Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)

by Sarah J. Maas

• ISBN10: 1639731067
• ISBN13: 9781639731060
• Publish Date: 14 February 2023 (first published 23 October 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 21 January 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
• Edition: Adult hardcover edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 992
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

I’ve had the Kingdom of Ash on my bookshelves since it was released in 2018. I know it’s been four years, but I finally got the courage to read it. I knew that Sarah J. Maas would rip out my heart with the last book in the Throne of Glass series, which is why it took me this long to read it. Well, I finally finished it, and yes, Sarah ripped my heart into threads in certain parts of this book. Some more than others. I’m happy I finished it and sad at the same time. I told myself I would read it slowly to savor the story and characters, which I did. All I wanted was for a happily ever after. It did take some time to get there, but it finally happened. Thank you, Sarah J. Maas, for writing these characters and world. I’ll cherish the Throne of Glass books forever. This is one world I can’t get enough of, and I definitely plan on re-reading them again in the future.

My Thoughts: Here are things I enjoyed about the last book in the Throne of Glass series: 

I love reading several points of view in a book, and Sarah J. Maas gives readers several angles to what is enfolding in her books. I felt the pain of what was happening to Aelin and Fenrys when she had been chained, bound, and taken away with Maeve and her sadistic friend, Cairn. I also felt the pain of Aelin’s mate, Rowan wanting to save her. He was determined to find her and get her back. Yes, it was hard to read, but it made me root for Aelin to fight back and Rowan to find her. The biggest tearjerker to me was when Aelin and Rowan are reunited. Knowing what she had to endure with Maeve and Cairn broke my heart. Carin’s fate came too quick in my eyes. Don’t even get me started with what happened to Fenrys’s brother. 

Aedion, on the other side of the world, is dealing with fighting Erawan’s forces with Lysandra. He’s livid on Lysandra and Aelin betraying him. Lysandra is doing everything to keep up the charade that she’s Aelin to the people. Unfortunately, things come to light, and the truth comes out. I felt terrible about how Lysandra was treated, especially with Aedion, but I knew he was frustrated. His queen and cousin didn’t want him to see the truth. It wasn’t easy for them at all in this book. In this book, there’s one scene between Aedion and his father Gavriel after they reunite, and then it all goes to hell. I had to put the book away for a while and come back and reread the scene. I couldn’t believe Sarah had done that to me. 

Yrene and Chaol. I loved these two in Tower of Dawn and was happy to be back with them, even when battling Erawan’s forces. I also loved when Yrene finally reunited with the woman who had helped her so many moons before to get her to where she needed to be to learn her healing abilities. If you didn’t read Assassin’s Blade, I highly recommend you do because you’ll find out how Yrene and Aelin met the first time. Aelin is a favorite female protagonist in this series, but Yrene is a favorite, too. I adored Yrene and what she did in this book. She kicked butt, and she’s going on my list of favorite kick-butt females characters. She even did with sharing a secret. =) 

Dorian. What can I say about this damaged King? He has grown since book one. He did go through a great deal. He’s still broken, but he’s getting there. He proved himself in this book and that he could deceive enemies and assist Aelin in retrieving the keys. I was worried about him when he faced Maeve and how he handled himself. I loved when he reunited with Chaol and met Yrene. 

Manon. Manon will always be a morally grey female character that grew on me in this series. I was devastated by what she went through in this book. Yes, another scene broke me. I had to step away from the book to regain my composure. I’m glad that Dorian and her didn’t really get together at the end. Manon was too independent, and Dorian still had issues.

Lorcan and Elide. Lorcan tried to prove himself to everyone, even to Elide, the most in this book. I felt Lorcan because no one trusted him. Elide even couldn’t trust him. What she did, though, towards the end to save me, almost broke me, too.

Maeve. After finding out the truth about Maeve in Tower of Dawn and what she put Aelin through, I was ready for someone to end her. The person who ended her was epic. I’ll never forget the scene of Maeve meeting her maker. 

Erawan. He was the biggest issue in the series when the truth came out on what he had been planning. The person who ended him was another epic scene. Yes. He deserved every bit of what happened to him, and I’m happy with who did it. 

