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EMBER QUEEN BY LAURA SEBASTIAN (2020)- This is the last book in the Ash Princess series, a trilogy of fantasy novels details the efforts of a girl who should be queen fighting to reclaim the kingdom that was stolen from her after spending years as a slave to the conquerors. The war that has been brewing in the first two books comes to a head in this book. Victories are won, losses are suffered, and love and death are both in abundance. Ember Queen was an exciting end to the Ash Princess series and a worthy sendoff. Theo is an engaging character, full of passion and fire love for her friends and her people. She has spent the series figuring out how to be a worthy queen once the war ends and has earned the title by the end of this book. Her romance with Soren is very sweet, even if it doesn’t go exactly as I had hoped. Her friendships with the other characters, who are all engaging in their own rights, are sweet as well. Even her relationship with Cress, who has gone from Theo’s closest companion to her greatest enemy, is bittersweet. Both major deaths in this book can be spotted coming from a mile away, but both are poignant and touching. Ember Queen is different enough from other fantasy books, even if many tropes stay the same, and I think the whole series is definitely worth a read. I quite enjoyed it. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ #ashprincess #emberqueen #laurasebastian #fantasybooks https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ulN6-gJdK/?igshid=flml3yk3oscj

THE BOOK OF DUST BY PHILIP PULLMAN (2017 & 2019)- This series serves as both a prequel and a sequel to the original His Dark Materials series. The first book, La Belle Sauvage, takes place when Lyra is a baby. Floods and conspiracies strike Oxford and a young boy named Malcolm goes on a quest to protect Lyra. It is an exciting adventure and a great reintroduction to that world. Malcolm is a cool character, brave and loyal and protective, and his friend Alice is a badass. The Secret Commonwealth takes place twenty years later, ten years after the original series ended. Lyra is now an undergraduate student at Oxford and gets tangled up in a whole new web of betrayal and deceit and murder. This series is darker than the original one. Lyra is older and more mature, and has gained a new view of the world though her education and readings. She spends much of the book struggling with who she is and who she wants to be. She ends up on a new adventure where she is almost killed multiple times and even endures an attempted rape. Malcolm is older, too, and helps Lyra on her adventure while going on his own. I’m enjoying the series so far and am eager to see how it ends. The religious order is spreading their influence in any way necessary, which is fascinating to watch. The anti-religion stance is definitely still strong in these books. There is also very little levity to even our the darker tone, which can be hard to bear sometimes. I do like the more mature Lyra, especially as she gains wisdom along with her maturity. Her relationship with Malcolm is kind of strange, though. He is in love with Lyra despite being more than a decade older, and it is implied that she might return those feelings, or least have the potential to. I can’t wait to see how the series ends. #bookofdust #philippullman #lyrasilvertongue https://www.instagram.com/p/B8rg7kbghIk/?igshid=1crecwnpmfo6l

HIS DARK MATERIALS SERIES BY PHILIP PULLMAN (1995-2000)-I haven’t read the His Dark Materials before, and I thought I’d give it a try. It was enjoyable for the most part. I was reminded a lot of the Chronicles of Narnia series. The two main characters, Lyra and Will, are engaging. They are only 12 and 13, which I think is the target audience for these books, but their personalities, relationship, and character development make them interesting. The theme of this series is interesting, too. Philip Pullman takes a very anti-religious stance and selves into some deep topics in his books. The main problem with the books is that they cluttered with too many people and places. Many different points of view are shown throughout the series and the books constantly jump from world to world with barely a chance for the reader (not to mention the characters) to catch their breath. If the location and point of view had stayed more consistent I think I would have enjoyed the series more. Lyra and Will have interesting enough voices without having to add more. The writing also gets bogged down with unnecessary detours into side stories that don’t really end up leading to anything. With that said, a fantasy world that introduces the concept of humans who can see part of their souls in animal form is fascinating and Pullman does that part of the narrative well. Overall I found the series an enjoyable adventure. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8cRg4JACyW/?igshid=7mb2nbwmaprj