He has a plan to free her from her prison. One day, her childhood friend Blaise suddenly appears in the palace after years of being forced to work in the mines, like most Astreans. But Theodosia clings to her anyway, because there is no one else who is kind to her. Her one and only friend, Crescentia, is the daughter of the soldier who killed her mother. She wears a crown made of ash every time the Kaiser holds an event-a way to mock her and her people before the eyes of the world.įor a decade, Theodosia has lived a life of abject humiliation, pain and isolation. Theodosia’s back is a map of scars from years of being whipped in front of the whole kingdom. She is a prisoner in her own palace and one that the Kaiser joyfully punishes every time the rebels attack the Kalovaxians. The Kalovaxian Kaiser decided to keep Theodosia alive as a pawn in his game against the remaining Astrean rebels.

Kalovaxians invaded the kingdom and killed the Queen-Theodosia’s mother-in front of her when she was only six. But Laura Sebastian weaves the characters’ personalities so well that you want to get to know them all, even the antagonist- because really, what kind of childhood must he have had to make him so brutal and twisted?Īsh Princess follows the life of Theodosia, aka Thora, the last remaining member of Astrea’s royal family. I wanted to remain in Astrea with Ash Princess Theodosia Eirene Houzzara.Īs far as young adult fantasy novels go, the premise of the novel isn’t a particularly new concept (nothing really is these days). This was the type of book that had to be stretched out for a couple of days, not because it was difficult to get into, but because I wanted to extend the experience as long as possible. It’s no surprise that Ash Princess reached top five in The New York Times Bestseller list shortly after I finished reading it.

Ash princess laura sebastian