Aelin and Rowan. These two. I love them together. The ending with them together will forever be one of my favorites to read. To whatever end. Aelin proved herself in this book as a true Queen with everything she went through. I was pissed with what the Gods did to her, though, and will never forgive them. 

Fenrys. Readers don’t get his point of view, but I wish we had gotten it. He won me over in this book, and he has a special place in my heart, maybe even over Rowan. 

I’m glad I finally finished the Kingdom of Ash. Am I upset that the series has ended? Yes, definitely. I’m happy, though; they all got a happily ever after in their own ways. 

Sarah J. Maas managed to suck me into this world, and I’ll never forget it. The action-packed scenes, the adventure and danger the characters went on to get to where they needed to, and a lost princess/assassin who finally claimed her crown back. It was an epic journey, and it’s worth so many re-reads in the future. Thank you, Sarah J. Maas, for sharing these characters and the world with us. Five stars for this fantastic ending.  

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Throne of Glass series, and I highly recommend reading these books in order.

Would I recommend this book/series? Yes. If you are a fan of Young Adult Fantasy that takes you on a epic adventure to claim a crown and defeat enemies that want to destroy everything, then yes, read this book.

[Joni Reads]

Such a brutal book. I felt like all of the beloved characters were never given a break and I felt so bad for them. I found myself tearing up multiple times. An amazing finale so such a wonderful series. I will miss being in the Throne of Glass world.

[pamela]

Kingdom of Ash finally ended the Throne of Glass series, and I’ve got to say, I’m breathing a sigh of relief. It was like a runaway train that I couldn’t get off until I’d seen it slow to a grinding halt or crash and burn. I honestly don’t think Maas is a bad writer, but I do think that she just let this story get away from her.

Now that the series is finished, I can look back on it from a birdseye view. Where Maas writing really excels is when her world is small, and her characters focused. We can almost pinpoint the exact moment when Throne of Glass went off the rails – the second Aelin left to go to Wendlyn. Up to that point, the story was focused. Rifthold was built as a real world unto itself, and the small, tight-knit cast of characters were well developed with real personalities, a great dynamic, and realistic interactions.

The King of Adarland and Arrobyn were great villains with real motivations, and it made Celaena’s arrogant swagger bearable, as it fit into a cast of flawed yet relatable characters. As soon as the world widened, Maas just kept introducing more and more characters, and it kind of felt like she didn’t know what to do with them. By Kingdom of Ash, we ended up with a book that was at least 400 pages too long, full of repetitive filler while Maas tried to give all of the broad cast a POV, whether it was needed or not.

Without a doubt, Maas’ best work of the series is The Assassin’s Blade. By the time that book was released, she’d matured as a writer, but the short story genre meant that each chapter was tight and self-contained. The action was exciting, and the characters were well developed. Maas’ quality appears to suffer when she’s given carte blanche on length.

The longer the series got, and the wider its world, the more the characters were rewritten or overlooked. Dorian, Chaol, Aelin, Manon, Lorcan, Rowan, Lysandra, Aedion, Maeve – all of them were re-written entirely to fit a runaway plot. They got pushed into archetypes, rather than developing in keeping with the personalities developed when we were first introduced. Every major character was also pushed into a heterosexual coupling, which seemed wildly unnecessary. The worst of these was the Manon/Dorian romance. They had absolutely no chemistry, and their romance was not at all in keeping with their characters.

Another huge issue with the runaway plot was the timeline of the series as a whole. In Kingdom of Ash, we are continuously reminded that the entire series happens within the space of a year. I keep thinking about it, and there’s no way I can make it work. In only a year, we are meant to believe that Aelin is released from Endovier, Erawan creates an army from nothing, characters travel to various different continents, battles are waged, traumas are overcome, over half the cast meet and get married (!), and Manon and the Thirteen are meant to have overcome a lifetime of brainwashing and social conditioning? There’s just no way. None whatsoever.

