Ash Princess Hardcover – April 24, 2018

My biggest beef with this book was that the story REALLY lags and 1\2 of it becomes irrelevant. Honestly, I read to 35% ...and then skipped to 90% because it was moving so slow. I didn't miss ANYTHING! Skipping over half of the book and picking up at the end should have left me SO confused.....because, SOMETHING is supposed to happen in the middle! It didn't!In all fairness, the overall story was pretty good. However, it has been done SO MANY TIMES in this genre that the author should have tried to make it a little different. The basic story is... princess of a conquered kingdom.... Childhood friend encourages her to start a rebellion...there's a prince involved...and she is conflicted over having feelings for multiple people! ...that's a oversimplified version, but know what I talking about, right? ...this storyline has been done SO MANY TIMES I can't help but compare it with others where it was executed better.

After reading 4-5 free books a week on Kindle Unlimited, I tried a sample of this and took the plunge for a $10+ book. WOW - you definitely get what you pay for! Ash Princess is the best dystopian/fantasy romance that I've read in a long time for several reason. Plot overview: A wealthy, magical, artistic island society was invaded 10 years ago by a seafaring warrior race that goes from nation to nation, invading, conquering, and enslaving weaker races. The main characters are teenagers on the verge of adulthood: the daughter of a murdered queen, the honorable son of a ruthless conqueror, scorned bastards, sheltered debutantes of the court, and a host of rebels and slaves who help them survive and conspire to take down a throne. This heroic new generation tries to navigate a violent world lost or won by the actions of their flawed parents.The characters are three dimensional, innovative, heroic, selfless, and flawed, yet there is something to admire even in the most vicious or petty of them. No one is entirely good or bad and their choices kept me constantly guessing and reevaluating my loyalties. The Ash Princess has grown up from the age of six in a court where any moment could spell her death and everyday brings a new punishment and humiliation. I was riveted trying to figure out her next move amongst the palace intrigue. Usually, I'm criticizing heroines for not being smart or strong enough, but not here. Every minute she was perched on the verge of disaster, playing chess with the lives of her servants, spies, friends and tormentors, trying to stay one step ahead. Far from perfect, she was perfectly written for a child who watched her mother get murdered and then was raised by the people who did it as a political hostage with the weight of her people's future on her shoulders but no one to teach her how to be a rebel queen. I fell in love with the heroic, handsome crown prince, a kind hearted boy and a military progeny who is tortured that he will become like his vicious tyrant of a father. He was honorable man in a court of lies who, as book goes on, struggles between retaining his own humanity when ordered to commit atrocities and being loyal to his own people.I appreciated that while there was violence and degradation (the heroine is whipped and beaten every time there is a rebellion) but there was no rape or molestation (of the main characters at least). The romance between the main characters is a sweet first love that takes on a desperate edge since the are both at the mercy of the prince's ruthless degenerate father and they each have deep loyalties to different races, one the conqueror and the other the enslaved. To love each other one of them must betray their own people. What choice will each make? I was kept guessing until the very last page.I read A LOT of books and mostly I find myself dissatisfied with the plot and character development (TSTL heroines, badly thought out plot lines, choices that seem contrived, etc.) but this left me speechless, literally speechless. Not once could I guess where the author might be going with the plot and several times I was shocked to hear more backstory on a character that completely changed how I (and the heroine) saw a character. I often reread chapters just because I knew that this was the first in a series and I didn't want it to end. When was the last time that happened for you with a book? Don't hesitate over the price. You won't regret it.

Well, the book would have keep me interested even though I am not a YA anymore. There were some things that have been criticized by other reviewers already, those were still too minor to stop me from reading. Also I took into consideration that the MC and her allies were all very young and were not able to plot better.But what I can't stand in a story is when the main character, who had been betrayed before, and knows how it feels, can betray someone else.Now this is a SPOILER: I understood MC betraying her "heart sister", because she would have betrayed and used her by herself. But why betray Soren, the one who, in my point of view didn't and couldn't do much better than Theo before she found her allies. One of the few who wanted to help her? Why not logically ask him to help her in way or other?People who decieve non decieving characters are not my favorite. So main character acting that way doesn't make me like her or want to read more of the story.

I could not stop reading this book the moment I picked it up. Laura Sebastian snares you on page 1, and the action and stakes keep building and building until it’s 4 am and you are awed and shocked and full of all the feelings, so glad to have stayed up all night reading. Theo is everything you want in a heroine: determined, gritty, clever, ready to do whatever it takes to help not just herself and her friends but her people. It is incredible watching her journey as she first must believe in herself then rise to the occasion. And the surprises! Just when you think you know what might happen, the book throws in a new twist. The ending is a high-stakes, amazing stunner. And Blaise, Soren, Cress, Artemesia, Heron—these are characters you will fall in love with and want to read about again and again. I just wish I had the pleasure of reading Ash Princess for the first time all over again. I cannot wait for the second book in the series!Ash Princess is perfect for fans of Red Queen and Ember in the Ashes, but in my opinion, it's far better. Read it, and it will become your new favorite.

