Yes, as so many other reviews have said, this book gives me a lot of vibes from others BUT it does it better! In my opinion, the characters are better here. The plot is the same old, girl is queen but pulled away from kingdom and you can guess the rest. It's a lot like other YA fantasies but I liked it better. A lot of people are comparing it to Red Queen.... which to be honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of and I heard the series goes downhill so...

There is a kinda love triangle in this book and while I know most people are so sick of those that it's not funny, I'm not. I still love them and probably always will. The writing is solid, the world building is great, and the dialogue is fluid. So I find myself in eager anticipation for the next one!

I have tried numerous times to get into this book, but I just can't. I feel no connection. Nothing is pulling me in, sad to say.

I really liked Ash Princess and it reminded me in part of the Throne of Glass series -- in that Theodosia, a princess, has been tortured and mistreated by invaders and it's up to her to either be defeated or remember who she and her mother were. She has been merely surviving and nothing else for 10 years. This story focuses on Theo herself and the choices she makes/must make and who she ultimately wants to be; someone who survives or someone who will rise up and take what's rightfully hers? I look forward to reading the sequels and other books by Ms. Sebastian.

Superb read! Well written, with a great plot and characters. I was engrossed from start to finish. This book has action, suspense, intrigue, and tension. Theo is the rightful Queen of Astrea and she is willing to do anything to take it back. Theo is gritty, clever, determined, ready to do whatever to help her friends and her people. There are several twists and turns, and the ending is amazing. Blaise, Soren, Cress, Artemesia, Heron I fell in love with all of them. I cannot wait for the second book in the series! I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.

If you love Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series as much as I do, you'll definitely want to pick up Ash Princess, the first book in Laura Sebastian's trilogy of the same name. It's a richly imagined young adult fantasy that kept me engrossed from start to finish, and, while it's not an exact read-alike for Red Queen, it evoked the same feelings of joy and wonder I felt when I was first introduced to the world and characters the author had crafted.

Theodosia was only six when her kingdom was claimed by the ruthless Kaiser, and in the blink of an eye, her life was turned up-side-down. Her mother, the beloved Queen of Fire, was murdered before her eyes, and Theo herself was kept as a political prisoner of sorts. Nicknamed the Ash Princess, Theo has survived the past ten years filled with countless beatings by pretending to be an empty-headed miss who is content with the tiny little life the Kaiser is allowing her to lead. She doesn't allow herself to dream of a better, happier life, for she knows the Kaiser will only be content if she is suffering.

One day, a man is dragged bound and bleeding into the palace. He is rumored to be the leader of a group of rebels fighting to overthrow the Kaiser. Since the rebels would like nothing more than to call Theo their queen, the Kaiser orders her to kill the prisoner as a way of alienating her from her would-be followers. She doesn't want to obey the order, but she knows things will go very badly for her if she refuses, and so she ends the prisoner's life, but doing so forces her to realize that she can no longer continue to play the Kaiser's games. She must rise up and fight for her people and her kingdom, even if doing so could cost her her very life.

Rebellion doesn't come easily to Theo. She's spent so long focused on her own survival that she's not quite sure what steps she needs to take in order to take back her kingdom. Fortunately, there are those in the palace who are willing to help her. Slowly, Theo begins to shed the skin of the Ash Princess and grow into the wise yet ruthless ruler she is destined to become.

There's a lot more to the story than I've outlined here, but I don't want to give too much away. I want readers to fall in love with Theo the way I did, and I'm not sure you can do that if you go into the story with too much information. Part of this novel's magic comes from watching events unfold in some very surprising ways.

Love triangles are usually a big turn-off for me, so I was a little disappointed when I realized Ms. Sebastian had put one in here. Fortunately though, it's incredibly well-done, and it's definitely not the central focus of the book. Theo yearns for true love, but she also knows she's got a lot on her plate and that romance isn't the most important thing in her life. She is more than able to stand on her own, and I loved her for it.

So many of the heroines in today's young adult fantasy novels are these super-powerful, brave, smart young women who do everything right the very first time they try, and while I sometimes enjoy reading about those kinds of characters, it was unbelievably refreshing to read about someone like Theo who doesn't always get it right the first time around. She wants to do the right thing, but her own weaknesses sometimes get in her way, and she is forced to do some work on herself in order to be the kind of ruler her people deserve.

Ash Princess isn't a novel that's filled with non-stop action and intrigue. Instead, we spend quite a bit of time inside Theo's head as she struggles to make her way in the cut-throat world of the Kaiser's making, and Ms. Sebastian does a stellar job making both the action-packed and the reflective parts of the story utterly spell-binding. If life hadn't intruded, I would have blown through this book in a single sitting.

