4.5 stars!

What a conclusion to the trilogy. I loved this trilogy overall with its politics and elemental magic.

In Ember Queen, the third and final instalment of the Ash Princess trilogy, the suspense is high from the start. I loved the plotting and scheming about taking over the Water Mine! I was literally on the edge of my seat until the team was back together.

The stakes were high and that is represented by all our faves getting wounded, stabbed, burned and maimed. But it just shows how high the stakes were and that it was not easy.

The only thing I did not like as much was the velastra, a chemical gas from Spiritgems that literally takes away a person's will, making them essentially puppets. While this increased the stakes, for me personally, it did not add much and felt odd within the magic system presented in the first two books. I honestly feel like you could cut it out entirely and the book wouldn't be worse for it. Also, I don't think that Cress as Kaiserin only knew the recipe for making it so Theodosia would have to deal with it but it was not mentioned again at all.

Overall, I would have liked some more tie-ins in the epilogue about what the other characters would do. How Soren would be as an ambassador, what Artemisia, Heron and Erik would be up to afterwards. They talked about it one night when they all shared a tent when Theo made Heron a Lord (which was such a great moment by the way, loved that) but I also wanted to see it.

But overall, Ember Queen was a great conclusion. It has high stakes and suspense, plotting, great action and the amazing cast of characters ties it all up.