Ash Princess (Ash Princess, #1)

by Laura Sebastian

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

"Made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir" (Bustle), Ash Princess is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess--a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She's endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: Her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn't always won on the battlefield.

For ten years the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

And don't miss the thrilling sequel, Lady Smoke!

Praise for Ash Princess, Book 1 in the Ash Princess Series:

"A darkly enchanting page-turner you won't be able to put down."--Bustle

"A smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down." --Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series

"This searing page-turner is a compelling examination of the complexities of both evil and resistance."--Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night

"A dark and spellbinding epic." --Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless

• ISBN10: 1524767093
• ISBN13: 9781524767099
• Publish Date: 5 February 2019 (first published 24 April 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Ember
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524767099

Reviews

[Artemis]

Hurricane Isaias caused havoc on my Tuesday night plans of Paper Mario: Origami King and leftover spaghetti and meatballs. With nothing to do and (thankfully) a fully charged iPad, I settled into read. I did not expect to finish Ash Princess in a twenty-four hour period, but man did I devour this book.

For those playing YA-Fantasy Romance bingo, Ash Princess will most certainly get you a prize. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised at how these recycled plots and characters played out. Ash Princess tells the story of Theodosia, a captive princess who is tortured and abused by the man responsible for taking her country, her mother, and her name. Ten years later, she’s carefully constructed walls around herself to withstand the abuse until she’s forced to murder a former member of her mother’s court to prove her continued loyalty to the Kaiser. As the Astrean resistance mounts, Theo waits for her opportunity to free herself and her country and get revenge on the ones who killed her family.

The action was well plotted and paced. It was clear from the first few chapters that Sebastian carefully planned the trajectory of information throughout the story, giving us just enough to keep us interested but also hiding her trick cards. I do think the character development suffered a bit from the pacing and action. There is more of a focus on the abuse, torture and misery of the characters than a more emotional, growing journey. Theo is renamed Thora and forced to keep up this charade of loyalty. I would have liked to see more of her internal struggle between these two persona’s and the mental impact of trying to be two people at once.

This paragraph contains major spoilers if you have not read Ash Princess. Proceed at your own risk! Cress was the most developed character, and eventual villain for the series. I sort of saw this coming, or at least the disintegration of Theo and Cress’ relationship. I’m glad there was type to build up this one-sided friendship between the two girls. It was also clear that Cress wanted power. she wanted to be a princess and future Kaiserin and less wanted Søren for who he was. Excited to see how her character plays out as a villain!

The magic system was a bit unclear. I spent most of my time trying to figure out how it worked. Do people in this world have a predisposition to magic? Are they only able to use magic with the assistance of a fire/water/air/earth gem? What is with prolonged exposure in the mines? What about Cress ingesting the fire water and showing signs of fire magic? I’m hoping that point will be explained later in the series. As you can see, I have a lot of questions. I’m usually not okay with such ambivalent descriptions of magic systems in fantasy works. So why am I okay with this? It’s actually quite cleverly hidden in the world building and allows Sebastian more time to work out the kinks in time with the unfolding trilogy plot.

Also, lots of social, racial and imperialism themes! The use of Kaiser and descriptions of Kalovaxian’s (light hair, eyes and skin) compared to those from the slaves of “conquered” Astrea (darker skin, hair and eyes). I enjoy a good use of historical context to assist with creating a fantasy world. Sebastian did a good job at weaving these into the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this first book. I want to know more about the world and the political climate. The characters are all ranked about equal for me and I’m excited to continue with Lady Smoke and learn more about each of them.

Settled on a 3.5 star rating (for now) and may eventually bump this up to 4. Since the trilogy is released I’ll wait until I’ve finished with it before I adjust the rating of the first book. Recommend to those that love YA Fantasy Romance that breaks the typical patterns held by that genre. I’m looking forward to my internet returning so that I can borrow the second book from my library.

[whisperingchapters]

Wow! I was lured in completely! The world-building and the author's writing in itself had me feeling like I was right there with Theo through everything. And the narrator did a magnificent job in bringing this story to life!

[bgsbooks18]

I honestly really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the ending! i can't wait to see what happens in Lady Smoke.

I would highly recommend this book.

