Book Review: Lady Smoke (Ash Princess Trilogy #2)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Author: Laura Sebastian

Format: Hard cover

Pages: 496

Category: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Book Blurb:

The Kaiser murdered Theodosia’s mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo’s country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess–a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn’t realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon.

Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage–Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser’s rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.

To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done.

Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.

MY REVIEW

The ending of Ash Princess, the first book in this trilogy, made me want to read Lady Smoke right away – but sadly, the sequel fell a bit short for me.

The writing is good. It flows great and I still get drawn into Theodosia’s world but this time they are on a ship, the Smoke, traveling away from Astrea. Theo has claimed her rightful role as Queen but she is a queen without any land. Theo’s character is resilient and she steps into her role as a leader when dealing with her aunt, Dragonsbane, and the leaders of other nations. The Queen of Astrea has never needed a husband to retain her rule but Theo needs an alliance if she wants to defeat the Kaiser and take back her country.

I’m not a fan of the love triangle and not because I don’t like love triangles. Usually I am drawn to one love interest in a love triangle, but with this one I feel like she could go either way and it would be okay. I’m not invested in it at all. But to complicate things more for Theo, she is trying to find a husband.

The political drama is still present in Lady Smoke but I wish there was more of Cress and the Kaiser since they were what made the first book so intriguing. The first part of the book is strategizing what Theo is going to do and so the action picks up in the later half of this book. I did enjoy Theo’s friends/Shadows, I like knowing she has people she can trust. Also, Theo gets to visit the refugee camps in Sta’Crivero and be around some of her people.

Even though this came off as an okay read compared to Ash Princess, I still found it enjoyable because I do enjoy books with political intrigue. I look forward to reading the third book only to see what will happen when Theo fights Cress for Astrea. That should be a good fight, at least I’m hoping it will be.