#laura Sebastian

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - May 18th - Book Gradient

💚📚

[bookaddict24-7]

(New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (June 18th, 2024)

___

Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

___

New Standalones/First in a Series:

Of Jade & Dragons by Amber Chen

Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley

Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer

The Calculation of You & Me by Serena Kaylor

With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igharo

All Roads Lead to Rome by Sabrina Fedel

Rules for Camouflage by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

A Game Most Foul by Alison Gervais

Old Palmetto Drive by S.E. Reed

New Sequels:

Hearts that Cut (Threads That Bind #2) by Kika Hatzopoulou

Masquerade of the Heart (Garden of the Cursed #2) by Katy Rose Pool

Poison in their Hearts (Castles in Their Bones #3) by Laura Sebastian

___

Happy reading!

[safirefire]

The Ash Princess Trilogy by Laura Sebastian is perfect for ya fantasy lovers who love a warrior princess trope and there’s really interesting world building in the later books. Every country has its own system of government, customs, technological advancements, and relationship to magic. The main character, Princess Theo, is a prisoner of the invaders who took over her land but she is patient, fiercely protective of her people, and stronger than she’s ever known. If you liked Aelin Galathynius but wished her story was less like it was told from the colonizer’s point of view, the Ash Princess trilogy is perfect for you. The main character goes through incredible character development and the series touches colonialism better than a lot of ya fantasy. Also the cover art is so gorgeous.

[mercury-waters]

three books i loved in october

murder your employer by rupert holmes || mystery(?), academic setting

an innovative book that presents itself as a covert textbook from a mysterious murderous academy, telling the story of three characters who go through personal journeys to off their enemies.

half sick of shadows by laura sebastian || fantasy, camelot, minor romance

a feminist retelling of the arthurian myth centering around the prophetic lady of shallott, and a powerful story about friendship and destiny.

the spare man by mary robinette kowal || mystery, sci-fi, glitz & glamour

an heiress and her new spouse are framed for murder on their honeymoon trip and must find the real killer to avoid disaster. bonus points for including a fancy cocktail recipe at the top of every chapter.

[fancylala7]

[kadisbook999]

I'm currently reading the second book in the series "Castles on Their Bones" by Laura Sebastian

And since I am a creative person, I drew the main characters from there First –Princess Beatriz

[mapas-fantasticos]

Map of the world from the Ash Princess trilogy by Laura Sebastian.

[elliepassmore]

Poison in Their Hearts review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: multiple POVs, morally gray characters, schemes, court intrigue

Castles in Their Bones review

Stardust in Their Veins review

The book opens with Daphne at the Frivian court where we left her, now solidly against her mother and making plans with Violie, Leopold, Cliona, and Bairre. Beatriz, on the other hand, is in a bit more of a bind. Having been captured at the end of Stardust in Their Veins, she now finds herself back in the Cellarian court to be wed...this time to Niccolo. Things are tense for each of them for different reasons, and the distance between them makes planning their mother's downfall all the harder. It's kind of difficult to tell the timing of the book, one character makes a passing mention to it having been "only a month" since the end of Castles in Their Bones but that feels....distinctly wrong. The events of the last book definitely felt like they took more than four weeks to occur, and this one picks up immediately, so I'd say at least two months after the ending of the first book, if not three.

It's difficult to say whose book this is. If Castles was Sophronia's book, Stardust was meant to be Beatriz's (and we do see that, but in hindsight I think a lot of it was for Daphne too), then this one is probably meant to be Daphne's book. However, I think this book does a good job splitting itself between Daphne, Beatriz, and Violie. Beatriz grew a lot in the last book, but let's not forget Daphne also broke away from their mother and she had much stronger ties to her.

Daphne is still struggling with what it means to be against her mother, but not so much from a will-she-won't-she perspective, but from the perspective of needing to know who she is if not a loyal daughter. Daphne definitely brings out her strengths in this one, and to my surprise, we also get to see her trusting people more too, which is decidedly not one of her strengths. The relationships she's been cultivating in Friv are ones she feels confident leaning on, and her and Bairre get a lot of development over the course of this book. I really liked seeing who Daphne became and enjoyed her storyline, especially since she started out in book 1 as my least favorite sister.

Beatriz also gets to grow and in this book the focus is on her finding her own way out of binds by relying on her cunning and diplomacy rather than magic, bloodshed, or other people. Triz really shows herself as a well-rounded force to be reckoned with, and she also shows just how much her siblings have shaped and guided her--she draws strength from Sophronia and Daphne at different points. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the decisions she made in this book and think that it really shows a great deal of growth for her, even though she still calls herself emotional and impulsive.

Violie feels like much more of her own character in this one, which I liked. She feels responsible for so many of the things that happened in Temarin, and particularly with Sophronia. She was a POV character in the last book as well, but I feel her voice really comes out in this one as she establishes herself and her place. She can be ruthless, but that ruthlessness comes out in a way that belies care for the people around her and for the state of both Bessemia and Temarin. It's clear she regrets her past choices, but now that she's chosen to take a stand, she's willing to fight for it with everything she has, just like Sophie.

