Scan barcode
A review by eelskeel
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
3.0
An underwhelming ending to a series with lots of potential.
Falling victim to the too much plot/too many character POV's disease that spread Empire of Storms so thin. I like (most) of the characters individually, but it made it hard to connect and invest in any one plotline happening with so many POV/setting changes that didn't really line up in the mental timeline very easily.
The Lord of Anielle is the most consistent villain in this entire series.
Dorian and Manon are my favourites, and I am devastated how they did not end up together the way every other character did. It does make sense with their individual characters, but if you're going to undermine your plot devices to defer to romance (in the case of Aelin surviving the Lock and ensuing battles to be with Rowan), the same could and should be done to the most driving characters in the story. In other areas of romance, Aedion and Lysandra are a good pairing, as are Elide and Lorcan, even if the latter is mostly fanservice and inconsequential/unnecessary fluff. Rowan had so much potential and hearty backstory with a good character profile and just turned into a piece of hot territorial beef at the end of it which feels like a waste.
Falling victim to the too much plot/too many character POV's disease that spread Empire of Storms so thin. I like (most) of the characters individually, but it made it hard to connect and invest in any one plotline happening with so many POV/setting changes that didn't really line up in the mental timeline very easily.
The Lord of Anielle is the most consistent villain in this entire series.
Dorian and Manon are my favourites, and I am devastated how they did not end up together the way every other character did. It does make sense with their individual characters, but if you're going to undermine your plot devices to defer to romance (in the case of Aelin surviving the Lock and ensuing battles to be with Rowan), the same could and should be done to the most driving characters in the story. In other areas of romance, Aedion and Lysandra are a good pairing, as are Elide and Lorcan, even if the latter is mostly fanservice and inconsequential/unnecessary fluff. Rowan had so much potential and hearty backstory with a good character profile and just turned into a piece of hot territorial beef at the end of it which feels like a waste.
Gavriel and Murtaugh's deaths were sad but very lame. They were both likeable minor characters with no real punch to the loss.
When Aelin survived the forging of the Lock scene I really lost interest in her character. Something more drastic should have happened outside of her willingly sacrificing her magic, the whole ordeal felt very emotionally hollow and confusing.
I have the same complaint of the final battle scene between Fenrys, Rowan and Lorcan with Maeve when Aelin revealed the Northern Fae trap card. More convenient plot devices and confusing grand reveals.
I do enjoy a happy ending, however if the author is going to completely sweep away all the impossible odds too write a grossly unbelievable victory, at least give us more than a pittance of story afterward to make it worth it. I'd love to see an epilogue of the future with more emotionally charged writing to really convince me of the Happily Ever After.
All that being said, I did and do enjoy the series at large. Sarah J. Maas's strength continue to be in worldbuilding and landscape, and although this was a dissatisfying ending that ultimately fell flat, I'll be keeping these books on my shelf for nostalgias sake if nothing else.
When Aelin survived the forging of the Lock scene I really lost interest in her character. Something more drastic should have happened outside of her willingly sacrificing her magic, the whole ordeal felt very emotionally hollow and confusing.
I have the same complaint of the final battle scene between Fenrys, Rowan and Lorcan with Maeve when Aelin revealed the Northern Fae trap card. More convenient plot devices and confusing grand reveals.
I do enjoy a happy ending, however if the author is going to completely sweep away all the impossible odds too write a grossly unbelievable victory, at least give us more than a pittance of story afterward to make it worth it. I'd love to see an epilogue of the future with more emotionally charged writing to really convince me of the Happily Ever After.
All that being said, I did and do enjoy the series at large. Sarah J. Maas's strength continue to be in worldbuilding and landscape, and although this was a dissatisfying ending that ultimately fell flat, I'll be keeping these books on my shelf for nostalgias sake if nothing else.