Happy reading!
Title: Kingdom of AshAuthor: Sarah J. Maas
Page Count: 980
Rating: A+++++
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: YA Fantasy
Keywords: War, Fae, Gods
Kid Appropriate: Teen
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .
Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…
With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.
And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.
As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.
My Review:
I have never been so satisfied with a book finale! Sarah J. Maas has written a masterpiece that hits every note absolutely perfectly ranging from the despair of war, hope of found love, and courage in the face of fear.
The first half of this book is incredibly tense, slowly building the anxiety of whether or not our favorite characters will survive what seems like certain doom. And the entire time I was terrified that this finale would end similarly to Breaking Dawn in which there is a great deal of build up for a lackluster ending. There is no need to worry in this regard. The war is grittier than I had expected and a great balance of fear and hope that does not lean too far in either direction. There is a level of reality often missing from other fantasy war scenes in YA.
This installment in the Throne of Glass series proved to me that this series is not simply what many book skeptics sneer at when they say something is only YA, meaning it is not as grand as the adult side of the bookstore's high fantasy section. As a fan of both genres, this is absolutely in my top three fantasy series of all times.
Some readers skipped Tower of Dawn, what was originally supposed to be a novella following Chaol, and intend to jump straight into Kingdom of Ash following Empire of Storms. I absolutely do not recommend this! Tower of Dawn happens concurrently with Empire of Storms and is basically book six in this series. If you skip it there will be an entire component of the army from the Southern Continent that joins the battle you will have no background on. Even the magic systems of that kingdom are different from what we are familiar with following Aelin's crew. And if neither of these aspects entice you, there are a many new characters that we see in Kingdom of Ash that you will only know if you read Tower of Dawn.
Overall, I cherish this book far more than I could have anticipated and cannot believe the growth of this series from book one to book seven.
I hope you give this one a chance and if you have already read this amazing book, check back in to see more of my spoiler filled discussions coming up in the coming weeks!
Click here for my expanded review on the romances filling the pages of the series!
Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .
Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…
With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.
And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.
As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.
My Review:
I have never been so satisfied with a book finale! Sarah J. Maas has written a masterpiece that hits every note absolutely perfectly ranging from the despair of war, hope of found love, and courage in the face of fear.
The first half of this book is incredibly tense, slowly building the anxiety of whether or not our favorite characters will survive what seems like certain doom. And the entire time I was terrified that this finale would end similarly to Breaking Dawn in which there is a great deal of build up for a lackluster ending. There is no need to worry in this regard. The war is grittier than I had expected and a great balance of fear and hope that does not lean too far in either direction. There is a level of reality often missing from other fantasy war scenes in YA.
This installment in the Throne of Glass series proved to me that this series is not simply what many book skeptics sneer at when they say something is only YA, meaning it is not as grand as the adult side of the bookstore's high fantasy section. As a fan of both genres, this is absolutely in my top three fantasy series of all times.
Some readers skipped Tower of Dawn, what was originally supposed to be a novella following Chaol, and intend to jump straight into Kingdom of Ash following Empire of Storms. I absolutely do not recommend this! Tower of Dawn happens concurrently with Empire of Storms and is basically book six in this series. If you skip it there will be an entire component of the army from the Southern Continent that joins the battle you will have no background on. Even the magic systems of that kingdom are different from what we are familiar with following Aelin's crew. And if neither of these aspects entice you, there are a many new characters that we see in Kingdom of Ash that you will only know if you read Tower of Dawn.
Overall, I cherish this book far more than I could have anticipated and cannot believe the growth of this series from book one to book seven.
I hope you give this one a chance and if you have already read this amazing book, check back in to see more of my spoiler filled discussions coming up in the coming weeks!
Click here for my expanded review on the romances filling the pages of the series!
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