Tag: YA Fantasy

*SPOILERS*

Legit, I did shed a tear or two.

We’ve finally come to the conclusion of this epic series that I only read at the start of this year. I am very fortunate that I didn’t have to wait long before this book was released and I was not disappointed! I know there are a lot of people who love to hate this series, but I just enjoyed it for what it was. I didn’t really read too much into the nuances and take everything literally; I really just enjoyed the characters, the magic system and the schemes and fierceness of the storyline.

This book was very plot heavy with multiple scenarios being played out simultaneously throughout the book. I liked the different povs we read, I thought it helped to distinguish the characters, as it has been a couple months since I’ve delved into the series so some of the characters were a little fuzzy for me.
I like the way that the differing scenes played off each other and we never really get a distinct timeline of when these events are all happening. It made everything a lot more mysterious and made the stakes at the end there way higher.

Aelin was such a star of the books. She’s really the reason that I continued to read these books as I was just enraptured by her. She’s strong, manipulative, calculating, cunning, loyal and still so much more than that. Her willingness to do anything at all even give her own life to ensure that Terrason survives after this war is so noble and really made her more likeable and relatable to me, as she can come across as unlikeable at times. All of her plots and never-ending schemes kept me highly entertained and nearly always caught me by surprise.

Another strong female antagonist that I really didn’t enjoy in the other books but really shone through for me in Kingdom of Ash was Manon. Her brash, harsh nature and how she eventually evolved into the queen she now is was really wonderful to read. I found her arc to be so fulfilling and yet still so heartbreaking. Her loyalty to her clan and the Thirteen and how she mourned after their sacrifice really touched me. I liked how her relationship with Dorian developed quite naturally, first hating each other, using each other for the closeness and eventually having that grow into true feelings was so gratifying for me. I also enjoyed that show of mutual respect at the end between her and Aelin, acknowledging the weight that they both now hold as Queens. A lot of the more pivotal moments for me happened with the witches actually. When Manon was crowned Queen of the Cochran’s, having all the Cochran witches show up right before the battle at Orynth, the sacrifice of the Thirteen and how Manon reacted and when they found out the curse was finally broken.

I won’t go too far into details, as there was soo much happening all at once. The battle scenes, the political intrigue, the backstories that we are finally made aware of. Everything just wove together perfectly in my opinion and just as it should be. I thought it was a just ending that these characters deserved. Definitely not flawless and pristine but well deserved I think!

⭐️5/5 really loved this series and this finale was beautiful!