Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian follows a girl held captive by a brutal monarch (the Kaiser) in the land his people (the Kalovaxians) conquered, the land that was originally her home (Astrea). While the Kalovaxians call her Thora, her name is Theodosia Eirene Houzzara (Theo for short). Theo watched her mother get killed when she was 6, and ever since then she has been living in fear of the abusive Theyn and Kaiser, waiting for someone to rescue her and trying to bury the girl she used to be. However, after she is forced to kill someone from her past, Theo realizes that there is no one to save her and that she has to rescue both her own spirit and her people’s by reclaiming what was rightfully hers: Astrea.
Personally, I enjoyed reading this particular book. I would recommend it to fans of The Hunger Games or Red Queen. There are some trigger warnings which are listed as follows: mental abuse, trauma, and graphic descriptions of physical abuse. I loved the world-building and the writing style itself but I felt as though the romance between Theo and Soren was unnecessary. The dynamics between the characters felt realistic and the politics felt dramatic. All-in-all, I would give this book 4 stars and would definitely recommend it to fellow teens looking for something exciting to read.