But, my biggest issue in the series as a whole is Aelin herself. I have so many issues with her characterisation, especially as she’s represented in the series as being the rightful heir to Terrassen and would do anything to protect her people. The reality in Kingdom of Ash however is that she doesn’t actually do anything for Terrasen. She spends the first quarter of the book captured by Maeve, then the rest of it travelling. Aedion, Ren, and Lysandra are the ones fighting for Terrasen, while Aelin’s people die by the thousands as she has a little side adventure. When Aelin finally arrives to be the fire bringer in battle, it’s not in Terrasen. It’s in Anielle. They search for a way to get the army to Terrasen, but when they find the solution, it’s cast aside and forgotten until the last 50 pages or so when we introduce a new group of characters who have never been mentioned before and arrive by way of the solution that could have carried her army to Terrasen in the first place. And when it comes to taking a vote to see if Aelin can seal Erawan away in advance and give Terrasen and fighting chance, all her companions vote for her to do that. She then doesn’t do it, choosing to both ignore the outcome of the vote, and trade the lives of thousands of her people in exchange for the soul of a queen who has already been dead for centuries. So, thousands of her people continue to die on the battlefield, and when she finally faces Maeve and Erawan, it’s not her that saves the day, it’s Dorian and Yrene, but Aelin still gets the crown and the glory despite doing very little throughout the entire series to actually save her people. Also, the blood oath is just slavery, and you will never change my mind on that.

There are other issues in Kingdom of Ash like sexism, ableism, transphobia, a lack of diversity, and some pretty blatant outright plagiarism from Lord of the Rings (the films, not the books, to add insult to injury), but other reviewers have done a much better job of outlining those things. I recommend you check out Aentee’s excellent review.

What started a fun series that could serve as a trashy popcorn read turned into a long, sometimes boring slog through to many locations and too many characters. Kingdom of Ash could have been half as long and been a much better book for it. The great characters and detailed world-building flew out the window, replaced with an emphasis on “mating” and pairing all her characters off. If Maas goes back to books that are smaller in scope with a core cast of focused characters, I’ll totally be here for her again. But until that day, I’m afraid that Kingdom of Ash was probably the last Maas book I’ll be picking up.

[neddieb]

Loved the book

This was a great end to a great series. I actually shed a few tears throughout some scenes. Overall, the end was nicely reached.

[girlinthepages]

I admit I slept on Kingdom of Ash. I pre-ordered the special B&N edition and everything but I hadn't yet read Tower of Dawn and I didn't want to skip a whole book before heading into the finale of perhaps one of the most well-known YA fantasy series of the decade. So I placed it on my bookshelf and admiringly stared at it until I finally talked myself into Tower of Dawn (mainly because I had spent the past year rereading the previous 5 books and the novella collection and didn't want the start forgetting details since I so rarely treat myself to rereads!) After Tower of Dawn put me in a MASSIVE slump (it took me over a month to read, and I refuse to even write a review as I don't want to spend any more time on it) I decided to just jump into Kingdom of Ash ASAP to finally be DONE with the series.

What I wasn't expecting, however, was for KOA to be such a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. I was pretty hesitant to even read the series from the start, and had a lukewarm experience with Throne of Glass. I then took a chance on Crown of Midnight and liked it quite a lot, and then absolutely ADORED Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows (my favorite of them all). My love for the series then dimmed a bit when I found Empire of Storms to be rather slow and a lot of just characters journeying around (I hate that). So when Kingdom of Ash became an unstoppable reading experience for me, causing me to try and sneak it in at any spare moment amidst one of the busiest work weeks of my life (12-13 hour+ days) I knew it was going to be a 5 star read for me no matter the conclusion. Was it a perfect book? No. But it was a fitting ending to a finale that's enraptured so many readers and I truly felt invested in the characters and it's honestly going to be difficult to leave them behind!

As it's the last book in an epically long series, this review will contain spoilers for both Kingdom of Ash and the previous installments of the series! You have been warned :)

I don't really know how to coherently organize my thoughts on this 900+ page tome so I'm just going to break things down into the categories that I want to talk about!

