Kingdom of Ash Book Review

The end. IT’S THE END. The crying will never end. Someone give me tissues and play more Bring Me The Horizon tracks.

Disclaimer: This review is SPOILER-FREE, (except for obvious spoilers from the previous books, so BEWARE), so basically expect a bunch of mush that makes no sense.

The reason why I’ve been doing mini-reviews for this series: I CAN’T ENGLISH REVIEW WELL from the shookness generally. It’s extremely hard and I can’t believe I’m doing a full review for this book that had me fully shook after nearly imploding when writing that Muse of Nightmares review. It’s so hard. Either way, I’m not going to be analysing a whole lot with categories as I usually do cause who wants to ruin a perfectly perfect read that made you cry? No one.

So read on for my messy crying mush review for the highly anticipated Kingdom of Ash.

Goodreads Blurb:

Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

Rating: (5/5)

We’ve been waiting for a while for this one and from the first chapter, I was scared. I didn’t want it to end and to think of it as ended makes me emotional even now. Sarah has crafted so many beautiful characters in this series and it hurts to think of their journey with us ending. I’m forever hoping for a spin-off especially for a specific character which I will not name.

I don’t know where to start…*focus*

So, we kick off from the ending of Empire of Storms *cries*, where Rowan is on the hunt to find his beloved after the bitch-fae-queen-who-isn’t-even-fae has kidnapped her. Lysandra, like the babe she is, is pretending to be Aelin even though Aedion is getting iffy over them lies. Chaol is coming back to Erilea with Nesryn and god-bless-her-soul Yrene who must be cherished and saved. Okay, I can’t say more now, I literally cannot say anything else and it hurts me.

This book seriously hurt me, it broke me a little. The…events that happened were serious and for real and amazing, and I can’t emphasise enough that I think it was the perfect ending. It felt super satisfying no matter how heartbreaking it was to have this series end.

Sarah’s writing was great as usual and I seriously couldn’t put this down! I flew through this book in like 2-3 days, which is amazing. My UK paperback copy was a beast of nearly 1000 pages and I managed to read that much in a couple of days, so kudos to me. Most of all to the peeps who read it all in A DAY. oh damn.

I’ve seen others who have said they felt like it was 800 pages of nothing followed by 100 pages of action but for me, every step was so important for the characters and their storylines. The action was definitely unreal in this one, and while others thought chunks of the book were unnecessary, can I just mention that wars are generally not over and done within one week. It would be completely unrealistic if things were done and over with so fast, and I praise books and tv shows like Game of Thrones that show how war is pretty freaking slow. Moving thousands of people takes a bit of time! Although I’m not a big fan of war strategy and meetings etc, it felt necessary and it did fit the book. The only annoyance was the lack of a MAP for Wendlyn/Doranelle!! Once I got my B&N Special Edition I read over Sarah’s notes at the back, and even she mentions a map for Wendlyn and Doranelle, why couldn’t we get one?? All I can hope is that it’ll show up in the World of Throne of Glass coming out next year.

I feel like this book really wrapped up on each character’s storyline, development and overall really helped add something to the story. There were numerous twists and turns and scenes that had me gaping or sobbing or gaping AND sobbing. It makes me cry a little on the inside just thinking about certain scenes that will probably forever scar you for this series.

It has been the absolute pleasure being able to witness how far Celaena & Aelin have grown. I’ve loved her since the first book, in my mind, she’s basically me, personality wise (maybe minus some of the self-preservation traits, I am a true Slytherin but basically me still). Thinking about her journey all the way from the Assassin’s Blade to this final book, it truly touches my heart a bit. Manon, another bae, has also had a huge character development and I love her so much. Dorian was so freaking amazing in this book! He became way more important than ever and I love it.

The reunions (not specifying who – look at me dodging spoilers :P) were so emotional and beautiful. On a side note: I know many people find it weird or annoying that Sarah likes to pair off her characters but I’m absolute trash for a happy couple just being happy and not constantly being under threat! I’d read any book that just had these characters ridiculously happy (kind of like ACOFAS minus Nesta the Insufferable), but I understand that that’s probably just me.

I don’t know what else to say, I loved this book to bits, it was perfect and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I really hope this review isn’t too crazy and messy.

What did you think of KoA?

Thanks for reading!

xx Tracy