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Sara.'s Reviews > The Ashfire King
The Ashfire King (The Sandsea Trilogy, #2)
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by
3.25⭐️. Thank you NetGalley & Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC.
While I enjoyed The Stardust Thief a lot, this overall didn't click with me as much. The shifting of the main setting to the jinn realm below should have been an exciting development, but I found the plot of it all—running around breaking the magical bindings that keep the city sunken & dodging the present jinn queen—rather tedious and too drawn out. Going over to Aisha's POV when she's in the human realm feels like a relief at times.
That said, what I'd praise of Chelsea Abdullah's sequel is the strength of her characters. I continue to be heavily invested in Loulie, Mazen & Aisha (and Qadir, but he doesn't really factor in much save for the final act), regardless of where their respective journeys take them. Mazen's other brother Hakim and Rijah the shapeshifting ifrit from Book 1 are also great additions. I definitely commend the wonderful slowburn between Loulie & Mazen, and wish most fantasy series would follow this example. This is a romance that is so well-developed because the story focuses on them becoming true FRIENDS who grow devoted to each other first and foremost. The author doesn't bombard you with multiple insisting that they're attracted to each other; she shows you with how much they fight to keep each other alive, how they come to appreciate the other's strengths and presence, and how sensitive they are to the other's feelings that they'd do anything to cheer the other up. That as Book 2 closes and there's FINALLY the mention of possible emotions that they're feeling for the other, it feels earned.
While this sequel didn't enamor me, I'll still pick up the finale and see these wonderful characters to the end.
While I enjoyed The Stardust Thief a lot, this overall didn't click with me as much. The shifting of the main setting to the jinn realm below should have been an exciting development, but I found the plot of it all—running around breaking the magical bindings that keep the city sunken & dodging the present jinn queen—rather tedious and too drawn out. Going over to Aisha's POV when she's in the human realm feels like a relief at times.
That said, what I'd praise of Chelsea Abdullah's sequel is the strength of her characters. I continue to be heavily invested in Loulie, Mazen & Aisha (and Qadir, but he doesn't really factor in much save for the final act), regardless of where their respective journeys take them. Mazen's other brother Hakim and Rijah the shapeshifting ifrit from Book 1 are also great additions. I definitely commend the wonderful slowburn between Loulie & Mazen, and wish most fantasy series would follow this example. This is a romance that is so well-developed because the story focuses on them becoming true FRIENDS who grow devoted to each other first and foremost. The author doesn't bombard you with multiple insisting that they're attracted to each other; she shows you with how much they fight to keep each other alive, how they come to appreciate the other's strengths and presence, and how sensitive they are to the other's feelings that they'd do anything to cheer the other up. That as Book 2 closes and there's FINALLY the mention of possible emotions that they're feeling for the other, it feels earned.
While this sequel didn't enamor me, I'll still pick up the finale and see these wonderful characters to the end.
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