Aelin

First and foremost, the beginning of KOA is dark, delving into the capture and torture of Aelin and handling it in a very stark and introspective way that I wasn't quite expecting of this book. Aelin's treatment at the hands of Cairn and Maeve was graphically depicted, with no one but Fenrys, trapped in wolf form, to witness it. The bond Alein and Fenrys forged over that time, with their blinking language that they continued to use throughout the rest of the book, was so moving and heartbreaking at the same time, and the fact that Maas spent time focusing on the fact that they were truly the only ones who could understand the dept of each other's trauma was really well done. I am here, I am with you.

I was a bit wary as to how long Aelin would be held in captivity (worrying it would be the whole book) but her eventual escape was fitting and the perfect combination of Aelin leaning on her Celaena roots as an assassin and fighting her way out just in time to reunite with Rowan and the gang. I appreciated that it didn't fall to Rowan to save Aelin, and at the end of the day she still manages to save herself. Aelin's irrevocably changed and her swaggering and posturing is gone- we see Aelin, raw and reborn, silent for days as she processes what happened to her and how she's going to move forward. In fact, I was so pleased overall with Aelin's character growth in this book- we see her still planning and scheming and making crazy Hail Mary passes in some instances, but we also see her at times where she so clearly is scared or broken or just doesn't know what to do. We see glimpses of the Aelin she might have been had Terrasen not fell all those years ago. I am so, so proud of Aelin and her journey from assassin to queen was truly a rewarding one.

Manon is Our Queen

One of my favorite elements this series introduced was Manon and the witches (both Ironteeth and Crochan) and the political and historical intrigue their plot lines carried. They were integral parts of the plot but yet still had this super interesting internal story that didn't really concern itself too much with the drama happening in the rest of the continent. I've always loved Manon and seeing her reclaim her rightful title as the QUEEN OF WITCHES was just !!! Her CROWN though. Seeing her go from a cold blooded killing machine to a peace bringer across just 4 books was incredible, and the sisterhood between her and the Thirteen was so breathtaking. Speaking of the Thirteen- RIP, it GUTTED me. The fact that they all did the Yielding and exploded in LIGHT instead of darkness was just incredible and honestly their sacrifice was the most emotional moment of the book for me. I definitely don't like that they all died but WOW what a way to go. Also, Manon is a literal QUEEN who deserved better than Dorian in this book which brings me to my next topic...

Dorian

He SO disappointed me in this book- like I know he's supposed to be edgy and sassy but I feel like his squishy center was removed and he was too conveniently powerful (like who teaches themselves how to shape-shift in 5-8 business days???) and honestly lacked a lot of depth for me as the series went on because I initially really liked him! I also didn't like his gross/problematic mindset when he shifted into a Crochan (I was like how did this get past revisions???) I also didn't like the weird flirtation/alliance thing him and Maeve had going on and I don't believe for one second that she wouldn't have killed him? Although I was intrigued by the teasing that Maeve may have gotten a redemption arc- I think that was a welcome reprieve from some of Maas' other villians who are just evil to be evil (*coughkingofhyburncough*). The villains had some dept to them that really seemed to come out through Dorian's interactions with them at Morath...but I still think he got way too powerful way too soon.

Lorcan + Elide

They were the ship I didn't know I needed. I wasn't a huge fan of either of their characters initially but I love how different they are and how Elide's strength is such a juxtaposition to Aelin's (she clever and cunning but definitely isn't made for battle) and how Lorcan comes to love and acknowledge her strengths and find value in them even though they're pretty different from what he's spend his centuries of existence fighting for. Also that scene on the horse when he was about to sacrifice himself for Elide and she was like I DID NOT RIDE ALL THE WAY OUT HERE FOR YOUR STUPID HEROIC ANTICS and wouldn't let him go...I die. Also, Lorcan Lochan LOL I'm glad that was acknowledged because I always thought it was strange how similar his first name and her last name are.

