* * * * *Again, I'm going to keep this non-spoiler section nice and short because this review is giant!
Kingdom of Ash is the seventh book in the series and is the best finale in existence! If you've ever struggled to get through the previous books in the series, I can say, without a doubt, that this book is completely worth it. I was laughing, I was crying, I was hysterical and I wouldn't change a single word in this masterpiece!
This is part two of my entire Kingdom of Ash review so I'll have the first half linked below if you missed it!
Book Talks:
Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight | Heir of Fire | Queen of Shadows | Empire of Storms | Tower of Dawn | Kingdom of Ash (Part 1)
SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
Pages 530-600
Lysaedion
Rolfe and the Mycenian fleet came soaring in to save Aedion and the Bane's ass and it briefly looked like we could regain control again... until everything goes to shit again. They all headed to Orynth in the hopes that that could escape Morath's clutches just a little longer but... everyone had completely lost hope! They were all so drained and desperate and I was just waiting for Morath to attack them and Aelin to swoop in and save everyone...
Manorian
We had some steamy Manorian and Manon brought up the idea of marriage between them as an alliance... and I was freaking out! Unsurprisingly, I was totally on board for their marriage but I hated how Manon said it as if it'd be a sacrifice. Dorian himself said that she wouldn't want to be shackled to a man and I was really doubting the endgame of Manorian at this point.
Dorian left her to finally head off to Morath and Manorian officially split up for the majority of the rest of the book. Which was a good and a bad thing, I suppose. I like how they each got the chance to play their own, individual part in saving the kingdom.
Manon
With Dorian gone, Manon and the witches decided to answer Terrasen's call for aid and I was so damn excited because Aedion and the others were in such a desperate need for help and the witches are epic in any battle!
Dorian
Meanwhile, Dorian arrived at Morath and my heart was in my throat the entire time! He sneaked around Morath as a rat (!!!) and walked into a conversation starting between Maeve and Erawan because, oh yeah, Maeve was there!!!
This chapter cliff-hanger had me dead because the thought of Maeve and Erawan joining forces was terrifying!!
Rowaelin/ Elorcan/ Chaolrene/ Terrasen Court/ Southern Continent Forces
Now, at least we had happier stuff happen with this lot. At this point, I couldn't handle much more pain, I really couldn't.
We finally had the Elorcan ship sail and I was so damn happy! Finally!
They both declared their love at Lorcan's bedside, had a quick kiss and Lorcan braced her ankle once more!!! It was all so beautiful and I'm so so happy for them. Such an amazing ship!
Rowan and Aelin finally woke up after the whole dam-fire-wall-steam scene and I love that the first thing Rowan said to Aelin was 'show off'. This is why they are the most perfect ship ever!!! (Maybe apart from Feysand- I have undying loyalty to Feysand).
At Aelin's request, Yrene demonstrated the healing of someone with the Valg, freeing them of the infestation, and it gave me so much hope for the future of this book! Yrene was the ace up our sleeve and she rose to the challenge perfectly!!!
Sartaq and the rest of the Southern Continent agreed to travel and fight for Terassen and they finally began the journey northward! After everything, Aelin was finally heading north and I was totally ready for the epic showdown!
Pages 600-700
Lysaedion/ Manon
Things went from bad to worse in this entire book for Lysaedion and my heart just couldn't take it! Morath marched for Orynth- a total of 100,000 men!!! The whole thing was terrifying! Especially with the witchtowers as well! And Evangeline was the cutest, most adorable kid ever. When she said "I am not afraid for myself. But for my friends," I was seconds away from completely breaking down.
They managed to take down a couple of witchtowers but Morath still stood strong and Aedion and the others were so sombre!!! They'd completely lost morale and were basically just waiting for their deaths to meet them.... which was painful!!! But Aedion comforted Evangeline when she was getting scared and it was the cutest thing ever.
When Morath finally attacked, Aedion literally begged Lysandra to flee because he loves her and my heart was soaring and breaking at the same time!! Lysandra refused to leave because she's a bad-ass lady that can fight in this battle but then... the Ironteeth attacked and I. Was. On. Edge! Honestly, I don't know how so many people actually survived this book.
But my hope was quickly renewed when Manon and the Thirteen showed up to save the day! It was so satisfying to watch Manon lead the Thirteen and the Crochans into battle. I also loved how Manon told Darrow she came to fight to honour Aelin's promise- a better world! Darrow had been nothing but disrespectful to Aelin through Empire of Storms so it was so satisfying for him to realise that everyone was fighting for Aelin and her kingdom- not him.
And, having watched the Crochans arrive, Evangeline said she wanted to be a Crochan witch when she grew up and it was all so adorable!!!
Lysaedion finally came to terms with how they feel about each other and I was squealing when Lysandra told Aedion she'd think about what he said (that he loves her) and that, if they survived through the day, she'd kiss him!!!!
Dorian
We pretty much stayed with Dorian through the majority of these 100 pages and, boy, was it a whirlwind of emotions.
