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rlstrayer1's review
DNF at 52%
I will make him say he is proud of me, Myra thought. And then, only then, can I start thinking about killing him
That sentence was the last straw. I can't take it anymore. The MC is one of the dumbest I have ever read, and I read the first 3 books of Falling Kingdoms.
The dialogue was horrific. It was stilted, overly dramatic, and it had no natural flow. All of the humans in this book were just stupid. I'm not sure if this was on purpose or not. The only enjoyment I got out of the book was the banter between Vlad, Tristan, and Armida...the 3 vampire MCs. Apparently they are the only characters who are capable of intelligent speech and thought. Vlad in particular I really liked...he loved to call out Myra's idiocy and I was rooting for his snark and sarcasm every step of the way. Myra was childish, immature, and way too naive for this world....it doesn't even make sense to the story. You would think that growing up a fugitive would harden a person, but no. Myra's main goal in life was to frolic in the meadows and dance in the rain. Barf. It's not often I cheer for an MC to be killed, but ughhh can we kill off Myra already and have this book just be Vlad and Co? I would read that.
Oh and this WeatherWizard thing? Totally extra and not even relevant to the story. It was just thrown in there for....reasons...that I should know by the 52% mark. But I don't. The most intriguing part of the whole story gets basically 0 page time.
This book was 99 cents. I will be asking for a refund.
-------
A beauty and the beast retelling with vampires?
Yeah sure why not
I will make him say he is proud of me, Myra thought. And then, only then, can I start thinking about killing him
That sentence was the last straw. I can't take it anymore. The MC is one of the dumbest I have ever read, and I read the first 3 books of Falling Kingdoms.
The dialogue was horrific. It was stilted, overly dramatic, and it had no natural flow. All of the humans in this book were just stupid. I'm not sure if this was on purpose or not. The only enjoyment I got out of the book was the banter between Vlad, Tristan, and Armida...the 3 vampire MCs. Apparently they are the only characters who are capable of intelligent speech and thought. Vlad in particular I really liked...he loved to call out Myra's idiocy and I was rooting for his snark and sarcasm every step of the way. Myra was childish, immature, and way too naive for this world....it doesn't even make sense to the story. You would think that growing up a fugitive would harden a person, but no. Myra's main goal in life was to frolic in the meadows and dance in the rain. Barf. It's not often I cheer for an MC to be killed, but ughhh can we kill off Myra already and have this book just be Vlad and Co? I would read that.
Oh and this WeatherWizard thing? Totally extra and not even relevant to the story. It was just thrown in there for....reasons...that I should know by the 52% mark. But I don't. The most intriguing part of the whole story gets basically 0 page time.
This book was 99 cents. I will be asking for a refund.
-------
A beauty and the beast retelling with vampires?
Yeah sure why not
amethystbookwyrm's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to Elena May for giving me this book to review.
Kingdom of Ashes is a really good paranormal dystopian novel which is fast paced and raised good questions about morality and what it is to be human. I love the mix of post-apocalyptic with the gothic paranormal the book has. I also liked that where was not any romance between Myra and any of the vampires in this book as it was refreshing and would have been detrimental to the story.
Myra is naïve and creative but she is also very self-centred which did not make her the most likable main character. Vladimir is cunning and ruthless and I feel we have only just scratched the depths of who he is and what he wants. Tristan is very loyal and big headed, and Armida hides her lack of self-worth with a mask of confidence.
I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to reading Men and Monsters. I would recommend Kingdom of Ashes to fans of Fireblood by Trisha Wolfe and The River Witch by Helena Rookwood
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
Kingdom of Ashes is a really good paranormal dystopian novel which is fast paced and raised good questions about morality and what it is to be human. I love the mix of post-apocalyptic with the gothic paranormal the book has. I also liked that where was not any romance between Myra and any of the vampires in this book as it was refreshing and would have been detrimental to the story.
Myra is naïve and creative but she is also very self-centred which did not make her the most likable main character. Vladimir is cunning and ruthless and I feel we have only just scratched the depths of who he is and what he wants. Tristan is very loyal and big headed, and Armida hides her lack of self-worth with a mask of confidence.
I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to reading Men and Monsters. I would recommend Kingdom of Ashes to fans of Fireblood by Trisha Wolfe and The River Witch by Helena Rookwood
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
betwixt_the_pages's review against another edition
4.0
Myra never witnessed the Nightfall. She has only heard stories from the eldest among them; tales of the Old World and of the scientists who invented the WeatherWizard—a technological innovation that controls the weather. Unfortunately, the device also gave an ambitious vampire prince the means to cover the world in impenetrable clouds, allowing his armies to crawl out of their caves and conquer all.
