#ashlords

Title: Ashlords | Author: Scott Reintgen | Publisher: Crown Books (2020)

» would you rather explore space or sea? hello friends, I would gladly take space over sea any day of the week. The sea is scary & I refuse to go near it. And while space is also scary, I just think it would be amazing to see it all. Or at least some of it. Recently read Ashlords by @reintgen & loved it. I cannot wait to read Blood Sworn soon! » current reads:. ✦ Wings of Shadow ✦ Killswitch ✦ Gild » challenges:. ✦ #tumblesoverbooks - read in twenty four hours » hashtags:. #ScottReintgen #Nyxiatrilogy #ashlords #fantasybooks #bookstagram #flatlay #bookblogger #scifibooks #bookishlove #bookphotos #yascifi  #readingcommunity #booksofinstagram   #bookstagrammer  (at Boise, Idaho) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRmU5TmLoKg/?utm_medium=tumblr

Plot: 5 stars Characters: 5 stars Writing Style: 5 stars Cover: 5 stars Representation: 3 stars Enjoyment: 5 stars Audiobook: 5 stars Overall: 5 stars This is one of the books I was looking forward to most this year and it did not disappoint. I was dubious about the claim that it was "Hunger Games meets the Scorpio Races" because... those books couldn't be more different. But when I go to describe the book now that's exactly what comes to mind. But it's also wholly original and beautiful. Like in the Scorpio Races, this is a race on magical horses. Only here the horses are phoenixes that are summoned at sunrise and die before the night is out, only to rise again. For each rebirth, the rider performs alchemy - mixes powdered components in various combinations to give their phoenix the attributes they think most likely to get them ahead in the race. The race is brutal, like the Hunger Games, and not everyone comes out of it alive. We follow three POV characters through their experience of the race and its lead-up. Pippa: The daughter of two champions of the race. An Ashlord - the race who rules their country with the help of their brutal gods (The Madness, The Dread, etc). Forced against her will by her mother to cheat in the races by asking the help of the gods. Widely considered to be destined to win and feels the need to prove everyone right Adrian: The son of a man trying to start a rebellion against the Ashlords. A denizen of The Reach, whose ancestors broke from the Ashlords years ago and renounced their gods. If he wins, the Reach will rise and spark a rebellion to pay the Ashlords back for their years of iron ruling and the deaths of the children of the last rebellion (including his mother). Imelda: A Dividian, whose ancestors came to conquer the Ashlords and were broken instead and now live subjugated and impoverished. She could never afford to race at all, but she is chosen to be the Dividian scholarship rider after a video she made goes viral. She knows she can't win the races - she isn't meant to, and seeing the luxury that the Ashlords take for granted makes her angrier still We also have Quinn, a spirit from the underworld who helps Pippa and who serves as her conscience, planting seeds of compassion that perhaps will grow in the next book. With these three POV characters with vastly different backgrounds, but all driven by anger, we find ourselves viewing events from three angles instead of rooting for one character to win. The action is intense, the worldbuilding is imaginitive, the stakes are high, and I was kept on the edge of my seat. The ending raises the stakes even higher while still leaving me unsure which of the three to root for. All of them? None of them? The only complaint I have is that there are no queer characters, but since only one relationship is mentioned at all, it's not a huge deal. There's always potential in the next one... The audiobook narrators did an excellent job and I thoroughly enjoyed listening.         

Anyways, the race was super cool. The world fascinating. The characters great.  I absolutely want to read the sequel.

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I LOVED this book. It was so unexpected! Told once again from alternating POVs of Pippa, Adrian, and Imelda - an Ashlord, a Longhand, and a Dividian - the story is no longer about winning the races, but rather of winning the war. I wasn't sure about it at first, but there was a major twist around 25% in that left me on the edge of my seat for the entire remainder of the book. The ending also brings everything back around to echo the beginning of Ashlords as it wraps up which is very satisfying. The start of the story has Pippa leading the Ashlord army, Adrian leading the Longhands, and Imelda accompanying Bastian and his crew on missions around the edges of the war. At first, everything they learned (especially Pippa) during the Races seems to have been shoved to the backs of their minds, but with the reappearance of Quinn, everything changes and you really get to see all three of them shine as it becomes very clear that they've grown since entering the Races. I also loved each of their POVs and thought the moments chosen to switch were perfect. And there were some great moments of sleight-of-hand and distraction in this book, where they mislead both the characters around them and sometimes even the reader. It was very well done. I've read 21 books so far this year and this one is absolutely my favorite so far. *Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing an e-arc for review.                                              

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen was a YA #bookofthemonth pick. Auntie of @civilizedreadingtribe sent me her copy. Thanks Auntie! (I love Bookstagram 😄) “Every year the Ashlords race their Phoenix horses. In this year’s races, eleven riders will compete, but three have more to lose - a champion’s daughter, a scholarship entrant, and a revolutionary’s son. Who will attain their own dream of glory? Or will they all flame out in defeat?” This is going to be one of my favorites this year. It’s a great story and race keeps it moving. I like that Reintgen doesn’t spend half the book with world-building - we get enough as we go along to give us the right amount of context. There’s plenty of uniqueness to the story. Reintgen gives a great description of these Phoenix horses rising from the ashes every morning. Some great characters you can pull and cheer for (and yell at) An entertaining read from Reintgen. #ashlords #scottreintgen #bookofthemonth #yafantasy #sciencefiction #bookstagram #bookshelves #bookswithcharacter #bookhoarder #bookworm #sodacityreads #bookreview #hardcover #bookcollector #bookhaul #bookspines #goodreads #homelibrary #fiction #yascifi #thriller #bookcollection (at Ballentine, South Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFzgMqvArll/?igshid=vidx3vgexbfa