As many of you may know, two of my all time favorite books is The Scorpio Races and Red Rising. So when Ashlords has those two books as the comps? I was wary to say the least! However, I can safely attest that Ashlords was a whole lot of fun and I greatly enjoyed it!

That being said, I don't think the comparisons are completely accurate so take that with a grain of salt! The only way it's similar to The Scorpio Races in my opinion is that there's a race. I more felt the Red Rising vibes (a group of people wanting to rise up and rebel against their oppressors) but most of all, I was reminded of the Hunger Games! This race is televised and the interviews with the contestants definitely gave me major Hunger Games vibes. Anyway, just wanted to get that out there so if you're like me and you saw those comparisons you know what to expect.

The true star of this book are the phoenixes! They are fascinating in this book! I can't stress how cool I found them to be. It's so unique. The whole process of the ashes and components and how they're put together in order to have an entirely different phoenix reborn is so, so cool! As a horse lover, this was right in my wheelhouse. I absolutely loved it! The race portion of the book was so much fun. It took awhile before we got there but it was awesome. It had me on the edge of my seat!

There are three main POVs and all of them are interesting characters giving us a different perspective of the societal hierarchy in the country. Rebellion is brewing from two separate groups to rise up against the Ashlords and the groundwork for what will happen is just getting started. I can't wait to see what direction things will go in because each of these characters are well developed and multi layered so I'm already invested in their journeys. One of the POVs is in second person which did throw me off at the beginning because it was a little jarring. I rarely read anything in second person. However, after the first few chapters in that POV, I did get used to it and it seemed more natural.

In short...

If you are interested in a fast paced high stakes story with the most interesting take on phoenixes, this is for you! Magic, political machinations and more abound: I can't wait for the sequel!

Ashlords is the perfect combination of horse racing competition with the addition of phoenixes. The addition of the phoenixes and how each racer had to mix combinations of powders to create a new horse to ride each leg of the race is very intriguing. Along with this you have a battle brewing between layers of this society and that adds in a whole other element when you find out who wins the race. This book is brimming with deception, backstory and just the right mix of competitive danger. Pick this on up now before the sequel Blood Sworn comes out in February 2021.

4/5 stars

I really enjoyed this fantastical horse race story that felt like a magical mix of 'The Hunger Games' and 'The Scorpio Races'.

<u>Characters, Pacing & Points of View</u>
This story was an easier fantasy story to read and I was able to fly through it. The magic system and world building was beautifully done. There were several interesting points of view throughout the story which included the main racers Imelda, Adrian, and Pippa. Even though there were several characters, each had such a distinctive voice that it was easy to tell the difference between them. I really enjoyed Imelda The Alchemist's story and spirit the most.

<u>Overall</u>
Overall, I really enjoyed the start to this YA fantasy series! I'm interested to see where the next book takes all these characters and how it all ends.

*Thank you so much to Random House Children's, Crown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing I want to talk about is how much I loved the phoenixes in this book. Instead of birds, the phoenixes are horse shaped, and there’s an alchemy element which changes their attributes every day. They also die every single day when the sun goes down and rise in the morning from their ashes. All of these aspects give this book a unique take on the phoenix mythology in this world.

The race itself is kind of okay. For some reason I kept thinking of The Hunger Games because of the set up, but the racers met each other a lot less throughout. Plus it is genuinely a race, whilst the riders can attack each other to get ahead – they can’t murder each other and most of the day is spent riding their phoenixes as fast as possible.

Most of the action seemed to happen at night when they weren’t racing. This meant you either had the action and fights or you had the phoenixes but rarely both which I found disapointing. You defintely go into the book expecting lots of phoenix horse content, but most of the exciting parts of the book aren’t with them.

Ashlords has three POV’s and we start with Imelda. From the outset she is the most interesting but her storyline isn’t linked that much with Adrian and Pippa in this book. I do think they will intertwine more in the next book though.