Battles

So there were a LOT of battles in this book, and it definitely added to the page count. I've seen a lot of complaints that the battles weren't necessary or were too drawn out, but I actually don't think that's the case. I feel like Maas did a good job showcasing how war is a lot of sitting around, waiting to fight, and building up the tension, fear and anxiety all of that waiting causes. From Morath banging the bone drums all night to keep the soldiers up from exhaustion to drawing out battles and retreating each evening to give them the illusion of a reprieve- it was strategic and realistic and well done. The battle at Anielle was probably my favorite, with Aelin & Co finally rejoined with the armies, Lorcan single-handedly fighting his way down a siege tower and the dam breaking at the end- these were some of the best battle scenes I've read in YA fantasy, personally. Or when she goes riding into battle at the end on the Lord of the North with her flaming sword, fighting on the front lines with everything she has to protect the homeland that was ripped from her by Adarlan and Erawan a decade ago- truly iconic.

Geography

Maas did a fantastic job in this final installment with tying together all of the locations on the map that she's woven over the course of the past 7 books and novellas. Laura does a great job explaining this in her review, how Maas expertly moves around the armies and players taking things into account like routes, climates, etc. which made the world building feel so realistic. She also introduced even newer settings on top of fully fleshed out world, like the underwater caves that they sail through with the guidance of The Little Folk (whom I loved, and it's charming that they've known Aelin was their true queen all along).

Deaths

I spoke earlier about how gutted I was by the sacrifice of The Thirteen, and Gavriel's death right after reuniting with his son was also v. tragic (especially how he did it to save the Western wall from falling, which would have been catastrophic). There were also some other sad loses, such as Murtaugh (foolish old man, but so noble). Did it feel like sort of a cop out that all of the main characters got through the entire war without dying? Absolutely. Was it sort of cheesy that both Dorian and Aelin forged the lock and neither died or was completely drained of power? Totally. But this is Maas' world and if she wants to give most of her characters a HEA I can't stop her so I've decided to just embrace it.

Random side note- I really don't understand WHAT happened with the lock business and the gods and the wrydmarks and all of that. It's kind of a piece of the series I sort of glazed over but I figured "Ok cool now at least Erawan can't let his brothers in" but then Aelin manages to rip several portals open later on like it's NBD...

ACOTAR Crossover

So I miraculously managed to go a year without being spoiled for KOA before reading it, but the one thing I had heard of was that there was a little ACOTAR crossover. I thought it was going to be a tiny easter egg or something but it was SO huge and I was literally screaming when I read it. The fact that they're just in another parallel universe and Rhys totally helped her out...I have no words. I need a crossover novel SO BADLY.

That Ending Though

I will be the first to admit that the end was a little too easy in its resolution. I didn't really understand the whole "lost Fae of Terrasen coming out of portals and riding direwolves" thing and I felt like I sort of missed something along the way? Were they mentioned previously? It was pretty convenient but not as bad as ACOWAR so I'm looking past it. I really liked how the final battle took place right outside Orynth where this whole journey began for Aelin and how afterwards we received a glimpse of what Aelin's court will look like, how they will rebuild, and how she's now the Faerie Queen of the West. I could read a whole additional series on Terrasen or even a fun fan service novella like ACOFAS. Maas created a truly incredible and vast cast of characters and gave them all such distinct personalities and spent so much time crafting unique voices for them that I would love to be able to check in on them. They're so human in their thought and feelings, more genuine in some ways than the characters in ACOTAR and you can tell they are a part of Maas and she knows them as well as she knows her family.

Other Things I Enjoyed and/or Just Had a Strong Reaction To:

-I forgot Rowan's cousin's name was Prince Endymion LOL please tell me that is a Sailor Moon reference.

-Finding out Dorian's father's name was so satisfying- names hold so much power in so many cultures and I love that Maas used that idea in her storytelling!

The Whitehorns are just casually the rulers of Doranelle now.

-That final goodbye between Aelin, Chaol and Dorian was just heartwarming and really brought everything back to the vibes from book one in the series.

-Aelin basically giving Chaol's dad a stroke every time they interacted (which he deserved).

-So many female characters that showed strengths in ways aside from just being powerful/good at fighting, such as Elide, Yrene, Evangeline, etc. Also Hasar and Aelin should totally be BFFs.

