Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

YA Fantasy, Ember 2018, 432 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

• Characters who fit their cliches. I wanted someone to break out of their expected role and I’m still waiting on that. No surprises yet, just people behaving as you’d expect for the role they’re written into. 
• I want more on the stones. How are they capable of giving magic to some users? It’s explored, but I’d like more exploration. Of course, this is the first book in the series so that could be coming. 
• Theo isn’t my favorite. She has moments in this book where you get to see her strength. In those moments, I do like her. But when she’s waiting for others to do all the planning for her, hiding from her responsibilities, and running … she’s not my favorite. 

What I Did Like:

• Cress. I pride myself on not giving spoilers (even for books published years ago) but THAT is an origin story I can get behind. I think I see where this is going for book 2 and I am HERE for it. 
• That opening scene is amazing. It’s not even a full page but it packs a POWERFUL punch. I felt like I was completely interested in this world and this girl right from that opening scene. 
• The planning and scheming. I do like a good scheme and this book is full of them. There’s a few you’re privy to from the moment they’re hatched and one that you don’t know about until it’s unfolding. All of them are well written and make you curious about how it might go wrong. 

Who Should Read This One:

• YA Fantasy fans this one is a world you can get behind, a premise that will interest you, and just enough magic to make it interesting. 

My Rating: 4 Stars

It moves fast and has a lot of elements going for it. This is a good fantasy book.