Dorian listened in to Maeve and Erawan's conversation and Maeve was proposing an alliance with Erawan!! At this point, I knew we were royally screwed. This was literally worst case scenario- going against Erawan and Maeve all at once.
But Maeve's whole plan to ally with Erawan took a weird turn that I wasn't expecting. Having sensed Dorian's presence and trapping him in her room, Maeve confided to Dorian that she planned to betray Erawan. She tried to manipulate Dorian into working with her, claiming that she'd always planned to save Dorian or Aelin from making the sacrifice. And I was praying Dorian didn't fall for her bullshit.
But Dorian agreed to work with Maeve and proposed a freaking marriage alliance!! I was freaking out! I had absolutely no faith in Dorian to have a clue of what he was doing... and maybe I underestimated him. But his plans still scared the crap out of me.
Dorian disguised himself into Vernon in order to talk with Erawan and, really, it was a pretty useless risk to take because all he wanted to find out was whether his father fought the Valg's control or not. Sure, it gave Dorian some peace of mind but, generally, it got us no further to defeating Erawan, did it? And I hated how he went to Maeve's room afterwards because he was acting like she wasn't a huge threat and more of an enemy than Erawan himself!
Honestly, if it had been Aelin in this situation, I would've been much less worried because... I trust her. I'd be worried but I'd trust that Aelin is a genius and we'd expect her to have this glorious plan unveiling. Dorian.... not so much. He's just a bit more naïve as a character and I felt he was way out of his depth in terms of planning against a Valg Queen!!! In hindsight, I should have had more faith in him... I'm sorry, Dorian.
And yet... there were times when I was sympathising with Maeve! When she spoke of why she escaped Orcus and his brothers and that she never wanted to be like them... there was part of me that thought she was being sincere! And I'm beyond ashamed of myself!
Maeve and Dorian worked together to try and get the final Wyrdkey off Erawan and I found it so damn funny when Maeve tried to seduce Erawan because it just failed epically! He turned her down in seconds and watching Maeve be rejected like that was more satisfying than I ever could have predicted!
So, Plan B was Maeve using an illusion of Orcus and Mantyx to distract Erawan whilst Dorian finds the final Wyrdkey. This whole plan had me so anxious because I was just waiting for something to go horribly wrong and for the inevitable betrayal somewhere down the line.
Once Maeve sent Dorian down a portal to Erawan's room, Dorian quickly found the Wyrdkey in the arm of a girl- similar to how Kaltain was treated. And, from this point, I was so eager for Dorian to get the hell out of there! Screw, Maeve, he had to leave immediately!
But Maeve showed up and this was where I flipped out.
Maeve 'took over' Dorian's mind when his guard was down and began to force him to bring her to the two other Wyrdkeys he'd stashed away. When reading this part... I was not a pretty picture. I was furious! I was swearing and raging at Dorian for being such a damned idiot and... all that anger dissipated two pages later when it turned out Dorian was actually tricking her and that he's much smarter than I give him credit for. Again, I'm sorry, Dorian.
It kind of reminded me of Queen of Shadows, when Arobynn put the Valg ring on Aelin and she pretended to be controlled by him only to trick him later on. I fell for it then, and I fell for it now.
Dorian flipped the betrayal back on Maeve, holding her mind and leaving her for Erawan to deal with. He fled Morath and brought it crumbling to the ground with his power!!! He now had all three Wyrdkeys and when he told Maeve that only one Queen would share his throne.... I was on cloud nine!
Rowaelin/ Elorcan/ Chaolrene/ Terrasen Court/ Southern Continent Forces
Vernon stumbled across the path of Aelin and the others and... I was reminded exactly why I hate the guy. He revealed that Maeve had come to ally with Erawan and I wanted Dorian to show up and explain things so badly!!!
And Aelin's reaction to Maeve and Erawan was so scary because... the thought of fighting both of them was truly terrifying.
Pages 700-800
Lysaedion/Manon
Deep in an attack by Morath, Aedion fought with the strength and bravery he somehow kept through this entire book and a Valg prince slipped past their defences to spar with him one on one! Aedion was quickly stabbed and I thought he was dead. I was literally preparing myself to deal with his death.
And I felt so bad for Evangeline when she heard Aedion had been stabbed!!When she was saying that she hadn't decided whether she'd wanted him to be a brother or a father but she didn't want him dead... my heart was broken.
Manon, the Thirteen and the Crochans took the skies to fight and it was brilliant! Iskra Yellowlegs immediately attacked Manon and Abraxos and I actually cried when her wyvern hurt Abraxos… he's so precious and I didn't want anything happening to him! And I was crying as they fell to the ground and how Manon told him she loved him...I thought he was dead, I really did!
But Petrah Blueblood saved the day and killed Iskra with one hell of a dive!
It wasn't long before the witchtowers were put into use and they just took out a huge chunk of both the Ironteeth and the Crochans… just vanished!
And then we had the saddest scene of the whole book. When reading this part, I was in my living room along with my parents and I had to literally leave the room because I just broke down in sobs. No scene has ever effected me that much before.