My one complaint, if you can call it that, is that the novel ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and book two won't come out until sometime in 2019. It feels like such a long time to wait for the second part of Theo's story, but you can be sure I’ll be picking it up as soon as it appears.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

Quick down and dirty review:

This was everything I wanted in a Fantasy and more! I want the next book now.

(I'll work on a more comprehensible review shortly...)

Captivating! Excellent character and plot development. The villain is horrible - his back story is masterfully developed. The situation is complicated in all the best ways - competing goals and loyalties. There are a lot of YA books with a similar set up out there - a displaced royal trying to find her place. This really stands out from the crowd. There are some terrific twists at the end that set up a torturous wait for book two.

I finally got approved for this book, but unfortunately, it came in at an inopportune time for me. I wanted to be sure to review the book before it went away. That being said, I am about a quarter of the way through the book and I am loving it so far. I am playing it safe and giving it 4 stars based on that first 25%, but so far, it has been one of the best fantasy books I have read in a long time, and it very well may end up being a 5 star book. I hope I can finish it today before it disappears because it is so good!

ash princess is definitely the kind of young adult fantasy. theo has been tortured and abused since her mother's death and the new regime took power. but when they take things a step too far, theo finally loses it. this is a story of the girl who never rocked the boat suddenly realizing that she has nothing left to lose. and she's going to get her power back.

but this involves making hard choices. dark choices. there's action and some adventure. a little romance but nothing that overpowers the story. there's a sequel so things do not end here.

the pacing starts off a little slow, mainly because there is a lot of worldbuilding, but once the action really picks up this isn't a problem.

**ash princess will publish on april 24, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/random house publishing group.(delacorte) in exchange for my honest review.

Theo is a young girl that is taken from her home after witnessing her mother, the queen and rulers, murder. She is held captive by her mother’s murderer and kept as a short of pet to torture when things go against the new rulers of her country. Otherwise, if she keeps her head down and doesn’t show any emotions, she lives as a guest in the palace.

When Theo is faced with the choice of survival or personally executing a fellow loyalist/rebel against the new regime something in Theo/Thora snaps. Opening her eyes to the hardships and desolation of her people.

Sometimes, okay most of the time, Theo’s choices made me cringe. There are a lot of aspects that seem very familiar to other young adult plots.

Similarities to other YA fantasy novels aside, Ash Princess worked for me. I didn't want to put it down and wanted to read it straight through. In the end, I was engaged, invested in the outcome and want to know more about Theo's plight.

I received this ARC copy of Ash Princess from Random House Children's - Delacorte Press. This is my honest and voluntary review. Ash Princess is set for publication April 24, 2018.

My Rating: 4 stars
Written by: Laura Sebastian
Series: Ash Princess
Sequence in Series: Book 1
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN-10: 1524767069
ISBN-13: 978-1524767068
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ash-Princess-L...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ash-...

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This was a very interesting story! Some parts were kind of quick as I was reading, but I highly enjoyed myself (despite the elements in the book that weren't meant to be happy). I'm anticipating the sequel!

**Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this title!**

When Theodosia was six, her country was invaded, and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. Her life was spared, and she was crowned Ash Princess--a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner. Ten years later, Theo has survived the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court by burying the girl she used to be and putting on the mantle of Thora, submissive and docile girl.

Finally, Theo is pushed too far when she is forced to commit an act that she can't forgive herself for. She snaps back from her submissive personality to her old, fiery self, and is determined to be the queen her people deserves.

Kat's Notes: This was a good story; there's nothing wrong with Theo's tale. My frustration with it is, it's very familiar. This hasn't even been published yet, and it feels like I've already read it.

Enemies, allies, romance, death, betrayal and rebellion... You will get it all in ASH PRINCESS.

Theo was only six when her mother was murdered and her country was taken over by the Kaiser. She became his prisoner and her life since was anything but what a princesses life should be. She comes off as very weak, but throughout the story you find out just how strong she is and how far she is willing to go.

There is not much happy in ASH PRINCESS. There is violence, there is abuse, there is pain, but happy is very fleeting and hard to come by. Someone on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2218061412?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1) mentioned in their review that everyone—with the exception of the Kaiser—was a victim and they really were. Some situations were a little hard to read about and there was even a point that I didn't like Theo for something she does, but I UNDERSTOOD what she did. I honestly couldn't put ASH PRINCESS down, even through the hard.

There is a bit of a love triangle in ASH PRINCESS. Both possibilities definitely have their advantages and disadvantages and I am rooting for one over the other, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the other possibility. It will be interesting to see how things unfold in LADY SMOKE.

