#kingdom of ash review

[margielalalove]

“There are no gods left to watch, I’m afraid. And there are no gods left to help you now, Aelin Galathynius. Aelin smiled, and Goldryn burned brighter. I am a god.”

Sarah J. Maas, Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)

[sofiasjornal]

Kingdom of Ash Review (a little late)

I really didn't know what to write about this one, or even how to say goodbye, so I won't!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The first 250 pages were absolute hell. Not because they weren't well written, they really were, and that was why they were so difficult to get through. What Maeve and Cairn did to Aelin... I suffered with her through every single line of those chapters. And when she rescued herself (because let's face it, she did it, Rowan and the others were just there to help her) I didn't feel as much relief as I thought, I felt really tired. And when she said she too was tired, my heart broke alongside hers.

Everyone who told me Chaol got better in KoA was absolutely right! He grew a lot, but I suppose war does that... and Yrene. We all need to bow down to Yrene.

Gavriel's death broke my heart in tiny little pieces. I really thought he and Aedion would have the time to talk properly, to get to know each other... but they didn´t... But in the end, Gavriel died protecting his won, just like a father would.

I loved how all of the couples got to in the end. It was a fitting end for everyone. The only thing that bothered me a little was how Dorian and Manon's storyline was left open ended. With two impredictable characters as those two, I just don't know. Somehow I dont see Manon marrying Dorian and becoming the Queen of Adarlan, not after so much pain to get the witches together. Maybe they'll be happy with the back and forward... I guess is up to us to imagine how those two would end up in the end.

But Aelin... Aelin went home and got everything she deserved. Every moment of peace she fought so hard and sacrificed so much for... And now she's rebuilding a world, a better world. Just like she promised.

I realised that I will never be able to say goodbye to Aelin. I think about her constantly, about her strength, her endurance, her passion. I loved her from that first moment and I would've followed her to hell, and we did. But even now, that Throne of Glass is officially over, I do not say goodbye. I keep her here. Always

Aelin

[folk6crows]

Is Throne of Glass worth the hype?

YES

[wereallbooked]

Our January Wrap Ups!

In January, M read 17 books (everyone say thank you throne of glass) and H read 12! We read books like Onyx Storm, The Courting of Bristol Keats, Spark of the Everflame, The Ministry of Time, and Love, Theoretically.

Our Thoughts below the cut: (spoiler free until the very end, and only minor spoilers there!)

H’s reads:

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson: For some reason, the first 100-or so pages of this book felt WEIRD to me. I can't quite put my finger on why, but it was one of those reads where enough is off to make you hyper-vigilant about everything else in the book, and it killed my vibe...until we entered the second act. THEN, it ate and left almost no crumbs. (maybe 2 crumbs?) I really loved Tyghan. I REALLY loved Tyghan's connection to Bristol's lore (iykyk) and I thought the use of dual POV here was an excellent way to differentiate it from the romantasy market at large. 3.75⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood (M also read this, but she didn't want to count it. I am all about that Goodreads challenge): I don't know why, but I spent this entire read picturing Liam Mairi from Fourth Wing as the MMC, which probably added at least a star to my rating. Oops? I know a lot of people thought this man was creepy for his little photography habit, and I think in real life I would also be bothered. However, he is a man written by Ali Hazelwood, soooooooooo. 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flawless by Elsie Silver: When I read this bad boy, it was baby's first cowboy romance! M actually gave this to me for Christmas because I made one too many "we should try a cowboy romance" jokes. While reading, I alternated between intense joy and wondering who Rhett voted for. I think the fact that he was Canadian helped. A little. As I have gone on to read more from this series, however, the things that bothered me about Rhett are only intensified by reading about his brothers (latent misogyny, anyone? a smidge? a hint?). I DID have fun, though, which is what matters in a book like this. I was a big fan of the whipped cream shenanigans. I am also a milk hater, so that didn't bother me too much. 3.75⭐️⭐️⭐️

Powerless by Elsie Silver: Here's my beef with this one: If you promise me a book about a virgin with a big age gap, I expect a book about a virgin with a big age gap. I feel like Elsie could have committed to the bit a bit more? She gave Bailey a funny mix of sexual promiscuity and innocence, which is FINE, but wasn't what I was expecting. Further, she seemed to shy away from the age gap a bit by making Bailey more "mature". I felt like she could have just....not? If you pick up the fourteen year age gap romance book and get offended by the fourteen year age gap...that's on you. I don't think THAT's the audience Elsie needed to cater to here, but that's just me. 2.75 ⭐️⭐️

