A review by kristinroy
Ashes of Man by Christopher Ruocchio

adventurous dark emotional tense

4.5

First of all: Lorian freaking Aristedes !!

This series continues to both break my heart and yet also give me hope. I feel so much for Hadrian. 😂😭

So: Truth be told this might have been my least favorite sun eater book so far, mostly because there were a lot of new characters that I don’t yet feel quite as connected to. Additionally, I do take issue with a decision Valka came to (seemingly) in the middle of the absolute HORRORS of a Cielcin battle that felt rather… out of character for her. It was a strange time to come to that kind of a decision, in my opinion. I also am starting to really feel the loss of several great female characters — and without them, this series is starting to feel somewhat cishet male focused, which I don’t love.

However… despite these nitpicks/faults, this was still a great, engaging read. I think the plot is interesting, the world building is still fantastic, and I loved Bassander Lin, Lorian Aristedes, and Prince Kaim (and the revelation about him!). Hadrian continues to be a really fun character to follow. 

I really enjoyed this, and I’ll be jumping into book six immediately because this series has completely taken over my life 😂