Vampires rule over the New World, breeding humans for food. After fifty years of guerrilla warfare, the Resistance is fading, its supplies dwindling. They must rally and succeed—and soon—or all hope of restoring human civilization will be lost.
When Myra goes on a desperate mission to help the Resistance, she ends up a captive in the vampires’ palace. With time running out, she must find a way to stop Prince Vladimir, and every wrong step leads to the death of innocents. Her battle abilities prove useless, but Myra discovers she has another skill that can give her an edge over her captors. Now, Myra must defeat the vampire leader at a power game he has been playing for almost two millennia.
Rating: 4/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: vampires! I rather love vampire stories; this is also dystopian, which works for me; Myra is a bit naive and a lot annoying at times, but I loved her mostly; the characters are complex and well-written; the relationships are believable and realistic; the world-building is great; overall, an entertaining read
Huge thanks to Elena May for sending me a copy of this title free in exchange for an honest review! This in no way altered my read of or opinions on this book.
"So these are our enemies," she whispered as Alerie returned and crouched next to her.
"Yeah, a motley band of peacocks," Alerie said. "Unfortunately, they fight better than they dress."
This book is LONG, penguins--but such a quick and entertaining read! I found myself, through many parts of the journey, wondering if perhaps there were many more fairy tales Elena May drew inspiration from then she lets on. The biggest one, I believe, is Beauty and the Beast--I am almost positive that several of the plot points woven throughout this story support this theory. I won't bore you with the details, though--I'll let you find them on your own. Just trust me: there are TONS of references and inspiration laced throughout this journey. I doubt even I found them all, honestly--mostly because I wasn't actively seeking them out until much later in the read.
Elena May crafted a believable, action-packed dystopian world. While there were moments I found myself struggling to suspend my disbelief, these were all in regards to one character specifically and not due to the plot or world-building. In fact, I adore the world-building of this book--I feel we've only just begun to skim the surface of this future, but already know SO MUCH about it. I really like that we are taken in a much different direction than I expected when setting out on this read. I LOVE that technology, in the end, is what caused the downfall of humanity...though not in the way I'd have ever thought. It was so seamlessly done, and brilliant--I am bowing down at Elena May's feet.
The Prince smirked. "My dear girl. All humans are the same--they can rarely create a compelling story without something bad happening, and so they always pick disasters to build their tales on."
I was a bit disappointed in Myra, honestly, though I rather adore her character arc. While she starts this book out very naive and rather silly...she comes a long, long way. I definitely empathized with her throughout, and found myself wanting to shake her many times. I think a large part of this has to do with my...uhm...soft spot for anti-villains, though, and not to do with her as a character per se.
I was intrigued that there was very little romance in this book when it came to Myra. In fact, not once does it say--anywhere!--anything about her being even remotely interested in another human or vampire, aside from in an inspirational way. She observes, she watches and judges and changes...but never once does she seem interested in romance. There IS a couple in this read, but even then, the focus is not really upon the relationship. I am not sure if this was done on purpose, but I'm not complaining either--I love that Myra does, in the end, find a way to stand on her own two feet...and do it alone. The addition of a romance, in this story, would have detracted from the plot and character growth, I feel--I am glad there wasn't one.
"Besides," he added, "you are the only person to call me Vlad. As I have told you before, this is not even the proper way to shorten my name."
"Fair enough," she said. "What is the proper short form, then?"
"'Your Highness' works."
In the end, this was an entertaining and surprising read! I cannot wait to see where book two leads us--I imagine there's still so much left to tell, so many adventures to leap into. Also, obviously, I cannot wait to see how Myra's current plan works out. I recommend this to lovers of dystopian fantasies, vampire lore with a twist, and unique world-building. Elena May took me on a wild ride with this book; I can't wait to see what she does next!
thepiqht's review against another edition
3.0
I gave this 2.5 stars.
A long time ago, I received Kingdom of Ashes from Elena May. I say that, because I honestly should have posted this review a decade ago and now I’m feeling kinda guilty about it. Sorry Elena!
Isn’t the title magnificent? That’s what first caught my attention.
I liked some of the messages that the book was trying to send. “There’s nothing glorious about fighting a war, or interrogating prisoners.” (2) While I do enjoy quite a lot of fantasy books, so many of them glamourise fighting in battles or forcefully getting the upper hand on the enemy when in reality, people are dying. I think it's important for the readers to get hit with a little bit of reality every now and then.