3.75 stars

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Ash Princess has been on my radar since it was published, but for some reason I never got around to reading it until now. I was surprised upon finally reading it to find that it was not a Cinderella retelling! I don't really know why I assumed it was other than the title, but I definitely enjoyed this original YA fantasy!

Theo has been a prisoner in her own home for ten years, forced to bend to the will of the Kaiser to stay alive after he killed her mother. She has grown complacent, even making friends with the daughter of one of her enemies, but she starts to consider things differently after an old friend reappears in her life unexpectedly.

Theo was such an incredible character! She is definitely one of my new favorites. It's very easy to understand how she chose to follow the rules of her enemies instead of fighting every second of the last ten years, but I loved watching her realize her strength. I loved how blurred the lines were between good and evil. Morally gray characters are my absolute favorite and I adore when an author can make a case either way.

Speaking of other characters, there is absolutely a hint of romance and, yes, a love triangle. While this isn't a trope I always enjoy, I felt that it worked really well here. While one of the love interests made sense as someone Theo had always known, I also really liked her chemistry with Soren and I am wholeheartedly on that ship.

While I am getting a bit sick of elemental magic in general, I liked the way that it worked in this book. The magic system is familiar, but still manages to be unique. I also enjoyed the politics and the world, although I would have liked seeing a bit more of it. Based on the way Ash Princess ended, I assume there will be much more of the world in book two and I can't wait to see all of it! The author definitely took her time crafting what we did see of world and its different cultures.

This book was everything I could have hoped for, although I went in with no expectations at all. There was magic and romance, twists and mystery! And the ending was BRUTAL! I am just so glad that I already have book two available to read immediately.

Even though this is yet another book about a princess who lost her family and wants to take over her kingdom again, it felt so different than other stories. For once, our main character was not this strong female character who could do everything alone. She was real. She struggled, she did not know what to do, she had the hardest time doing what should be done, instead of doing what she had done for the last ten years, ignoring her people and their suffering.

It was great to see a story about a young woman who had no clue how to save her kingdom, who was basically raised by the enemies, therefore her own judgment was clouded. At the beginning of the book, we see her waiting for ten years until someone comes and saves her. When she has to kill Ampelio, her father and only hope, she doesn't see that she has to fight to save her people. To be honest, I did not expect her to see it at that moment. People had to go to her, tell her that they believe in her, and even then, she often wanted to be selfish and just live out her life as it was. I get it. She did not ask to be queen, she has lived longer under the oppression of the enemies than in her own lovely, heartwarming home, she is not used to ruling a kingdom, and when she saw her mother rule, she was only a small child, not feeling any responsibilities yet. She has flaws, throughout the whole book, and that is one of the main reasons why I loved it so much. I could understand her, her doubts, her pain, and her reasoning because she was just this seventeen-year-old girl, who just wants to live and not have to spark a rebellion to take back her country. She is not ready for that kind of responsibility, and at the end of the book, I was still doubting if she was ready.

Let's talk about the love triangle. It is very well done, it did not bother me, it is only a small part of the story, and I even doubt if there is any love between Thora/Theo/Theodosia and Blaise. Their first kiss was very strange, and the second time they kissed it felt more as if they were reassuring themselves to be okay, not out of love. So if we are going towards that romance, I hope that the storyline will get more realistic.
The romance with Søren felt real. Søren really seemed to care for her and I think she cares a lot for him as well. I wonder how the story had gone if her Shadows hadn't pushed her to be against him so much. I believe that they could have had a great rebellion with the two of them against the king. However, probably one of them would die and if the author would not have gone that way, the book wouldn't have had five stars as I have given it now.

I loved her highly disturbing friendship with Cress. Obviously, she had no idea how to love someone and only wanted people she could command around and who would have done anything for her. Theodosia had no one, thus she was the perfect best friend. I love the contrast between the friendship and hate that these two characters endure during this story and how their friendship develops.

Overall, I love this book so much because it felt real. The magic system was nice, but not special. The story itself was nice, but not special. The characters, realness, and not shying away from the brutality of it all, made it special for me.

I read a review of someone saying that authors should not use the brutality of the enemies as a way to make their main character strong. I do not believe that our main character was supposed to be strong. She was supposed to be flawed, broken, and afraid. The only reason why she kept going, was the people who started to believe in her and depend on her. Not the brutality of her enemies.

