#I'm glad you like my thoughts on Bane I understand there's not a ton of content but this is not a blog for sharing

[righteousruin]

psa.

since it's happened a lot lately -- this is an RP blog! If you are a personal or fandom blog, please don't reblog my posts! I will most likely get anxious and block you! Thank you!

[silkiemae]

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

My Rating: 3.25

Well, this book did not need to be a thousand pages long. Holy god, did this thing drag. Honestly, if I hadn't read the ACOTAR series before this, my opinion on this book might be much different, but unfortunately, I am very unimpressed. SJM seems to have a habit of recycling plot lines a lot. Making incredibly powerful women give up their power to save everyone, a nameless villainous king, and a big war where every time you think they're going to lose or die, another army shows up just in the nick of time to save everyone. And because I know that's something she does already and because she did it a crap ton in EoS and in ACOWAR, it was unsurprising and infuriating to see her do it about a thousand times in this book. Like, you really couldn't think of anything new? I understand she wrote these books simultaneously, so my theory is either she was getting tired of writing this and just thought, 'oh well, I'll just do the same thing I did in ACOWAR,' or she was on a time crunch and couldn't think of anything else, so she just ripped her own book off(and of course Helm's Deep from LOTR). Not to mention repeatedly making her villains rapists. Amarantha, Erawan, Maeve, the kelpie, Lanthys, Tomas, etc. I am sick of SJM using rape for shock value purposes. Because she never once has a discussion about the aftereffects of rape. It just is thrown in like 'oh btw Erawan has a girl chained up in his bed, eheheh.' 'oh btw, Maeve forced Fenrys and all of her other cadre to service. her'. I was also recently told she intended to make Amarantha bisexual so that she could have her rape Feyre. Like...come on, Sarah. 

I feel SJM has a bad habit of not killing people and that this book suffered greatly for it. If half the people who should've died kicked it, this book would probably be half the length. I stand by the fact that I think Chaol should've died in place of Nehemia, and she would've brought far more to this story. I think that Lysandra should've died during her battle with the sea wyverns(don't get me wrong, I like her and am glad she lived, but she still should've died). Everyone keeps miraculously recovering or surviving, and it feels like a cop-out. Another person I feel should've survived, though was Kaltain. I feel like her character was so wasted because this bitch ate a demon that possessed her and was clearly powerful as hell, but then she kills herself. And just it's irritating to me because I feel like she could've been such a valuable addition in helping defeat the Valg. Still, unfortunately, nobody can be more powerful than Aelin. This book promises war and death, but aside from some side characters, no one truly important dies. So as I talk about the book below, I'm going to tell you who I would've killed because I am ruthless and evil. 

So Aelin has been imprisoned by Maeve for a little under three months. She is being repeatedly tortured by Cairn(I hate this name because all I can think of is a little pile of rocks), and then healed so that there is no evidence of her injuries. Maeve is also messing with Aelin's mind so that she can't tell reality from a dream. Fenrys is chained and forced to watch this whole thing in his wolf form. At some point, Maeve summons them and makes Fenrys' brother kill himself in front of him, and then they're both sad and grieving. They both survive this and get out physically unscathed. Fenrys manages to break his blood oath and is almost dying, but Aelin saves him by giving him one from her. Now, personally, I would've let Fenrys and Aelin form this bond together. Fenrys is her only lifeline, the one thing she has to hold onto. And then I would've killed him in front of her. Then Aelin would've been alone, and she would've truly had no one, and her breaking and losing it and the mad dash to suicidal freedom would've had so much more emotional meaning behind it because she truly feels abandoned. 

Lysandra and Aedion are fighting with the Bane in the North. They're mad at each other, Lysandra is still pretending to be Aelin, Aedion is still mad about that whole situation. I don't blame him tbh, I would be pissed too but at the same time he needs to realize that Lysandra probably hero worships Aelin for rescuing her from a life of prostitution. Of course she's going to do anything that bish asks. When he threw her out in the snow butt ass nekkid I was done with him tbh. But then naturally, she forgives him. The part where she refused to run to safety because she wanted to stay with him was so aggravating because girl...you are in charge of a small child. She didn't think to get her out then at all but suddenly towards the end of the book she's like 'oh yeah! Evangeline should abandon the town!' I would've killed off Lysandra after she tried to rally the forces as Aelin and then fell.(when she shifted back to her true self how did she even know it was her true self since she said she couldn't remember her true face in EoS) and I would've killed Aedion when he got stabbed by the Valg prince. It would be sad and shit but like...THEY SHOULD'VE DIED. 

Manon, Dorian and the Thirteen are trying to find the Crochan witches and rally an army to fight against the Valg. Dorian wants to find the other Wyrdkey so he can forge the Lock and Manon is slowly accepting her place among the Crochans. I really enjoyed Manon's story arc tbh. She was probably my favorite character in this book. I would've loved to have Manon and Dorian never be a thing though and have Manon kill Lord Lorcan Lochan so that she and Elide can go rule the Wastes together. RIP Asterin and Narene. :( Poor Abraxos. 

No one cares about Chaol and Yrene. I'm sorry. I loved their story in Tower of Dawn but here it was so dull and I just...don't care. I would've rather read more about Nesryn and Sartaq but they fell to the wayside here to focus on everything else. She might as well have just killed them all off for all the attention she paid them. As I said, Chaol should've died ages ago. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Eventually, Aelin goes to Anielle to meet up with Chaol and the others and she helps them fight the Valg, a big wave shows up at Helm's Deep because a dam broke and Aelin expends all her magical fire energy to stop the dam. I really don't understand anything about how powers work in this series tbh. How is it that Aelin can warm an entire camp full of bathtubs without even being there? Like the limitations of her abilities are inexistent it feels like. She can exhale a breath and crumble a man to ash. How? She can control the heat of her flames? How? 

