Kingdom of Ash – SPOILER Book Review

Kingdom of Ash

YA High Fantasy; By Sarah J Maas (Throne of Glass #7)

~ “I am a god” – Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius ~

Letter Grade: A+ (98%)

Our favourite characters have been scattered to the wind. Each on a dangerous, likely fatal, mission. In the south – Chaol, Yrene, Nesryn, and the khaganate move northward, praying that they’ll get to the king Chaol serves and the Queen they owe everything to, in time. In the west- Dorian, Manon, and the Thirteen race to rally lost witches and find the last Wyrdkey. To the north – Aedion and Lysandra ready themselves for the first onslaught of the war, if only to buy their Queen as much time as possible. And to the East – a heartbroken Court races to find a Queen imprisoned by the worst sort of evil. Lives are cut short, and all kinds of relationships are tested in Sarah J. Maas’ final masterpiece in the Throne of Glass series.

Note: I will post a detailed, analytical discussion of all plot points and this gorgeous cover!!! This review will encompass my overall thoughts.

The utmost first point I want to make is to congratulate Sarah J. Maas. When she first published Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight, the writing was erratic and poorer than it deserved to be. And then she grew up, alongside her novels, and turned into a fantastic author, the Queen of show-don’t-tell, who verbalized relationships in a fresh way, and who introduced the world to the culture of Fae. And for the tears of sadness and joy, for my own growth and the growth of all the characters, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Each storyline started in a different corner of Erilea, and each with different goals at the beginning, that merged into one. For a better world was such a central theme and it could be interpreted in many ways, from the different perspectives of each character – and that should be celebrated. The best parts? It was all playing in my head as if the TV show were already here and the perfect actors became even more perfect. You have Aedion and Lysandra in Terrasen with a political, gender-equality storyline. Dorian and Manon in southwestern Adarlan with the identity storyline. Chaol, Yrene, and Nesryn coming up to Adarlan with a story of loyalty, love, and bravery against those closest to them. Rowan, his Court, and Aelin with storylines of utter guilt, loss, and fear. And guess what? In each storyline, there is a central female character who embodies strength in their defiance and desire for a better world that starts with them.

And, not to forget to mention the great men here. I think it’s a worthy theme to explore in Kingdom of Ash because a lot of critiques of SJM’s writing comes in the form of the type of love interests and male characters she introduces. Let me be clear: I understand why some people may think there’s “toxic masculinity”, I really do. Aedion, Rowan, Lorcan, Chaol, Dorian can seem like sex gods and who women should aspire to be with. And I wholeheartedly agree with the unrealistic aspect of it- someone’s first inkling of love should not be because of that person’s taut muscles or big, sculpted body. That is my biggest critique of Sarah’s choices in her books, which did attribute to my rating. However, I think we have to keep in mind that this is a different world with different rules – and the fact that the Fae males are basically all growling, being animals in bed, and being territorial bastards is not a bad thing, in my opinion.

Side Note: Didn’t anyone notice how there were almost no graphic, erotic scenes at all? Like, I can count two…Sticking it to the anti-SJM people who thought those scenes were abhorrently unnecessary. LOL Hasn’t anyone understood how much Sarah cares for her fans and critiques despite people still calling her catty at signing events? Just my opinion, but…

Think of Fae as identifying with a different ethnicity and religion, one that very much believes in soulmates and needing to be physically close to that soulmate on pain of death. I can think of more toxic things than the Fae males in this book that let the women lead, and never lashed out physically at their risky decisions even though they may not have agreed with them (I’m looking to you, Rowaelin! and Chaolrene – for not being an absurd human being when pregnant Yrene told Chaol she was going off to kill Erawan <3). And even, side note, how we got to see a glimpse of Rhysand and a very pregnant Feyre while Aelin was quite literally falling to Earth. I adored that!

The cruelty and death in this book…each instance was heart-wrenching, and quite literally made me put the book down for a few days (TW for Aelin’s torture, and the feels in Gavriel, Murtaugh, and the Thirteen’s deaths). But I definitely don’t regret reading those parts, nor do I think they were un-necessary. In fact, they were very essential to the advancement of the plot and for raising the stakes. Kingdom of Ash was all about raising the stakes. And SJM did a brilliant job of it. They made me feel, and I am someone who never – never – cries or chokes up when fictional characters go through their own personal hells. But I felt Aelin and Fenrys’ pain, Dorian and Manon’s grief, Aedion’s guilt and grief. It hit me right there, you know, that spot beneath your ribs on the upper-left side of your chest? Yeah…

These characters will always be real to me. Especially in the poetics of Aelin, Dorian, and Chaol reuniting, then going to Endovier – just how they formally met. Especially how Aelin never really killed any of her enemies. A crucially important theme in and of itself. Because, no matter how much your own personal suffering pains you, there is always someone else who is suffering more. And for Sarah J. Mass to immortalize that in Lysandra killing Arobynn, in Fenrys killing Maeve, in Yrene killing Erawan – I think there is an important real-life lesson to be learned in that.

In the world of Throne of Glass, there is only eternity and possibility ahead. And a better world ❤