[Laurie]

Review posted on https://lauriesbookshelf.comAsh Princess is een boek waar ik al wat gemengde gevoelens bij had toen ik het voor het eerst voorbij zag komen. Dit was in Januari van dit jaar. Mijn gevoel zei dat het wel een oké boek zou zijn, maar wel weer zo'n prinsessenboek. Dit kwam niet alleen door de titel. Echter werd de release van dit boek verschoven van april naar augustus. Door de veelal positieve reacties op dit boek besloot ik het een eerlijke kans te geven.





Kennismaking
In Ash Princess maken we kennis met prinses Theodosia. Prinses Theodosia leeft al tien jaar onder het juk van de Kaiser. Deze Kaiser heeft het Astreaanse volk, haar volk, uitgemoord. Ook Theodosia's moeder is toendertijd vermoord. Ze mag haar eigen naam niet houden, haar eigen taal nit spreken en al helemaal niet in contact komen met de Astreanen die de onderdrukking hebben overleefd. Toch wil Theodosia weg, maar hoe? Op een dag komt ze haar oude jeugdvriend tegen en samen proberen ze uit het paleis te ontsnappen. Maar dan is daar ook nog Prinz Soren en Theodosia weet helemaal niet wat ze met deze knappe jongen aan moet. Zal het haar lukken om zichzelf in vrijheid en veiligheid te brengen?
Stroef
Het hele verhaal leest nogal stroef. Dit was zeker in het begin het geval. Er is nauwelijks sprake van world building en de onbekende namen vliegen je om de oren. Deze namen waren overigens niet in de flaptekst genoemd, waardoor het nog verwarrender werd. Dit stroeve gevoel hield ik eigenlijk de hele tijd wel vast, ook al werd het na verloop van tijd iets minder. Ik kon het boek makkelijk wegleggen en moest me er soms echt toe zetten om even een sprintje te trekken.

Dertien in een dozijn
Ash Princess voelde ietwat voorspelbaar aan, waardoor ik een "dertien in een dozijn" gevoel kreeg. Jammer, want het verhaal heeft best veel potentie. Het einde kon je al aan voelen komen, ook al zat er aan het einde toch nog een kleine verrassing verstopt. Ash Princess had misschien een paar jaar eerder geschreven moeten zijn, dan was het waarschijnlijk beter aangeslagen.

Duitse/Oostenrijkse invloeden
Laura Sebastian heeft gebruik gemaakt van Duitse/Oostenrijkse invloeden. Zo is er de Kaiser, Kaiserin, Prinz, Prinzessin en is er op een gegeven moment een Maskentanz. Dit heb ik nog nooit eerder voorbij zien komen in een young adult boek, wat ik dan weer sterk vind.

Personages
Over de personages valt weinig zinnigs te zeggen. Niemand steekt er met kop en schouders bovenuit. Wel vond ik de Kaiser echt een naar mannetje. De rest vond ik een beetje zo zo. Niet heel bevordelijk voor de klik met het boek.

Vermakelijk, maar niet speciaal
Ash Princess was absoluut vermakelijk, maar het is gewoon niet speciaal. Ik had verwacht dat het me van mijn stoel zou blazen, maar dat deed het gewoon weg niet. Voor het eerst ben ik er zelfs niet zeker van of ik de vervolgdelen wel zou willen lezen en dat zegt bij mij vrij veel.

Conclusie
Ash Princess is en vermakelijk boek, wat, vooral in het begin, erg stroef leest. Dat stroeve gevoel hield mij de hele tijd in zijn greep, ook al verbeterde dit wel licht. De Personages zijn niet extreem bijzonder en datzelfde geldt voor het verhaal. Het boek bezorgde me een "dertien in een dozijn" gevoel en dit zorgt er voor dat ik niet zeker weet of ik de vervolgdelen wel wil lezen. Ash Princess blies mij niet van mijn stoel helaas.This review was originally posted on Laurie's Bookshelf

[lauriesbookshelf]

Review posted on https://lauriesbookshelf.comAsh Princess is een boek waar ik al wat gemengde gevoelens bij had toen ik het voor het eerst voorbij zag komen. Dit was in Januari van dit jaar. Mijn gevoel zei dat het wel een oké boek zou zijn, maar wel weer zo'n prinsessenboek. Dit kwam niet alleen door de titel. Echter werd de release van dit boek verschoven van april naar augustus. Door de veelal positieve reacties op dit boek besloot ik het een eerlijke kans te geven.





