Ash Princess

Sebastian, Laura. Ash Princess. Book 1 of the Ash Princess trilogy. 2018. 432p. ISBN 9781524767068. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

The Kalovaxians are conquerors in nature. They invade a territory, eliminate its ruling class, seize its inhabitants as slaves, and drain the land from resources. When what's left is unable to sustain them, they move on to their next conquest. At six, princess Theodosia of the island of Astrea witnessed her land being subjugated, her queen mother executed in front of her eyes, and her people enslaved and sent to the magical mines underneath the temples that made the renown of Astrea. Theodosia, for her part, was given by the Kaiser, leader of the Kalovaxians, to the Thain, his second-in-command and the man who slit the throat of Theodosia's mother.

Now raised as Thora, Theodosia becomes friends with the Thain's daughter, Cress. Unfortunately, Thora is punished for every little mistake her or her people make. A rebellion? Thora gets lashes on her back. She lives in constant fear she will be violently attacked. Her every move are supervised by three shadows, who watch her around the clock, even when she is alone in her room. For all appearances, Thora is broken. Insultingly dubbed the Ash Princess by the Kaiser, to mock her mother's title of Fire Queen, Theodosia bids her time, hoping against all hope she will be able to escape her tormentor. 

Ten years have passed, but Theodosia still lives in fear. Forced to kill her mother's guardian and the man she suspects was her father, Theodosia realizes there will be no rescue. She must engineer her own. The arrival of Prinz Soren only complicates matters, while Blade, a childhood friend, smuggles himself in the palace and, with two others, remove the shadows, taking their places. Now armed with allies, Theodosia must tread very carefully to forment a revolution that will overthrow the Kaiser and end his rule forever.

Similar to the dystopian themes in Red Queen, this fantasy story features awesome world building but characters continously make poor decisions, even with the bad hands they are dealt. Fans of the fantastic will nonetheless appreciate this love triangle story and will cheer as Theodosia attempt to escape the violent circumstances her queendom has been thrown in by the Kalovaxian invasion. The adventure continues in Lady Smoke.