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A review by lavendar
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is an emotional marathon but one that is absolutely worth it, especially for the happy ending.
It manages to connect every thread (including the seemingly tiny ones you might not have even noticed) going all the way from the shorts in the Assassin’s Blade prequels and continuing through each book in the series; closing every loose end & answering every question, giving every crossover, cameo, interaction, character, joke, fan favorite, and wish, its moment in the sun. Weaving together into a beautiful tapestry with branches you can see going out into their futures.
It will keep you on your toes, breaking your heart, and then remake it with your day. Be ready to cry, and scream, and have your jaw drop with its twists. And be ready to smile, laugh, and have new inspirational phrases.
It is a finale worthy of the entire series.
And definitely worth the read as one of the best (and most emotional rollercoasters) of the books!
It manages to connect every thread (including the seemingly tiny ones you might not have even noticed) going all the way from the shorts in the Assassin’s Blade prequels and continuing through each book in the series; closing every loose end & answering every question, giving every crossover, cameo, interaction, character, joke, fan favorite, and wish, its moment in the sun. Weaving together into a beautiful tapestry with branches you can see going out into their futures.
It will keep you on your toes, breaking your heart, and then remake it with your day. Be ready to cry, and scream, and have your jaw drop with its twists. And be ready to smile, laugh, and have new inspirational phrases.
It is a finale worthy of the entire series.
And definitely worth the read as one of the best (and most emotional rollercoasters) of the books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Blood, and Pregnancy
Generally speaking, be prepared for this book to give you all of the feelings! Maas does not hold back, for better or for worse.
If you want to know in advance, whether it be reassurance or warning (or further information for content warnings & context, here is the information I wanted below). However, some of these have MAJOR SPOILERS so, do NOT read any further if you do not want them & read at your own risk & guidelines! So last chance:
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!
Quick questions:
—Does it have a happy ending?
Yes.
—Do Evangeline & Fleetfoot stay safe?
Yes.
—Does anyone get severely injured? If so, who?
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! Yes. Nearly every character has a nearly fatal injury, primarily: Lorcan, Fenrys, Abraxos, Lysandra, Aedion, Dorian, and Aelin. Falkan & Borte also have an unexplained moment. SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!
—Do any good characters die? If so, who?
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! The Thirteen & their Wyverns (except for Manon & Abraxos), Gavriel the lion, Murtaugh Allsbrook (Ren’s grandfather), Connall (Fenrys’s brother), Elena (disappears for good), The King has one last visit, Mala leaves for good, and Aelin (but she comes back). SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!
—Do any bad characters die? If so, who?
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! Cairn, Maeve, Erawan, The Blackbeak Matron, The Yellowlegs Matron, Iskra Yellowlegs & her Wyvern, and Uncle Vernon (presumed dead). SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!
—Pregnancy tag:
There is a pregnancy warning as a main character is pregnant. Neither baby nor mother are harmed, though it is a concern brought up a few times.
—Suicidal thoughts tag context:
Characters have to self-sacrifice to save lives. There are debates over who this should be. There is also a continuing feeling of “doomed fate” that characters are “tired of fighting” and moments of “giving up”. This is furthered by trauma, PTSD, and suffering leading characters to “want to die” or more so not “want to live” with it. And reckless behaviors that unintentionally lead them close to death. — There are also minor self-harming behaviors such as digging fingers into palms, or unintentional habits of anxiety, or loss of power control.
—Sexual content tag:
This book does contain sex scenes, they are not as fade to black as that in Crown of Midnight, but remain less explicit and more eluded/short in comparison to Empire of Storms.