Ash Princess

By: Laura Sebastian

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The first book in the New York Times best-selling series

"Made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir" (Bustle), Ash Princess is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

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 10 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 10 years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

"Sure to be one of the summer's most talked about YAs.... A darkly enchanting page-turner you won't be able to put down." (Bustle)

©2018 Laura Sebastian (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Tense and imaginative, this story of a diminished yet vengeful princess inciting a rebellion to recapture her rightful place of power strikes a timely chord. Ash Princess is a smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down." (Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series)

"The story leaps and twists like a swordswoman, and its blade carves the characters anew and divides them against themselves. This searing page-turner is a compelling examination of the complexities of both evil and resistance." (Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night)

"An emotionally complex, breathtakingly suspenseful series starter." (Booklist)

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The signing edited over the narration in a few places was weird and annoying. The story was good though and I liked it otherwise.

Better than the average Fantasy

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is not your average Fantasy novel. First of all the characters are not all good or bad. There is some grey area. Theo/Thora witnessed her Queen Mother’s death when she was little, and has been “kept” by her captor, the Kaizoran, and tortured and humiliated for 10 years. She is not behind bars, but lives among the usurpers who look at her with distain. She is whipped for no reason except at the Kaisoran’s whim. She is watched and followed 24/7. And she is befriended by Cresentia, her Mother’s killer’s (the Theyn) daughter. But this friendship has strings. Thora is more Cres’s pet than true friend, and Thora/Theo knows it. How can a girl like this be anything but vengeful and full of hate, AND near hopeless. This colors her dark world and she cannot trust anyone.

While listening to the audiobook, I am reminded of 2 other series: The Cruel Prince and The Queen of the Tearling. The story reads much like TCP in scope and story telling, and I loved this series, but the writing is an echo of TQotT, and I loved this series as well. So I have high hopes for Lady Smoke which is soon to be released. So I highly recommend The Ash Princess if you like low fantasy with a little bit of romance and if you loved TCP. I also thought the narrator did a really good job with this book. She was a good fit.

Twists and Turns

We all know the heroine is going to live. That's a given. The twists and Turns the plot takes to get there kept me listening. Good character development and an interesting world.

Great storytelling

Great storytelling, this author develops the characters bringing them to life. The characters will still surprise you.

Call me a fool. *Spoilers*

Many reviews said this was just like any other YA with it’s love triangle and fake damsel in distress but it doesn’t seem like a formula to me. It reminds me sometimes of The Kiss of Deception or Fire and Thorn series except darker and bloodier.

Spoilers below!

Theo is a good heroine, honest in her thoughts and mostly honest with herself. I did struggle with her rapid change in determination, almost like she switched to giving a crap about her people and country because she was bored with her life and felt guilted into it, but I guess killing your dad might do that to a girl. Some of her decisions were contrived rather than being realistic, it was aggregating. The narrator was very good though. I’d say that this is the first time I actually kind of hate the lead because I am so mad at her backstabbing. You can tell me a million times from a million more characters that Theo is doing the right thing but honestly, she disgusted me. It could’ve been worse sometimes but I wanted to puke sometimes I was so nauseated with her decisions. My heart clenched then and it’s still doing it now. Guess I’m too naive but I Theo could be great and do great things for her country next to Sorin, there are Queens of past that helped in that same way, but oppression changes the game. However, he might have blood on his hands he’s genuine and deserves better which also makes me sick, which is exactly why this is a great book. Laura does such a good job driving out emotions it startled me and had me both wishing the book would end.

I enjoyed it a lot. If you can handle gore, love triangles and calculating females read this, it’s fantastic.

Fantastic!

This book was absolutely phenomenal! I couldn’t put it down! The storytelling is so engaging and full of intrigue. This author is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever read!

Triangles are out

I loved the arc of this story.... my only complaint is the crazy love triangle.... literally not needed. It feels forced and started to drive me crazy towards the end. Other than that I loved the story. Looking forward to the 3rd book!

Sucked me right in.

Only picked this up bc I'm waiting on another series. Now I'm hooked and waiting on the next book in this series.

good

slow at first but good, I'll get book 2. not to romantic still worth a listen

Best Narrator

I absolutely love Saskia Maarleveld. She’s my favorite audiobook narrator and the Ash Princess trilogy is my favorite book series.