A review by elaichipod
The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

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? Yes

4.25

It's definitely not as good as the first, but it's a worthy sequel. There are a few parallels between the first book and this one, so it felt a tad bit predictable. I'm curious as to what's going on with Mische. I liked the first half a bit more just because of Raihn's misery; I live for that kind of emotion from MMCs. Although Vale and Lilith were background characters in this book, Lilith felt a bit too passive. Her character in this book does not match up with the image I created in Six Scorched Roses. Although Vincent is dead, he felt like a living character in this book. Especially as we learned about his whole origin story and relationship with Oraya's mom. Vincent is definitely on the more evil side of things, but he was more of a dynamic villain who loves Oraya, making it hard to either be strictly disgusted or understanding.

I wasn’t going to let you fall. But more importantly, I knew you weren’t going to let you fall.

So I said, honestly, “You look fantastic, Mish.”
She beamed, cheeks glittering.
“I do, right?”
I chuckled. “So humble.”
She shrugged. “Why should I be humble?”
Hell, why should she?

 Let us leave something on each other’s corpses.