The Thirteen immobilised Manon, with Abraxos unable to fly as well, and they all flew to the remaining witchtower. They fought the other witches, Asterin fighting with her stomach 'unclean' exposed and killing Manon's grandmother. And, finally, as one, they completed the Yielding, destroying the final witchtower and a bunch of enemy witches... and I was sobbing!
Because as soon as Asterin had said 'live, Manon', I knew a sacrifice was coming and it was unbearable for Manon to just watch and not be able to do anything! And Abraxos had to watch his mate die in front of him!!!!! This whole scene was just unbearable.
Rowaelin/ Elorcan/ Chaolrene/ Dorian/ Terrasen Court/ Southern Continent Forces
A lot of minor ship stuff happened in this section but I really loved these quiet moments when the events aren't reducing me into puddles of tears.
Rowan and Aelin got matching tattoos of their story on their backs and it was the sweetest thing ever! I'm so happy they have their story tattooed on them now- it's just an extra thing that Aelin can help ground herself with when she no longer has her scars.
Dorian showed up and we had another reunion!!!! Finally!!!
Dorian and Chaol reuniting was so damn precious because they are the ultimate bromance in this series. They would do anything for each other and they love each other so much.
As Dorian had all three keys in his arsenal, the group debated what their next steps would be- to go to Terrasen and fight or forge the lock, therefore sacrificing Aelin or Dorian and losing their power in the battle. And they voted to forge the lock... what?!?! I was so mad! Why would they decide to get rid of the Fire-bringer when she could be crucial in helping Terrasen fight?!
They also debated whether it should be Dorian or Aelin to sacrifice themselves and I had always been Team Dorian-to-die (sorry) but suddenly, I didn't want it to be Dorian because the thought of Manon losing him as well was too much to handle!
Rowan pleaded with Aelin not to sacrifice herself and it tore my heart open because poor Rowan!! He knows how much Aelin has sacrificed already and was desperate to find any alternative way so she didn't have to die. He came up with the idea that Aelin and Dorian could forge the lock together so that neither of them drains their powers and dies... which is a really solid and obvious plan that I'm surprised nobody had thought of before. Dorian was instantly on board and they set off to forge the lock- Rowan accompanying Aelin and Chaol with Dorian for moral support.
They opened the gate and Dorian's father showed up!!
We discovered that Dorian's father had never remembered his name due to Erawan's control. We learnt that, because of this spell Erawan had forged, Dorian's father could also close the gate, meaning that Dorian and his powers were spared. Honestly, the logistics of all this kind of went over my head and it felt a little like a cop-out so neither of them had to die.
Aelin shoved Dorian out of the gate so she could complete the closing with his father. Aelin finally became the gate and this where the Gods showed up and I officially lost all respect for them.
Aelin tried to bargain for Elena's freedom, to be sent into the Afterworld along with her mate Brannon, but the God Dianna 'killed' Elena anyway and topped it off by saying that they'd no longer get rid of Erawan for them! How disrespectful!! After everything Aelin has done to get them back home, even including the possibility of sacrificing herself, they just threw it all back in her face!!! I was livid!
Thankfully, Aelin destroyed the Gods' world (too right, they deserved it) and, having been gifted a little of Mala's power, began falling through all the worlds. Rowan's tattoo had hidden Wyrdmarks within it that would always lead her home which I thought was such a clever detail!
And then the scene that had me fangirling like crazy!!!!!!!!!!
Aelin fell through the different world and universes, all layered on top of each other, and she saw a beautiful winged male and a heavily pregnant female!!!!! Sarah J. Maas has always said the the TOG and ACOTAR universes exist in the same multi-verse and this cameo was the perfect confirmation! I was fangirling so hard at Aelin glimpsing Rhys and Feyre and the freaking reveal that Feyre's pregnant!!!!
We've been waiting for a Feyre pregnancy reveal in every ACOTAR book since ACOMAF and it was like Sarah J. Maas realised that the pregnancy would never be a surprise because everyone was expecting it in every ACO book. And I can almost imagine Sarah refusing the idea that any of her books could be predictable and thinking 'fine, I'll reveal Feyre's pregnancy in KOA. See how many of them predict that!'
Aelin was falling way too fast through the worlds and could've possibly missed her own world without even processing where she needed to stop! But Rhys unknowingly helps her!!!!!!
Rhys used his powers to slow her down and it was enough for her to find Erilea again!! All I could keep thinking was 'Holy shit, Rhys just saved Aelin!!!' This has to be one of my favourite book scenes of all time.
Aelin made it back to Erilea and was left with no human body to switch back into- just pure Fae now. And the bittersweet thing is that she's no longer a Fire-Bringer. She's just left with ordinary magic, which I was worried would be disastrous when facing Maeve and Erawan, but she was happy! The pressure of all that magic had always overwhelmed her and she's happy being ordinary so I'm happy for her.
