Lady Smoke (Ash Princess, #2)

by Laura Sebastian

Billelis (Illustrator)

The second installment in the New York Times bestselling series "made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir" (Bustle), Lady Smoke is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess--a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn't realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon.

Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage--Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser's rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.

To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done.

Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.

Praise for 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

"A rebel queen fans the sparks of revolution...[and] Theo's first-person narration remains enthralling with emotional immediacy...[while] packed to the brim with intrigue and the promise."-Kirkus Reviews

• ISBN10: 1524767107
• ISBN13: 9781524767105
• Publish Date: 5 February 2019
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 512
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524767105

Reviews

[Kelly]

Theodosia has escaped her gilded confinement of the Kalovaxian empire, capturing Prinz Søren and reclaiming her throne from the totalitarian monarchy of the Kaiser. Freedom is momentary, infamous marauder Dragonsbane commanding her armada as Theodosia travels to the kingdom of Sta’Crivera. A treacherous journey fraught with uncertainty. Theodosia must conquer the Kalovaxian reign and although historically an Astrean Queen reigns alone, Theodosia is obligated to form an alliance, despite her reluctance to be betrothed.

Theodosia is a formidable young woman, enduring imprisonment, humiliation and enslavement. The Kalovaxian reign has decimated her country, Astrean Guardians were imprisoned and villagers bludgeoned, the Fire Queen extinguished as Theodosia comforted her mother during her final moments. Theodosia is unyielding and resilient, defiant when confronted with adversity. In Ash Princess, Theodosia portrayed a demure and despondent young woman, underestimated by the Kaiser, Theyn and Prinz Søren and despite the imprisoned young warrior leading the Kalovaxian military, Søren continues to remain captivated by the young Queen.

The kingdom of Sta’Crivera is opulent and extravagant, welcoming Queen Theodosia and her companions as she reluctantly entertains suitors to assure a military alliance for Astrea. Pretentious, arrogant and elderly suitors journey to Sta’Crivera, the King hosting banquets and receptions in an exhibition of extravagance. King Etristo is patronising and considers Theodosia as a juvenile and foolish girl incapable of the Astrean reign and on the threshold of securing an alliance, the Sta’Criveran palace is embroiled in an assassination.

Theodosia is a feminist challenging the archaic, patriarchal society. Theodosia considers the aspect of betrothal demeaning and primitive, challenging Etristo who has the audacity to suggest that women who have survived sexual abuse are tainted and inappropriately suggests Theodosia endure an examination to ensure her virginity. Among the suitors is Giosetta, an Empress from Vecturia identifying as being attracted to men and women, a wonderful inclusion proposing an alliance and platonic partnership with Theodosia.

Throughout her time in the ostentatious Empire, Theodosia and her advisers, Artemisia, Blaise and Heron, discover the refugee encampment, home to displaced communities including Astreans. The conditions are inhumane, the community is malnourished, the prosperity of the Sta’Criverans not extended to those seeking refuge. Laura Sebastian continues to encourage discussion and recognition of colonisation and displacement throughout her narratives, creative an environment resembling the experiences of refugee communities.

Beautifully written and wonderfully imagined, the Ash Princess series is exceptional. Inspired reading!

I could not wait for this book and when I could finally read it, it was just as good as I hoped it was. You will be disappointed if you expect a story that is either plot-driven or character-driven. This book and the first one take around three weeks in story time, thus there is not a lot of character development, which is understandable. This book focusses on decision making, the difficulties of it, and being torn between what you wish to do and what you should do. I connect to this book because I like reading about Theodosia struggles and difficult decision making. She is a strong woman, but even strong people can struggle with making the right decisions and it is heartwarming to be able to read about it.