The writing was also quite quick paced. Despite not really being a huge fan of vampires anymore, I whizzed through the pages and dove headfirst into all of the action. There was very little filler, but Elena managed to capture some important points such as the reactions of a daughter when she learns that her parents are never coming back. It all made it much more real, in a sense that you could really imagine what was going on.
Post on the things I wasn't a fan of coming out on 14/7 at Fleur Henley
A long time ago, I received Kingdom of Ashes from Elena May. I say that, because I honestly should have posted this review a decade ago and now I’m feeling kinda guilty about it. Sorry Elena!
Isn’t the title magnificent? That’s what first caught my attention.
I liked some of the messages that the book was trying to send. “There’s nothing glorious about fighting a war, or interrogating prisoners.” (2) While I do enjoy quite a lot of fantasy books, so many of them glamourise fighting in battles or forcefully getting the upper hand on the enemy when in reality, people are dying. I think it's important for the readers to get hit with a little bit of reality every now and then.
The writing was also quite quick paced. Despite not really being a huge fan of vampires anymore, I whizzed through the pages and dove headfirst into all of the action. There was very little filler, but Elena managed to capture some important points such as the reactions of a daughter when she learns that her parents are never coming back. It all made it much more real, in a sense that you could really imagine what was going on.
Post on the things I wasn't a fan of coming out on 14/7 at Fleur Henley
tstreet's review against another edition
5.0
I liked that Myra was confident and strong and did not give up. I liked how it explained Myra's part in defeating Vlad. I liked that the book explained how Myra was confident and I liked how it explained the positions all the characters were in. I really enjoyed this book and plan on reading the Nightfall series. I reaceived this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
amiraandthecats's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not an avid reader of fantasy fiction and in fact, it is my first vampire book ever! So, in the beginning, I was unsure about what to wait. But once I started reading I wasn't able to put it down. I don't remember finishing any other book so quickly for the book was both very fast-moving and engrossing. My eyes were literally jumping from word to word impatient to know what is going to happen next. The only thing I didn't like about Kingdom of Ashes was the parts in which torturing scenes were described explicitly. Now I know it is not fair to complain about a vampire novel having lots of blood but it was really hard for me to keep reading those scenes. But nonetheless, I am looking forward to reading the second book and find the answers to my questions.
jnikolova's review against another edition
4.0
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I have been very, very cautious with vampire books in the last couple of years. In fact, I don't remember the last vampire novel that I read, aside from re-reading The Historian and Dracula two years ago.
However, I read the synopsis of Kingdom of Ashes, and the many positive reviews, and I decided to give it a shot. And I'm glad I did!
This book reminded me why I love YA so much. It was very engaging and it kept me flipping the pages to a point where I skipped lunch with my colleagues in order to read on a bench.
The thing, which, for me, was very original and exciting, was the fact that every step of the way and every part of the narrative was cleverly thought-through. The author took all famous (and silly) vampire cliches and tropes and she turned them into an outspoken joke between the characters. Elena May managed to make everything that could have destroyed the book its exact opposite. For example at one point Myra tried to pull a Scheherazade on the prince and I was sitting there, worried whether this is going to be a real thing, because it was so obvious. And then the prince himself recognized and ridiculed it.
In terms of plot, there was one thing that was a bit of a cliched narrative and that was the fact that (while the book is obviously not doing the Scheherazade) it did go along the lines of Beauty and the Beast. Watching the movie right after finishing the book just made me realize it more clearly. However, I'm not sure that at a time such as ours where we are so over-saturated with pop culture, it's possible to create anything that doesn't borrow from absolutely anywhere.
Character-wise, I liked the fact that there was a game of black/white and shades of gray. Myra was on the same boat as me when I was trying to make up my mind about whether the vampires are all evil or all good, or those are concepts that don't even apply to the situation. For example, many of the points the prince made on humankind were just as challenging as what can be said about vampires in terms of the book. In a world where vampires and humans co-exist and vampires have overtaken the world and wiped out a big part of the population, I think it's still fair to say that that's nothing humans haven't done to other species or even to themselves. The only reason why people generally sympathize with people, and not, say, vampires or werewolves, is simply because we are people. But humans can be just as evil in a completely different way. For example, just yesterday a colony of griffon vultures in Bulgaria was completely destroyed by hunters who poisoned all of the birds. If that's not monstrous, I don't know what is.