Pages 800-850
Lysaedion
Murtaugh died helping bring down one of the siege towers and... I didn't really care about his death. He was a really minor side character and, while I liked him, I didn't really feel anything over his death.
But I did feel something when Lysandra and Aedion finally kissed!! It only took about 800 pages but we finally got it and it was gorgeous!
Evangeline told Darrow how she'd like to fight for her new home rather than surrender and become slaves. Honestly, I've always loved Evangeline but my love grew so much in this book! She was so strong and brave the entire time and she never backed down to fight for her new home and her new family. Darrow made Evangeline his heir and I was so happy she changed Darrow's mind and made him accept Aelin in the end.
We had Aedion and Lysandra prepare for the final battle and my heart broke when they started promising to find each other in all of their future lives!!!! But my heart fully stopped when they saw Aelin show up!!!!
Rowaelin/ Elorcan/ Chaolrene/ Dorian/ Terrasen Court/ Southern Continent Forces
Aelin revealed to everyone what really happened with the Gods and how Erawan was still among them after her failed deal to save Elena. I must admit, I was absolutely terrified that Aelin had little power to defeat Erawan and Maeve. I was also a little dissatisfied because I wanted an epic show of power!!!
But, as I was reading this, it occurred to me that Aelin and Rowan were still carranam!!! She could just use Rowan's power! I'd honestly like to pat myself on the back for that thought.
They get caught in the storm, unable to move with all the snow, but the stag, the Lord of the North showed up to show them the way!! I really loved this part and it was the icing on the cake that Aelin got to ride the Lord of the North into battle- it was so epic!!!
We saw Aelin cooking up a final scheme to try and win the war, letting Rowan in on her secrets this time and I was so excited! I knew this was likely the last time we'd get an infamous scheme reveal from the genius Aelin and I wanted to relish in every second.
Pages 800-975
Everyone!!!!!!!!!!
When Aelin arrived.... my heart was in my throat. Just imagining Aelin charging in on the Lord of the North, with the cadre at her back, Dorian, Chaol, the Healers, the Rukhin, the Southern Continent forces as well as her own... it was the most epic battle scene to ever exist and the image was breath-taking for me.
And when Rowan called the cadre his brothers and talked about how they were fighting for their new home... it was all too much!!!
I couldn't wait for Aelin, Lysandra and Aedion to truly reunite and I was also super interested to see the role Maeve would play. From how Dorian left her, I assumed that Erawan would've found out about her plan to betray him and I was interested to see how Maeve would fight alongside Erawan.
Aelin fought in the thick of it with her limited powers, using her assassin skills once more which made me so happy!! Aelin has never had to rely on her magic because her assassin skills are just as lethal and deadly! But, when she did get into a dangerous situation, wyvern-Lysandra came to the rescue and it was beautiful girl power! Lysandra switched into a ghost leopard and then they hugged like that and I had tears in my eyes it was so beautiful!
Along with the help of Lysandra and Ansel, Aelin brought down the siege towers in the same was Sam had in Skull's Bay and... my heart! How does Sarah J. Maas do that?!?!?
Little did we know... Morath had a second army that headed straight for us!! And with Maeve and Erawan among them... I was terrified!
Gavriel swooped in on a wyvern to help Aedion hold the gates but he ended up dying!! Honestly, I was spoiled for Gavriel's death and I wasn't too bothered about him anyway... sorry, Gavriel. I knew it would come down to him sacrificing himself for his son and it didn't hit me nearly as hard as the Thirteen's sacrifice. If I'm being honest, I think Sarah J. Maas is very hesitant to kill off main characters. We had such a large cast of main characters (Aelin, Rowan, Dorian, Manon, Elide, Lorcan, Chaol, Yrene, Lysandra, Aedion and more!!!) and she just plays safe by not letting any of them die. Sure, it would've been super painful to see one or more of them die but it would've been a little more realistic!!!
Aelin, unsurprisingly, brought the fight straight to Maeve and Erawan in the middle of the battle-field and I had no idea how this was going to go. Aelin's magic had nearly depleted and I was terrified! She went up to them with only a sword to fight them!!!
Aelin distracted Erawan by talking to him and she managed to bury a seed of doubt in him against Maeve. We got to see the cocky, sassy and smart Aelin when she spoke to Erawan and it was the best!! Watching her pit him against Maeve was so much fun! And as soon as Erawan realised there were healers in Orynth, able to destroy him, he had an Ilken take him away which was amazing because Aelin definitely wouldn't have been able to defeat them both!
Maeve and Aelin were left to battle against themselves and it was tense! Maeve knew Aelin had commoner magic now and I absolutely loved how Aelin still defied her, didn't give up. This is what makes Aelin one of the best heroines of our generation.
Maeve created an illusion to trick Aelin, making her think she'd never escaped Maeve's clutches and that the whole battle had been the illusion!! I was way too ready for Maeve to die at this point.
Meanwhile, Elide came up with a plan on how to take out Erawan and... it went perfectly! I'm honestly surprised that Erawan fell for such an easy trick!
