Ember Queen: Ash Princess, Book 3

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 3,609 ratings

Price: 21.66

Last update: 07-29-2024


Top reviews from the United States

Isolde
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, beautiful ending to the Ash Princess trilogy
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2020
After following the lives of Queen Theodosia, Prinz Soren, Blaise, Artemisia, Cres, Eric & Dragonsbane in Ash Princess and Lady Smoke, I really needed an ending for this trilogy that made sense and did justice to these characters and relationships. And Ember Queen delivered! This is the story of the final battle between a band of rebels from multiple kingdoms that have been plundered and ruined by the savage Kalovaxians. Where do I start without giving away the plot with spoilers?

Two points that make this book wonderfuls is 1) the brilliantly conceived battle and political strategies from the other two books shine here as well. The author achieves the same sort of Game of Thrones suspense that has you guessing until the last minute how each maneuver by the rebels will fail or succeed. And just when you think that all hope is lost, another brilliant turn of events changes everything. No TSTL characters here. And 2) the amazing character development means that every major and minor character is different and interesting. The authors builds a variety of different, complex backstories that explain and shape the various complicated relationships. We see the beauty and complexity of mother/daughters, of friends, siblings, parents, allies, slaves or people who survive abuse and adversity. All of it unique, none of it obvious or overly simple. Anyone who says that this book is like any other trilogy out there and doesn't offer anything new and special, just isn't paying attention.
Ruthie
5.0 out of 5 stars This is such a good series!
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2020
This is a pretty late review, but I absolutely adore the Ash Princess series! This is the thrid book and I had been waiting for it to come out for weeks! I pre-ordered it as soon as I saw the listing on amazon. Besides this being the best fantasy series I've ever read, the book itself also comes in perfect condition! It's a hard back book and it comes perfectly! Up until now there still aren't any dents or scratches on it! I definitely recommend this book and the series as a whole!
M. Walker
4.0 out of 5 stars It had so much potential...
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2021
To be completely fair, this series is one of the better ones in this genre. It's by no means the best, but it certainly isn't the worst. I had no issue with the side characters, or the villains in this series. The character development was masterfully done and I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters better throughout the series, and understand their decision making. Even the main Heroin was thoughtfully written and easy to root for. But the ending to this trilogy was so underwhelming, it ruins all of the groundwork that was laid for us to get here.
Overall, this trilogy was enjoyable and there were many twists involved and solid strategies at work to end the war, however the overall storyline was very predictable. There were no surprise deaths or outcomes in the end, the author basically established who would survive and who would win early on, and so yes, the ending was predictable, but again, the way in which we got there was interesting enough for me to finish the series and enjoy it a lot. If you're interested in why the ending hurts the series, keep reading:

Theo is meant to be the savior of her country and from the moment you start the series, you know she's going to succeed. The only question is how will she get there. The answer is by working hard, trusting the right allies, and actually thinking (yes, this heroin thinks for herself) of the best solutions and convincing her allies to join her in executing them. She's not afraid to actually fight in a reasonable manner, knowing when she can help and when she will be a liability, and also knowing when self sacrifice is the right play (although it never pans out, it's impressive that she'd die for her cause).
**SPOILERS:
This is exactly why the ending is so horrible, because in the end, it's not her, but Blaise, who sacrifices himself for the country. It's not her, but Cress herself, who takes her own life and rids the world of her cruelty. So much hard work and effort Theo put into freeing her country, and in the climax of the entire trilogy, when she's faced with killing Cress, her loyal wraiths, and saving the people who are held captive, she let's Blaise do all the work while she - get this - literally holds on to him. That's it. That's what she did to win her country back. She held on to a boy, and then instead of knocking him out which we know would have worked because it was established in the second book, she kills him because the author wanted him dead, I guess.
If Theo wasn't involved in the final showdown of the book, her country still would've won the war. Perhaps this wouldn't have damaged the series so much if it was written in third person. A story told about a group of friends fighting for their country in third person would've given a broader perspective and significantly increased the importance of each person involved. But when the story is told through the eyes of one heroin and her involvement in the climax is underwhelming, the reader is left feeling underwhelmed as well.
I am looking forward to reading more books from this author and I'm glad that I found this series. Nothing's perfect, but this was by no means a waste of time. It's a great story, flaws and all.
2 girls Mom
5.0 out of 5 stars perfectly balanced with action, chemistry and romance
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2024
The third book, unlike so many in a series, did not disappoint! It drew you in and didn’t let you go until it was done. Even then you wanted to stay with the characters because you’ve been through so much with them.
Briana Norton
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful freedom!
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2023
What an amazing way to end this trilogy! Theo's story was one of triumph and glory, and greatness. I'm glad I got the pleasure to be with theses characters.

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