I was invested in the story and I'm very interested in reading more.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ash Princess is the first in a trilogy featuring Theo, a young girl whose kingdom was overthrown when she was much younger. She's had a bit of a rough go of it since then. Her mother was killed in front of her and she was taken prisoner by the ones who took over her kingdom. Any time someone from her culture does something to upset the new folks in charge, she receives the punishments via physical means. She has very few friends and is essentially kept around as a means for entertainment for the new court. Eventually, she develops feelings for the prince from the opposing faction. Very sad and depressing, but there are glimmers of hope. This theme is pretty common to most young adult books where a kingdom is overthrown and rulers from the old regime are kept prisoner. There is a smattering of fantasy involved through gemstones that allow folks to wield magic through the elemental means of fire, earth, air, and water. As a reader, I had a hard time understanding Theo and her intentions. It wasn't clear to me if she really truly cared that her kingdom was taken over and that there were people still around that cared enough to plot to try to win the kingdom back. She seemed very young and naive at times. Not much new here for me in comparison to other books in the young adult fantasy genre.

Ursprünglich veröffentlicht auf Books on Fire
https://www.booksonfire.de/2018/04/rezi-laura-sebastian-ash-princess.html

Zitat
"May the gods bless Queen Eirene forever in the After, but until the end, she was the queen of a peaceful country. Her reign was largely untested and easy; shenever had to know war until the Kalovaxians came and slit her throat. She had the luxury of being a sympathetic queen. You don't." - Blaise in Kapitel 10 "Walls".

Meine Meinung
Auf "Ash Princess" aufmerksam gemacht, hat mich Ina von "Ina's Little Bakery". Als dann wenige Stunden später der zweimonatliche Rezensionsnewsletter von Penguin Random House International kam, konnte ich nicht mehr nein sagen.

Und ich habe es absolut nicht bereut. Selten breche ich ja in wahre Lobeshymnen aus, aber hier ist es nach langer Zeit mal wieder soweit. Ich habe förmlich am ereader geklebt, da ich unbedingt wissen musste, wie es denn nun mit Theo und den Rebellen weitergeht.

Laura Sebastian besitzt einen Schreibstil, der einen so tief in die von ihr erschaffene Welt eintauchen lässt, dass man alles um sich herum vergisst. Meine übliche einstündige Zugfahrt von der Uni nach Hause fühlte sich an wie maximal eine Viertelstunde. Besonders gut gefallen hat mir, wie nebensächlich sie doch äußerst interessante Informationen hat einfließen lassen, z.B. über Götter oder die Erbfolge Astreas. Diese scheint nämlich tatsächlich rein weiblich zu sein.

Interessant für deutsche Leser wird vor allem sein, dass die Adeltitel der Kalovaxianer allesamt auf Deutsch sind. Auch wurden einige Wörter dem Deutschen sowie skandinavischen Sprachen entlehnt. Ich hoffe, dass man diese Besonderheit auch irgendwie in die deutsche Übersetzung miteinfließen lässt, bietet sie doch im Original eine weitere Ebene der Fremdartigkeit ebenjener Besetzer Astreas.

Die Charaktere waren in meinen Augen gut ausgearbeitet. Normalerweise habe ich manchmal Probleme Charaktere auseinander zu halten oder vergesse ihre Persönlichkeit, vor allem bei Nebencharakteren. Hier jedoch besaß jeder Charakter seine eigenen Wesenszüge, die auch innerhalb der Charakterentwicklung immer wieder durchschienen. Obwohl man die Geschichte nur aus Theos Sicht erlebt, ist "Ash Princess" mehr ein Ensemble an Charakterem mit eigenen Motiven und Geschichten als nur die Geschichte einer Prinzessin, die ihr Land zurückerobern will.

Doch auch Theo verdient an dieser Stelle nochmal Aufmerksamkeit. Je weiter ich mich von der normalerweise anvisierten Zielgruppe der Jugendfantasy entferne, desto schwerer fällt es mir mich mit den zumeist überperfekten Protagonistinnen zu identifizieren. Nicht mit Theo. Sie und ihre Geschichte haben mich zum Nachdenken gebracht, was ich in ihrer Situation tun würde. Und ehrlich gesagt, ich würde nicht anders handeln. Man merkt dem Charakter ihre Vorgeschichte an. Diese ist nicht nur ein nettes Hintergrundbild und der Katalysator für die Geschichte, sondern sie hat diese junge Frau auch gezeichnet und das spürt man in ihren Gedanken, aber auch in ihren Handlungen. Kurzum, Theodosia ist wie du und ich. Ein echter Mensch mit Ecken und Kanten und einer Vorgeschichte.