Andromeda by Therese Bohman: I contain multitudes! The first half of this novel was really lovely. I really enjoyed the FMC’s (I believe her name is sophie? but we find that out on page 100 or something) voice and description of things. It felt almost Sally Rooney esque, and I am a huge Sally Rooney fan. And then, we got to Gunnar’s POV. I didn’t vibe with Gunnar. I probably should have anticipated this. There are few old men I do vibe with. However, Gunnar killed the novel for me. I got this from BOTM, and they advertised it as exploring themes of modernity. It DOES do this, however, the novels view on modernity and my view on modernity do not mesh. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Favorites by Layne Fargo: This was my other BOTM pick this month! Again, I really liked the first half. It’s a Wuthering Heights retelling and the first half is much more loyal to the original story. The feeling of knowing tragedy is at the door but not being able to break through the pages and warn the characters was awful. I recommend! However, the late second and third acts diverge from the original novel, and in order to do so, fundamentally alter Heath (Heathcliff)’s character. This is all to say, I wish Heath was a worse guy overall. I get WHY he isn’t, though, especially after looking into Fargo’s backlog after finishing. Still, I was really disappointed with the novel’s end. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen: I really put off starting this one because I was intimidated by it. I don’t know WHY I was intimidated, but it was my BOTM pick for December, and then I let it languish on my shelves for weeks. I should NOT have waited!! It was a beautiful story with beautiful prose. I loved the excavations of Chinese history, the elevation of lesser known consequences of the Cultural Revolution, and the examination of the Chinese-American identity. GREAT stuff. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: This was my THIRD read. Originally, I gave fourth wing 4 stars, then 4.5 on my first re read, but this read pushed it back down to 4. The Empyrean series is my current fixation. I had no choice in the matter. My main blog is a fourth wing fanfiction blog. Violet and Xaden are verrrryyy important to me. However, the prose in fourth wing is so incredibly clunky. I get terminal red pen brain when reading. I thought a LOT about V and X’s chemistry while reading this time around (for fic reasons, LOL) and their big moments in the first half of the story arc didn’t eat like usual. The insta-lust wasn’t as bad as I remember it being, but then Violet didn’t really seem like she liked him ?? as much as usual anyway. HOWEVER, the second half of the book is where I USUALLY gripe about their development (re: all the actual relationship building happening off screen, what do they talk about, does xaden have a hobby) and on this read I actually caught a lot more of the minor references that show them falling in love! Casualty of the chaotic prose: it’s hard to catch a lot of the one-line mentions. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros: This book is my baby and I love her. She’s the only girl in the world to me. I heard Lexi on Fantasy Fangirls describe Iron Flame as a transition book, and at first, I didn’t agree with this assessment. However, when I thought about it further, I think that’s why I love it so much. When I first read IF, my life was in a transitory period, and I also felt like my whole world had been turned upside down. A lot of people say X and V are annoying here. I, again, disagree. I raise you this: they’re just like me for real. Both of them and the way they react to things are EXACTLY what I would do. Maybe this is problematic, but I do NOT care. The problems I have with FW do all still exist in this one, but they don’t bother me. I don’t have red pen brain here. 6 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (read twice. in a row. back to back.): This is our book club read, so we’ll have a separate post for her! However, I will say that my first read was NOT great. I care about these books (see reviews 8 and 9, LMAO) and I was wayyyy too invested in certain theories going the way I wanted (re: Halden and Xaden, specifically). I was so anxious that Xaden was going to do something drastic based on the way he was acting that the entire first read was a 12 hour anxiety attack. I originally rated the book 4 stars, and then, I was minding my own business a few hours after finishing. The ending crossed my mind, and I burst into tears. Repeatedly. At length. So then, I made it a 5 star! On my re read, I was experienced a LOT more of that five star feeling, until the last 100 pages or so when I once again succumbed to dread. A lot of the popular critiques of this book aren’t things I “agree” with. I didn’t expect “good” world building after books one and two, for example. The prose is what it is. But! More on that later. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood: Ali’s best work? Dare I say? I ADORED this. Elsie is so me coded it felt like Dr. Hazelwood was in my walls. I LOVED how Jack handled her issues. I really enjoyed the sex. Ali is always so freaking funny. This has me cackling. This has me crying. Incredible. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

M’s reads:

*spoiler free until the end*

1. Kindred's Curse Saga

- Spark of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Glow of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Heat of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️

honestly was really excited to read this series bc i wanted to listen to ffg deep dives. i liked the first book well enough and i really liked the premise that the main character is a healer. the second book was good too i thought, and i was really propelled through the series because each book ends on a massive cliffhanger and i couldn't stand it. but then by the third book idk it all became too much - too much going on - too many bad decisions made by the fmc.

2. ACOSF ⭐️⭐️⭐️

love love the series but this was probably my least favorite book out of them all. it felt too long and honestly they fucked too much for me girl pls 😭😭😭 loved the sisterhood developed with nesta, gywn, and emerie and also her own sisters. as per my goodreads 3 stars for the plot and 5 for the sisterhood

3. A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston ⭐️⭐️⭐️

really wanted to like this one because who doesn't like a book written about a book? but i just couldn't vibe with the fmc and mmc and i couldn't with how it ended.

4. Ready or Not by Cara Bastone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

okay actually kinda throughly enjoyed this one and it was really fun and super sweet. loved the mmc and the overall nyc vibes. every character was quirky and unique and the situation was kinda insane which i lived for. i would read this again for a spark of joy.

5. All of TOG ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

no words. best series i've ever read idk why i didn't read tog sooner i was so missing out. every book was good in its own way. you didn't ask but here is my ranking of books in the series.

heir of fire

kingdom of ash

throne of glass

crown of midnight

empire of storms

assassins blade

tower of dawn

queen of shadows

*i have more comments on this series in the spoilers section*

6. Onyx Storm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

most anticipated read fr. enjoyed it. loved the world building and xaden and violet in this. violet was truly girlbossing it up. ALSO loved ridoc in this he has my whole heart. I feel like we got to love all the side characters a bit more here so that made my soul happy. not sure where to rank it in terms of fourth wing and iron flame. i feel like i should have reread fw and if before this but i was too busy girlbossing it up with tog.

1. The Ministry of Time ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

was really not into it in the beginning probably because i haven't read lit fic in a while, but it def grew on me and the commentaries about being mixed race really hit home for me here 💔. def reccomend this to ur wasian besties because i almost cried.

