⭐4.5 star rating⭐
A really captivating and fun rollercoaster of a ride!

Thank you to the author for an ARC of this book.
I didn't feel like I could completely predict any of it and was definitely taken for a fun ride within A Real of Ash and Shadow! There are also so many players and moving parts, but it's all well explained! The world is also somewhat complex, however, the world building never felt info dumpy or too overwhelming - though secrets and reveals do happen in those fun bursts. The atmosphere was captivating as well - the scenes were very well described and I felt immersed in the story being able to visualize it all. The writing style was very easy to read and felt accessible for its genre (new adult).

I enjoyed the characters as well as they all read and felt *different* than each other, often in the love triangle trope things can be a little muddy but they were not in this novel - the characters were all distinct and you could tell who was speaking and their motives, etc.
Our MC also goes for an absolute roller coaster of a ride through this, and she is resilient and complicated. She's only 18 and she's learning the world is not what she once thought through a pretty fast paced and (sometimes) rough series of events - she's also a hormonal teen, and this comes through in more ways than one! I enjoyed seeing a more realistic and imperfect but more relatable young female MC.

Fun, fast paced and full of twists - a really fun new FaRo read that reminds me of some of my favorites!

WOW! What a fun rollercoaster ride of a book!! Literately, it was like riding a rollercoaster into a tunnel and not knowing where it was going to go, what was happening, and who was going to be introduced.
The scenery writing and world building was EXCELLENT and everything was clear and concise and never boring, which in my reading experience seems to be a tough balance to find. I saw another reviewer described Val as ‘messy’ and this felt like an apt description to me. She is ‘messy’, complicated, hormonal, and emotional, and she makes mistakes… but what 18-year old whose entire life is upended isn’t a little messy?!

I enjoyed the love triangle trope here that sometimes threatened to become a square or even pentagon (hahaha our girl Val definitely likes her men) but my heart lies with team Gideon!

Overall it’s probably around a 4.2ish star read for me but the fact that this is a debut novel is hugely impressive bumping it up to a 4.5 or higher! I’ve already preordered a physical copy and look forward to book-mail after the release. 🥰
WHEN CAN I GET MY HANDS ON THR SEQUEL 👀🤩👀🤩???

I was so happy to have received an ARC to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and weren’t impacted by receiving an ARC.

This book is a wild ride of emotions, it was addictive, I couldn’t put it down and am left wanting more.
Amazing work building, badass flawed female lead, love interests and power plays!
The start felt YA but things got dark!
Absolutely loved it.
5 ⭐️

Wow. What an amazing experience reading this book was. I felt drawn in my Valeria and her 'issues' as an outcast in the Realm of Mortals, her struggles in Empyrean with trying to adapt to her new life as Princess despite her fathers misdemeanours towards her and her struggles with trying to remain good in the Realm of the Forsaken. It was funny, tantalising and I could not put the book down. There was spice and smut but it was so minimal it didn't detract from the story at all, but added a little extra so as a reader you could feel the attraction yourself.

If there is a second book to follow on, I am definitely picking it up!

DuuuUuUuUUUde this book took me for a ride in a good and bad way. Good, because this book was incredible. It was one of those books where you read the first page and you just get that feeling that settles in your bones that says, "Yep, I'm gonna love this book". Bad, because this book has me feeling so many conflicting feelings and has left me reeling and I will continue to reel until the second book comes out.

A Realm of Ash and Shadow follows Valeria, the mortal-raised, lost princess of Empyrean, returns to her realm to find that it is not everything she learned it to be. Valeria must fight for her kingdom while learning everything she knows is a lie. Filled with secrets, dark magic, betrayal, lust, and power, A Realm of Ash and Shadow will have you hooked from page one. Valeria is in constant battle with wanting to be loved, wanting power and revenge, and wanting to be something, someone. She has such a fun sense of humor and although she doesn't always see herself how she really is, she is undoubtedly a badass.

Now, back to my conflicting feelings. I am literally mentally ill because I was almost instantly team villain but then I was back to team golden boy savior. I keep going back and forth and I can't decide which is exactly why I need the second book immediately because I need answers.

Lara Buckheit, I thank you for causing me the pain only the best books can inflict. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC, all opinions are my own.

A Realm of Ash and Shadow is being compared to the sexiness of Kingdom of the Wicked, and while both stories have their sexiness, AROAAS brings the whole shebang. Kerri Maniscalco better watch her back because Lara Buckheit's Realm of the Forsaken is the home of true deviants. Lara vividly describes an entire universe of gods and monsters, without the frivolous adjectives of some popular authors. If you love stabby heroines, women like Poppy (FBAA) don't hold a dagger to Val, who is more relatable to real world women than most FMCs. I found Val to be messy, and therefore realistic, like Feyre and Nesta (ACOTAR). I cannot even begin to describe how swoon-worthy Gideon and Vemdour are, move over Rhysand and Wrath. Even the side characters are fully fleshed, looking at you Malachi.

AROAAS is going to launch Lara Buckheit up with the great fantasy writers and while I’m waiting for my physical copy to arrive, I will be itching for the sequel. If you like betrayal, found family, a training montage, and a love triangle, I highly recommend AROAAS, not only for the tropes, but because the tropes are packaged in evocative prose and world building with close attention to detail.

5 stars. Period.

Hi! Lara, here! Release day is just under a month away, so I thought it'd be fun if I dropped you all a little note that I originally shared on Goodreads.

I'm still surprised that A REALM OF ASH AND SHADOW is my debut... not because I spent four years working on this story, rewriting Val's journey, her wants, her needs, and her desires. But because at some point in the drafting process, I stopped writing what I thought everyone wanted to read and instead wrote a book filled with all of MY favorite things. Magic, romance, toeing the line between light and dark and fear and hope, and easter eggs galore.

This book is a love letter to my younger self who thought I would never be loved because I was too much. Too loud. Too big. Too wrapped up in fantasy worlds. Too this. Too that. It wasn't until many years later that I realized I was worthy of being loved in the ways that I wanted (and needed) to be loved—wholly, utterly, and infinitely.

So if you've ever felt this way... please know that A REALM OF ASH AND SHADOW is for you. You will see this fear in Val and although she doesn't believe she is worthy of love, she loves fiercely. I hope you do the same.

Thank you so much for reading my debut <3

--

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Sexual Content, Graphic Violence and Gore, Abusive Relationships and Domestic Violence (via a single flashback), Abandonment and Grief, and Profanity.

yup - i‘m definitely addicted to this one!

I love all of it

could cry because i finished it and can‘t read more…

And i really NEED MORE

These days very few YA fantasy books keep me guessing and feel completely unpredictable- this one though- it’s amazing!! One of the best fantasy adventures I’ve read in a long time. I absolutely loved it! Valeria is a kick ass lead and her story is awesome. Definitely looking forward to the next book!

For fans of the Kingdom of the Wicked series, and From Blood and Ash comes a new story - A Realm of Ash and Shadow by author Lara Buckheit. Buckheit has shown herself as a significantly well developed writer in this story, drawing in readers to a world built in a style similar to S. J. Maas. Valeria is an outcast, and is the main character in the Realm of the Forsaken, and I found her SO relatable to today’s young women. Valeria’s adventures bring forth her smart ass style, courage, struggles and betrayals in a world of Gods and mortals. This was a hot, spicy read that will promote Buckeit’s new series to the same award levels with the big writers of YA fantasy! This librarian enjoyed it immensely and will be recommending it to all of my patrons!

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.