Imelda is a Dividian which are a lower class in this world, and her story starts off with her wanting to prove Dividians can be riders. Throughout the book she begins to understand the complete disregard that Ashlords have for Dividians, and so she develops into more of a rebel who wants to show up the race. This storyline starts off strong and also grows on you as it develops, and it makes you want to know what will happen.

Adrian is a Longhand which is a offshoot from the Ashlords ancestors and who have their own land. Ashlords still look down on them the same as Dividians, but have less control over them. The world building around Ashlords, Dividians, and Longhands is very distinct and I think it gives a lot of motivation and thought process to each of the characters.

Because of this, Adrian’s father is trying to create a rebellion which will allow them to separate from the Ashlords for good, pulling Adrian into his plans. Adrian is in the race to encourage rebellion once he wins the race. To be honest, I don’t understand why he had to be in the race for this rebellion to start properly, but I did like him as a character so I’m not too bothered. He’s extremely clever but also quite naive when it comes to his family – I think he’s going to go through lots of decisions in the next book that will be hard for him.

Our final POV is Pippa who is the child of two Ashlords who’ve previously won the race. Pippa is like the living personification of the Horse Girl you knew at school. Despite her determination to win, she’s naive and is betrayed early on in the races which forces her to grow very quickly as a person. Her POV is also told in second person which is different to the others, and I hope this was done for a yet untold reason.

Each of our characters is forced to grow in the book, especially as they were very naive at the start about different things. I liked that each of them had this development and it felt like a natural progression as they learned and experienced new things.

Other characters that appear are Gods and spirits. Gods live in the Underworld but they like to appear and get involved in human games now and then. I loved that this is somehow a huge secrets for the Ashlords that gods give boons to the racers, however I would have liked to see more of the Gods throughout the book. I’m hoping this might be a bigger part of the second book, and this was just hints for the world building.

The gifts given are most often in the shape of spirits who can help their rider, and the spirits do this in order to be free of the underworld. Pippa has a spirit and she really helps Pippa get through the race. I also believe this may be why her POV is second person… I’m not sure if it would have the same emphasis otherwise.

Overall, I found the book to be quick and easy to read and everything is very straigthforward. Ashlords focuses on the races, but it’s defintely heading into rebellion territory like The Hunger Games for the next book. Unfortunately, I liked this book as more of a standalone and I’m not that interested in the next one as it will most likely include rebellions and romantic sub-plots I’m not interested in.

Positives of Ashlords
Character development
Gods, spirits and Phoenixes!
Negatives of Ashlords
Better as a standalone book

This book was such a fun read for me. I could not put it down once I started. This writer does a great job grabbing you right from the beginning. At first, I thought this was going to be a regular rags to riches store. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was instead an epic horse race set to the backdrop of unrest and rebellion. Did I mention that the horses are phoenix horses? So, in this horse race your mount dies in flames every night only to be reborn with the dawn light. This is all with a touch of alchemy thrown in. The elements that you mix with your ashes every night will dictate when abilities and skills your horse will be reborn with…. like teleportation!
This is a wild journey with many twists and turns I never saw coming, and a few that where easy to spot. I highly recommend for anyone that likes a fast-paced adventure story. I can’t wait to see how these characters advance in the second book. Thank you to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley

I loved the beginning of this book! The plot was very unique and it was very fast paced! I struggled a bit with the middle but the ending was strong! A very solid read for me.

So.....good book, but Red Rising??? This Howler says NOPE! Regardless of the off comparison, this book is unique and imaginative with lots of treachery and deceit. Loved the writing, great concept, read in one sitting, and need book 2 now!

Scorpio Races with a hint of Hunger Games and a lot of action and alchemy. The sequel cannot come fast enough!.

Somehow Reintgen never ceases to amaze me. This book is chock full of complex characters each striving for something different, each overcoming their own personal challenges. It's books like these that I find are going to shape the people who read them. And I am thankful for writers like Reintgen that write these stories that develop a world full of diversity that make it so we can understand our own world better, even if they don't have magical horses that are born at sunrise.

