Lady Smoke
Ratings20
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings20
Average rating3.7
The second installment in the New York Times bestselling series "made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir" (Bustle), Lady Smoke is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people. The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess--a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn't realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon. Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage--Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser's rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne. To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done. Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself. Praise for the Ash Princess Series: "A darkly enchanting page-turner you won't be able to put down."--Bustle "A smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down." --Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series "This searing page-turner is a compelling examination of the complexities of both evil and resistance."--Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night "A dark and spellbinding epic." --Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless "A rebel queen fans the sparks of revolution...[and] Theo's first-person narration remains enthralling with emotional immediacy...[while] packed to the brim with intrigue and the promise."-Kirkus Reviews
Featured Series
3 primary booksAsh Princess Trilogy is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2018 with contributions by Laura Sebastian.
Reviews with the most likes.
Pros:
- This was one of my most anticipated books of this year and I have to admit, I was a little nervous as I began reading this that Lady Smoke would suffer from second book syndrome. I'm happy to say that this book met and exceeded my expectations. This book starts off right where Ash Princess left off and we get to see more of the world.
- Based on how Ash Princess ended, I was worried about how political intrigue would play a role in the rest of the series, but there was still plenty of it as we were transported to different kingdoms and Theo had to deal with politics in a new setting.
Cons:
- (not really a con but...) I was shocked by the twist at the end of the book and I'm not sure I truly agree with it and how it shapes the rest of the series, but at this point, I trust Laura Sebastian completely. She has proved to me that she deserves all the praise for this series and potentially anything else she writes in the future.
The fact that I still have to wait a year for the final book in the series. Hopefully, the wait does not feel too long. I want to see where Sebastian takes these characters and how Theo's story ends.
The second book in trilogies is often underwhelming, but that wasn't the case with this one. I liked this more than the first book. I was desperate to know what was going to happen next from beginning to end.