Fazit
Mit einer menschlichen Protagonisten, starken Nebencharakteren und einem genialen Schreibstil ist "Ash Princess" mein bisheriges Jahreshighlight 2018.

There is an abundance of YA fantasy coming out this year. So many interesting, complex stories, and a few generic ones, of course. Lost princess stories are a staple in YA fantasy. So should you read this one or skip it? Honestly, I'm not sure.

Ash Princess has a lot of the common YA tropes. Love triangle. Lost princess (with a twist, I guess, because we know she's a princess, but she still has to rise to it). Magic powers (fire magic especially). It's also overly long, with a lot of slow parts and a lot of information given. It plays out almost exactly how you expect it to, although there were a  few surprises along the way.

And yet. 

It tries to tackle tougher themes of anger and justice, but also of the blinding nature of hatred. It examines the outcome of rebellion-how death will come on both sides, and innocent people will die as a result. Ash Princess tries to be aware that not everything is peaches and cream, and even killing the enemy is still killing someone's loved one.

Ash Princess is entertaining, I'll give it that. When it's not drawn out, there were a scenes that I genuinely enjoyed, and once I got to the end, I found myself a little more invested. If you want a fun, light (and yet not so light?) read, this is a good book to try.

I might read the second one when it comes out, I might not. I'm still trying to get my feelings for it sorted-I enjoyed but wasn't fully engaged. But I do know that this book has an audience, and there are readers who will enjoy and appreciate this story a lot more than I do.

I wanted to love Ash Princess more than I did. I wanted to root for Theo and see her take her rightful place. But there was just something about this book that fell short.

I loved how dark it was--but there were moments where I just felt hopeless and I wasn't rooting for the main character, I was waiting for the helplessness to end. I wanted to see Theo rise up, but she often just let things happen to her.

Her emotions were real and I sympathized. But there were too many dark moments and not enough levity to bring a balance to the story.

I also found myself getting bored more often than I wanted to. I read a lot before bed, because it helps me unwind and gets me away from my phone and computer. There are some books I've read that have kept me up until 3 AM. But then there were books like Ash Princess that just made my eyelids droopier.

Then there was the unnecessary love triangle. I'm a sucker for love stories, things like friends to lovers or enemies to lovers really tickle my fancy. But the friends to lover trope made Ash Princess suffer. Blaise was a childhood friend of Theo's, from before the conquering Kalovaxians' arrival, and the way he treated Theo just rubbed me the wrong way.

Maybe some people would love Ash Princess but it just wasn't for me.

“My name is Theodosia Eirene Houzzara, Queen of Astrea, and I will endure this.”

Friends, I couldn’t put this down. This was such an addicting and captivating read. This was the first book of 2018 that I read in one day, which is saying something because this book is almost 450 pages. I was just so invested with the romance, the rebellion, and the betrayals, that I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

Ash Princess is Laura Sebastian's debut novel, which is a story about a girl named Theodosia (yeah, I’m going to be singing Hamilton all day after writing this review), whose ruling mother was murdered, and their land taken over by another kingdom when she was only six-years-old. the Kaiser allowed her to live, but only so that she could live among them, while they take everything she has ever known away. She is used as a reminder for her people that the Kaiser has enslaved, and when they do anything to rise up, Theodosia takes the punishment. Her back is incredible scarred from the whippings she has had to endure, but the Kaiser also inflicts so much mental and emotional abuse alongside the physical.

“The last person who called me by my true name was my mother, with her dying breath.”

The Kaiser conquered Theodosia’s land because there are caves that run beneath four major temples that her people worship (air, fire, water, earth). And gems come from those caves to give people magic, but they also give people with an affinity for the element(s) a lot of magic. The caves have so much magic inside them, that when Theodosia’s mother would rule, people would go down and stay in the caves, most dying, but some emerging and proving that they are worth the element the god and goddesses gave to them. Now that the Kaiser rules, he forces the slaves down there to mine, but most lose their minds after being around the power(s) for too long, and eventually lose their lives.

Theodosia’s only friend is a girl named Cress, whose father is the one who swiped the blade across her mother’s throat. Inside, Theodosia feels a constant battle about what she can do while feeling so absolutely helpless. Yet, Cress also lost her mother when she was very young, so an unconventional friendship grew from two girls both mourning the mothers they never got to know. I loved seeing their friendship develop and become what it was by the end of the book. But Theodosia is constantly reminded of all the things she lost alongside her mother, but she is forced to do the only thing she can: survive. That is, until one day a boy from her past comes and offers her a way out, and a way to maybe right a few wrongs that have happened to her people.