Ash Princess ticks a lot of the usual YA tropes; a displaced Princess wishes to overthrown her villainous captors and rises up to claim back her throne. Oh, and there's a love triangle of course. But where I've grown bored of this in other YA stories, I found the approach in Ash Princess more refreshing.The story begins in a rather brutal manner where our Princess Theo is forced to kill her own father. This sets up a rather dark tale where Theo, having been imprisoned and paraded by the man who overthrew her kingdom and killed most of her people, starts to dismantle the mental barriers of her forced imprisonment. Theo isn't a fighter, but finds strength and bravery in her determination to finally do what is right for her people and make whatever sacrifices necessary, even if this means lying to the people who believe her to be their friend.The tension builds up quite nicely and ends with the promise of more to come. I like that Theo has a lot of tragic backstory to unpack, but this doesn't make her a weak or nasty character at all. The romance was a bit lukewarm, but the friendship between Theo and her best friend Cress was well-developed. Cress offered an alternative view from the side of the oppressor, and it was nice to see Theo go from supporting and agreeing with Cress to finally standing up for herself and the downtrodden. I'm looking forward to seeing where this will go in the sequel!

This is another in a long line of books that begins with murdered royalty and their child brought up by their enemies. The story is steeped in cruelty and torture, and the protagonist is given powers that for some reason they are not allowed to use. Why? What is the fascination, almost delight, some writers seem to take in such cruelty and torture, and the nonsense of giving characters power that they are not allowed to use? It makes for a very unpleasant read with no hope. Why do writers think we want to spend our time reading such stories?

A young adult fantasy novel. First in a trilogy. 'The Ash Princess.'Recommended reading age would be fourteen and up. Rather dark in tone. Some violence and gore. And adult references.Being the start of a trilogy means it ends with lots up in the air.It runs for four hundred and thirty three pages. It has many chapters, which have titles rather than numbers. Plus an epilogue.There's a map of the world where it takes place at the start, and another of the country where it takes place.Main character who narrates the whole thing is Thora. Born Princess Theodosia, but when she was six her country was conquered and her mother killed. She is now called Thora. The Ash Princess. She has one friend, a Princess of her conquerors. And has learned to survive, especially under the gaze of their harsh ruler, the Kaiser.But she's never quite forgotten her roots. And when a chance to rebel, which she never thought would come, arises, she finds it in herself to do such. But she has to make impossible choices. Decide who to trust. And who to love...A very good start to this trilogy, and a very enjoyable read with some originality. The world is not the most detailed. The magic system is interesting but doesn't get much attention. But that doesn't really matter. Because it keeps the focus on the main character and where she is and what she is going through, and it works really well by doing that.There is possible romance, and this is not something that turned out how I expected it to. There are surprises. But what really keeps the pages turning is the tension of the whole thing. Not just if her plans will work, but which way she will turn in regards to her relations with certain others. That kept me going all the way. Nothing really worked out how I expected. Which is good writing. And it all came from character not plot needs, which is also good stuff.As usual with such things, all characters are in a different place at the end to where they were at the start. And that was enough to make me want to know what happens next. So another good mark for this.A very good read. I will get to book two 'Lady Smoke' as soon as possible.

I enjoy YA fantasy I have shelves of my bookcase weighed down with them. However, this book was too.. same-y! I felt like there was little about this book that was unique and although I enjoyed reading it, it didn't inspire me and I felt as though it was just a 'typical' YA fantasy. I would have liked some more world building and to see more of the wider political games. The magic was also just being introduced in this novel and I hope, as the main character delves more into this in the coming books a clearer picture of the magic system will develop.I liked the main character and the ways she deals with her situation, and the consequences of what her situation makes her do. I also like that this new side of her comes out as the story progresses. This book was well paced and there are a few plot twists which will help to hopefully develop this trilogy.I had higher hopes for this book, but it doesn't stand out from the crowd for me.P.S Love all the covers of this book!

After reading the blurb and the first few pages that Amazon supplied, I was immediately infatuated with this series. I have never purchased an entire series in one transaction, I usually read the first book and decide if I like it enough to purchase the second. But I knew from the beginning that I would love this series and I was so right! I read the first book online for free before my book arrived from Amazon- that's how eager I was. I have since read the second as well and now I am starting the last. The first book did have a good amount of grammar errors which were noticeable, but this is reduced in the second book.The books are fast- paced, action- packed and heart- warming. They are also very predictable at times, and I loved that! There are two events that happen in the second book that I was NOT expecting at all!! I am shocked. Considering how predictable the books were at times, I liked this element of surprise. The character development is astonishing for each character, and the characters gracefully fall into their respective roles as the storyline goes on. Obviously, there is a love triangle, any reader would pick up on that from the first few chapters. I love, love triangles!! I am really pleased with the series thus far and I am so excited to read the last book. I would whole heartedly recommend.Don’t judge it to be a soppy, children’s book from the title. IT ISN’T! The event that take place are very meaningful and deep, especially in the second novel. The first book is a quick introduction. A LOT happens, but the real deep elements come in the second book. I read the first book in three hours; I couldn’t put it down.