I. Am. Exhausted. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas is the seventh book and finale of the Throne of Glass series. This book is almost 1,000 pages long. That is a lot of words my friends and if you know anything about Maas, than you know it’s a lot of the same words repeated over and over, lol. I’ll get more into my thoughts below after the synopsis. There will be spoilers.

Synopsis

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

My Thoughts

This massive series is finally at an end and…

As I said above, this book is almost 1,000 pages long. It would basically be impossible for me to give a super detailed review about everything that happened throughout the story. However, I’m going to do my best to wrap up my final thoughts, the good and the bad, with a bullet list.

• This series was a true journey. When I first started reading Throne of Glass I would NEVER have expected it to end the way it did. I love the direction that the overall story went.
• The character development was perfection. They all grew and changed so much, especially our original three main characters. Aelin, Dorian and Chaol hardly resemble who they were in the first book.
• While I do think Kingdom of Ash was filled with epic battles and story progression, I think this book could have been edited down by at least 25%. I found myself skimming certain scenes because all of the battles started to run together.
• Building off the last point, there were a TON of characters and character point of views. This was overwhelming at times when the minor characters started to run together but overall, not a major complaint.
• Now that I’ve finished this series and the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, also by Maas, I’ve learned three things: she doesn’t know what synonyms are, she hates killing off her characters and she needs to make everyone into a couple. If I never again see the words/phrases: “suck on a tooth,” “vulgar gesture,” “mate,” or “velvet wrapped steel,” just to name a few, I can die happy. There were some character deaths in this final book, namely Gavriel and the Thirteen (minus Manon). I think it’s pretty obvious why they were killed off. They were important enough throughout the books that we, the reader, would be sad if they died but they weren’t major characters. I would have been truly shocked if Rowan, Dorian, Manon, etc. would have been killed off because Maas NEVER kills her main characters. I’m not saying that this is good or bad, it’s just how it is. I do find it annoying how everyone needs to end up with someone. In this book, my main complaint is with Dorian and Manon. I just don’t “ship” them together as a long term couple.
• I did kind of have to chuckle at the fact nobody knew Dorian’s father’s name. Did Dorian’s mother never question why her husband was only known as the King? It was like Maas realized she needed to name him at the last minute and was like “umm I’ll just name him Dorian too!” Also, whatever happened to Dorian’s mother and brother? They’re just kind of forgotten about.
• There were many moments of deus ex machina in this book but honestly, if you’ve made it this far in this series you know that that is just how Maas writes. Is it a little too convenient at times, bordering on a cop out? Yes but overall it’s not something I have a major issue with.

Overall, I did really enjoy this series. If you’re into fantasy and romance then you would probably enjoy these books. I do still have to read the prequel, The Assassin’s Blade, and that review will be up next week. If you’re reading this review I’m assuming you’ve read the series and I would love to know what you think about it! Thanks for reading and have a great day!