8. Tethered ⭐️⭐️

this is your sign not to read books you see on tiktok because i was like oooh ahhh vampires i LOVE a vampire. not saying i don't love this vampire, but i couldn't get into it just based on the way the book was written and there's so many more books in the series i just knew i couldn't keep going through it. if you want a trashy wattpad vibe book (sorry if u love this book and i just called is trashy but its trashy in a good 2000s britney spears) kinda way.

**spoilers**

- kindreds curse saga: okay so my main qualm with this whole series is that by the third book the way the fmc acts just became too much and it's as if she's having no self-growth at all. like sorry for throwing tomatoes but she kept making decision after decision that led them running on their asses elsewhere. and it just never ended. ALSO i just couldn't with them fucking in the library after they fought a battle and then getting caught. PLS a library. anyways. also another comment is that i was really wanting to read this series because she was a healer but then turns out she doesn't even want to be a healer so i felt a bit sad about that in my soul.

- TOG: i have so many thoughts on this series my life is geneuinly changed thank you parents for buying me the box set for christmas because i could reread these books forever. what truly amazed me about these books were that characters i kinda disliked or hated (cough cough chaol) i truly came to love and understand by the end of the series which is so hard to do as an author i think. like i went from hatimg chaol in queen of shadows to feeling so sorry for him in tower of dawn. not that its not fucked up what he did to aelin and nehemiah but like you really get to empathize with him and his sitaution. and manon too! i didn't really like reading her parts at first but then i loved her by the end. and also i wasnt sure how to feel about rowan in heir of fire bc i already knew he was endgame but now i also love love rowan so much its like he's the perfect balance for aelin. also cannot express my love for the fmc that is calaena / aelin like she is amazing in every way possible.

[xxkwho]

Kingdom of Ash - Sarah J Maas

My review :: 4.5 stars - the best in the series, maybe I'll add more thoughts later!

[lia-land]

Kingdom of Ash

4/5 stars

*Spoilers for Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas.

My heart!!!

I will discuss everything in chronological order because this was a longggg book at nearly 1000 pages.

First, it could have been shorter. I loved it, but I feel this way about every SJM book.

The first two chapters were written so well. Or pre-chapters, I guess? ‘The Princess’ and ‘The Prince’ set the scene for the rest of the book so beautifully. Reminded me of Chapter One of Queen of Shadows when Dorian was trapped with the Valg. A very strong start to this book.

I really love Dorian in this which seems to be an unpopular opinion. I’ve liked him throughout the series but especially in this book. I truly never knew what his next move would be. He’s managed to surprise me the most out of all the other characters and has suffered so much, but I feel like it’s never really acknowledged. Him seducing Manon while he'd shape shifted into a witch was odd. I was kind of hoping he would actually turn evil when he started showing an interest in Manon, but then she became ‘good,’ so then I thought he might actually marry Maeve and that didn’t happen either. I did want him and Aelin to end up together in the first two books and I am so happy that they did not because I love him and Manon together so much and I think Aelin would have overshadowed Dorian instead of complementing his character like Manon does. I’d happily read a whole series about Dorian. He is the character that I will miss the most. I would have liked his ending to be more clear, but I also like how it feels knowing we just might not ever know how his story ended. Although, I feel like SJM will one day explore this in a future book.

I’ve said this in past reviews, but the whole thing with Aelin coming up with a secret plan to save the day every single time was getting old and I thought it was an interesting change that Maeve outsmarted her for as long as she did. It was satisfying for me as a reader to have something actually happen to Aelin without me reading the chapter thinking ‘I’m not actually that invested because I know Aelin will have the upper hand and pull out some secret plan as always’. The chapters about her time in the iron box were very well-written and her pain came across those pages really well. It was a beautiful moment when she offered the blood oath to Fenrys.

Moonbeam is so unserious. I love it.

Elide continued to annoy me. Just… everything she says and does. I can't specifically recall when or why I disliked her, but I didn’t care for her character whatsoever. Lorcan was also just kind of there, existing. No strong feelings about him either way. I need clarification on what Lorcan did back in Empire of Storms, though, because I thought that was their first time actually having sex? But apparently it was in this book. If I had a penny for everytime a chapter ended with a variation of “so Lorcan did,” I would have two pennies and not know where to spend them. What did Lorcan do the first time?!

The first line in this entire series that truly caught me off guard was when Aedion said “because I am not in love with our other allies.” I don’t particularly like Aedion and obviously we knew he was in love with Lysandra, but the tension in that scene and the directness of it was so unexpected amongst the chaos. This is one of two lines that I have highlighted in my copy.

The second line… “Live, Manon.” I think this the saddest character death scene I have ever read in any book. 11 characters dying on one page should be some sort of record. The way each of the Thirteen’s deaths were described followed by everyone placing flowers on the field broke my heart. I have often loved the witches storyline more than Aelin’s and didn’t expect them all to die, let alone to sacrifice themselves. I think it was necessary for the story, though, because SJM has a tendency of not killing off characters and that has always felt inauthentic and takes me out of an immersive reading experience because I know that conveniently, no one will die. It wasn’t surprising, per se, that they sacrificed themselves, because that was how the Thirteen’s characters were portrayed, but the way it was written was devastating. Manon’s pain came across so strongly through those pages. I think this mainly upset me because my guard for characters dying is down when I read SJM books. She loves a happy ending and I know not to expect certain things to actually happen. This was like the thing I mentioned earlier about Aelin getting outsmarted by Maeve; it was refreshing.

Manon has been my favourite character throughout this series. Just a tiny bit more than Dorian. SJM has a tendency of turning evil characters 'good' and making them boring in the process, which I have discussed in reviews of her other books. However, I think Manon is the only character that she actually made more interesting by making her less 'evil.' Her story has been one of my favourite character developments ever.

Murtaugh’s death felt very rushed over and oddly written. With the word choices, I didn’t even realise he was dead until a few paragraphs in when it was mentioned that a sheet was over him. This was either intentional and not executed well, or just bad word choices. It kind of felt like SJM was just trying to get rid of him because we didn’t get anything between him going to tell Aedion he’s fighting and then him being dead. 

I want to see more of Ansel of Briarcliff. We saw very little of her throughout the series, but it was all so entertaining. I’m not sure why we weren’t given more of an explanation as to how she became queen after leaving the Silent Assassin’s, but I’’m hoping this was set up for us to get a book about her later. I loved when she offered to share the Wastes with Manon while simultaneously taking her bread. That was just so her.

I'm not giving it 5 stars mainly because no one actually died. All these main characters, and not one of them died in this massive war.

[princessofmanyfaces]

Throne of Glass

The Assassin's Blade:

A 4 star read for me. It was good but from what I heard before reading it I expected it to be a 5 star read and was a little disappointed.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Throne of Glass:

A 4 star read for me. Usually every first book is kinda boring to me but I loved this one. I loved Celaena in this book and I loved Dorian. I loved the competition and the hidden passages. The mystery was fun.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Crown of Midnight:

A 4 star read for me. We see Celaena more in her assassin nature in this book and I really liked it. I'm a big fan of Celaena, she's fierce but she's also adorable.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Heir of Fire:

A 5 star read for me. But – what's her name? Ehat am I supposed to call her now? It was kind of confusing but I was so excited for Rowan to get introduced and how they went from hating to tolerating to liking each other. "Who did this you?" Hell yeah boy! And Manon got introduced, too. Queen.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Queen of Shadows:

Another 5 star read for me. More action for the witches and for Aelin and Rowan. Abraxos being a sweetheart. Valg. Aedion got introduced. Nesryn got introduced, my love.

⭐⭐🌟⭐⭐

Empire of Storms:

A 5 star read for me. We are seeing a bit of Terrasen and then we are in Skulls Bay again. More Manon. More Rowaelin. More heartwrenching plot. Amazing.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tower of Dawn:

A 3 star read. It's definitely not a bad book but it's also not the best in the series. It was necessary for the plot and I loved Nesryn chapters. AND WE MEET YRENE AGAIN YAS!

⭐⭐⭐

Kingdom of Ash:

A 5 star read. SJM ripped my heart straight out of my chest and asked me if I'm okay. I'm not. Loved it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

TOG Series:

A solid 4 star series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

[lucyqueenofchaos]

The Assassin's Blade

⭐⭐⭐⭐: My heart has been ripped out of my chest and stomped on.

I finally read The Assassin's Blade. On my first read through of the Throne of Glass series, I was too excited and obsessed with the magic story line, so I skipped the Assassin's Blade. And I now know that was a mistake. A very big mistake. This review does contain spoilers, so please read at your own risk.

This collection of short stories is a must read in the Throne of Glass series. You can read it either before Throne of Glass, or between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. I chose to read it between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows, and I currently feel like I made the right choice.

I like how each of the included novellas have their own contained story line, but they also contribute to the whole that is The Assassin's Blade. A wonderful blend of characters and environments, with such incredible variety. I loved that the Assassin's Blade explored so many different locations in Erilea, which is something I've always wanted to see more of in these books.

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This novella is a great start to our history of Celaena. Full of the action that we love, and shows off the true moral code of Celaena. I think this is honestly the earliest chronological time that we (as the reader) get to see the morals that Celaena holds true in her heart. And seeing her fear for Sam when the watchtower falls had me holding my breath as well! There are also some really visceral descriptions included in this first novella that honestly had me on the edge of my seat. I did feel that it was little slow in places, but I can forgive that.

The Assassin and the Healer: ⭐⭐⭐ This was a truly interesting read. Told almost entirely from Yrenes' POV, it played out a little differently than the rest. I liked Yrenes' character development - from a timid girl who has given up on her dreams, to a confident young woman who is on the path to greatness. I felt like even though it was really short, it did end up dragging quite a bit. I liked seeing Celaena teach Yrene basic self defense, and having read the series before it gave some much needed background on Yrene that I missed the first time around. Unfortunately the pacing of this one did hold the rating back on it for me.

The Assassin and the Desert: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Look, I'm trying to keep this review semi-professionally worded, but my heart is screaming "OMG THIS NOVELLA WAS SO GOOD!" It was quite a bit longer than the previous two, but that's because there was more to the story. Watching Ansen and Celaenas' relationship play out was beautiful. Not once did I suspect Ansen of being the spy, and I'm going to be brutally honest - that reveal just about broke me. Ansel and Celaena could have been thick as thieves for life if it weren't for this betrayal. I really enjoyed seeing Celaena get the point of the training The Master gave her (it gave me major karate kid vibes, but Celaena is less of a little shit). It also broke my heart to see Celaena come to the realisation that Arobynn is a manipulative, abusive man - and to see that The Master is everything Arobynn is not. And finally learning the tale behind the stolen Astarion Mare was the cherry on top. The Assassin and the Desert is for sure my favourite novella from The Assassins Blade.

