. Søren really seemed to care for her and I think she cares a lot for him as well. I wonder how the story had gone if her Shadows hadn't pushed her to be against him so much. I believe that they could have had a great rebellion with the two of them against the king. However, probably one of them would die and if the author would not have gone that way, the book wouldn't have had five stars as I have given it now.
I loved her highly disturbing friendship with Cress. Obviously, she had no idea how to love someone and only wanted people she could command around and who would have done anything for her. Theodosia had no one, thus she was the perfect best friend. I love the contrast between the friendship and hate that these two characters endure during this story and how their friendship develops.
Overall, I love this book so much because it felt real. The magic system was nice, but not special. The story itself was nice, but not special. The characters, realness, and not shying away from the brutality of it all, made it special for me.
I read a review of someone saying that authors should not use the brutality of the enemies as a way to make their main character strong. I do not believe that our main character was supposed to be strong. She was supposed to be flawed, broken, and afraid. The only reason why she kept going, was the people who started to believe in her and depend on her. Not the brutality of her enemies.
4.5/5
This book was a ride. If you liked The Winner’s Curse and The Bridge Kingdom, pick up a copy of Ash Princess. The book is riddled political intrigue, revenge, and deception.
I love Theo as a I apologetic warrior queen. It’s a raw and emotional character is forced to make tough decisions as the imprisoned queen of Astrea, living under the rule of the conquering Kalovaxians. While some might write her character off as harsh or scheming, I think it made her a powerful character faced with decisions that were always going to have consequences, no matter what she chose.
The pacing of the book was solid with minor slow points, where the characters did need to plan strategic attacks, but I think it adds to the danger of the world, where one wrong move can get you killed. I wish it hadn’t taken so long for some of the characters’ full personalities to appear, but once they did it added to the richness of the story.
I’m excited to read the next book in the series and see what happens next!
This book was a ride. If you liked The Winner’s Curse and The Bridge Kingdom, pick up a copy of Ash Princess. The book is riddled political intrigue, revenge, and deception.
I love Theo as a I apologetic warrior queen. It’s a raw and emotional character is forced to make tough decisions as the imprisoned queen of Astrea, living under the rule of the conquering Kalovaxians. While some might write her character off as harsh or scheming, I think it made her a powerful character faced with decisions that were always going to have consequences, no matter what she chose.
The pacing of the book was solid with minor slow points, where the characters did need to plan strategic attacks, but I think it adds to the danger of the world, where one wrong move can get you killed. I wish it hadn’t taken so long for some of the characters’ full personalities to appear, but once they did it added to the richness of the story.
I’m excited to read the next book in the series and see what happens next!
if you forget about the slow start and the monolog it's actually a decent book.
For fans of Red Queen or Throne of Glass, here is your next series! Very violent and very treacherous, Ash Princess definitely promises a great read (despite a love triangle which I think is way too overdone).
Grades 8 and up.
Grades 8 and up.
it was ok how like easy it was to read and how entertaining it was to read but boy did the writing annoy me
I loved this book! At first I thought this was a touch predictable, but as it continued onwards it got better and better, the tropes enjoyable when they appeared and a lot of surprises thrown into the mix
2.5
I really wanted to like this book because it seemed to be right up my alley. But I struggled with it from start to finish.
I'm not sure what it was exactly. Maybe it was because Theodosia just wasn't that likable of a character? Or maybe I just read so much fantasy that it just felt very "been-there done-that." Either way it was a struggle. I mean I put it down for 2 months and wasn't in any rush whatsoever to pick it back up. But I felt like it was time for me to suck it up and finish it.
The bright side is the cover is gorgeous! I'll probably end up buying the second book as well for the cover alone. I'll also read it... eventually, but it's not something I feel inclined to NEED right away.
I really wanted to like this book because it seemed to be right up my alley. But I struggled with it from start to finish.
I'm not sure what it was exactly. Maybe it was because Theodosia just wasn't that likable of a character? Or maybe I just read so much fantasy that it just felt very "been-there done-that." Either way it was a struggle. I mean I put it down for 2 months and wasn't in any rush whatsoever to pick it back up. But I felt like it was time for me to suck it up and finish it.
The bright side is the cover is gorgeous! I'll probably end up buying the second book as well for the cover alone. I'll also read it... eventually, but it's not something I feel inclined to NEED right away.