Interesting characters and worldbuilding. Conceptually interesting.

I loved the social structure depicted in this novel, as well as the inclusion of gods, magical creatures, and other worlds. While I had trouble remaining interested in the novel itself, the cast of characters and constant change of perspective made it a bit more refreshing than your typical dystopian/revolutionary tale.

Phoenix horse racing is a phrase that immediately made me gasp the moment I heard it. This book was marketed as Red Rising meet Scorpio Races, and my expectations were HIGH. Unfortunately, I think that comparison was unfair to the book and made reading it less enjoyable because of having such high expectations.

Overall though this was a good read with likeable characters. The book is told form 3 different POVs and they were all great. I loved the concept and the overall story, and I adored the magic in the book.

Although a fun read, the book failed to meet my expectations. The first half of the book could have been condensed so that we could get to the "race" part sooner and spend more time there, which was really the most exciting part. I also felt at times that there were too many ideas and concepts in the book that seemed to have been an afterthought and were not fully fleshed out.

The ending was quite the cliffhanger though, and I liked the book well enough that I will be reading the next one.

I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

So the teaser says this is Red Rising meets Scorpio Races, but I have to amend that because the Hunger Games vibes in this book are REAL!!! I dont know that I would compare it to RR, and I havent read SR, but if you love the Hunger Games, you will love this! I really enjoyed that the book was told in 3 POVs and the author wrote the characters from different actual POVs (1st, 2nd, etc) as well. It made the voices very distinct and unique.
The story had so many twists and turns and I never once got bored, and we were left on a perfect cliffhanger to make sure I need the next book NOW! Also, bonus points for an epic cover!

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen is the first book of a new young adult fantasy duology series. The story follows three of the Phoenix racers by changing the point of view between the characters with each chapter as they prepare for the upcoming race.

The riders in the big race will be riding Phoenix horses that are brought to life by the rider’s alchemy giving them all unique qualities. At the end of each day however in the race the Phoenix return to ash until their rider can resurrect them again.

Pippa, Adrian, and Imelda are three of the eleven racers that are preparing themselves for the grueling battle ahead. All have trained in the ways they could with one coming from a champion family and expected to win, one being a scholarship entrant, and another a revolutionary’s son preparing for war.

Well Ashlords certainly took an often used clashing society full of the different classes of citizens on the verge of uprising to a different place. The idea of the big upcoming race somewhat gave me images of them being tossed into the Hunger Games but with a whole new unique battle for these entrants using magic and mischief to compete with their Phoenixes. The end of this first book was just enough of a cliffhanger to show that book two will probably take readers to a whole new side to these characters story too to leave readers wanting more.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

This story has such a unique premise. There’s a major race that happens every year with Phoenixes. The race is grueling and very dangerous. The racers try to knock each other out of the competition at all costs. The Phoenixes die each night in a burst of flames and are raised from their ashes each morning by the rider, through alchemy and magic. The Alchemists choose the strength and features of the Phoenix through mixing certain chemicals. Really cool concept!

The book starts off kind of slow, but it gets really adventurous and suspenseful as it goes on. I was on the edge of my seat wondering who would win. But, I felt the characters were written in such a way that I really didn’t like any of them all that much. It definitely wasn’t a character driven story. It was more about the race and how the Ashlords treated those who didn’t follow them.

I liked it. I just didn’t love it. I have loved everything that Scott Reintgen has written, so I was surprised this one wasn’t what I expected.

So much fun! Horses, racing, alchemy, magic—I don't see how this book could be any better than it is. The story follows three teens from very different backgrounds as they compete in an epic race. The horses they ride are phoenixes. They go up in flames every night, only to be resurrected at dawn by the riders with alchemy.

It was such a fun and unique concept and I absolutely loved it. If you loved the author's other series, Nyxia, you won't want to miss out on this one. It's just as action-packed and will keep you glued to the page the whole way through.

