If Theo could just follow the rules and be compliant, Cress would look after her after earning her title. I truly believe that she has Theo’s best interest at heart but cannot see past what she feels is her duty for her country. She is a little aloof but realizes the struggles that Theo goes through. Cress has dreamed of nothing else but to be a Prinsezzin (princess) and has been groomed for the position. Cress is Theo’s BFF and they had grown up together. I actually teared up several times for Theo and would have loved to poison him myself! The punishments and his mannerisms were literally disgusting. The Kaiser is ruthless and I am not sure if I have ever disliked a character as much has my hatred has flowed for him. She has her people that she needs to look out for and that is more important than anything. She wants to save everyone but realizes that is not possible, even if she cares for them and considers them friends. Every move she makes is for the greater good. I must say that I adored Theodosia, she is smart and caring. She wants to make her mother proud and she is ready to take back her country.

Over the years, she has learned to just endure her punishments and do whatever the Kaiser asks of her but he has issued a new punishment and it breaks something within her.

They call her the Ash Princess and makes her wear a crown of ashes that disintegrates and covers her in dust as she moves. She has the scars to prove it and the Kaiser, whom is the ruler of her current country, has made sure to put her on display as an example to his people and Theo’s to keep them in line and fearing him. Her citizens were enslaved by the current leader and she had to endure every punishment for her people’s misgivings for the last ten years. Her country was taken over as she watched her mother, the Queen, be murdered before her very eyes. I absolutely adored this book and cannot wait to move on to the next in the series. And power isn’t always won on the battlefield.įor ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved.

But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable.

She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside. She’s endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. Theo was crowned Ash Princess–a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.įor ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes.

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