Dorian shapeshifted into Yrene to lure Erawan to him and then trapped him with Wyrdmarks!! I just can't believe Erawan fell for such an easy damn trap- it was actually hilarious how easy it was to fool Erawan!
Yrene swooped in to destroy Erawan and I was so damn proud of her!! When she started talking about the power of hope... I had tears in my eyes. It was beautiful.
And can we talk about how Dorian slashed open his hand along with Yrene and joined their powers to defeat Erawan! I love that Dorian and Yrene are carranam!!!!!!! I can imagine them being such amazing best friends and them being carranam was the best thing ever!
Before Erawan died, he revealed to Dorian that the only time his father ever remembered his name was when he named Dorian... which was lovely but, really, I've never given a damn about the king and that's not gonna start now, no matter what stuff we learn about him.
And finally, Erawan is officially dead and I felt so victorious!! One down, one to go!
Rowan and the cadre made it to Maeve and Aelin but... much help they were! Maeve instantly sucked them into painful visions and it was awful to see them go through that! She gave Rowan a vision that Aelin was dead (while simultaneously also giving me heart attack at the words 'Aelin was dead'). But as soon as Lyria showed up, I sighed in relief, and knew it a vision. Thank the Gods.
Lorcan got a vision of Elide shaming him, laughing at the idea they could be mates and finally, Maeve gave Fenrys a vision of Connall blaming Fenrys for everything. The worst thing was that Aelin had watch them all suffer, caught up in these illusions!
But clever little Aelin... she linked her power with Rowan's!! I had a little proud moment then because I'd predicted that they'd use their carranam link to overcome Aelin's loss of power. With their power, they opened portals all throughout the battlefield with Wyrdmarks they'd made earlier, and raised an army of the lost Terrasen fae. Honestly, I'd completely forgotten the lost Terrasen fae even existed and I don't necessarily think they needed to be included in this battle- Aelin and the others would've won just fine without them, I think.
While Aelin and Rowan attacked Maeve with their magic, Lorcan punching from the side, Fenrys snuck behind Maeve and stabbed her with Goldryn!! I'm so happy Fenrys got that hit- after what happened with Connall, he deserved it so much.
Aelin placed the Valg immunity ring on Maeve's finger and it acted like a poison which is crazy that I hadn't considered that possibility sooner!!! Of course, a ring to protect against the Valg would destroy them too!!! Aelin took out Goldryn and beheaded Maeve which was the most satisfying thing I think I've ever read- especially with the beautifully delivered 'go to hell.'
I was practically crying for the rest of the book from here. It was so devastating to say goodbye to these characters for the final time and it was too much for my heart to take!!
I was a mess of tears and pride when Aelin entered Orynth, a crown of flame on her head and everyone cheering her. She'd finally made it home and I was so. Damn. Proud!
We finally had the Lysandra and Falkan reunion which was just beautiful! I'm so happy Lysandra has a piece of family and this scene was lovely to read.
We also had a true Elide/Lorcan ship moment where they promise to marry each other and I was struck between tears and laughter because... Lord Lorcan Lochan?!?!? I've always wondered why Sarah J. Maas would have Lorcan's name so similar to Elide's surname and now I know... it was all a giant setup for that wondrous joke.
In terms of Dorian and Manon, I was a little unsatisfied that we didn't have a true reunion between them but, with everything Manon's been through, that's totally understandable. Manon and Dorian embraced as she told him how much she missed the Thirteen and my heart ached!!! Just the thought of Abraxos never seeing his mate again and Manon going through the loss of the Thirteen makes me want to break down into sobs all over again.
But as Dorian and the others were set to leave for Adarlan, Dorian proposed that Manon be the leader of his aerial legion- at least so she can come back and say hello every once in a while. And Yrene said the best thing ever, watching this interaction, and I have never loved Yrene more than in this moment. She basically just went "why don't you two just marry each other so you don't have to pretend?" Gods, I love you, Yrene!!! I was in stitches and grinning so much people would probably think me insane. But Manon simple replies with a smirk and a 'we'll' and if that isn't confirmation, I don't know what is!!!!
We had Aelin's coronation and I was just bursting with pride through the whole thing. Thinking back to Throne of Glass, Aelin was a completely different person and if you just think about everything's she's been through over the course of this series... it's awes-inspiring. It was so satisfying and completing to see Aelin finally take the throne and it was one of the most impactful scene I've ever read.
We had such a lovely scene with the whole crew, discussing the next steps and Aelin saying that she wanted voting to be a common practise in her kingdom so everyone can have a say on big decisions. This was the last scene we had with the most epic squad of all time and just to see them joking and smiling all together soothed my soul. Saying goodbye to these characters was so damn painful but seeing how they've all come was too beautiful to put into words.
This series has been an absolute masterpiece and Kingdom of Ash wrapped everything up so beautifully. There's no words to describe the surge of emotion this book put me through and it will forever remain one of my all-time favourites.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe
Manorian
We had some steamy Manorian and Manon brought up the idea of marriage between them as an alliance... and I was freaking out! Unsurprisingly, I was totally on board for their marriage but I hated how Manon said it as if it'd be a sacrifice. Dorian himself said that she wouldn't want to be shackled to a man and I was really doubting the endgame of Manorian at this point.