The Assassin and the Underworld: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ For such a short novella, this one did certainly drag a bit. It felt like there was less action, and in my honest opinion; Celaena and Sams' relationship didn't live up to the hype. I think there were honestly a little toxic for each other, but young love is so sweet. I'm definitely not doubting the extent of their love for each other, but they're both pretty petty people (I just love alliteration), and they weren't good at effective communication. It was nice to see their affection for one another grow and change. Seeing more of Celaenas' apartment was also a lovely touch for me personally - I think it was a needed insight to her personality. I can 100% identify with Celaenas' shopping tastes - she's a girl after my own heart!

The Assassin and the Empire: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ No. I may not have thought Sam and Celaena were perfect for each other, but this destroyed me. I knew this ending was coming, I knew what happened at the end of their relationship right from day one. And it still broke me into a million pieces. There is something so personal, so heartbreaking about Celaena being betrayed like this. I read this novella while I was getting my nails done, and let me tell you - that was a huge mistake. I had to explain to my nail artist why I was crying like a baby. Don't forget that just when I thought the pain was over, The Lord of The North appeared to Celaena on her way to Endovier. In a beautiful moment, Celaena is reminded of herself, her duty, and that she will not be afraid. Summary: All the pieces of The Assassin's Blade come together perfectly at the end. As I am writing this I have just come to the awful understanding of the meaning of the title. The Assassin's Blade is Celaenas' anger. Her anger has been honed into the sharpest blade of them all, and I think this revelation is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. Thank you for reading this review, I hope to continue posting more of my in-depth book reviews. Please check out my Goodreads profile for more of my previous reviews, and as always, my main social media accounts are linked below.

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[385bookreviews]

1.72.5 Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

SPOILERS

Pages: 645

Time Read: 11 hours and 23 minutes

Overall Rating: 5★ Storyline: 5★ Dialogue: 5★ Characters: 5★

Genre: YA Fantasy

TWs for the book: Violence, blood, death, murder, gore, torture, injury, grief, war, confinement, slavery, fire, physical abuse, vomit, miscarriage, emotional abuse, body horror, pregnancy, s*xual abuse, kidnapping, death of a parent, genocide, su*c*de, child death, child abuse, su*c*dal thoughts, trafficking, colonization, mentions of r*pe, s*xual violence, medical trauma, classism, domestic abuse, self harm, gaslighting, s*xual harassment, ableism, cursing, misogyny, panic attacks, stalking, alcohol, execution, xenophobia

POV: Third Person

Time Period/Location: Rifthold, Adarlan; Morath; Oakwald Forest; and Terrasen on the fictional continent of Erilea

First Line: There was a thing waiting in the darkness.

Aelin lands in Rifthold from Wendlyn and goes straight to The Vaults, the seedy underground tavern/fighting pit/pleasure house in order to find Arobynn Hamel. She is surprised to discover Chaol, with an unknown woman, meeting with Arobynn. He leaves without noticing her, and Aelin confronts Arobynn. He informs her of Aedion's capture by the king, and that he is set to be executed at a grand party for Dorian's birthday. He offers to help her free him, in exchange for her capturing one of the Valg soldiers now infesting the city. Arobynn leaves, and the city guards Aelin had led there break in, and she wrecks the entire place. She then leaves to hunt down Chaol in the sewers, and encounters the woman who was with him. Her name is Nesryn, and she is a member of the city guard now aiding Chaol and the rebels. Chaol sends Nesryn and the rebels and the captives they freed ahead, and explains to Aelin what happened with Dorian, Sorscha, and Aedion. They part angry with each other after Chaol refuses to tell her how to free magic. Aelin goes back to her apartment, and the next day finds Lysandra and a child named Evangeline outside. Lysandra insists she has changed from when they were children, and gives her a letter written by Wesley, Arobynn's former bodyguard, and Lysandra's deceased lover. In the letter Wesley explains everything Arobynn did involving Sam's death and Aelin's capture. Chaol and Aelin argue about whether or not to kill Dorian now that he has a Valg prince possessing him. Aelin swears she won't, and so Chaol tells her how to free magic. Aelin sneaks into the castle with a troupe of dancers set to perform for the King and Dorian at his birthday party. She spills water to wash away Wyrdmarks that would notify the King of her presence. Madame Florine, Celaena's dance teacher for years, aids in the ruse, and gives all of the dancers black glass roses. Aelin sneaks through the crowd, disguising herself as a man to get close to Aedion. When the dancers smash the glass roses, the whole hall goes up in smoke and Aelin uses the distraction to free Aedion. Everyone rushes out, and Aelin and Aedion run through the gardens until they are confronted by Dorian. Aelin uses a Wyrdmark to freeze him in place and tries to kill him, but is stopped by Nesryn. Her and Aedion run, and with the help of Lysandra, manage to make it back to the apartment. Chaol and Aelin fight over her almost killing Dorian, and Lysandra finds out that Aelin is Queen of Terrasen. Aelin discovers that the eight creatures on the clocktower, that she dubs Wyrdhounds, are living in the sewers and that the King uses them to speak to his Valg commanders. She goes out for drinks with Aedion and Nesryn, and on their way home, they are stopped by Rowan. They tell each other of what has occurred when they are back in the apartment. Rowan then reveals to Aedion that his father is Gavriel, and also lets it slip that he took the blood oath to Aelin. Aedion believes it was his right to be the only one to claim the blood oath, and him and Aelin fight and he storms out. Rowan then finally tells Aelin why he came to Adarlan against her orders: Lorcan is hunting her and the third Wyrdkey.

