Title: Ash Princess
Author: Laura Sebastian
Series: Ash Princess Trilogy
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Book For Young Readers
Pub Date: April 24th, 2018
Pages: 432
My Copy: ARC that I picked up at NYC Comic Con
Book 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.
Book Review:
A very good start to a series. I thought this book had a lot of potential based on the synopsis of this book. Theodosia is a character who has to overcome so much in this book and it’s a great premise. I like the fact that this book took some interesting twists and turns.
The first scene in this book is a bit of a heartbreaking scene. You really do understand the pain that Theodosia is going through. Her mother is dying and things are happening that no one could have prepared her for in her life. Now everything is changed. She is no longer going to have the life she was supposed to have, but a far crueler one.
So we fast forward to the present in the book where she is now 16 years old. Theo as she is called by the book is known as the Ash Princess, since her people suffer. She is what one would call a political prisoner. Theo hates her life and tries to survive. We learn that nothing is ever what it seems. Everything she does is watched so carefully. Then one day she is forced to kill one of her own people and she does it, but it forever changes her in a way that makes her more willing to do what is necessary for her future.
Theo learns very quickly that everybody has a reason for doing the things that they have done. Plus her people are still alive and hoping that one day she will take back the throne. This is going to take work and time, plus an army, not to mention money. Theo also gains a lot of allies and realizes the people think she is not doing what they want her to do. Then there is the Kaisers’s son who tries to be good, but really is caught somewhere in the middle. He is someone that Theo is careful around and starts to use his feelings for her into something that she can use and pass messages to the rebels.
I thought the way that Theo maneuvered herself through out the book was clever and sometimes downright risky. Things are never easy for her at all. She has to do very bad things in order to make things better. I found that the fact that there wasn’t a romance in the book, made me like this book a lot more. Theo has a lot of things happening, so she needs to focus on what is important and ultimately escape which she does.
We learn that this is a world where people have to do what they have to do. Theo learns not to be apologetic about the actions that she has taken.
She is only doing what is necessary to free her people and take back what was stolen from her and her people. She definitely learns thru a lot of hardships and betrayals what it takes to be a leader and sometimes the sacrifices that have to be made.
This was a solid first book. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book.
Rating:
4 Hearts
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