Having said all of this, while I did sympathize with Myra at certain times, I didn't necessarily think she was a nice person. Contrary to what I read in the reviews of people who thought she was selfish and self-absorbed, I think that was one of her most likable traits in terms of writing. She was a very realistic person, unlike the perfect/all-I-do-is-effing-magic heroines of other YA books. I wouldn't like Myra as a friend, but I can read about her and think "Well... that's true." And her selfishness is something that can be attributed to most humans. The fact that she is so focused on her book and improving as a writer is to be expected from any person with any artistic capabilities. Then again, she was sometimes obnoxious and she did make stupid decisions, so I'm on the verge with her. But I am also known among my friends as someone who is specifically very demanding of female characters...
As is probably to be expected, I really liked Vlad, because I would say that I both appreciated his attitude, and got where he was coming from. He followed his set of rules and had a reason to act the way he did: I'm a vampire, my nature requires me to drink blood, so I drink blood. I like art, humans make art, I like humans. The end.
I am really excited for the next book in the series, I really hope it comes sooner, rather than later.
* I'm so happy vampires were just vampires, and not vampyrs, vampyres, etc. and magic was just magic instead of magik or magick.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I have been very, very cautious with vampire books in the last couple of years. In fact, I don't remember the last vampire novel that I read, aside from re-reading The Historian and Dracula two years ago.
However, I read the synopsis of Kingdom of Ashes, and the many positive reviews, and I decided to give it a shot. And I'm glad I did!
This book reminded me why I love YA so much. It was very engaging and it kept me flipping the pages to a point where I skipped lunch with my colleagues in order to read on a bench.
The thing, which, for me, was very original and exciting, was the fact that every step of the way and every part of the narrative was cleverly thought-through. The author took all famous (and silly) vampire cliches and tropes and she turned them into an outspoken joke between the characters. Elena May managed to make everything that could have destroyed the book its exact opposite. For example at one point Myra tried to pull a Scheherazade on the prince and I was sitting there, worried whether this is going to be a real thing, because it was so obvious. And then the prince himself recognized and ridiculed it.
In terms of plot, there was one thing that was a bit of a cliched narrative and that was the fact that (while the book is obviously not doing the Scheherazade) it did go along the lines of Beauty and the Beast. Watching the movie right after finishing the book just made me realize it more clearly. However, I'm not sure that at a time such as ours where we are so over-saturated with pop culture, it's possible to create anything that doesn't borrow from absolutely anywhere.
Character-wise, I liked the fact that there was a game of black/white and shades of gray. Myra was on the same boat as me when I was trying to make up my mind about whether the vampires are all evil or all good, or those are concepts that don't even apply to the situation. For example, many of the points the prince made on humankind were just as challenging as what can be said about vampires in terms of the book. In a world where vampires and humans co-exist and vampires have overtaken the world and wiped out a big part of the population, I think it's still fair to say that that's nothing humans haven't done to other species or even to themselves. The only reason why people generally sympathize with people, and not, say, vampires or werewolves, is simply because we are people. But humans can be just as evil in a completely different way. For example, just yesterday a colony of griffon vultures in Bulgaria was completely destroyed by hunters who poisoned all of the birds. If that's not monstrous, I don't know what is.
Having said all of this, while I did sympathize with Myra at certain times, I didn't necessarily think she was a nice person. Contrary to what I read in the reviews of people who thought she was selfish and self-absorbed, I think that was one of her most likable traits in terms of writing. She was a very realistic person, unlike the perfect/all-I-do-is-effing-magic heroines of other YA books. I wouldn't like Myra as a friend, but I can read about her and think "Well... that's true." And her selfishness is something that can be attributed to most humans. The fact that she is so focused on her book and improving as a writer is to be expected from any person with any artistic capabilities. Then again, she was sometimes obnoxious and she did make stupid decisions, so I'm on the verge with her. But I am also known among my friends as someone who is specifically very demanding of female characters...
As is probably to be expected, I really liked Vlad, because I would say that I both appreciated his attitude, and got where he was coming from. He followed his set of rules and had a reason to act the way he did: I'm a vampire, my nature requires me to drink blood, so I drink blood. I like art, humans make art, I like humans. The end.
I am really excited for the next book in the series, I really hope it comes sooner, rather than later.
* I'm so happy vampires were just vampires, and not vampyrs, vampyres, etc. and magic was just magic instead of magik or magick.
literatureeverafter's review against another edition
4.0
Managed to read this book in day since I could not put it down! Beautifully written story. I fell in love with the characters. Myra is such a badass and I love seeing amazing females in my books!. I can't wait to pick up the next one and continue their journey!