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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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
Really good. Really powerful. I enjoyed the journey and her growth. I really liked how she stuck to her values. I also really felt how troubled she was she it came to her actions it really shows her human side and I’m interested to see how she grows into the Queen she has to be. Also I rlly don’t was Blaise to have mine madness. I’m kinda rooting for him but also know that Soren could be end game (he has potential lol). I also love the villain arc of Cressida. I literally can’t wait for her to be Theo’s opposite.
This book has potential. Great potential. Well okay, it'd riddled with troupes (queen reclaiming her throne, love triangle, female best friends falling out because of some guy...), but I like the world building. It could've been fleshed out more, but the basics are there.
But something's missing with this book. I feel like it could be great, but it never quite got there.
I like Theo...at times. Theo reads like she's Aelin, except a knock out version of her. There were times when she exhibits traits that could make her a badass queen, but she quickly reverted back to her damsel self. It was infuriating to watch because it kept happening throughout the entire book and I kept waiting for her to grow up but she never did. The most frustrating point, for me, was towards the end when I thought, here it is, she's going to kick some ass. She faced the Kaiser and didn't bat an eye. She held her ground. I was rooting for her. (Spoiler-ish) Then she saw someone being tortured and she quickly told the Kaiser everything about her plan. That was a big let down for me. She wanted to be ruthless, but she's just not. She's a softie.
Blaise is okay. I didn't care much for him. Soren is also okay. I didn't care much for him either. Both didn't seem like they have much of a personality. Just there to be the love interests. I was not rooting for either one of them because they were just meh. Soren, especially, seemed like he existed just to create a love triangle.
What was rather unbelievable for me was how quickly Theo decided to defy the Kaiser early on in the book. This girl spent 10 years submitting to him and yet, it took her one murder and a meet up with a friend she hadn't met for 10 years for her to quickly decide that she was going to be the queen and spark a revolution? Come on. I know the person she was forced to kill was an important person in her life, but I expected her to mull over the decision, to toss and turn for a couple dozen pages, not just say yes within the next chapter. It seemed too rush for me.
Despite all this, I did enjoy the book. Could it have been better? Absolutely. But it's intriguing enough for me to want to continue to the second book.
But something's missing with this book. I feel like it could be great, but it never quite got there.
I like Theo...at times. Theo reads like she's Aelin, except a knock out version of her. There were times when she exhibits traits that could make her a badass queen, but she quickly reverted back to her damsel self. It was infuriating to watch because it kept happening throughout the entire book and I kept waiting for her to grow up but she never did. The most frustrating point, for me, was towards the end when I thought, here it is, she's going to kick some ass. She faced the Kaiser and didn't bat an eye. She held her ground. I was rooting for her. (Spoiler-ish) Then she saw someone being tortured and she quickly told the Kaiser everything about her plan. That was a big let down for me. She wanted to be ruthless, but she's just not. She's a softie.
Blaise is okay. I didn't care much for him. Soren is also okay. I didn't care much for him either. Both didn't seem like they have much of a personality. Just there to be the love interests. I was not rooting for either one of them because they were just meh. Soren, especially, seemed like he existed just to create a love triangle.
What was rather unbelievable for me was how quickly Theo decided to defy the Kaiser early on in the book. This girl spent 10 years submitting to him and yet, it took her one murder and a meet up with a friend she hadn't met for 10 years for her to quickly decide that she was going to be the queen and spark a revolution? Come on. I know the person she was forced to kill was an important person in her life, but I expected her to mull over the decision, to toss and turn for a couple dozen pages, not just say yes within the next chapter. It seemed too rush for me.
Despite all this, I did enjoy the book. Could it have been better? Absolutely. But it's intriguing enough for me to want to continue to the second book.
Była bardzo okej.
Na początku główna bohaterka mnie denerwowała i była bardzo nijaka, trochę jak taka chorągiewka i w sumie sama nie wiedziała co robi, ale potem już pod koniec to się poprawiło i zaczęła faktycznie myśleć jak królowa a nie przez swoje serce i zaczęła się zachowywać jak silna kobieta, a nie jak przerażona dziewczyna. Cały świat i fabuła mi się bardzo podobały, dobry ciąg przyczynowo-skutkowy, nie zauważyłam niczego co brało by się znikąd i nie miało uzasadnienia w miarę przyziemnego.
Jednakże miałam nadzieję że nie będzie żadnego wątku romantycznego a okazało się że jest i to przy okazji wątek trójkątu miłosnego (chociaż jest on trochę inaczej ograny co jest bardzo ciekawe, nie jest to taki typowy trójkąt jak w rywalkach), przez chwile bałam się, że wyjdzie nagle na pierwszy plan, ale tak się na całe szczęście nie stało.
Ciekawa intryga, chociaż mam nadzieje, że będzie jej więcej w kolejnych tomach. I liczę na dużo strategii wojennej.
ogólnie spoko młodzieżówka, można czytać.
3,5/5
Na początku główna bohaterka mnie denerwowała i była bardzo nijaka, trochę jak taka chorągiewka i w sumie sama nie wiedziała co robi, ale potem już pod koniec to się poprawiło i zaczęła faktycznie myśleć jak królowa a nie przez swoje serce i zaczęła się zachowywać jak silna kobieta, a nie jak przerażona dziewczyna. Cały świat i fabuła mi się bardzo podobały, dobry ciąg przyczynowo-skutkowy, nie zauważyłam niczego co brało by się znikąd i nie miało uzasadnienia w miarę przyziemnego.
