Kingdom of Ash
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2018
Genre: Fantasy
Age: YA 13+ (This series contains sexual content)
Pages: 992 (860 on e book)
Rating:
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***This review will contain spoilers for this book & the rest of the series***
This is the 8th & final book in the Throne of Glass series. I have done several reviews over the years on the other books in the series that can be found on my blog. I usually listen to these books on audio but the audio version wasn't available so I opted to buy the whole series on ebook. I plan to do a reread in the future.
Let me start by saying that the ending in the previous book Empire of Storms was really rough for me. When you spend years becoming attached to this place & these characters its hard to see them go through enormous hardship. When Maeve locked Aelin inside the box after beating her on the beach then Rowan came but he was too late it absolutely broke me. So when the next book, that was more of a filler story, was published, Tower of Dawn, I didn't have high expectations. I enjoyed that book but only some new info was given about those characters & nothing was said about the Queen of Terrasen.
So here we are 2 years after Empire of Storms & we are finally getting to hear the rest of the story...
The books length allowed for many different parts of the story to finalize then come together for the final battle. That was something I liked. It took me 11 days to read it in total & most of that reading was done on the weekends. Overall I think the length of the book was used wisely in terms of telling the story & finalizing the journey.
There were two things that I was worried about when going into reading this book. I'll break them down & talk about what happened before I go into the book overall & my feelings.
1. Would Aelin get free from Maeve & survive to see the war?
2. Which one, Aelin or Dorian, would make the sacrifice to forge the lock?
1. Aelin was trapped in Doranelle in that iron coffin covered in chains for almost 3 months. It seemed like longer, especially to her. But when she finally got free I was expecting Rowan to be the first person she saw, it was actually Lorcan. I was still really happy when she finally got out, I knew she could do it. And I cried...a lot...basically throughout the entire book but especially as she came up over that hill, sword in hand still chained up & she had fought her way out. Him, Rowan, Gavriel, & Elide were the ones looking for Aelin while everyone else was preparing for war. When Rowan & Aelin do finally meet the reunion was happy but it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be like. Aelin is obviously slightly mentally unstable & she has a breakdown in the woods once she is free. Because of the way she is chained up only she knows how to unlock the locks with the wyardmarks...the irony of that is sickening. Eventually she starts to become her normal self thankfully. I was a little disappointed that it took about 250 pages of the story to free her, there was a lot of other stuff happening in between that I didn't entirely pay attention to honestly because I just kept thinking about them freeing her! But I was also happy that it happened early on in the book as opposed to like 500 or 600 pages in. Her captor Carin does get what he deserves in the end, inflicted on him by Rowan's hands. Unfortunately Fenrys's twin Connall is killed by Maeve for spite & Fenrys himself is almost lost as well. Luckily everyone hangs in there until the big ending battle.
2. This second part made me even more nervous then the first. I kept thinking that she obviously can't kill Aelin...it can't happen! That would be going into Veronica Roth territory & that's not a place you want to be as an author. I would have considered that loss on the same level as Harry dying, which is not ok. I will say that after all has been said & done I'm still kinda confused about this portion of the book. I'm happy that it went in a more positive way but I don't understand why it happened the way it did. Aelin & Dorian go to Endovier of all places to forge the lock. Rowan & Chaol go with them just in case & to say goodbye. This is after Aelin lets everyone in their group at the time take a vote to decide what to do & when...WTF!? Aelin & Dorian decide outside of that, that they can both do it together & maybe live instead of one of them dying completely. So once the whole process begins they realize that both of them are going to need to die to forge the lock not just one of them. But then out of the depths Dorian's dad, the dead King of Adarlan, shows up & tells them that he can also forge the lock from the spirit world or whatever since her is "nameless" like the key describes "Nameless is my Price". I was following up until there pretty good. But then...it starts to get weird. From there all the gods appear & Aelin tries to bargain with them, Elena's life for Erawan's. I guess I never understood or really took any mind to Elena & Gavin & that whole thing so I don't know why this part was included. But the gods do not want to make a bargain with a "mortal" so they kill Elena & Aelin is stuck then with no gods, no powers, & Erawan & Maeve........hopefully you can understand some of my worry & confusion here. Meanwhile Aelin has also pushed Dorian back through the portal & so her & his dad are going to forge the lock. Aelin does come out of it alive thankfully after she is pushed between the different wolds, but she is just an ordinary Fae & can't switch between forms anymore & has no more of her fire powers. I guess that's better than being dead.
As you can probably tell I have been very conflicted over this story. Some parts I was really happy about & others I was confused by. I'll give you an example.
The ending......
It was hard, there were some big losses like The Thirteen & Gavriel, I lost it over The Thirteen, like ugly crying. But at the end Aelin is standing there with no powers in front of Maeve & Erawan & she needs the help of her friends to save the world. One group that consists of Elide, Dorian, Lysandra, & Yrene take Erawan & handle him, since Yrene has that special Valg killing light power. The others including Aelin, Rowan, Fenrys, & Lorcan handle Maeve but they almost don't make it. So here is why I'm conflicted....after ALL THAT...THIS ENTIRE JOURNEY...Aelin doesn't even kill Erawan, she can barely handle Maeve. But on the other hand it allowed some of the other characters to step up & help fight evil & Aelin didn't have to do it herself.
That is the kind of thing I felt the entire book! One second I was so happy I was crying then the next I was like ummmm....no LOL. In the end though I am happy overall that there was minimal losses & everyone ended up happily ever after..kinda. I think if I go back eventually & reread the whole series back to back maybe the ending & the lock & all of that will be more justified for me???
A few more things I'd like to add before I wrap up this SUPER LONG rant...I mean "review" LOL.
Dorian risks his own life to go to Morath of all places & get the final key from Erawan, so badass! But he & Maeve have this sort of pact set up & I knew she was gonna screw him in the end. She did of course, but just when I was starting to worry he turns the whole thing around on her & then blows up Morath. OMG it was so good! I've never been more proud of the little princeling. Dorian also faces a struggle in the end with his father "dying" or passing on or whatever you want to call it in the spirit world. But we do finally learn the name of the "nameless" king that struggled with the Valg for years, unknown to the rest of the world, it was heart wrenching but beautiful.
Next is Manon Blackbeak. Her story has been building over the last few books & she played a significant role in the ending. I have loved her since she stood up to her grandmother & almost died fighting for The Thirteen. But in this book she kills one of the other matrons & takes back her rightful place among the Crochans as Queen of the Witches. This was another moment where I was like YES YES YES!!!!!! Then when Abraxos is injured & she can't fight against the witch tower, Asterin, as her dutiful second take the lead & off into the darkness they go to save the world, it was awful but beautiful all the same.
So through all the years & tears & fears this story is finally over, things are right again, & the journey is over for our cadre, but it was all for a better world...
