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A review by kailafitz
The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Uggghhhh this is almost a 2 star for me except for the female protagonist character development that ends somewhat on a good note upon reflection.
Plot ending was pretty meh but it does leave for a decent plot to come. Still won’t be reading it though lol.
Some thoughts whilst trying to leave out spoilers:
Oraya
Okay so yes she’s a shell of herself after what’s happened, but how in the name of whatever are there thoughts of lust towards Raihn in the first half of the book??? I was expecting a big revenge plot or something even like enemies-to-lovers because surely the hatred would be so much more?? Like I just felt so uncomfortable at how unnatural I felt her pov was. She felt like such a strong character and I do feel like she’s developed and gone through a lot and come out the other side, but the romance pov didn’t sit well for me throughout the book and I felt it undermined her character’s role and priorities.
Raihn
Raihn is absolutely pathetic after the turn of events and instead of becoming a powerful and cunning figure, he’s a pure sap undeserving of all that was destroyed for him to take the throne. Pure sap. I don’t even know what more to say. His back story could have contributed more context to his character if he was actually a strong character but his weak disposition made it all seem even more meh. Like if he was actually a ruthless, cunning, strong character you might look at his backstory as the slave that finally got revenge but his revenge just felt like weak nothingness. I don’t even know what he contributed to this storyline other than his dick.
Not sure what my final thoughts are tbh. There were no plot twists or much of anything that was exciting. But taking a step back I think the world building is still decent and the writing is not too bad.
Plot ending was pretty meh but it does leave for a decent plot to come. Still won’t be reading it though lol.
Some thoughts whilst trying to leave out spoilers:
Oraya
Okay so yes she’s a shell of herself after what’s happened, but how in the name of whatever are there thoughts of lust towards Raihn in the first half of the book??? I was expecting a big revenge plot or something even like enemies-to-lovers because surely the hatred would be so much more?? Like I just felt so uncomfortable at how unnatural I felt her pov was. She felt like such a strong character and I do feel like she’s developed and gone through a lot and come out the other side, but the romance pov didn’t sit well for me throughout the book and I felt it undermined her character’s role and priorities.
Raihn
Raihn is absolutely pathetic after the turn of events and instead of becoming a powerful and cunning figure, he’s a pure sap undeserving of all that was destroyed for him to take the throne. Pure sap. I don’t even know what more to say. His back story could have contributed more context to his character if he was actually a strong character but his weak disposition made it all seem even more meh. Like if he was actually a ruthless, cunning, strong character you might look at his backstory as the slave that finally got revenge but his revenge just felt like weak nothingness. I don’t even know what he contributed to this storyline other than his dick.
Not sure what my final thoughts are tbh. There were no plot twists or much of anything that was exciting. But taking a step back I think the world building is still decent and the writing is not too bad.