REVIEW GOES LIVE ON LAIR OF BOOKS ON 3/7/2020
LINKS WILL BE ADDED TO THIS REVIEW

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

***4 STARS***

PLOT

There was a time where the Gods gifted their people Pheonix horses to battle in war, now those same horses are used for sport. What is required to become a Pheonix rider? Knowledge of Alchemy, fighting, and riding. A Pheonix is created by way of combinations in Alchemy & by Sunset that Pheonix bursts into flames. Each rider has the opportunity during a rebirth to create a Pheonix with specific skill sets/defenses. We follow three characters from very different backgrounds with a whole lot invested in winning this race & securing the bag aka Money & lots of it. It's been a long time since there's been an uprising & the Ashlords who are considered the elite in this word have been sitting pretty. Unchallenged since the last rebellion they quelled, the last thing they'd expect is for the people to turn against them. Many lives were lost as a repercussion of the last rebellion as a way to punish the people & ensure they never rise up again, many were ordered to be killed. This race is only the start of a war that's been brewing & our MC's have a stake in it all.

CHARACTERS

Imelda aka The Alchemist -Comes from a humble family who don't have much funds but are rich in the love they have for one another. Imelda is a skilled Alchemist who has gained some notoriety with the help of her friend who records her creations with Pheonix horses & livestreams them. Imelda has no idea she is recruited as a pawn to divert the attention away from someone with elite status caught in a less than favorable position. Imelda is my favorite character simply because she is proving to be someone who may just flip the script *fingers crossed*

Pippa aka The Favorite -Comes from a family of Ashlords & famous Pheonix riders. The pressure is real for Pippa to make it big but her current relationship with another major Pheonix Rider is making her question a whole lot. Can her boyfriend handle her winning the race? or will that be too much for his ego? Pippa is very intelligent, competitive, and knows how to look out for her best interest. A worthy opponent she does make.

Adrian aka The Longhand - Son of the past rebellion leader, Adrian has been groomed all his life to one day lead their people against the Ashlords who have kept them oppressed. Adrian is described as being very strong & knowledgeable in these races. He's studied them & has been mentored to recognize his competitors strengths & weaknesses. For Adrian this is about retribution.

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS

Having read Scott Reintgen's Nyxia trilogy, I was pretty confident we'd get a set of characters I'd love & I'm happy to report this proved to be the case. I listened to the audiobook version after learning that it was narrated by a full cast which is my absolute favorite way to listen to multiple POV stories. The voice actors were PHENOMENAL! you can't go wrong when you've recruited Rebecca Soler who is known for voice acting for Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles. We get a good grasp of the Pheonix Riders themselves, I just wish we'd had more on the history of the turmoil as well as the depths of the Gods involvement. Also, as a lover of all things Greek Mythology I really enjoy learning about the myths behind the Gods. I didn't come away feeling satisfied on my knowledge of the gods in this world but hope we'll get more of them in the sequel to come. It's pretty bad a** to have a world where you can create magical horses! also, for all animal lovers the fact that these horses vanish at sunset since they are alchemical creations means they aren't real horses suffering in this sport & that's always a plus!<3

This book was a great one. It ended a small reading slump I was in. Recommend this one highly to my friends and fellow book lovers.

4.5/5, due to some pacing issues at first, but rounded up for originality and enjoyability.

A captivating, enjoyable novel, combining tried-and-true YA favorite themes (revolution, defying social expectation, social media pressure) with a wholly original magic system (phoenix horses?? combining alchemy and horse races?? I love it) to create an unstoppable page-turner full of action, scheming, and betrayals. Nothing is as it seems in this book; plans go different ways than you expect, "divine intervention" takes on a new meaning, and the characters you think you'll hate end up becoming your favorites. Major props to the author for ambitiously (and successfully!) delivering one character's point of view in second-person--in interviews, he has explained his reasoning for it, and the effect is exactly as he intended.

A longer, full review of this book is forthcoming on my blog and Goodreads pages!

Ashlords had all of the excitement and attention to detail that my students came to expect from Scott Reintgen in the Nyxia Trilogy. This new world will captivate my kids.