Jednakże miałam nadzieję że nie będzie żadnego wątku romantycznego a okazało się że jest i to przy okazji wątek trójkątu miłosnego (chociaż jest on trochę inaczej ograny co jest bardzo ciekawe, nie jest to taki typowy trójkąt jak w rywalkach), przez chwile bałam się, że wyjdzie nagle na pierwszy plan, ale tak się na całe szczęście nie stało.
Ciekawa intryga, chociaż mam nadzieje, że będzie jej więcej w kolejnych tomach. I liczę na dużo strategii wojennej.
ogólnie spoko młodzieżówka, można czytać.
3,5/5
Oh my gosh, I'm shocked at how much I loved this! I'll admit I was slow to start this series because it seemed like a lot of YA series out there. A beaten-down princess rises up to reclaim her throne with some elemental magic thrown in. However, this world and these characters just stole my heart. Theodosia has been a prisoner in her own home since she was six years old and the Kaiser invaded her country and had her mother murdered before her eyes. She has endured relentless abuse at the Kaiser's hand, often blamed for any rebel activity that arose across the nation. He was even cruel enough to take her very name from her, having her whipped until she understood that she was no one. She's grown up alongside Cress, the darling daughter of the very man who slit the Fire Queen's throat. Cress has protected Theo as best as she could provided that Theo remembers her place. Their friendship is close and only able to exist because Theo is able to compartmentalize her pain and somehow separate Cress from the Kalovaxian's who destroyed her life. There are two love interests for Theo but there's a conversation at the end that seems to make it clear that one of them will not survive the series long enough to be the endgame, so I’m not as concerned with the love triangle brewing. I also liked where the book ended in terms of romantic relationships. Though they had been a part of the story they didn't feel like they eclipsed the bigger part of the story. This is about Theo saving her people and reclaiming her throne. I do have to talk quickly about one of my favorite characters. The Kaiserin was incredible. Her backstory was so heartbreaking and I can't imagine how that woman survived as long as she has. She was a real surprise for me in this novel.
I really loved the magic in this book. There are stones mined in four different mines across the country that have the ability to grant people power depending on the stones they use. The stones are linked to the elements, fire, earth, water, and air. However, there are powers beyond being able to manipulate the element itself. One element is linked to strength, another to healing and another to illusion. Before the Kaiser's invasion, only Guardian's were allowed to wear a stone. The magic was deeply tied to religion and people would go to a mine and pray and hope to be blessed by one of the Gods. Those who were blessed would receive a stone tied to their type of elemental magic and were able to do great feats of magic. Now under the Kaiser's rule courtiers pay lots of money to deck themselves out in small stones in order to achieve little bits of magic. Some stones help slightly alter appearances so they may look more beautiful. Others grant strength and others provide warmth. As the courtiers are not blessed they're really not able to achieve much with the stones. I think this book will appeal to people who liked The Winner's Curse series. Ash Princess reminded me of the second book in particular. There's a lot of games and political maneuvering between the captive princess and the cruel ruler. I cannot wait to read Lady Smoke!
I really loved the magic in this book. There are stones mined in four different mines across the country that have the ability to grant people power depending on the stones they use. The stones are linked to the elements, fire, earth, water, and air. However, there are powers beyond being able to manipulate the element itself. One element is linked to strength, another to healing and another to illusion. Before the Kaiser's invasion, only Guardian's were allowed to wear a stone. The magic was deeply tied to religion and people would go to a mine and pray and hope to be blessed by one of the Gods. Those who were blessed would receive a stone tied to their type of elemental magic and were able to do great feats of magic. Now under the Kaiser's rule courtiers pay lots of money to deck themselves out in small stones in order to achieve little bits of magic. Some stones help slightly alter appearances so they may look more beautiful. Others grant strength and others provide warmth. As the courtiers are not blessed they're really not able to achieve much with the stones. I think this book will appeal to people who liked The Winner's Curse series. Ash Princess reminded me of the second book in particular. There's a lot of games and political maneuvering between the captive princess and the cruel ruler. I cannot wait to read Lady Smoke!
Ehhh. It was fine. Action packed from the start, which was nice. But I didn’t care for any of the characters and didn’t really care what happened to them. I won’t be reading the 2nd or 3rd
Dafür, dass man das Buch als feministisches Meisterwerk im Fantasybereich feiert, fand ich, dass die Hauptfigur meinen Erwartungen für sowas nicht entspricht. Man kann Theos Leiden gut nachvollziehen so wie ihre Schmerzen, dafür handelt sie aber nicht entsprechend. Auch die Andeutung der Love-Triangel waren unpassend und haben nichts für die Story getan. Leider war Theo auch einfach für meinen Geschmack zu sehr Damsel in Distress.
Ich finde, es gibt weitaus bessere Werke mit starken, weiblichen Protagonisten im Bereich Fantasy. Trotzdem unterhält einen das Buch gut und viele Szenen sind gut geschrieben.
Ich finde, es gibt weitaus bessere Werke mit starken, weiblichen Protagonisten im Bereich Fantasy. Trotzdem unterhält einen das Buch gut und viele Szenen sind gut geschrieben.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood
Moderate: Toxic friendship, War, Classism
I feel like I’m late to the game to be reading such a popular book but it did it’s job. I couldn’t put this book down!! Can’t wait to continue reading the series.