The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

I wanted to enjoy this one, especially because the first book was really good. Unfortunately it was lacking so much that was already built or set up in TSATWON:

1. First of all: I understand Oraya was in a difficult situation emotionally, like she saved her lover and lost her father, became an heir and a prisoner all the same day... so yes, it was too much to process (both father and lover lied to her...), but for how she was raised and how she'd fight against vampires to save humans I expected her to give a fight nonetheless... and instead she chose to play the prisoner role.
2. I agree Raihn also had a performance to maintain to keep Oraya alive, and I appreciated how he gave some tells so we can know it was part of the performance... but it really bothered me how easy he trusted everyone having lived with other vampires for 200 years... what was that experience worth for if he was being that naive? "Alliance" as an excuse is BS, so no plot there. And the worst: How many times did he need to say or think "There she is"?
3. Mische... I LOVED her in the first book, her bright personality is everything, but here she is completely off. I can't imagine facing your abuser. That must be traumatic. But there is something that just doesn't make sense to me in how she was written, I don't know if that's just me...
4. Lilith and Vale, I was eager to read more of them after Six Scorched Roses, but Lilith was just the excuse for setting the "big plot" (the wedding), and Vale was.... I couldn't even picture him as the "third best general, now turned the first best", it wasn't enough of him to see that...
5. Simon and Septimus weren't as challenging as we were led to believe, I was a bit disappointed, there was a really good idea but the execution was a bit lazy 😞

Overall I felt the book was way too long for the story, it had too many dialogues and they weren't even adding to anything... also I saw too much repetition, like "The she is", "Fear is a recollection of physical whatevers " and describing over and over the details of the Wings or the Heir marks.... also apparently Oraya's cheeks were the first thing the enemies were thinking on slashing because she got them every time she battled with someone... it was a bit discouraging for me to keep reading because it was tiring.

The part I enjoyed though is Vincent's past,trying to have is POV and understanding why he didn't kill Oraya when he found her... I swore he had made Oraya the god blood item evwryone was looking for, so it would have been SO meaningful and THAT would have been a very interesting plot to follow.

So yes, I liked the first book, LOVED the Six Scorched Roses (definitely getting that one in paperback) but this one felt lazy, unedited in many ways and too long.