Dorian left her to finally head off to Morath and Manorian officially split up for the majority of the rest of the book. Which was a good and a bad thing, I suppose. I like how they each got the chance to play their own, individual part in saving the kingdom.
Manon
With Dorian gone, Manon and the witches decided to answer Terrasen's call for aid and I was so damn excited because Aedion and the others were in such a desperate need for help and the witches are epic in any battle!
Dorian
Meanwhile, Dorian arrived at Morath and my heart was in my throat the entire time! He sneaked around Morath as a rat (!!!) and walked into a conversation starting between Maeve and Erawan because, oh yeah, Maeve was there!!!
Rowaelin/ Elorcan/ Chaolrene/ Terrasen Court/ Southern Continent Forces
Now, at least we had happier stuff happen with this lot. At this point, I couldn't handle much more pain, I really couldn't.
We finally had the Elorcan ship sail and I was so damn happy! Finally!
Rowan and Aelin finally woke up after the whole dam-fire-wall-steam scene and I love that the first thing Rowan said to Aelin was 'show off'. This is why they are the most perfect ship ever!!! (Maybe apart from Feysand- I have undying loyalty to Feysand).
At Aelin's request, Yrene demonstrated the healing of someone with the Valg, freeing them of the infestation, and it gave me so much hope for the future of this book! Yrene was the ace up our sleeve and she rose to the challenge perfectly!!!
Sartaq and the rest of the Southern Continent agreed to travel and fight for Terassen and they finally began the journey northward! After everything, Aelin was finally heading north and I was totally ready for the epic showdown!
Pages 600-700
Lysaedion/ Manon
Things went from bad to worse in this entire book for Lysaedion and my heart just couldn't take it! Morath marched for Orynth- a total of 100,000 men!!! The whole thing was terrifying! Especially with the witchtowers as well! And Evangeline was the cutest, most adorable kid ever. When she said "I am not afraid for myself. But for my friends," I was seconds away from completely breaking down.
They managed to take down a couple of witchtowers but Morath still stood strong and Aedion and the others were so sombre!!! They'd completely lost morale and were basically just waiting for their deaths to meet them.... which was painful!!! But Aedion comforted Evangeline when she was getting scared and it was the cutest thing ever.
But my hope was quickly renewed when Manon and the Thirteen showed up to save the day! It was so satisfying to watch Manon lead the Thirteen and the Crochans into battle. I also loved how Manon told Darrow she came to fight to honour Aelin's promise- a better world! Darrow had been nothing but disrespectful to Aelin through Empire of Storms so it was so satisfying for him to realise that everyone was fighting for Aelin and her kingdom- not him.
And, having watched the Crochans arrive, Evangeline said she wanted to be a Crochan witch when she grew up and it was all so adorable!!!
Dorian
We pretty much stayed with Dorian through the majority of these 100 pages and, boy, was it a whirlwind of emotions.
Dorian listened in to Maeve and Erawan's conversation and Maeve was proposing an alliance with Erawan!! At this point, I knew we were royally screwed. This was literally worst case scenario- going against Erawan and Maeve all at once.
Honestly, if it had been Aelin in this situation, I would've been much less worried because... I trust her. I'd be worried but I'd trust that Aelin is a genius and we'd expect her to have this glorious plan unveiling. Dorian.... not so much. He's just a bit more naïve as a character and I felt he was way out of his depth in terms of planning against a Valg Queen!!! In hindsight, I should have had more faith in him... I'm sorry, Dorian.
And yet... there were times when I was sympathising with Maeve! When she spoke of why she escaped Orcus and his brothers and that she never wanted to be like them... there was part of me that thought she was being sincere! And I'm beyond ashamed of myself!
Once Maeve sent Dorian down a portal to Erawan's room, Dorian quickly found the Wyrdkey in the arm of a girl- similar to how Kaltain was treated. And, from this point, I was so eager for Dorian to get the hell out of there! Screw, Maeve, he had to leave immediately!
But Maeve showed up and this was where I flipped out.
Maeve 'took over' Dorian's mind when his guard was down and began to force him to bring her to the two other Wyrdkeys he'd stashed away. When reading this part... I was not a pretty picture. I was furious! I was swearing and raging at Dorian for being such a damned idiot and... all that anger dissipated two pages later when it turned out Dorian was actually tricking her and that he's much smarter than I give him credit for. Again, I'm sorry, Dorian.
Dorian flipped the betrayal back on Maeve, holding her mind and leaving her for Erawan to deal with. He fled Morath and brought it crumbling to the ground with his power!!! He now had all three Wyrdkeys and when he told Maeve that only one Queen would share his throne.... I was on cloud nine!
Vernon stumbled across the path of Aelin and the others and... I was reminded exactly why I hate the guy. He revealed that Maeve had come to ally with Erawan and I wanted Dorian to show up and explain things so badly!!!