Kennismaking
In Ash Princess maken we kennis met prinses Theodosia. Prinses Theodosia leeft al tien jaar onder het juk van de Kaiser. Deze Kaiser heeft het Astreaanse volk, haar volk, uitgemoord. Ook Theodosia's moeder is toendertijd vermoord. Ze mag haar eigen naam niet houden, haar eigen taal nit spreken en al helemaal niet in contact komen met de Astreanen die de onderdrukking hebben overleefd. Toch wil Theodosia weg, maar hoe? Op een dag komt ze haar oude jeugdvriend tegen en samen proberen ze uit het paleis te ontsnappen. Maar dan is daar ook nog Prinz Soren en Theodosia weet helemaal niet wat ze met deze knappe jongen aan moet. Zal het haar lukken om zichzelf in vrijheid en veiligheid te brengen?
Stroef
Het hele verhaal leest nogal stroef. Dit was zeker in het begin het geval. Er is nauwelijks sprake van world building en de onbekende namen vliegen je om de oren. Deze namen waren overigens niet in de flaptekst genoemd, waardoor het nog verwarrender werd. Dit stroeve gevoel hield ik eigenlijk de hele tijd wel vast, ook al werd het na verloop van tijd iets minder. Ik kon het boek makkelijk wegleggen en moest me er soms echt toe zetten om even een sprintje te trekken.

Dertien in een dozijn
Ash Princess voelde ietwat voorspelbaar aan, waardoor ik een "dertien in een dozijn" gevoel kreeg. Jammer, want het verhaal heeft best veel potentie. Het einde kon je al aan voelen komen, ook al zat er aan het einde toch nog een kleine verrassing verstopt. Ash Princess had misschien een paar jaar eerder geschreven moeten zijn, dan was het waarschijnlijk beter aangeslagen.

Duitse/Oostenrijkse invloeden
Laura Sebastian heeft gebruik gemaakt van Duitse/Oostenrijkse invloeden. Zo is er de Kaiser, Kaiserin, Prinz, Prinzessin en is er op een gegeven moment een Maskentanz. Dit heb ik nog nooit eerder voorbij zien komen in een young adult boek, wat ik dan weer sterk vind.

Personages
Over de personages valt weinig zinnigs te zeggen. Niemand steekt er met kop en schouders bovenuit. Wel vond ik de Kaiser echt een naar mannetje. De rest vond ik een beetje zo zo. Niet heel bevordelijk voor de klik met het boek.

Vermakelijk, maar niet speciaal
Ash Princess was absoluut vermakelijk, maar het is gewoon niet speciaal. Ik had verwacht dat het me van mijn stoel zou blazen, maar dat deed het gewoon weg niet. Voor het eerst ben ik er zelfs niet zeker van of ik de vervolgdelen wel zou willen lezen en dat zegt bij mij vrij veel.

Conclusie
Ash Princess is en vermakelijk boek, wat, vooral in het begin, erg stroef leest. Dat stroeve gevoel hield mij de hele tijd in zijn greep, ook al verbeterde dit wel licht. De Personages zijn niet extreem bijzonder en datzelfde geldt voor het verhaal. Het boek bezorgde me een "dertien in een dozijn" gevoel en dit zorgt er voor dat ik niet zeker weet of ik de vervolgdelen wel wil lezen. Ash Princess blies mij niet van mijn stoel helaas.This review was originally posted on Laurie's Bookshelf

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Ash Princess is one of those books that I think I would have enjoyed more as a teenager, but now that I’m older and have read hundreds of other YA books, I can only think about how generic it seems. Even as I sit writing this review, a few days after finishing the book, I’m struggling to remember what it was about. Something about a princess of a conquered country wanting to get involved with the rebellion to take back her country while getting caught in a love triangle. Yeah…that could describe a decent number of books.

