Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

57 reviews

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.5

I feel like this is a pretty satisfying ending, but I do still have many questions. For a book that was almost 1000 pages, I felt the pacing was pretty decent, though it could have been shorter. I found some parts to be very repetitive, especially the battle scenes.

Pretty much every time they are close to being beaten, somehow another group of allies show up at the perfect moment to save them. Every Time. It makes it a little less exciting to read.

Aelin:
I haven't been a huge Aelin fan throughout this series. Just when I was starting to like her, she has to make probably the dumbest choice -

trying to bargain to save Elena. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! She spends this whole series trying to defeat Erawan, only to get to the moment when she finally can and decides that saving Elena's soul is more important? THIS MAKES NO SENSE. The whole point of sacrificing herself is to save her people, now she decides to leave them to try to defeat Erawan on their own? Thousands of people could have been saved.

I am so glad that she was able to find her strength and escape from Maeve without having to be rescued by Rowan. How she has the will to live after enduring all of that torture is beyond me.

Lysandra and Aedion:
Lysandra is badass and probably my favourite character. She had one of the best redemption stories in the series. She is such a powerful and strong character. I really liked Aedion until

he turned on Lysandra. How is she responsible for Aelin's choices?! He treated her with such malice and distain, when she did nothing wrong. He chooses to further abuse a woman who has been through so much trauma and abuse, rather than show compassion and understanding. I don't feel like he fully redeemed himself enough for Lysandra to take him back. I kind of wish that she had ended up without him at the end.

Chaol and Yrene: 
I feel like the whole "Chaol and Yrene" are tethered thing fell by the wayside. You would think that with as much power she was expelling, Chaol would be basically paralyzed the whole time, yet it seemed like he was hardly effected. I really want to know what comes next for Yrene, she is obviously incredibly powerful. 

Lorcan and Elide:
Honestly, this relationship didn't make a lot of sense to me. I don't think that their relationship had the impact that it was meant to. I think that some sort of familial relationship (maybe instead of Aedion?) would have helped her heal. 

The witches: 
I love the witches! They are my favourite group in this book. These women are so badass. I think that Manon and the Thirteen have one of the best arcs in this series.

It absolutely crushed me when the Thirteen sacrificed themselves.

Dorian: 
I love how Dorian has come into his power. He is incredibly powerful and determined to help protect and save his people, even if that means sacrificing himself. Thought the book, his power continues to grow and change

(He can shift!). I like that he has a resolution when it comes to his father. That said, I think it was a bit of a cop out for his father to be "nameless".

I think his relationship with Manon makes a lot of sense. Both are still healing and have a lot of work ahead of them. Having them jump into a relationship wouldn't make sense with what they both need to do in the future. I like that it was left a bit open ended. 

Gavriel and Fenrys:
I adored these two!

I am devastated that Gavriel didn't get the chance to get to know and form a relationship with his son. Sacrificing his life to protect him was an honorable final act befitting The Lion.

Fenrys suffers horribly under Maeve.

She forces him to endure watching Aelin being tortured and kills his twin in front of him. He experiences so much pain, yet somehow manages to push through it to break the blood oath to Maeve to help save Aelin. It makes sense that he would want the blood oath from Aelin, given how loyal he already is to her. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, Animal death, Confinement, Death, and Kidnapping

livinlavidalo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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

Ugh I am so glad I finally jumped into this book. I am obsessed, while this book ripped my heart out it was like reading about old friends. I will never recover from this. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Blood, Grief, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Gore

britwalsh16's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

I have no words good enough to explain how amazing this book is!!! This book ripped me apart, and left me in pieces. But then made my heart soar! So much sacrifice! So much loss! And then sooo much love!!! These characters & the love they share for one another is pure magic! More magical then any of the magic in the book!! 

But spoiler alert.. fuck the gods! They don’t deserve any fucking sacrifices!! They piss me the hell off & I could have done without their holier then now attitudes! lol

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, War, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Colonisation, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Excrement, Misogyny, Vomit, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

kaylagioia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Kidnapping

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Cursing, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Animal death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, Alcohol, Physical abuse, War, and Death of parent

ladydeathnesta's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.0

I love this series. I feel like the end of the plot was a bit rushed and the characters got stagnant towards the end, but that’s not the most terrible thing! It was very intense and enjoyable!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Classism, Gore, Rape, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, Mental illness, Murder, and Self harm

miabaci's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0

laughed, smiled, and (mainly) sobbed all throughout this book. i feel like i had to say goodbye to my own family after finishing this whole series 🥲 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Kidnapping, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual content

sugarwookiee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Animal death

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have finally made it to the end of my Throne of Glass reading experience.
"Kingdom of Ash" is the conclusion, at least thus far, to the Throne of Glass series. Aelin Galathynius has promised to herself and her people that she would save them, but she could never have imagined what sacrifices she would have had to make to protect everyone. She is locked in an iron box at the complete mercy of the Queen of the Fae, Maeve. With all of her friends and allies scattered around the land, they will need to find a way to come together to finally end this once and for all.
What an epic and intense conclusion this book was! It was very difficult at times to read about Aelin because Sarah J. Maas goes into intense detail with the types of torture Aelin is subjected to. However, Aelin proves to be such a strong leader because she never breaks, even when she thinks she cannot bear to take any more.
I absolutely loved seeing how much Rowan loved Aelin. He would stop at nothing to bring Aelin safely home to him. It was also his commitment to her that helped Aelin survive the brutal torment Maeve put her through. It was beautiful to see their love and respect grow for one another.
I also enjoyed seeing a quick peek into Chaol's and Yrene's lives. I do really appreciate their story and how it allowed a more robust view of the world.
Overall, I was incredibly satisfied with this book. This installment in the series had a little bit of everything and really kept me invested through the entire almost 1000 pages. Once I started this book, I could not put it down because I was enthralled with the characters.
It was definitely not easy to get through this series, and this is not my favorite world from Sarah J. Maas, but I am overall happy with where everyone ended up!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, War, Toxic relationship, Grief, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Toxic friendship, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Minor: Pregnancy

raven_go's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Death, and Torture

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Torture, and Confinement