And Aelin's reaction to Maeve and Erawan was so scary because... the thought of fighting both of them was truly terrifying.
Pages 700-800
Lysaedion/Manon
Deep in an attack by Morath, Aedion fought with the strength and bravery he somehow kept through this entire book and a Valg prince slipped past their defences to spar with him one on one! Aedion was quickly stabbed and I thought he was dead. I was literally preparing myself to deal with his death.
And I felt so bad for Evangeline when she heard Aedion had been stabbed!!When she was saying that she hadn't decided whether she'd wanted him to be a brother or a father but she didn't want him dead... my heart was broken.
Manon, the Thirteen and the Crochans took the skies to fight and it was brilliant! Iskra Yellowlegs immediately attacked Manon and Abraxos and I actually cried when her wyvern hurt Abraxos… he's so precious and I didn't want anything happening to him! And I was crying as they fell to the ground and how Manon told him she loved him...I thought he was dead, I really did!
It wasn't long before the witchtowers were put into use and they just took out a huge chunk of both the Ironteeth and the Crochans… just vanished!
And then we had the saddest scene of the whole book. When reading this part, I was in my living room along with my parents and I had to literally leave the room because I just broke down in sobs. No scene has ever effected me that much before.
The Thirteen immobilised Manon, with Abraxos unable to fly as well, and they all flew to the remaining witchtower. They fought the other witches, Asterin fighting with her stomach 'unclean' exposed and killing Manon's grandmother. And, finally, as one, they completed the Yielding, destroying the final witchtower and a bunch of enemy witches... and I was sobbing!
Rowaelin/ Elorcan/ Chaolrene/ Dorian/ Terrasen Court/ Southern Continent Forces
A lot of minor ship stuff happened in this section but I really loved these quiet moments when the events aren't reducing me into puddles of tears.
Rowan and Aelin got matching tattoos of their story on their backs and it was the sweetest thing ever! I'm so happy they have their story tattooed on them now- it's just an extra thing that Aelin can help ground herself with when she no longer has her scars.
Dorian showed up and we had another reunion!!!! Finally!!!
As Dorian had all three keys in his arsenal, the group debated what their next steps would be- to go to Terrasen and fight or forge the lock, therefore sacrificing Aelin or Dorian and losing their power in the battle. And they voted to forge the lock... what?!?! I was so mad! Why would they decide to get rid of the Fire-bringer when she could be crucial in helping Terrasen fight?!
They also debated whether it should be Dorian or Aelin to sacrifice themselves and I had always been Team Dorian-to-die (sorry) but suddenly, I didn't want it to be Dorian because the thought of Manon losing him as well was too much to handle!
Aelin shoved Dorian out of the gate so she could complete the closing with his father. Aelin finally became the gate and this where the Gods showed up and I officially lost all respect for them.
Aelin tried to bargain for Elena's freedom, to be sent into the Afterworld along with her mate Brannon, but the God Dianna 'killed' Elena anyway and topped it off by saying that they'd no longer get rid of Erawan for them! How disrespectful!! After everything Aelin has done to get them back home, even including the possibility of sacrificing herself, they just threw it all back in her face!!! I was livid!
And then the scene that had me fangirling like crazy!!!!!!!!!!
Aelin fell through the different world and universes, all layered on top of each other, and she saw a beautiful winged male and a heavily pregnant female!!!!! Sarah J. Maas has always said the the TOG and ACOTAR universes exist in the same multi-verse and this cameo was the perfect confirmation! I was fangirling so hard at Aelin glimpsing Rhys and Feyre and the freaking reveal that Feyre's pregnant!!!!
Aelin was falling way too fast through the worlds and could've possibly missed her own world without even processing where she needed to stop! But Rhys unknowingly helps her!!!!!!
Rhys used his powers to slow her down and it was enough for her to find Erilea again!! All I could keep thinking was 'Holy shit, Rhys just saved Aelin!!!' This has to be one of my favourite book scenes of all time.
Aelin made it back to Erilea and was left with no human body to switch back into- just pure Fae now. And the bittersweet thing is that she's no longer a Fire-Bringer. She's just left with ordinary magic, which I was worried would be disastrous when facing Maeve and Erawan, but she was happy! The pressure of all that magic had always overwhelmed her and she's happy being ordinary so I'm happy for her.
Pages 800-850
Lysaedion
Murtaugh died helping bring down one of the siege towers and... I didn't really care about his death. He was a really minor side character and, while I liked him, I didn't really feel anything over his death.
But I did feel something when Lysandra and Aedion finally kissed!! It only took about 800 pages but we finally got it and it was gorgeous!
We had Aedion and Lysandra prepare for the final battle and my heart broke when they started promising to find each other in all of their future lives!!!! But my heart fully stopped when they saw Aelin show up!!!!
Aelin revealed to everyone what really happened with the Gods and how Erawan was still among them after her failed deal to save Elena. I must admit, I was absolutely terrified that Aelin had little power to defeat Erawan and Maeve. I was also a little dissatisfied because I wanted an epic show of power!!!
