Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas- My Goodreads Notes

Hello! While I am working on the extended portions of my review full of spoilers I thought it would
be fun to share with you all below the notes I began making in Goodreads while I was reading in order to keep track of all the moments that made me emotional!

If you are interested in watching me gush over this amazing book, then click here to see my week long reading vlog that I did while I was actually reading Kingdom of Ash! If you're curious about my spoiler free review click here or if you are interested in my spoiler filled review of the romances in the series click here!

Needless to say, this post will have spoilers! You have been warned.

Happy reading!

1) Page 218 "😭 chills" 

Alright, looking back at this page it is the very end of Chapter 23 and it follows Rowan praying to Mala. I remember that this was the first moment that I started getting drawn into this story, reconnecting with the characters and beginning to really care again.

Any time we read about the gods that populate this world I get really excited. Reading about

mythology and folklore was one of my favorite things as a kid and when I was studying anthropology so it gives me similar feelings when I'm reading about the god system of a fictional world as well.

Plus this was a moment of distant romantic sentiment which gets me every time.

2) Page 268 "😭😭😭"

THIS SCENE! Where as my first note was the scene that sparked my interest, this second note comes from Chapter 31 and the first moment that this book made me cry. And I mean ugly cry, sobbing.

I've always had a soft spot for Fenrys even if he wasn't my favorite character. His dog like nature was endearing as was his loyalty to Aelin despite his bond the Mauve. When I thought he was dying I was already pretty upset. Then Aelin, who is a shell of the character that I came to care so deeply about earlier in the series, comes out of her fog long enough to offer him a blood oath and save his life and wrecks my emotions. It was beautiful and sweet, showing that Aelin is more than a killer and her court is more than just fun and games.

3) Page 475 "Manon 💖"

Manon screwed up massively in the beginning of this book with her interactions with the Crochans
. This was especially true when her behavior resulted in the group that had requested aid being slaughtered. She redeemed herself somewhat by digging their grave and showing the proper respect.

This moment though when the three Matrons land in the Crochan camp and challenge Manon was everything I didn't know I needed. The perfect amount of bloodshed, mercy, and anger are displayed in this scene. She is becoming the queen she was always meant to be.

4) Page 490 "👑"

I was so mad at Aelin after the scene with Fenrys for doing basically nothing. She was quiet and faking her way through the days but doing nothing to really help anyone. The moment she stepped out of the keep in her suit of armor and began to fight like she hasn't for several books I began to feel hope that the queen was back.

5) Page 525 "😭😭😭"

Chapter 60 made me cry with the sense of impending loss and hopelessness as Elide searched the
battlefield for Lorcan. When she found him I was so giddy because if you read my review of the romances you'd know that they are by far my favorite couple. I had forgotten about their connection to the gods (let alone that those gods were connected to one another) and then the fact that the horse Farasha was connected to their patron gods. That was so cool to me!

Chapter 61 filled me with so much anxiety! As they are racing towards the safety of the keep and there is just no hope that the dam is going to hold long enough for them to make it to safety I remember just bouncing in my chair. Every time he told her he loved her and tried to let go so maybe she could live I about lost it.

I could reread these two chapters a hundred times.

6) Page 558 "😭💖😭💖😭"

Chapter 64 is right before this and it is the moment that Lorcan wakes up to find Elide beside him after he was brought into the keep to be healed. I was beyond giddy that these two finally made up without impending doom as a background but also that they had this quiet moment to talk. Their relationship feels the most real to me. I love that is is sweet and unhurried whereas the others are filled with hunger and demands.

7) Page 563 "That chapter! 😭🔥"


Alright, I'll admit Chapter 65 was pretty damn good as well. This is where the Crochans accept Manon as their queen and she is able to get them to fly to war. The part beginning on page 561 with "Hearth to hearth, the Flame of War went," made me smile. Manon is queen and everything that has been built up over three and a half books is being set into motion and it has such power as it moves.

8) Page 602 "Well that was a bummer"

Lysandra and Aedion were not the highlight of this book to me in any way and this was one of the few moments that I felt an urge to stop reading. There is so much great material happening in every other part of this world and then there is this desperate, failing battle being led by Aedion's set. In some respects I appreciate that as a war novel this did not focus solely on ridiculous and impossible hope and massive magic. There were moments that I worried about my characters and genuinely did not know what was going to happen. It added a depth that would have been lacking otherwise.

Still, a total bummer.

9) Page 751 "Nonononononononono"

When I first met Manon and her crew in Heir of Fire I really hated them. They seemed like the
typical villains that were going to ruin the days of
my precious protagonists. Oh lordy was I not expecting to cry so much over these ladies.

The point in which Asterin pushes Manon down and tells her to live is when I put in my note on Goodreads. A slow feeling of dread began to creep over me mingled with hope that my gut was wrong. As they flew on their wyverns towards the tower though I knew my eyes were about to be leaking profusely.

The pacing of this scene was perfect as Maas highlighted each person and their sacrifice. This was not a simple war maneuver to win. This was the loss of a family, lifelong friends, the beginning of hope. And for Abraxos it was the loss of a mate.

Even just rereading parts of it now a few weeks later is bringing tears to my eyes. This might be the most devastating scene in the entire series for me.

10) Page 786 "😭😭😭"

Definitely not the saddest moment of the book but I just remember when Dorian realized that Aelin had saved him by sacrificing herself and the feelings that Rowan had immeditely after really got to me.


Those were my ten Goodreads notes! Some other scenes that really got to me were Gavriel sacrificing himself for his son and also when Aedion begins to mourn his father. That was a ridiculous situation for me further proving how awful Aedion is as a character that he can't show people he loves any amount of respect or decency until it is too late.

My other favorite scenes involved Elide. One is Chapter 79 in which they find her uncle and she is finally able to be strong in front of him, showing her own mercy and backbone simultaneously. Also page 724, Elide and Lorcan being cute.