Aelin sneaks out at night to lure Lorcan into the sewers. He is attacked by the Wyrdhound and kills it, and follows Aelin, threatening to kill her. Rowan puts a knife to his throat, and Lorcan warns them that Maeve let them walk out of Doranelle, and that she isn't done with them yet. Rowan meets Lysandra and reveals that she is a shape-shifter. She warns them that Arobynn wants his demon tomorrow, so they go out and capture one and interrogate it themselves. They manage to talk to the man the demon is possessing, Stevan, and tell him a plan. The next day, Rowan, Aelin, and Aedion go to the Assassin's Keep. Arobynn tortures the Stevan for information, and Stevan tells him that the King put him under his control by putting the ring on and licking his blood. Arobynn cuts the ring off Stevan's finger before killing him. The three then have dinner with Arobynn, and he becomes jealous at seeing how close Aelin and Rowan are. He then pulls her aside to talk to her privately, and gives her the Amulet of Orynth containing the third Wyrdkey in exchange for her working for him again to take down the King. She agrees, but he then puts on the Valg ring and licks her blood. She becomes his slave, and he sends her back to the apartment. She is silent until they arrive there, and then she takes off the ring, revealing that Stevan lied about the blood and that Arobynn just revealed his true intentions. That night, Lysandra kills him in his sleep. The next day, acting as Celaena, the trio goes back to the Keep and Celaena demands from the other assassins and Lysandra to know what happened. They determine it wasn't anyone among them, and Arobynn's will is read. All of his fortune, lands, and the Guild are left to Celaena, much to the dismay of the other assassins and Clarisse, the brothel owner that owns Lysandra. Aelin kicks them all out, and tells them to come back with money if they want to buy it from her, which they do. Aedion and Rowan figure out she switched the will so that way they would have money for an army.

Aelin, Rowan, Aedion, and Chaol go into the sewers in search of hellfire, a potent mixture that would blow up the clocktower and free magic. They find the hellfire, but also an old temple built of bones, where wicked people carved their confessions onto them. They go through the temple till they find the confession of Gavin Havilliard. He explains that him and Elena fought the Valg king Erawan and that they could not kill him, so they entombed him in Morath and sealed it using the Eye of Elena. Nesryn finds them and tells them that the King is building a dark army in Morath, and tells them about the witches and wyverns. Aelin storms off and Lorcan pins her, telling her and Rowan the true reason he is here. He isn't on orders from Maeve, and plans to find the Wyrdkeys and destroy them to keep Maeve from becoming a monster. He offers to exchange Athril's ring, which grants protection from the Valg, for the Amulet of Orynth. Then he leaves to let them think it over. When they arrive home, Evangeline breaks in and tells them that as part of Arobynn's will, he had a letter sent to the castle informing the King that Lysandra was a shapeshifter. The guards came and took her and she was being taken into Oakwald forest for the King and Dorian to have a meeting with the witches.

Manon, the Thirteen, and the other Blackbeak covens have been stationed at Morath for months, taking endless orders from Duke Perrington, a collared and lifeless Kaltain at his side. The Duke demands that Manon chose a coven to be implanted with Wyrdstone so that way they can bear witch/Valg offspring. Manon initially refuses, but a Yellowlegs coven volunteers. Elide Lochan, daughter of Marion and Cal Lochan and niece to Vernon Lochan, is chained and crippled, working as a slave in Morath. She is assigned to serve Manon, and when Manon gives her a small cut and tastes her blood, she discovers she has witch lineage. She tells Elide to choose whether she is human, or whether she is a witch. Elide says she is a witch, and so Manon sends her to go and check on the Yellowlegs coven. She discovers that the witches are being bred multiple times, and producing monsters as babies. Manon is angered and writes to her grandmother, to no avail. Asterin, her Second and cousin, grows increasingly angrier with Manon and they fight multiple times, and it ends with her being demoted. but is then summoned by the Duke to meet the King and her grandmother in Oakwald forest.

The Matron shows the King a new weapon, a wagon covered in mirrors on the inside, meant to amplify shadowfire, a dark fire that doesn't physically burn but kills and injures regardless, that is wielded by Kaltain. Manon and Dorian instantly connect, the Valg prince in him immediately fading away and giving Dorian control at the sight of Manon's gold eyes. Dorian tries to goad her into killing him, but she doesn't oblige him. Meanwhile, Aelin, Aedion, Chaol, and Rowan free Lysandra and are about to escape but Chaol disappears to go try and mercy kill Dorian. He runs into the witches instead. Aedion, Aelin, and Rowan run after him. Manon is about to let them go but Aelin doesn't believe her and goads her into a fight by revealing she killed Baba Yellowlegs. They run through a temple and Aelin and Manon fight. The temple begins to collapse and Manon is trapped and going to die, but Aelin decides to save her life and then leaves. While Manon is gone, Elide is captured by Vernon and thrown in a cell. After the fight, Asterin tells Manon they need to talk, and she tells her how she fell in love with a human man, and went back to the witches when she was pregnant. Her baby was stillborn, and Manon's grandmother, the Matron, beat her, branded the word "unclean" across her stomach, and threw her out to die. Asterin never told Manon, and that is why she had been acting out. Manon is angry, and decides that she will not give another coven to the Duke for breeding. She then realizes that Aelin was probably trying to rescue Dorian, and that Chaol was trying to mercy kill him, so she flies to Rifthold with Asterin and paints all around the city a warning that Dorian is still alive despite the demon.

