Review: Kingdom of Ash

General Information

Title: Kingdom of Ash
Author: Sarah J Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #7
Pages: 984
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
ISBN: 9781619636101

 

This is the final book in the series. Spoilers for the previous books ahead.

“Death had been her curse and her gift and her friend for these long, long years. She was happy to greet it again under the golden morning sun.” 

I started the Throne of Glass series back in 2015. A lot has happened since then, both in these books and in my life, so I'm honestly glad to say that I'm still a huge fan and that I loved this epic conclusion!

Because damnn, this was truly epic. This story and its characters have grown so much with every book and everything comes to an end now. Kingdom of Ash doesn't have to hide behind the YA label of the series because this book was really grand and epic. There are battles and darkness and ancient terrors, and then there's Aelin, our queen fighting for her kingdom and her people. The stakes are super high.

The book is dark. There's a war going on throughout the majority of it and it shows. The hopeless atmosphere and the pain felt so real! Although I honestly would have expected even more heartwrenching major character deaths. The ones that happened absolutely broke me to the point of crying, but for a battle of this scale I would've expected even more death and grief. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it stood out to me because I somehow expected more.

The pacing is fast; we have many different perspectives while different groups fight their own battles in different countries before everyone comes together for the big finale. So much happened in this book! It was incredibly well structured and the writing just flows. Sarah J Maas has really grown as a writer over the years.

At this point, you already know the characters, so I'm not gonna go through each and every one of them. But all the characters we know and love (or hate) are in this which makes for some amazing dynamics, reunions that made me teary eyed and - of course - some hot and steamy scenes. Typical Sarah J Maas ;) Although I'm glad to say that the book didn't focus on any unnecessary sex scenes and the ones that were included were quite readable. (And if this isn't your thing at all, you can skip them without missing any important stuff.)

Aelin is a queen (both literally and metaphorically speaking). I fell in love with the sassy assassin Celaena many years ago and now I'd literally follow Aelin Galathynius everywhere. Chaol and Dorian are precious and I fell in love with both of them all over in this book. There are a ton of strong female characters and snarky centuries-old fae, I can't even pick my favorites. And then there's Manon. I didn't care for her much when she first appeared in the series, but oh gods I've come to admire this witchy woman. She's the definition of badass.

On the other side there are the villains, and can I just say that I hate Maeve with a burning passion? I hate her. That's all there is to say.

Kingdom of Ash really is a worthy conclusion to a series that's been with me for so many years. I know Sarah J Maas isn't for everyone, but I'm so glad I finally read this but also a little heartbroken it's now over. Highly recommended in case you haven't read the series yet! Every fantasy fan should get to know these characters!