Bairre, as expected, does have to make some tough decisions in this one and tbh he kind of feels like a new man. He's just as loyal to Friv as always, and he's still determined to see the rebellion's goals through, but he also listens to Daphne far more than before and is willing to put blind faith in her, something I don't think would've occurred in Stardust. I liked getting to see him interact with a wider group of characters and enjoyed getting to know him more.

Leopold is another character who really comes into himself in this one. While he was already developing into a stronger character, and stronger king, in Stardust, we see that development further in this one. Temarin, let's remember, is currently occupied by Empress Margaraux's forces, and that doesn't bode well for the country. Leo has the opportunity to really step up and it was such a fantastic transformation from who he'd been in Castles, I loved seeing it come to fruition.

Pasqual and Ambrose both come back as well, though they're absent for most of the book as a result of the events that happened at the end of book 2/the beginning of this one. Pasqual is Triz's number one supporter and is ride-or-die for her. I cherish their friendship so much and love how Ambrose is more than onboard with Daphne.

We also see Cliona again and I really like her as a character. I feel like maybe I didn't like her as much when she was introduced, but she's a clever and funny character, and I liked that Daphne had a friend. She also sets a nice foil to Gisella who....makes very different choices when faced with it.

There are so many threads set up for this book and it was wonderful seeing them come together. Several things from book 1 pop back up, and I liked getting closure on some of the conflict that was left open from that book. Likewise, some new things that popped up in book 2, both character- and plot-wise, were resolved in this book in some pretty interesting ways. There was a lot that needed closure by the end of this book, from the minor mentions of the previous empress to the big things like the current empress, and Sebastian does a good job of having everything come together.

The showdown with the empress is a longtime coming, and there are several smaller showdowns with her along the way. It was definitely tense because I knew while reading that Margaraux was in no way going to go quietly, but I wasn't sure just what she had planned. Goodness is it hard to win against her. As the girls say, she has spies everywhere, and we get to see just how extensive that network is and just how good she is at planning ahead.

Overall I enjoyed this book and thought it was an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. There is room for character growth as well as flashy showdowns, and most, if not all, of the loose ends are tied up by the end of the book. We even get more of Sophronia.

[talecomet]

I AM HERE TO FEED THE STARVED FANDOM TAKE MY ASH PRINCESS ANIMATIC

[acourtofpaperandink]

Book Review: Poison in Their Hearts By: Laura Sebastian

Post by: Jessica Castles in their Bones (book 1) Stardust in their Veins (book 2)  Poison in Their Hearts (book 3) By: By: Laura Sebastian Cover: The covers don’t all match so that is super annoying. I didn’t like the cover of the first book but it was way better than the covers they switched to. I didn’t say it before but I will say it now… I hate these covers.   Story: ★★★ In this book…

[quillandqueer]

NetGalley Update | 22nd May

Read:

Poison In Their Hearts: A disappointing end to an average series

Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal: DNF, the medical gaslighting was a lot

New:

Lucy Undying: I'm hoping for Dowry Of Blood vibes?

Immortal Dark: I just realise I got two very different vampire books, slay

Feedback Ratio: 89% | Books On Shelf: 16

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - October 25th - Shadows

just a stack of shadow titles 🖤

[dangermousie]

I am on my angsty YA fantasy kick, am reading Laura Sebastian’s Ash Princess trilogy and it’s DELICIOUS!!!

The FL is fucked up as hell and so is the ML and it’s all so so so so to my specs and angsty and for once FL is not mainly obsessed with a dude but restoring her kingdom and getting vengeance and ML is more determined to restore his soul than win her love and it’s sooooo A+!

I mean the whole last surviving princess of defeated kingdom X crown prince of kingdom that conquered and enslaved hers and now the ruler keeps her as a sort of hostage pet could go wrong so many ways but I am on book 3 and it hasn’t so far mmmmm!

It’s what Anle should have been like if it was actually good!

I have very specific fictional preferences and this series meets it!

[pocacutaop]

“I was a princess made of ashes; there is nothing left of me to burn. Now it's time for a queen to rise.”

― Laura Sebastian, Ash Princess

[amodernarrietty]

Unknown / Nth is so Søren Theo coded, something something about realizing the person you wanted to save is a person with their own goals and ideas, and maybe they never wanted you to save them in the first place. How you look in their eyes and see your own guilt and shame instead, and know that you can never atone for what you’ve done. But you try anyway, because what else can you do? And on the flip side, seeing someone you hate, you’re supposed to hate, but you care anyway knowing you shouldn’t. And maybe everything would’ve been easier if the two of you had been left unknown from one another, and then you could finally know peace.

“Just to take the Injury of finally knowing you.”

“There are some people, love, who are better unknown.”

“Every tedious beat going unknown as any Angel to me.”

[fancylala7]