Book Review: “Ash
Princess” By Laura Sebastian
“Ash Princess”, which was released
on April 24th, 2018 is the debut novel from author Laura Sebastian.
This fantasy novel is the first book in the series and tells the story of a
young princess named Theodosia (Also known as Thora or Theo throughout the
novel) whose country known as Astrea was invaded when she was only six years
old by a wicked Kaiser and his Kalovaxian army. Theodosia’s kindhearted mother
was murdered during Astrea’s invasion but the Kaiser spared Theodosia’s life.
However, Theodosia’s life was not easy as the Kaiser made her his prisoner,
doing everything in his power to both humiliate and torture her on a daily
basis. Ten years after the invasion, the cruel Kaiser forces Theodosia to kill
her own father, which further sparks a desire for vengeance within her along
with the will to take her country and throne back from the Kaiser.
This well-written book is very
detailed and the story definitely sucks you in. It was a book I myself just
couldn’t put down. I loved the character development with Theodosia as she goes
from a broken, abused and shamed girl to a strong, brave and fearless woman.
Theodosia is definitely my favorite character in this book as well as Heron,
who is one of the few loyal and magical allies helping Theodosia reclaim her
kingdom.
Another favorite character is Soren, who is the Kaiser’s son
but unlike the Kaiser, is compassionate and kind. As for the Kaiser, he is definitely a
character you can easily dislike, especially when he treats Theodosia with ridicule,
harassment and cruelty every time he sees her. Cress is a character that is
likable at first, due to the kindness she first shows with Theodosia but soon
becomes a character you grow to dislike after her true colors begin to show and
she starts to treat Theodosia less as a friend and more like a possession
simply due to envy and her own desire to become a princess herself.
“Ash Princess” is truly an empowering story about how a young girl,
who once felt defeated and hopeless, finds her strength, discovers her courage
and becomes her own heroine. The book will cause you to keep turning the pages as it is full of depth and emotion plus the ending leaves you with a surprising
cliffhanger involving Theodosia and the mother of her ally, Artemesia. I should
warn that there are some darker parts in the book where graphic violence is
expressed, due to the themes of slavery and punishments that are in this book. However,
I would definitely recommend this book especially if you like to read about rebellion,
royals, magic, love triangles or powerful women. I am very much looking forward to reading the
second novel in this series, “Lady Smoke”, which is set to be released in Spring
2019.
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