Aelin reveals to Lysandra that she has paid off all of her debts and she is now free from Clarisse and the brothel. Rowan is recovering from the battle with the witches, but smells Lorcan out on the roof and goes to meet him. Lorcan says he killed all the Wyrdhounds and offers the ring again for the amulet. Rowan agrees and they trade. Rowan gave him a fake though.

Aelin sees Manon's message and runs to tell Chaol. Aedion and Rowan sneak through tunnels underground to install the hellfire at the base of the clock tower to blow it up. Aelin pretends to be Celaena again and leads Chaol through the gates as her prisoner. As they are walking through the gates, they see all of Chaol's men, tortured and dead, strung up on the gates. They go to the throne room to meet with the King and Dorian. Aelin pretends as though she has killed the Wendlyn royals and gives the king two fake seal rings to prove it. He then reveals he knows that she is Aelin, and he sends Dorian to attack her. She runs, and Chaol faces off against the King. Lorcan lied about killing the Wyrdhounds, and Aedion and Rowan are attacked by them when they are supposed to be lighting the fuse. Lorcan, after seeing that Aedion is Gavriel's son, saves them. Aelin faces off against Dorian, and puts Athril's ring on his finger to try and get the Valg out. Rowan and Aedion blow up the clocktower, and magic is freed. Rowan and Aedion are targeted by soldiers, and Lorcan flees, but Lysandra appears in the form of a ghost leopard and helps them fight them off. The King appears and taunts that he killed Chaol, and Dorian breaks free from the Valg. Him and Aelin combine magic to kill the King. The King then breaks free from the Valg that was controlling him and reveals that Perrington tricked the King, raised Erawan, let Erawan possess him, and then possessed the King with a Valg prince. He claims that he got rid of magic to help protect Aelin and Dorian so the Valg wouldn't find them, and that he magically attacked Aelin when she was a child in order to provoke her into killing him. Dorian doesn't believe him and uses his magic to kill him and shatter the whole glass castle. Aelin uses her fire to melt the glass into a wall so the city is saved. She proclaims herself as Queen of Terrasen and Dorian as King of Adarlan. Lorcan steals back Athril's ring from Aelin. Chaol is alive, but he is paralyzed from the waist down. Dorian makes Nesryn his Captain of the Guard and Chaol his Hand, but immediately sends the both of them to the Southern Continent so Chaol can be healed at the Torre Cesme. Aelin makes Lysandra a Lady of Terrasen. Aelin, Lysandra, Aedion, and Rowan all leave for Terrasen.

In Morath, Manon arrives to discover Elide missing. She immediately hunts her down in the dungeons, being dragged away to breed with the Valg. Manon slaughters the guards, and they run into Kaltain. She reveals that she had killed the Valg that had been possessing her a long time ago, and takes Elide's clothes to pretend to be her to give her time to escape. She then cuts open her arm and takes out a Wyrdkey and gives it Elide, making her swear to give it to Celaena Sardothien. Manon, Elide, and the rest of the Thirteen run, and Kaltain uses her shadowfire to obliterate a third of Morath. Manon gives Elide supplies and tells her to go north to Terrasen to find Aelin and Celaena.

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius (Celaena Sardothien/Lillian Gordaina/Ansel of Briarcliff/Aelin Fireheart/Aelin of the Wildfire): I know a lot of people find Aelin's endless scheming and plots to be annoying, but one of my favorite parts about this series is watching her schemes and subtle plans come together. None of it comes out of nowhere, it was all well thought out and planned (a theme I wish SJM had kept in her Crescent City series).

Storyline: Once again, I love watching the intricate pieces and subtle hints all come together in this series, but especially in this book. She also lays the groundwork for later schemes in this book. The entire story was engaging and entertaining the entire time, and I loved seeing Lysandra, Rowan, Aedion, Aelin, Chaol, Dorian, and Manon all come together. I do wish Dorian hadn't killed the King as quickly as he did, as there was so much more information they could have got from him.

Representation: Ghislaine, one of the Thirteen, is described as being POC. Characters like Rowan, Lorcan, and Dorian are left up for debate as to whether they are POC or just tan.

Quotes: "She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph." (p.142) "'But would you bleed red, or black?' 'I'll bleed whatever color you tell me to.'"-Manon and Dorian (p.463) "You make me want to live, Rowan. Not survive; not exist. Live."-Aelin (p.527)

[nickjgoodsell]

My Review: A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash #5): by Jennifer L. Armentrout

***Warning!! This review will contain spoilers from the previous books in the series, so continue reading this review with caution. You’ve officially been warned!!*** To see my review of book #1 – From Blood and Ash – Click HERE To see my review of book #2 – A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire – Click HERE To see my review of book #3 – A Crown of Gilded Bones – Click HERE To see my review of book #4…

[margielalalove]

Kingdom of Ash hates to see me coming…

[booksandtea12]

Sneak peaks from the review ;)

"I just ~accidentally~ would start the next B&A one and then suddenly that book would be over and I'd end up doing the same with the next."

"Also, I forgot how much I love Delano! Dear Lord, I love that little snowball marshmallow."

"I feel like there's a unique fine line writers of high fantasy need to balance where they simultaneously explain the world and how it operates while also doing so in a way that is organic and doesn't interrupt the reader's experience or break their suspension of disbelief."

"There is admittedly a switch away from focus on the romance aspect to focus on the fantasy aspect, but this is a romantasy series. That incorporates the term "fantasy," so I don't think it's a very fair review of the book for someone to mark it a low rating simply because they wanted something more romance-heavy."

"I think we've finally stilled the world-building waters enough to be prepped for and fully enjoy the ride of book 6, The Primal of Blood and Bone, which comes out this upcoming summer!"

