Review: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Kingdom of Ash Series: Throne of Glass #7 Written by: Sarah J Maas Published: October 23, 2018 by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: 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.

That's right friends, the Throne of Glass series is over. It's been a great four year ride with the series and I have been crazy impressed with how complex and engaging this series is. And while the last book in this series is not my favorite, it was a great ending to an amazing YA fantasy series.

The thing that continues to impress me about this series is the plot development. This is one of those series where clearly everything was planned out since the very beginning. Little things from the early books in the series and even the novellas come back in a big way in the final book as things start unfolding and everything was unfolding. Plus it is crazy action-packed. I have come to know this series for the fact that it has always been full of action, adventure, and surprises. This being that it was the final book, of course that was all of that was heightened. The stakes were high and a lot of this book took me on a crazy emotional ride.

That being, said the pacing was not great. This is a really long book. It comes in at a whopping 992 pages which not only makes it the longest book I have read this year but one of the longest I have ever read. But it's not out of the ordinary to read a fantasy book over 800 pages but they don't always feel like they are as long as they are. But this book felt long. There were a lot of moments where there were lulls in the story that had me not at all minding that I put it down.

I think one of the reasons why that the pacing was a bit problematic for me is that this is a series that is full of perspectives and in this book that was a little out of control. I honestly lost count with how many characters got to narrate a portion of the book but it had to be at least a dozen. And yes, that't not out of the ordinary for fantasy books but with this series it is always a bit jarring, especially because often it would change perspectives in the middle of the chapter. I have never liked that about this series and like everything else with this book that was heightened too.

But I do really love the characters in this series. Over the past seven main books and a collection of novellas I have definitely fell in love with these characters. So many of them are amazing and badass. It's been amazing seeing Aelin's development over the course of the series. She's maintained her heart of being arrogant and sarcastic while being an amazing leader and queen. So many of the other characters have also had great developments, including my two favorite Dorian and Manon. They both have some seriously kickass moments. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Lysandra was freaking amazing and Yrene was fantastic. Even Chaol wasn't actually wasn't the most self-righteous asshole in this book. No, that distinction went to Aedion even though I still love him. All the characters really had great development and seeing them change and grow throughout the series was really enjoyable.

But my favorite thing about this book may have been the world. Sarah has managed to craft a totally complex world. We have learned so much about it over the past seven books and watching it all unfold in such a meaningful way was the best thing about this book. This series went from one where there was no magic to a sword and sorcery novel full of magic and mystery. There was so much to learn about when it comes to the Valg, the wyrdkeys, the gods of this universe, and how they are all connected. I do still feel like there are some unanswered questions when it comes to all of that, especially the word keys and some of the answers felt like cop out but it is still an amazing world that I loved.

All in all, this was a great ending to one of my favorite series. It was full of action and adventure, great characters, and a fascinating world. It wasn't perfect and felt a little long with way too many perspectives but I thoroughly enjoyed it and am not ready to see it end even though I liked the way it did.

I give Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. If you are a fan of this series you definitely need to read the last book to find out how it all ends. This is definitely one of my favorite YA fantasy series. It's not perfect but it is incredibly entertaining.

Have you read Kingdom of Ash? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading.