Lady Smoke (The Ash Princess Trilogy, 2)

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I’m thinking like the Kaiser. The realization sends a shudder through me. I went straight to plotting, straight to seeing how he could be used to my political advantage. How did I become that sort of person?

Heron: he has lost his family in the mines. He has shown to be loyal to Theodosia from the beginning. She shouldn’t have survived the poison. If I hadn’t seen her with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. Part of me is relieved that she did, though the other part will never forget how she looked at me when she promised to raze Astrea to the ground, how she said she would ask the Kaiser if she could keep my head after she executed me. She is ready to sacrifice her happiness for her people yet she would never sacrifice her friends. Loyalty is another of her traits that I admire most. But Theo isn’t like me. She can’t choose. She switches between those two throughout the story and it breaks my heart. Those poor boys love the same girl and they couldn’t be any more different. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...The way the Kaiser died was just so cheap. He’s the BIG BAD and he dies like that? I understand now the villain is Cress and she and Theo are going to have a big fight in the last book. But still, that was pretty mediocre. Theo,” he says, but I press a finger to his lips before he can ruin this with warnings I don’t want to hear. Earlier, I mentioned that this won't be for everyone. While I did like Lady Smoke, I can see how this won't be everyone's cup of tea. I wouldn't call this a political story because while there is mention of arranged marriage and armies, the politics are not as prevalent. And there is a love triangle which I'll admit, did bother me somewhat. So keep that in mind when going into the story.

This was kind of a weird, slightly similar, convoluted version of The Selection? Except BETTER? I really don't know how to describe this story. Just that it is DAMN good. And the plot still moves along at a nice pace. Was I disappointed? I don't know. I didn't really have any expectations. Ah well, everyone knows the third book is never as good as the first 2. I finally got this over with and now I can read Chain of Gold! Let’s start with Theo. By the end of the novel, I just couldn’t connect to her. She felt too cold, and was unforgiving. Her last words to Cress are basically “go to hell”, but dead serious. Also, what happened that night with Artemisa? Art confessed at the beginning she didn’t feel romantically attached to anyone, but then the Wås? There was no closure on this and it felt weird, considering Art hates Malie more than most people (that’s saying something, considering her character)A romance with Blaise is a much better rumor because it’s one the crew will support wholeheartedly, if for no other reason than that he’s Astrean. And the more support I have from the crew, the better. I can’t help but remember how dismissive Dragonsbane was when I came on board, how she spoke to me like I was a lost child instead of a queen. Her queen. I can’t help but worry it’s going to get worse.

Plant the shrub at the same depth as it was in its original pot. Planting too deeply can result in root and stem rot. Remember when we thought "Lady Smoke" would refer to Crescentia? Yeah, no. It's another reference to Theo, because everything is about Theo. Even though Theo doesn't do shit. Again, I can't help but return to how first person is a poor choice for point of view for this series. Either have your main character pushing the plot forward or switch to characters who are. Even with that aside, there are still so many more interesting characters than Theo! The series would be infinitely better if we switched around and followed scarred Crescentia's marriage to the Kaiser or explored Art's painful relationship with her mother or Dragonsbane's own conflicting emotions related to Astrea and her family. Even Blaise would benefit—yes, we know he's unstable, he loves Theo, he'd do anything to protect her, but he's so flat and one-dimensional in this sense. It's literally like he doesn't give a shit about anyone else in his life, alive or dead. Also, I’ve just found that I sort of can’t take these characters all that seriously, because well, look, they are like what, 16? It just seems sort of ridiculous because these characters don’t feel sixteen and the things that they are doing, or how they act are not normal sixteen-year-old things. Sure, they’ve grown up early, and while I used to eat this stuff up constantly, I just find it difficult to believe now, simply due to the fact that they are so young doing things that would make most people tremble. I mean, these lads are going around burning people to ashes and leading an entire people in a war - as a si Shrubs in the ground are generally not demanding and in most cases, annual feeding with general purpose fertilizer will suffice. Shrubs in containers may need more feeding; usually from early spring until late summer.

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I wait for the judgment to come, for him to tell me how ridiculous that is, that I shouldn’t miss having Shadows to watch my every move. But of course, he doesn’t. He knows that’s not what I’m saying at all.