Reviews with content warning for Death - Kingdom of Ash

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

206 reviews

pumpkaboola's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-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

5.0

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cayliehausman's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Wow!!! What a conclusion to this series. I really loved how fast this book felt compared to the others, and I think the backstory was absolutely worth it to really feel the emotions of this book.

I wish we would’ve gotten a little bit more of their future than we did…and I would’ve loved to have seen more of a resolve in Manon and Dorian’s relationship (I know she would outlive him but still!!). But overall I love how Aelin really finds her way through the trauma by the end and is able to even overtake Maeve’s vision and start to destroy her within it.

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seastheday's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

I waited a LONG time to write this review. The emotional pain that the characters AND ME experienced— made it difficult to think about the book critically. I tore through this book and it’s almost 1,000 pages. Aelin is who we live for and kept reading on for is experiencing so much pain. But I’ve come to love so many of the characters— I still feel like there’s so much story to be told. This is hands down the best read of my year so far. I wish I could read it for the first time again. There hasn’t been another experience like it— where the building and building and building finally pays off over and over and over. At least for me so far, and I’ve been an avid reader all my life.

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acourtofstarsandsapphire's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad tense medium-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

5.0

An incredible ending to an incredible series. Finishing this series I feel satisfied with the wrap up of each character's storyline. I have no lingering questions and the ending that each character receives feels fitting and exactly how it should be.

I'm leaving this series proud of the accomplishment of reading all 5000+ pages of it and this book in particular is leaving me feeling hopeful. It's absolutely a tear-jerker for many reasons, so be prepared for that!

I couldn't believe it, before I finished this series, when people would say that they liked this series more than A Court of Thorns and Roses. Well, I'm one of those people now!

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savage_book_review's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Finally made it to the end of the series!

First thing to say is, if you think the book is a hefty tome, the audiobook is a marathon - over 33 hours! And yet there is so much going on in this final instalment that it doesn't feel anywhere close to that! The story is a long, slow build, full of emotion, revelation and pay offs, with set piece battles and skirmishes that give you all the action and drama you could want. It really is a masterclass is how to draw an epic story to a beautiful and satisfying conclusion, with no real threads left properly hanging... although, like everyone else, I really want to know what Lorcan did! 🤭😁 And there is absolutely scope for her to return to the series one day (I would LOVE to see Aelin, Feyre and Bryce together, with Rhys, Rowan and Hunt sharing a bottle of whiskey or five and despairing of their womenfolk's inability to behave...)

That being said, I do think reading this one has far more emotional impact than listening to it. Somehow, I got more immersed in the world when reading from the physical page, and I found it easier to digest the many different changes in POV. The sheer number of characters that SJM manages to balance is incredible, and she does it so well, but if you do struggle with multiple perspectives this is not going to be a book you'll enjoy. The secondary characters all have such wonderful story arcs though; there's something in each one of their stories that makes them so easy to fall in with and like. I'd argue it's the most 'even' ensemble cast of the author's works and all of their conclusions are pitch perfect.

There is a small part of me that wonders if the story did get away from SJM slightly towards the end. It all works and ties together, but there are a few small things that feel a bit fudged in here. By no means does this spoil my enjoyment, but it does send my brain off into questioning mode; not great when you're trying to concentrate on the narration! Likewise, where this book is so long and there is constantly something happening, it's very easy for the story to get away from the reader. Trying to remember who comprised which group was often an issue, especial without the written reminders of the physical book, and while the battle scenes are well handled, there's a lot of repeated tactics etc that kind of make them merge into one a bit.

I'd also say this is probably the weakest of the audiobooks in terms of narration. Elizabeth Evans does a sterling job, but where she uses identical intonation on certain words and phrases *cough* for a heartbeat *cough*, it does make it a harder listen. She certainly can't be accused of being monotone or boring to listen to, but equally there were certain moments that I don't think hit quite as hard as they should have because there just wasn't the oomph/gentle sincerity/depth of emotion in her voice. The engagement just faded away, which is a shame.

I am 1000% looking forward to the dramatised graphic audios when they arrive, as I suspect they will pick up on a few of the issues that arise with the 'straight' audiobook and give us the missing ingredient. Still, well worth listening to!

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