-The fact that Nox came back was excellent- I felt like there were a lot of little nods to the first book!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

I don't mind long books. Especially not if I care about the characters, which I did. I really enjoyed most chapters of this book, and I agree that it could have been shorter, but I did not mind the length. I thought it was a good ending to this series. There were a lot of things that needed to be wrapped up, a lot of people that still had a lot to say, and a lot of fates that needed to be met.

I thought that seeing Aelin suffering from PTSD after being locked in a box for a long time was relevant to the story and showed us finally that different side of her. Honestly, I was afraid that Sarah J Maas would decide that she would not be affected by it. I am glad she went for a realistic approach. I was also afraid that a huge part of the book would again be dedicated to detailed sex scenes, not because I minded them, but I just wanted a conclusion to this series and I was afraid that erotica would come above finalizing the series. I am glad it did not. Of course, there was some sex, but it was not as detailed and often as in Empire of Storms, which was a bit too much for me.

In this final installment, I still did not care about Rowan, or Lorcan, but I finally started caring about Fenrys. There were deaths that I had not seen coming. The way the Thirteen sacrificed themselves for the greater good, to help Manon. Gavriel's death. Of course, Aelin survived against all odds, making a weird deal with the Gods. I honestly do not understand why she wanted to help Elena. She loaded the woman at the beginning of the series. And now, she suddenly wants to make her friends suffer more, take on Erawan, just so that Elena can stay a bit longer? I am sure Sarah J Maas knows Elena better than I do, and she must have seen her reasons for doing it, but I did not understand it nor could I find the explanation in this book. Maybe in a reread one day.

If I am being honest, this is probably one of the best series conclusions I have read of a long series. Yes, some of it was predictable, but all loose ends were addressed and solved. This will never be the best series ending, but it was a good predictable one with everything tied up, which is also nice for a change.

[KitsuneBae]

Actual: 3.5 stars

Well, finally, it's finished. It was very long-winded T_T

[Pigpen.Reads]

This finale was and wasn't what I expected and that's a good thing.

I shed some tears, I laughed out loud, and gasped throughout this huge book.

At times, I was ready to throw it as some things seemed to be leading somewhere I did not want to imagine. Luckily, it didn't go there. Lol

I would highly recommend this series, it was such a great long journey. I am forever thankful to my friend that recommended this series to me in the first place!

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog: www.thepunktheory.wordpress.com

Before opening Kingdom of Ash I kept thinking "If Aelin isn't out of that damn coffin by page 250, I'm hauling my ass over to Doranelle to finish off that bitch Maeve myself". If that doesn't echo your sentiments, you didn't read the book right. I thought that part was the most evil thing SJM could come up with, but boy was I wrong.
While the chapters concerning Aelin's torture were absolutely heartbreaking, that's not what moved me most. My favorite chapter of the entire series, as well as the part that had me crying the hardest, are part of Kingdom of Ash, courtesy of Manon Blackbeak/Croachan/Kin Slayer. I won't go into detail which particular moments I mean, but if you read the book, you probably already know and are now in search of a box of kleenex to dry your tears.
Honestly, that was such brilliant story writing, I still can't wrap my head around it. Be prepared that Kingdom of Ash has a lot of separate plot aspects that will come together at some point. There's Aelin, the cadre, the court in Terrasen, Dorian, Manon, and Chaol. I was always torn between wanting all the information on one aspect of the story and trying to just read all storylines at once.
Concerning the end of the series, it is what all the fans (part of me included) had hoped for but, to be honest, I'm not sure that it was the best way to finish off the story. I still need to put some more thought into that and will probably rant about it in a different post. However, some twists seemed a tad bit far-fetched and I had the impression that SJM was trying to please as many people as possible.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Kingdom of Ash, it's a brilliant book, but I think I could have been better. There are some more aspects that didn't sit that well with me, but that's for another day and another post as I can't talk about any of that without including tons of spoilers.

[vagasker]

A great end to this series. The whole series was a great read, but this book especially brought out a lot of different emotions.