Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, 7) Paperback – February 14, 2023

I'm writing this at nearly a quarter past 1 AM, having just finished the book in one long, unbroken sitting and have more feels than I can process anytime soon. But I wanted to get all this down while it was still fresh in my mind, and in line with the overall impression the series has left me with.As someone who aspires to be an author, I know the struggle to juggle characters' development, flow of plot and organic, unhurried development of the world and its lore is a tumultuous one, regardless of what genre you write in. I can also safely say that it is a juggling act Sarah J. Maas has in her own ways performed to beautiful and lasting results.Young adult series are often overlooked or brushed off as being trope fodder for teenagers, despite some of the most acclaimed and memorable amongst them like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and A Series of Unfortunate Events gaining world-wide renown and even enjoying some of the better (and some of the not so great) efforts of cinematic adaptation. Part of what makes them and others like them some of the best and received to such popularity stems from not treating their target audience as young or naive, not sugarcoating or omitting the darker or more mature aspects of life and the worlds the stories create for themselves. The Throne of Glass series shares this trait, but expands on it in tandem with the way Maas works to create her characters and let them grow as much as the world around them unfolds and develops with the story in turn.While the first book did have some growing pains to it, from the second onward it was clear Maas knew what kind of story she wanted to tell and wasn't afraid of pouring as much humanity into her characters or lack thereof to craft it as best she could, and in a world packed with enough organic detail to see it as the living, breathing thing that it was. Aelin Galathynius is as much a strong, driven and cunning character as she is human, emotional and vulnerable, and falls into exactly none of the numerous tropes and literary pitfalls that can plague many female protagonists, especially in fantasy fiction. And she isn't the only one, Maas shows no qualms about filling her world with female powerhouses that could all viably headline their own sagas with ease, and even then she doesn't short the male characters at all in terms of their own intrigue and development in the short or longer term plot.This series has garnered a major following in the years since its initial release for good reason. While the romance angle is indeed a central aspect, the medieval era political struggles, fantasy action and magical combat have always been strong supporting aspects throughout each book as well. The characters feel real and their struggles genuine, the relationships they have with eachother reflecting bonds many readers can empathize with on many different levels. For me, it was a fantastic example of a series that took itself seriously but with enough awareness of its genre to let the characters be people and have fun with who they were instead of just being swallowed by their roles and the drama of the plots' darker aspects.These characters felt real, their stories and struggles felt like a proper series of adventures and the way they suffered and grew as people throughout the span of the series felt memorable and significant. This ending installment itself is a fitting and heartfelt example of that in its entirety, and without going into spoilers, any happy endings involved are as bittersweet as they are heartwarming for many of the characters in as many ways.I will miss this world, will miss these characters and can still easily see the potential for so much more that could lie ahead for them. Part of me hopes Maas will return to them sometime in the future, but even if that isn't the case this last installment stands as a testament to the series as a whole and a fitting conclusion to the adventure Maas began years ago with the story of a smart-tongued young assassin girl coming into a royal past she'd thought left far behind her. As an avid fantasy fiction fan, I heartily recommend this series to any and all comers, and can say that making it to this ending will be far from disappointing.

** spoiler alert ** Kingdom of Ash was the epic conclusion to the Throne of Glass series. I don’t know if it is possible to talk about it without giving away spoilers, so you’ve been warned. There were many intense scenes throughout the book. Action packed, this story had me on the edge of my seat every hundred pages or so. Aelin’s escape was pulse pounding, heartbreaking, and impactful in equal measure. Aedion leading the battles in Terresan was stressful and epic. The battle of Anielle kept the hits, both emotional and physical, coming. Elide’s desperate search of the battlefield had me glued to the page. Dorian’s assault on Morath had me totally fooled and confused until the end. I shouldn’t have fallen for it. It turned into one of the smartest parts of the book. When Lysandra fights as Aelin my heart was racing. When Manon shows up to Terresan just as Morath is approaching had me in tears. The hope they offered when all hope was lost was beautiful. Then the fate of the 13 had me wrecked. For me this was the emotional pinnacle of the book. No other part moved me as much as this sacrifice, going out in a blaze of light. For being 980 pages long, I didn’t feel like it was too long. Everything had purpose and direction. There are some 600 page series finales that could have been 300 pages shorter, so for this many pages to be merited is quite an accomplishment. I did find the big moments with Aelin to be more predictable than usual. When they mention the dam in Anielle, right away they tell you about what would happen if it came down. So your first thought is “Well, obviously, that’s coming down.” So when it does, it’s not as surprising. How Aelin had been tunneling her power that whole time was surprising but the big moment of the dam coming down was not so. Additionally, later when they read about that wrydmark that can open portals to move from place to place, it is once again obvious that it is going to be utilized. What I can’t figure out is why they didn’t use it to move the army when they agonized again and again about how they were never going to make it to Terresan in time. Did they want to save that trick as a final surprise? I know it is written as she doesn’t think of it until later. But they still traveled for days after that. So the use of the portals was a nice final surprise for Maeve, but I thought it could have been utilized sooner. The timeline of the story was a little confusing for me as well. I think I would need to go back and write down every movement in time and see how the days add up, but while reading it seemed like things were being told to build the suspense and the drama and not necessarily as they line up specifically day by day. The ending for me wavers between love and okay. On one hand, it was epic and beautiful. It built to a final battle and left us with the satisfaction of seeing the demise of all that was evil. Good triumphed and all of the characters we loved, lived to fight another day and live in peace. Everyone goes off to rule their specific parts of the world and make a better world there. It was heartwarming, witty, and hopeful. There is a lot to love about seeing the characters you adore live on in the peace they worked so hard to achieve. The bit with Rhysand and Feyre was so amazing I read it like three times in a row. On the other hand, toward the end I got a little sick of it being the end of everything and then they get saved by another random army of people coming to save the day just in time. I like the incorporation of all of the different kinds of people, but it was a few too many times of this is the end, see you in the afterlife, ope just kidding, here’s another army to save the day. I liked Aelin and Rowan’s final plan, but maybe was a little sick of everything being built up as the final moments only to have that rewritten a few sentences later. So maybe shaping that part a little differently would have resonated with me more. Additionally, in the nicest way possible, I was expecting more important people to die in the end. As I said, I am torn because I’m really happy that most everyone ended up alive. But for such an epic battle with such a dark presence to overcome, I was waiting for more loses. Not that I could pick anyone to put in that position, but it seemed a little too perfect that all of the couples ended up alive together. A strange thing to be torn about but that it what I observed while reading the book. The most wonderful part though was that after finishing such a favorite series, it made me want to go out and read more so I could try to find another series that would grab on to my heart the way this one did and take me on a memorable journey.