I’m not inherently against a solid, generic YA plot, but this is not even as well executed as I hoped. In the first place, the book really struggles to explain why this princess was left alive and not simply murdered upon the conquering of her people. I think about three different explanations are offered as the book goes on, and maybe the point is that there’s a grain of truth to all of them, but the reality is that the rebellion is centered on putting this girl back on the throne—and if the evil, ruthless conquerors were smart, they would have just killed her off. Yet here she is, embroiled in a rebellion and plotting their downfall. Sigh.

I did appreciate that the author tried to come up with some crazy, complex court intrigue, where the loyalties and motivations of everyone is in question. I love books where it’s hard to tell who is on which side and why they’re there. However, this aspect also isn’t as well done as it could have been. In reality, the characters don’t seem crafty and well-versed in intrigue to me; they come across as flailing and having no idea what they’re doing as they clumsily make and break alliances.

Finally, it’s a minor point, but I didn’t like the dialogue. The book is in first person POV, and while the thoughts in Thora/Theodosia’s head sound natural, every time she opens her mouth to talk, it sounds stilted. When she talks to people who are supposed to be her best friend, or her loyal protector, or her love interest, she sounds like a child badly imitating fancy court speech, all while saying nothing substantial. As far as I can tell, she and her “best friend” awkwardly talk about dresses and the weather and nothing else.

The book isn’t “bad,” necessarily. I’ve mostly pointed out things that irritated me in the review. But a badass rebellion combined with court intrigue has such potential, and nothing actually comes of it in Ash Princess. I yawned a lot. I scratched my head in confusion a bit. I just didn’t get a wow factor from this book, so I think I’ll be skipping the rest of the series.

[Kelly]

A breathing debut by author Laura Sebastian.

The communities of Astrea were decimated by Kalovaxian soldiers, captured or slain by the totalitarian monarch Kaiser. The Ash Princess comforted her mother in her final moments, the revered Fire Queen of Astrean, her young daughter and heir to the Astrean monarchy, held captive and tortured. Astrean Guardians were imprisoned, bludgeoned to an existence of servitude.

While her kingdom was ravaged by the Kalovaxian empire, Theodosia lived within her gilded cage, a prisoner to remind the Astrean populace of their enslavement and ownership. Adorned by a crown of ashes. Theodosia is not the quintessential heroine, rather a nuanced character acclimatising to her environment. Her only companion is Crescentia, her father The Theyn accountable for the genocide of Astrea and the massacre of the Fire Queen. Her name is Theodosia Eirene Houzzara, the Ash Princess. Queen of Astrea. Pursuing retribution for her sovereignty.

Prinz Søren has returned to Astrea, the revered young warrior proclaiming of conquered lands in the distinguished name of his father, the Kaiser. Crescentia is a formidable courtesan and aspiring monarch, destined to become the companion of the returning Prinz, strengthening the Kalovaxian militant capabilities. Søren is enamoured by enigmatic, unattainable Theodosia, the young captive dangerously and defiantly confronting his moral compass. Søren is captivated and although Theodosia reciprocates, she is determined to capture freedom for Astera. Despite her affections for the handsome Prinz.

A revolution carries upon the wind, infiltration of the palace and the promise to dissolve the Kalovaxian empire. Theodosia is a demoralised young woman enduring retribution for the whispers of the rebellion uprising, resistance among the enslaved Astreans for the genocidal colonisation of Astrea. Although Theodosia appears to be a demure young woman, there is an insidious ferocity to her endurance and determination. Her deception and fortitude is breathtaking.

Crescentia is a character of contrasts, her resentment of Theodosia, evasive and treacherous under the pretence of companionship, attesting to the inhumane treatment and slavery. Her purposeful ignorance is frustrating. Blaise is a wonderful character. Blaise was raised within the palace during the Fire Queen reign. Their comfortable companionship is a contradiction to her acquaintance with Søren. He has escaped incarceration and has infiltrated the palace to assist Theodosia in her escape.

The reoccurring theme of colonisation is momentous. The apprehension of assimilation and endurance of the Kalovaxian migration is devastating and antagonistic, portrayed with a compassionate realism. The Germanic references to the monarchy accompanies the atmospheric and political narrative, establishing an intensive impasse between characters. Ash Princess is an exhilarating narrative, exquisitely inspirational.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was one of my most anticipated for 2018, and it did not disappoint! I can hardly wait for Lady Smoke in 2019!!