The second installment in the New York Times bestselling series “made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir” (Bustle), Lady Smoke is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.The Kaiser murdered Theodosia’s mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo’s country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash … Theo was only six. He took Theo’s country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess–a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn’t realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon.
Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage–Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser’s rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.
To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done.
Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.
Praise for the Ash Princess Series:
”A darkly enchanting page-turner you won’t be able to put down.”–Bustle
”A smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down.” –Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series
“This searing page-turner is a compelling examination of the complexities of both evil and resistance.”–Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night
”A dark and spellbinding epic.” –Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless
”A rebel queen fans the sparks of revolution…[and] Theo’s first-person narration remains enthralling with emotional immediacy…[while] packed to the brim with intrigue and the promise.”-Kirkus Reviews
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Finally finished this book. It took me forever! It felt like a chore honestly, the beginning was pretty good but after a while it got real boring. The “twists and turns” were really expected. You see everything coming from a mile away. Also I’m not liking Theo at ALL lol seems like a lovesick confused little girl. Maybe that’s what the author is trying to portray but I feel that after everything she still doesn’t learn. Also constantly switching from Soren to Blaise and kissing each of them and saying “oooo I love youuu” to each one is kinda annoying lol. idk… i kinda like the book but it was just a little boring.
Cress however is a different story! Her character is soooooo COOL! I love the image of her and her character development! I look forward to the 3rd book I just reaaallllly hope its a lot belter than this one >-<
Lady Smoke is the second book in the Ash Princess trilogy.
Theo have escaped the Kaiser and is now miles away from her home. Prinz Soren, the Kaiser son, is with her as a hostage. To get her people and her throne back she’s going to need an army. She’s going to need to trust the Dragonsbane, a pirate, who’s also her aunt and her mother’s twin. This one think the only way Theo will get an army, is to marry. No Astrean Queen have ever take a husband, and Theo don’t want to either. But since she really need an army, she’s ready to do almost anything… except maybe losing herself in the process and giving the reign of Astrea to a stranger.
I have really love this second book and looking foward to start reading the last book in the serie.
I enjoyed this 2nd book in the trilogy very much. It did not have quite the same energy and drive as the first book and moved a bit slower. I felt a couple of thimes there was writing that contradicted things mentioned previously. Overall, I’m really still enjoying the series and look forward to book 3
Despite my hangups about the love interests in Ash Princess, I was excited to see how our heroine handled her freedom. The sequel, Lady Smoke, had very different pacing and intensity.
After escaping her homeland and the Kaiser’s brutal rule, Theo hopes to find freedom she has never know before. What she doesn’t realize is that she has sailed from the hands of brutality into a world of political manipulation. All Theo wants is to return home, save her people, and take back the kingdom stolen from her ten years ago.
Instead, Theo has to learn how to play a dangerous game of politics with numerous rules from around the world. Many of those rules want to see Soren, her advisor and the son of the Kaiser, punished strictly because of his bloodlines. Can she get the help her kingdom needs while saving Soren’s life?
Ash Princess read slowly for me, which was perfectly fine, but the intrigue in Lady Smoke drew me from one chapter to the next, always wondering how Theo was going to get the upper hand — or if the Kaiser would finally get his hands on her again. She faces betrayals, which is hardly a surprise, and loses several of her allies to assassination.
The book deserves higher marks than the first book, but I still can’t quite find it in me to give it five stars. And there’s one major reason — the Kaiser.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that I was overwhelmingly disappointed with how the confrontation with him ended. It felt more like Sebastian tried to simplify the storyline before starting the next book, instead of taking on the challenges she could have. It was almost too easy.
I did love how Theo approaches her new position at the end. It reminded me of Danerys Targaryen stepping out of the flames with her dragons. Not a clear rip-off, but more of a sensation of her taking on who she truly is.
I will say this — I was not disappointed by how her relationships with Blaise and Soren ended in this book, and I look forward to seeing how they develop in the last book.
I really liked book one, but book two… idk what happened. I’ll continue to listen and hope the plot picks up soon. It’s slow flowing and I find myself spacing out from the story on several occasions. Instead of rewinding (audio), I wasn’t lost enough to do so.
The repeaters “though” and “but” and “moment” and so on and so forth… especially the same phrases over and over again. It was cringing at times. There’s this uncertainty in the writer’s style that’s present in book two but completely absent in book one. A wavering of confidence. An evident self consciousness. Laura, if someone told you to work on your writing style, ignore them.
I do like the other terms for royalty, and since the author can’t defend herself, I’ll take it upon myself to do so. I noticed another reviewer wrote it had annoyed them that the author made these terms up like prince vs prinz. *eye roll* PRINZ IS GERMAN FOR PRINCE! It was not made up. It is HISTORICALLY correct.
The audio actress did well. I enjoy her.
I absolutely loved it
A great story.. the second in a series… Great world building. . Looking forward to the next in the series… ! Well written, a great weaving…
This is the second of a trilogy and one of the most amazeballs book ever.It is a perfect book for showing that women aren’t just playthings for men to tamper and laugh at.Its shows a rebellion growing stronger and claiming battle on the brutalist man on earth.Strong characters and sharp dialogue with touches of complex romance anchors.
I think what happen here was I waited to long and forgot most of what happened in book one. I wasn’t to pleased with book two.
It seemed slow and dull. I was bored for most part but when the actions came it really liven up the book. I wish there was more of that. Sadly there want.
*Actual rating: 3.5*
Lady Smoke is a great book, and I would recommend reading it to those who liked Ash Princess because it doesn’t change its atmosphere, and it feels very similar to the first book. It doesn’t change in any of its formatting, style, etc., unlike other books.
It is very much like other middle books where there are times when the book is more interesting than other times, but I found it easy to power through it. I think this was because I knew it would be getting interesting again sooner than later.
There’s character development shown throughout in multiple characters, and it definitely adds a special spark to each of them, and the story. It was nice to see them develop more. Slowly, but surely.
I found a few phrases that continually kept being used, which kind of bothered me because I would be momentarily pulled back to reality when I realize it was used two times before.
The love triangle continues and I still don’t know who she will choose. She goes from one to the other, more than I have seen in the last book.
There were still a few questions left unanswered from the first book, and it also added to those questions. I am hoping that the final book will answer those questions well.
********3.5 Stars******
I did enjoy this book, but it did suffer middle book syndrome. While I did find parts of it interesting I do think that for the most part, this book was not necessary to the story. I don’t feel like this book really moved anything forward till the very end.
What I liked:
-I loved getting to know the world better. To see other people and places beyond Theo’s country and to see what others do to keep power or to obtain more.
-Theo really came into her own in this book and finally realize that power lays within her. She doesn’t need to marry for it or to give herself up in order to take her rightful place and to save her people
What annoyed me:
-the love triangle and really the only reason is it’s pointless. Theo grew up in a society where Queen’s rule, they don’t marry and can have relations with any man they choose. I don’t really see why there needs to be this dilemma. She enjoys and possibly loves both Blaze and Soran. If this is the structure you going to build then I say own it and Theo should just say what’s up. I believe that’s where we are headed buy why these games it just doesn’t really add to the story
What I didn’t’ like
-I just felt like overall the book had no real point and was all for show. There was nothing earth-shattering that happened and it all played out how you would expect. Meeting her different suitors was interest and first and then it just got a bit old. I think this story would have worked better as a dulogy and has this be part 2 of the first book or part 1 of the second book.
Despite these flaws, the book was still enjoyable and while it may have dragged at times I did like being back in this world and can’t wait to see how it ends. (less)
This book was great, I am in love this this world. The characters and their story really draws you in and keeps you wanting more.