
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
Publisher: Delacorte Press for Young Readers
Published: April 24th, 2018
Rating: 
Summary: 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.
Damn…I loved this book!
I legit binge read it in like 2 days! I couldn’t get enough of it at all! It was great and so full of action that I couldn’t even handle it. I loved the characters, the writing, the plot, and the overall vibe of the novel. I love novels about people trying to reclaim their stolen throne, so while the trope wasn’t unique to me, it was still something I really enjoyed reading about. And I like how this author really made Theo stand out.
The characters were really unique to me, and I felt myself really getting invested in the story and the characters. I loved Theo and all that she had to offer to the table. She faced a lot of hardships in her life as a captive and she was still able to help and rise up to the occasion and do what she could. I just liked how strong she was, and how smart she was. She didn’t have a gift or anything really but she used her mind and her will to really get stuff done.
I was trash for the love triangle. Let me be honest. I was dying trying to figure out who I wanted her to pick and what I thought was best for her! I loved it!
This novel has a lot of emotions behind it, because Theo ends up having to do something so horrible, and it kills her inside to do it. You really see how doing that ends up shaping her character and path in this book. You can see it kills her, and weighs on her throughout the novel, and I like how we saw the emotional toll it took on her. I just liked seeing the in-depth -ness of her character. I also enjoyed seeing Theo and her manipulations and sneaky ways with the court.
This story is also very violent, and grim and dark. There were aspects of slavery and torture, and if you’re sensitive to those topics, I would suggest reading with caution.
But overall I loved the characters, and I loved the plot and the aspect of rebellion, and how the author went about it with this novel. It was different and the characters really drove the story. I think it was also interesting to see how the Kaiser is sneaky and uses mental and physical torture to do what he wants. I want to see how the progression goes for him. I feel like that makes me a weird person but the mind games he plays are really interesting and are present during the novel.
Also Theo’s friendship with Cress was also something I liked reading about. Because it started out cute with them being friends, but ended with them being rivals. And not really because of a guy. Like a guy was involved but the fighting towards the end wasn’t really having to do with the guy and I thought that twist in events was interesting. Also Cress isn’t as simple or dumb as she looks. She really surprised me and I want to read more and see what she brings to the table in the future. She has a lot left in her story I feel!
Overall again I thought this novel was awesome and so fast paced and addicting. I couldn’t put it down and I really want to read the next novel and see what’s in store for Theo and the rest of the characters. It’s going to be so great!
Let me know if you’ve read this novel and what your thoughts are as I would love to know!