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kittenmittons 's review for:
The Ashfire King
by Chelsea Abdullah
Oh, we're SO back.
The Ashfire King picks up almost right where The Stardust Thief left off, with a very helpful recap to kick off the book (please, authors and publishers, normalize this, I'm begging you). While it had been three years since I had read the first book, it didn't take me long at all to be swept back into this world.
You can tell that Chelsea Abdullah has put effort into the world and, more than that, that she really loves the world. It's so vast, so thought-out, and I love how these books span so much of it.
We once again get lots of folklore - which, be still, my heart. I loved the lore, and how much we learned in this book. I'm sure book three is going to absolutely fuck me upside the head and I am ready (???) for it.
However, as good as all of that is, the standout remains the characters. When you get multiple POV characters, they're often not all created equally, and - okay, Loulie and Aisha remain my favourite POVs, but they're all very, very strong. The characters are complex, they grow, they're engaging to read, and this applies to supporting characters as well.
A very strong second book in a very strong Arabic folklore-inspired epic fantasy trilogy. I don't know what the third book is called or when it will be released, but I do know that I would die for it.
Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.
The Ashfire King picks up almost right where The Stardust Thief left off, with a very helpful recap to kick off the book (please, authors and publishers, normalize this, I'm begging you). While it had been three years since I had read the first book, it didn't take me long at all to be swept back into this world.
You can tell that Chelsea Abdullah has put effort into the world and, more than that, that she really loves the world. It's so vast, so thought-out, and I love how these books span so much of it.
We once again get lots of folklore - which, be still, my heart. I loved the lore, and how much we learned in this book. I'm sure book three is going to absolutely fuck me upside the head and I am ready (???) for it.
However, as good as all of that is, the standout remains the characters. When you get multiple POV characters, they're often not all created equally, and - okay, Loulie and Aisha remain my favourite POVs, but they're all very, very strong. The characters are complex, they grow, they're engaging to read, and this applies to supporting characters as well.
A very strong second book in a very strong Arabic folklore-inspired epic fantasy trilogy. I don't know what the third book is called or when it will be released, but I do know that I would die for it.
Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.