Ash Princess by Laura SebastianSeries: Ash Princess Trilogy #1
Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers on April 24, 2018
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 432
Book Details
Rating: ★★★★★
Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Queen of Flame and Fury, was murdered before her eyes. Ten years later, Theo has learned to survive under the relentless abuse of the Kaiser and his court as the ridiculed “Ash Princess.” Pretending to be empty-headed and naive when she's not enduring brutal whippings, she pushes down all other thoughts but one: Keep the Kaiser happy and he will keep you safe.
When the Kaiser forces her to execute her last hope of rescue, Theo can't keep her feelings and memories pushed down any longer. She vows revenge, throwing herself into a plot to seduce and murder the Kaiser's warrior son with the help of a group of magically gifted and volatile rebels. But Theo doesn't expect to develop feelings for the Prinz. Or for her rebel allies to challenge her friendship with the one person who's been kind to her throughout the last hopeless decade: her heart's sister, Cress.
Cornered into impossible choices and unable to trust even those who are on her side, Theo will have to decide how far she's willing to go to save her people and how much of herself she's willing to sacrifice to become queen.
Ash Princess was AMAZING!! It met all my expectations and then some.
The story in this book is devastating. Pretty much every page tugged on my heartstrings. The main character, Theo, has to live among the king and people that took over her country. It completely broke my heart.
I also loved how Theo struggled with characterizing some of the people around her. For example, she grew up with this girl Cress, who’s the daughter of the man who murdered Theo’s mother. On the one hand, Cress was kind to her when no one else was. On the other hand, she’s associated with the man who killed her mother and she’s not sure how real her friendship with Cress really is. Are they truly friends or is Theo more like Cress’s “pet”?
Then there’s the Prinz (German word for “Prince”), Søren. He’s kind to Theo, but he’s also the son of the guy who took over Theo’s country. He also does horrible things on his father’s orders.
I really sympathized with Theo struggling to figure out who could be a friend and who was an enemy. I also really loved hating the horrible Kaiser and other evil characters. But mostly, I loved seeing poor Theo’s anger and hatred build until it reached a boiling point. This is going to turn into an epic revenge series and I can’t wait for more!
Wow, another great review that has me thinking I must add yet another book to my ‘must read’ pile. Thank you for playing guinea pig and pointing out the winners.
My pleasure! 😀 I hope you enjoy it!
I think I may have to check this one out! I’ve seen a couple of positive reviews for this one and it does sound intriguing. Glad that you loved it so much. I’m definitely intrigued by epic revenge stories!
Yay! I really hope you love it as much as I did, Sarah.
I’m interested in this one, especially after reading your enthusiastic recommendation. Another good YA series is what I need right now.
Wow, this sounds nothing short of amazing! I have been eyeing this book for some time, but your review has encouraged me to add it to my TBR. Glad you had an enjoyable read!
I hope you love it, Kaleena! 🙂
After reading this post, I need to read this book.