Personally, I believe that this book is not for everyone. If you wish an action-packed novel that takes you completely into the world, or even if you just want great worldbuilding at all, this book is not for you. There is some worldbuilding, but it is a smaller part of the book than in fantasy novels that are about the action, politics, et cetera. Also, as some people say, there is a bit of a love triangle. Only a bit, because I honestly do not believe that Theodosia actually cares for Blaise in that way. She does not want to see him go, he was her childhood friend. She is way too afraid to lose people, so she acts dumb and tells him what he wishes to hear, even though she does not actually feel that way. Yes, they kissed, but in this book, it becomes fairly obvious to me that Theodosia only wants friendship from Blaise. She struggles to tell him that, but I think he knows it pretty well with Soren sleeping in her room every night.
I am also really glad that we got to see Erik and Heron together. Even though nothing happened, there is something blooming there and it is written in a very nice (subtle) manner. Also reading about Hoa's death was heartbreaking. I really cared about her and had not expected her death at all. I saw some reviews mentioning that Theodosia did not care about the refugee camps, and I believe that those people have misinterpreted the book there. It appeared to me as if Theodosia did care about the refugee camps but she could not stomach it. She did not want to see it, because it was horrific, not because she did not care for it. She could not understand how Hoa could continue seeing it, without breaking completely. I never thought of that part as Theodosia not caring. She did not care about dying apparently since she took off in the middle of the night without anyone there to protect her, while someone just tried to assassinate her. People understandably may hate her for that dumbness. But hey, I don't need a perfect main character. Even though that was really, really dumb...

For me, this is the story about a sixteen-year-old girl who is in an unrelatable situation, but who struggles with difficult decisions that are somewhat recognizable or entertaining to read about. Personally, I believe that Laura Sebastian did a marvelous job of bringing Theodosia's struggles to life and make the reader really feel for everyone in the story, even though some characters are pretty bland. Does it deserve a five-star rating looking story wise? Maybe not, but I loved it enough.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Ash Princess caught me off guard early this year by being completely amazing! I immediately got a copy of Lady Smoke to see what happened next and now I'm kind of regretting it since I have to wait until next year for book three.

Lady Smoke picks up shortly after Ash Princess leaves off. Theo has taken Soren captive and is using him as leverage against the Kaiser, but things don't go exactly as she planned. In this part of her story she must team up with Dragonsbane and a foreign king in order to secure her throne. In this book Theo has fully accepted her role and has determined that she'll make whatever sacrifices are necessary for Astrea. I loved her. It was easy to become frustrated just because I wanted her to be HAPPY! But I loved her character growth and her resolve and loyalty.

All the other familiar characters are also here for book two and they were all, again, amazing. Of course, I'm still firmly on Team Soren, but I also like Blaise. I know that some people are tired of the love triangle, but I totally get it. It makes sense to me that Theo would be torn between her childhood friend and a new contender. I don't hate it, but I'll be happy when she finally settles on the right choice. :)

I also really enjoyed the female relationships, both good and bad. I can't wait to see more of Theo and Art together! And then there's Cress, Theo's friend turned enemy and this is a GOOD use of this trope! I feel like this isn't something you see very often without romance involved (or maybe I just haven't seen it much?), but I am here for it! Cress is a force to be reckoned with and I'm so intrigued by her.

One of my favorite things about Lady Smoke was getting to see the wider world that Theo lives in. The politics could easily get boring, especially with the addition of so much strategy along with other kings and a potential marriage alliance, but it kept my attention! I also enjoyed getting more information about the mines and the magical system of the world.

Although I didn't necessarily find that this book dragged, I do with that it had focused less on the marriage alliance and more on, well, everything else. I liked that there were scenes of Theo getting to know her people and I would have liked to see more of that and more action. I know that the possible alliance had a purpose, but it seemed like that particular plot point could have wrapped up quite a bit sooner. Still, once things took off in the second act, it was non stop!

Lady Smoke wasn't quite as strong for me as Ash Princess, but I still really, really enjoyed it! I can't wait to see what happens in book three, especially between Theo and Cress. Something tells me the next one is going to be a wild ride.

[bgsbooks18]

I really like the way this trilogy is going. The Theo's sorry is interesting. Reading about how she is becoming the queen she has always wanted to be and the people are loving her for who she is. She is fighting for something that she loves. I am looking forward to the next book and can't wait to see how this ends. :)