A review by lucybbookstuff
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

I can already feel the hangover forming. 😩

Some slight pacing issues and a couple eye rolls, but otherwise perfection. That is all I can manage to say for now.

ETA: I do think some plot points could have been handled differently.

Gavriel's death was unnecessary and didn't hit nearly as hard as it was supposed to. Erawan's death was quite anticlimactic. Dorian should have done more to hurt Maeve when he destroyed Morath. The arrival of the Terrasen fae felt shoe-horned. They should have opened a portal to move the khagan army to Terrasen. And other such things.

But I am willing to overlook those things for the grander story. Thinking back to the arrogant, scared assassin I first met, it brings me to tears thinking about how far she came.

Also, one thing I don't see nearly enough people talking about with these books is the STACKED cast of POWERHOUSE women!!! Like yes, people talk about the characters. But to me, this entire story is about the unbelievable power of WOMEN. The men are great, but it's not about them. They are secondary to this incredible group of badass ladies.