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.
I’m going to try something new for this review! I’m going to say one thing I liked about this book and then one thing that I, personally, and wasn’t a fan of.
Overall, I was a fan of this book. It is said to be a Sansa Stark story, which is what initially intrigued me. I love Sansa. I’m not sure why, I haven’t even gotten past the first book of Game Of Thrones or the fourth season. But something about Sansa just speaks to me. And I know enough about her to be extremely interested in a book modeled after her journey.
One thing I liked about this was the badassness of strategy. Theodesia, Theo, (I really, really, love the name too) does everything through strategy. The end game of the major plan is huge, but it isn’t done through sword fights and intense battles. It’s down through subtle gestures and right words said at the right times. It was amazing to see things come together.
One thing I wasn’t a fan of was the romance. There was a love triangle. Kinda? Maybe? On one side, there was this weird thing that could maybe be real, but maybe not. And then on the other side there was something that was more likely be real. But, there was so much going on and I never really connected with either of the guys. I didn’t really want Theo to end up with either one of them.
Another thing thing that I liked was the conflicting story lines. There was the major story, the one that Theo was living and then there was the story that Theo was weaving, the deception of the people around her. I could SEE the story Theo was weaving and I thought was super duper cool. I could see how Soren was seeing things and the story that could have been told is Theo was a different character. It was so, so cool to see that.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Ash Princess. I pretty siked for Lady Smoke and the books that come after that! I’m interested to see where Theo’s story is going to go. I ready to hate new enemies that disguise themselves as allies. I’m ready to see Theodisa rule.
Ash Princess is now available! I recommend checking it out and meeting Theo for yourself!
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Ash-Princess-Laura-Sebastian-ebook/dp/B074DH2YJT
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