“A life where a crown—gold or ash—doesn’t weigh heavy on my head.”

As I said above, this is a dark story about a girl who is forced to live among the people who ruined her life and killed her mother. Trigger/Content Warnings for racism, enslaving humans, abuse, torture, graphic beating, humiliation, captivation, gore, murder, death, loss of a loved one, bullying, talk of rape in the past, talk of animal murder in the past, sexual assault (unwanted touching), and rebellion/war themes.

The other thing I’d like to talk about is that the Kaiser and his people are white with light features, where Theodosia and her people have darker features and are said to have a “tawny” skin color. On top of the fact that this is a story about how one empire colonizes another, and puts the remaining population in chains and are force them to work (and die) in the mines harvesting gems.

“Maybe his interest in me isn’t just about saving the damsel. Part of him also wants to be saved. If he’s stained by his father’s sins, then maybe I’m the only person who can absolve them.”

My favorite thing about this book was easily the romance. Now, a lot of books have kind of vague, blurry, love triangles, but Ash Princess just has a blatant one, and I loved it. Theodosia is torn between her childhood friend and first love, Blaise, and a boy whose father has taken everything from her, Søren. It is legitimately friends to lovers and enemies to lovers and my shipper heart was so full of happiness. I personally like the enemies to lovers side of the triangle more, and I was falling off my bed, swooning so damn hard, during the last tunnel scene. Like, that is my romance kink, 100%, and if you’ve read this book you’ll know what scene I’m talking about. The romance in this is perfect, and I will read Lady Smoke at midnight upon release to see how these romances progress, because your girl is invested.

“You could ask me for the ocean itself and I would find a way to give it to you.”

So, you’re probably asking, “Melanie, why did you give it four stars if you enjoyed it this much and won’t stop gushing over it?” And that’s because, I’ll be honest, this story doesn’t bring anything new to the YA Fantasy world. If you read a lot of other reviews on Goodreads, you’re going to notice the same line of “this is nothing new” and it is true. A lot of reviewers are also comparing this to Red Queen and An Ember in the Ashes, but I haven’t read either of those! Basically, this isn’t groundbreaking or even unique, but it’s super well written and crafted and it truly made for an un-put-downable read for me.

Overall, I truly loved and devoured this. This was easily the most addicting thing I’ve read in 2018 thus far, and I completely recommend it with my whole heart. Again, it might not be the most original thing, but that doesn’t make it not worthwhile. I loved the characters, the twists, the plot, the friendship, the perfect romances, the atmosphere, the writing, I loved it all. This will probably be one of my favorite YA Fantasies of 2018, and I hope you all give it a try upon release!

“We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive.”

Thanks to the publisher for early access to this title.

Theo is a prisoner in her own castle. She has grown up as an example to her conquered people to follow the new regime or be punished. And she has spent enough time healing from wounds to show that punishment. When she is finally forced beyond her breaking point, she risks all to fight for her people and take back what is rightfully hers.

Theo is a strong character, but also smart enough to know that she can't accomplish all she must on her own. Her friends and supporters, new and old, help her on her quest for freedom and redemption from an evil king.

I enjoyed this first installment of the series. I would recommend it for fans of Mary Pearson's Kiss of Deception series.

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian is the first book in the young adult fantasy series, Ash Princess Trilogy. This is one that is on the darker side with violence, abuse, slavery and a hint of rape so beware to those with issues with these triggers. There is also a hint of a love triangle involved with the main character, a boy from her past and the son (prince) of her captor.

The story begins as we meet Theodosia Eirene Houzzara who by all rights should be the Queen of Astrea. However ten years before Theodosia’s people were overthrown and her mother the queen was killed in front of her. Since that day she has done whatever she can to stay alive despite the torture she’s endured.

When Theodosia’s father who once was a guard in her kingdom is brought into the court for “trial” and sentenced to death at her own hand it sparks something in the fallen princess. She knows that many of her people have died but even if it costs her own life she must do what she can to regain her throne.

I suppose the first thing to say about this one would be that no, it isn’t a highly original tale but more of one done before. However, when they mention a series like Red Queen in comparison I was hesitant to even try this one because of finding that one so slow and dare I say boring. Ash Princess may have hints of the same type of young adult fantasy read as others before it but it was strangely enjoying to me regardless and I felt myself get caught up in the story as it went along.

The writing in here seemed to flow rather easily for such a dark tale and had a compelling feel to it I’ve missed in other books of this type. The stage has been set in this first book and with a somewhat cliffhanger type of ending it seems there are sure to be some big developments to come with the plot so yes, I will definitely continue the series on to see how it goes from here.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.