[abbyisdoublebooked]

I have a couple chapters I need to go back to and do a deep dive of. Looking at you chapter 99. I need time to recover.

[gardens-of-may]

KINGDOM OF ASH: ENTRY ONE

beginning to chap. 6

(spoilers under the cut)

stop this is heartbreaking 

she’s talking about rowan and her failures and how she thinks she’s gonna be forgotten 

wait she’s with fenrys i think

she keeps repeating to herself 

“Once upon a time, in a land long since burned to ash, there lived a young princess who loved her kingdom ...”

i might cry

terrasen is covered in snow

it’s symbolic

AND THAT SETTING I-

surrounded by allies that aelin used every single life debt she had to get

AND IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND I WILL UNDERSTAND AND ITLL TAKE TIME TO GO BACK TO BEING FRIENDS AND LOVE IS A KALEIDOSCOPE 

ehem sorry 

the crew got in a little fight with valg 

IM SO CONFUSED WHAT THE FUCK

sarah just has a way

HALFWAY THROGH THE DRIVE SKDNDKAM

stick season ❤️

anyway

MANON AND DORIAN ARE TOGETHER????

like together with each other not dating (yet)

a cursive letter a

sorry

lysandra’s still faking as aelin

and ren has a crush on her and if aelin doesn’t come back then lysandra will be queen and has to- heirs

not that fun 

goddamn sixty two pages and i’m at chapter two 😭

ELIDE

hmm why is elide and gavriel together?

OH TENSIONS ARE HIGH BETWEEN ELIDE AND LORCAN 👀

so the besties (elide, lorcan, rowan, and gavriel) are torturing faes for information?

idk

yah aelin’s with fenrys

oh my gods 

manon ❤️

so there’s something going on with manon and dorian 

and the bestie sneaks out to talk to gavin

gavin told dorian that the final key is in morath 

THE SWORD WILL GUIDE YOU

lorcan tried to tell elide that he was crawling to aelin not maeve, to save her

didn’t work hehe (not funny)

PRINCE ROWAN WHITETHORN GALATHYNIUS

THEN THIS BITCH DREAMS OF HER WITH THEIR KIDS AND FUCK IM DYING

IM NOT ALIVE ANYMORE IM SORRY

oh it’s too much stop

[xxkwho]

Kingdom of Flesh and Fire - Jennifer L Armentrout

My review :: 4.5 stars - Beginning :: I liked the first one better. Middle :: so freaking excited to get to and experience Atlantia. End :: okay… okay. I get it. I’m in it. 

[mad-rdr]

March Reads

10 books!

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake (★ ★ ★/5): I loved getting to see Astrid be a normal human being with wants and needs and I especially loved her getting with a woman!! And telling off her awful mother!! (mommy issues hit hard bro)

Blue Monday by Nicci French (★ ★ ★/5): this was such an interesting little mystery involving twins and I loved how Frida was like "I'm a criminal investigator now" and broke like 10 laws. I was also not expecting that ending holy shit (he killed his twins and took his place)

Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian (★ ★ ★/5): honestly, I'm not sure anything actually happened in this book aside from a weird love triangle, this 16 yr old queen realizing she doesn't know shit and some half-assed revival from the dead “twist” at the end.

Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian (★ ★ ★/5): this series finale wasn’t too bad, I still feel like if it was written as an adult book it could’ve done so much more with the characters and plot, but I’ll accept it. People die, Theo learns to wield fire, and there’s a lot of unnecessary injures. Truly, where would they be without Heron. Don’t get me started on the dream walking.

The Power of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (★ ★ ★/5): this was a good book, if a little more scientific than I was expecting. Definitely made me think about the human relationship with trees and how we really do take them for granted.

By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter (★ ★ ★/5): I love historical tellings of gay people- factual correctness aside. I did not, however, enjoy the incessant use of the word “tis.” If you’re going to commit to 16th century England you gotta do it all the way and not just sprinkle it in here and there. I did loveeee our chaotic asf mc though- he doesn’t know anything except lust and money (and sometimes love)

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout (★ ★ ★ ★ /5): finally got around to this book and let me just say… these new high fantasy authors need more editors. Has no one told them that repetition is the bane of my existence?? If I read the word “Maiden” one more time I’m gonna lose it. On that note though, this book wasn’t too bad overall. I found it highly predictable (like duh of course Hawke is the dark prince) but once I accepted I wouldn’t be surprised I was able to enjoy it. I love me a good vampire story and this delivered.

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer Armentrout (★ ★ ★/5): someone please tell me why it took the entire book for the characters to move from one place to another. Seriously. There seemed to be little development character and plot-wise and while it was quite steamy... *something* should've happened in 600 pages.

A Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer Armentrout (★ ★ ★/5): this book was far better than the second one but I'm still chasing that high of book one. Book three is almost too much, Poppy goes from being crowned to kidnapped to rescued to dying to being revived and "Ascended" all within the first 80 ish pages... and then after that there's still 600 pages to go. In the course of the book her parentage gets "revealed" like 6 times and finally lands on her being a god? It was good, action-packed and smutty, but my god, someone needs to teach this author the skills of pacing.

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake (★ ★ ★ ★ /5): this was such a good end to the little Bright Falls trilogy; I love me a good bisexual mess who doesn't know how much love she deserves. I just didn't like the breakup at the end, it felt like the author was trying to add a little angst in there and it didn't really work because we all knew they would get back together. But hey, I'm never gonna pass up a fake dating trope.