But, as I was reading this, it occurred to me that Aelin and Rowan were still carranam!!! She could just use Rowan's power! I'd honestly like to pat myself on the back for that thought.
Pages 800-975
Everyone!!!!!!!!!!
When Aelin arrived.... my heart was in my throat. Just imagining Aelin charging in on the Lord of the North, with the cadre at her back, Dorian, Chaol, the Healers, the Rukhin, the Southern Continent forces as well as her own... it was the most epic battle scene to ever exist and the image was breath-taking for me.
And when Rowan called the cadre his brothers and talked about how they were fighting for their new home... it was all too much!!!
Aelin fought in the thick of it with her limited powers, using her assassin skills once more which made me so happy!! Aelin has never had to rely on her magic because her assassin skills are just as lethal and deadly! But, when she did get into a dangerous situation, wyvern-Lysandra came to the rescue and it was beautiful girl power! Lysandra switched into a ghost leopard and then they hugged like that and I had tears in my eyes it was so beautiful!
Little did we know... Morath had a second army that headed straight for us!! And with Maeve and Erawan among them... I was terrified!
Gavriel swooped in on a wyvern to help Aedion hold the gates but he ended up dying!! Honestly, I was spoiled for Gavriel's death and I wasn't too bothered about him anyway... sorry, Gavriel. I knew it would come down to him sacrificing himself for his son and it didn't hit me nearly as hard as the Thirteen's sacrifice. If I'm being honest, I think Sarah J. Maas is very hesitant to kill off main characters. We had such a large cast of main characters (Aelin, Rowan, Dorian, Manon, Elide, Lorcan, Chaol, Yrene, Lysandra, Aedion and more!!!) and she just plays safe by not letting any of them die. Sure, it would've been super painful to see one or more of them die but it would've been a little more realistic!!!
Aelin, unsurprisingly, brought the fight straight to Maeve and Erawan in the middle of the battle-field and I had no idea how this was going to go. Aelin's magic had nearly depleted and I was terrified! She went up to them with only a sword to fight them!!!
Aelin distracted Erawan by talking to him and she managed to bury a seed of doubt in him against Maeve. We got to see the cocky, sassy and smart Aelin when she spoke to Erawan and it was the best!! Watching her pit him against Maeve was so much fun! And as soon as Erawan realised there were healers in Orynth, able to destroy him, he had an Ilken take him away which was amazing because Aelin definitely wouldn't have been able to defeat them both!
Dorian shapeshifted into Yrene to lure Erawan to him and then trapped him with Wyrdmarks!! I just can't believe Erawan fell for such an easy damn trap- it was actually hilarious how easy it was to fool Erawan!
And can we talk about how Dorian slashed open his hand along with Yrene and joined their powers to defeat Erawan! I love that Dorian and Yrene are carranam!!!!!!! I can imagine them being such amazing best friends and them being carranam was the best thing ever!
Before Erawan died, he revealed to Dorian that the only time his father ever remembered his name was when he named Dorian... which was lovely but, really, I've never given a damn about the king and that's not gonna start now, no matter what stuff we learn about him.
And finally, Erawan is officially dead and I felt so victorious!! One down, one to go!
Aelin placed the Valg immunity ring on Maeve's finger and it acted like a poison which is crazy that I hadn't considered that possibility sooner!!! Of course, a ring to protect against the Valg would destroy them too!!! Aelin took out Goldryn and beheaded Maeve which was the most satisfying thing I think I've ever read- especially with the beautifully delivered 'go to hell.'
I was a mess of tears and pride when Aelin entered Orynth, a crown of flame on her head and everyone cheering her. She'd finally made it home and I was so. Damn. Proud!
We also had a true Elide/Lorcan ship moment where they promise to marry each other and I was struck between tears and laughter because... Lord Lorcan Lochan?!?!? I've always wondered why Sarah J. Maas would have Lorcan's name so similar to Elide's surname and now I know... it was all a giant setup for that wondrous joke.
In terms of Dorian and Manon, I was a little unsatisfied that we didn't have a true reunion between them but, with everything Manon's been through, that's totally understandable. Manon and Dorian embraced as she told him how much she missed the Thirteen and my heart ached!!! Just the thought of Abraxos never seeing his mate again and Manon going through the loss of the Thirteen makes me want to break down into sobs all over again.
We had such a lovely scene with the whole crew, discussing the next steps and Aelin saying that she wanted voting to be a common practise in her kingdom so everyone can have a say on big decisions. This was the last scene we had with the most epic squad of all time and just to see them joking and smiling all together soothed my soul. Saying goodbye to these characters was so damn painful but seeing how they've all come was too beautiful to put into words.
This series has been an absolute masterpiece and Kingdom of Ash wrapped everything up so beautifully. There's no words to describe the surge of emotion this book put me through and it will forever remain one of my all-time favourites.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe
No comments:
Post a Comment