Author: Laura Sebastian
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 432
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis:
“Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess–a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.
For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She’s endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.
Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn’t always won on the battlefield.
For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.”
I don’t know exactly what I was expecting going into this book, but it wasn’t this wonderful politically intriguing dark book! It was so much darker and stabbier (let’s pretend that’s a word) than I was expecting and I LOVE IT. It was so twisted, I was pretty much shaking with anxiety whenever I would turn a page because the entire story was so freakin’ tense. It was beautifully written to make me squirm.
In all honesty, there was really only one character in this book I enjoyed: Theo. Her situation made her an interesting character and seeing her boundaries shift was nerve wracking unfortunately, I felt like most of the side characters were really lacking. The two main male characters weren’t well developed and were forced into a weird unbalanced love triangle with Theo. The chemistry wasn’t really there BUT I could see this possibly spun in a better way in the upcoming second book, so I’m just going to hope for the best. Theo’s best friend didn’t have a lot of development until the end… so I’m tentatively eager to see how that’s going to be changing the story. The foundation for these characters was mostly just laid in this book, so I’m hoping for a lot of development in the upcoming sequel.
The political intrigue in this book so written so masterfully. It was atmospheric. Terrifying. It felt like any wrong step, any breath too loud would make the story erupt in Chaos. The plotting, scheming, and balance between being too quiet and being caught were written so purposefully. It was the type of terrifying in a book that sets your heart on fire and makes shutting the cover almost impossible, especially as you got deeper in the book. I could barely put it down.
That being said, the main thing that kept me turning the page did include a lot of violence and other stuff. It wasn’t extremely original and the use of slavery, violence, and graphic scenes made the book similar to a lot of other fantasy stories. It doesn’t bring much new to the table, but it is very interesting… plus it’s a quick read. It’s just not a very deep book, it doesn’t offer anything new to YA fantasy.
I know this book goes back and forth a lot, but the main reason I gave Ash Princess four stars is just for it’s entertainment value. It’s an easy and quick read that’s not too hard to read through. The political intrigue and promising second book are enough to keep me going every time I would turn a page. The constant looming doom along with never being sure who to trust makes the story memorable, and one that’ll keep you up until long after you should have gone to bed.
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