Early Review: Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

Ash Princess

Author: Laura Sebastian

Release Date: April 24, 2018

Publisher: Delacorte Books

Ash Princess Trilogy Book #1

ISBN:  1524767069

ISBN13: 9781524767068

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Queen of Flame and Fury, was murdered before her eyes. Ten years later, Theo has learned to survive under the relentless abuse of the Kaiser and his court as the ridiculed “Ash Princess.” Pretending to be empty-headed and naive when she's not enduring brutal whippings, she pushes down all other thoughts but one: Keep the Kaiser happy and he will keep you safe.

When the Kaiser forces her to execute her last hope of rescue, Theo can't keep her feelings and memories pushed down any longer. She vows revenge, throwing herself into a plot to seduce and murder the Kaiser's warrior son with the help of a group of magically gifted and volatile rebels. But Theo doesn't expect to develop feelings for the Prinz. Or for her rebel allies to challenge her friendship with the one person who's been kind to her throughout the last hopeless decade: her heart's sister, Cress.

Cornered into impossible choices and unable to trust even those who are on her side, Theo will have to decide how far she's willing to go to save her people and how much of herself she's willing to sacrifice to become queen.

Enemies, allies, romance, death, betrayal and rebellion... You will get it all in ASH PRINCESS.

Theo was only six when her mother was murdered and her country was taken over by the Kaiser. She became his prisoner and her life since was anything but what a princesses life should be. She comes off as very weak, but throughout the story you find out just how strong she is and how far she is willing to go.

There is not much happy in ASH PRINCESS. There is violence, there is abuse, there is pain, but happy is very fleeting and hard to come by. Someone on Goodreads mentioned in their review that everyone—with the exception of the Kaiser—was a victim and they really were. Some situations were a little hard to read about and there was even a point that I didn't like Theo for something she does, but I UNDERSTOOD what she did. I honestly couldn't put ASH PRINCESS down, even through the hard.

There is a bit of a love triangle in ASH PRINCESS. Both possibilities definitely have their advantages and disadvantages and I am rooting for one over the other, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the other possibility. It will be interesting to see how things unfold in LADY SMOKE.

I was invested in the story and I'm very interested in reading more.

I gave it 5/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.