Speaking of powers that don't make sense. Dorian has raw magic right, and he's able to do basically anything magical. So he starts learning to shapeshifter and turns himself into a woman and then 'explores his new body' which is something only a man would write so I wonder if SJM's husband told her to include that. But here's my question. Why doesn't Dorian teach himself to become invisible? Or teleport? Or astral project? He literally goes to Morath for a whole WEEK looking for those keys. Just think if he learned to astral project he could search the place without anyone even knowing he was there. He could walk through walls like a phantom and then when he finds it, he can teleport into the room, snag the key and teleport out. Boom. Instead, he just chills with Maeve and flies around like a gnat. Honestly, how is it no one else sensed him? 

The way SJM writes people sensing/smelling things in this series makes absolutely no sense to me. There are so many times that I’m thinking to myself that somebody should’ve been caught because they are with a person with heightened senses. Like let’s think, Maeve should’ve been able to sense that Aelin didn’t have the Wyrdkeys right? Considering they are of her world and she seems able to sense everything else. Why couldn’t Erawan smell Dorian in Morath but Maeve could? They’re both Valg, does Maeve suddenly have different sense than Erawan because of her fae body? Why wouldn’t Erawan also choose to wear a body with heightened senses? 

Also, another thing I’ve been wondering. Why is it that none of the Fae seem to be able to tell when anyone is lying? Like they can tell by the cadence of someone’s voice or just like by knowing that person but these people have super hearing and smell. Can’t they hear a shift in heartbeat that might betray someone’s lie? What about a change in scent? Most people with supernatural smell can always smell fear. Like…?!??!?

I totally loved the scene where Elide goes to rescue Lorcan on Hellas. I liked the mad dash to the finish the line vibe of it but I do think it would’ve been a really fitting tragic end if Lorcan did sacrifice himself to save Elide. At the same time, I’m not mad about Elide being like UH NO I DID NOT SAY YOU COULD DIE. That’s probably the only time I have not been mad at a character’s failed sacrifice in an SJM book. I also want to thank SJM from the bottom of my heart for not disgusting me with a sex scene of these two. Not only are her sex scenes some of the cringiest things I have ever read in my life but if it was between Elide and Lorcan it would’ve felt DISGUSTING because of the way she repeatedly had to tell us that Elide just became a woman and how keenly aware of this fact that Lorcan was. Not to mention Elide is a virgin and Lorcan is like 'anything you do will be enough to please me'....sir, your pleasure is not important here. Elide should be the focus considering it's her FIRST TIME. I really wanted to like Lorcan and Elide but the way SJM writes men ruins it for me constantly. 

Now, I would not have been so mad about Aelin having to give up her power if I hadn't read ACOTAR before this. I think it's set up much better in this series and like you can see that that's what it was always leading up to. But the fact that she reuses the same exact plot device in ACOSF and ACOWAR is so LAZY. Like come oN. 

WTF was the point of the first book, guys? I’m just sitting here thinking. Why did they ever do that King’s Champion thing? What did Erawan want a Champion for because I know he had something to do with it. What were they looking for there? I am so confused about that whole situation because like even with Aelin they never did anything with her except send her out to kill people. What was the point of any of that??

Also, WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH FLEETFOOT. I AM ENRAGED THAT THIS DOG IS KICKED TO THE CURB CONSTANTLY. Aelin never once throughout this entire book series thinks to herself ‘man I miss my dog’ and like…WHHY? In 980 pages, this dog is mentioned 4 times and it is not ever as a 'I miss my dog' thing it's like 'oh yea I have a dog'. Like you're telling me not once during this big war, not once when Aelin was being tortured did she think about her dog. Not even when she was going to die did she feel bad that her dog was never going to know where she went or what happened to her. Aelin never deserved that poor dog. 

This book could've ended like 300 pages earlier if Aelin had just kept her mouth shut and let the gods take Erawan as they promised. Then they wouldn't have had to risk the pregnant woman. But no worries, she magically kills this guy that we've spent 7 books building up as this undefeatable creature in five seconds. I think the fight with Maeve was much better done aside from the whole wolf people showing up. Because like once again, Aelin magically has an army come to save her that none of us was ever aware of. 

There were 124 blinks in this book. And that is 124 too many. I know that blinking is a natural part of being a human being but I don't need to read about every time a person blinks. Like Sarah, why are you so obsessed with blinking. 

Aelin sucked on a tooth. ….Just one tooth? Which tooth was it? Does Aelin have a little snaggle tooth that she sucks on when she’s being contemplative? Does she have a tooth necklace that she sucks on for nerves? WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

There are so many repeated phrases in this book that had me rolling my eyes out of my head. “She opened for him” (in reference to kissing???) “She said softly, but not weakly” (literally please stop) “She gobbled up the book she was reading”(if I have to hear the word gobbled one more time I am going to lose it) 

Everyone is just blinking at each other. Saying ‘holy gods’ anytime something wild happens. Eyes are guttering and throats are bobbing. Sarah, I'm going to buy you a thesaurus. 

I kind of spiraled and got off track on my kill list so I'm just going to write it here. Chaol Lysandra Aedion Fenrys Lorcan Nesryn and Sartaq(sorry guys) And Aelin because I hate her.