Lady Smoke

by Laura Sebastian

Amazon Prices:

Paperback: $16.01

Hardcover: $18.99

Kindle: $18.99 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Audible: $26.95 (Not available on Kindle Unlimited)

Before Reading Facts:

Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian was published in 2019 by Delacorte Press.

Page Count: 512 pages (paperback) 512 (hardcover) 500 (Kindle)

Audiobook length: 13 hours 29 minutes

Chapters: N/A (Book is not divided into numbered chapters)

Languages: English

Summary of Book:

“The Kaiser murdered Theodosia’s mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took her country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess–a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn’t realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon.

Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. she has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage–Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser’s rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.

To get them back she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done.

Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.” -Delacorte Press

Author Biography:

“Laura Sebastian grew up in South Florida and attended Savannah College of Art and Design. She now lives and writes in New York City. Laura is the author of the New York Times bestseller Ash Princess and its sequel, Lady Smoke.” -Delacorte Press

Book Review:

Overall Book Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

After reading Ash Princess and falling in love with the story, I had to get my hands on the sequel! I pre-ordered Lady Smoke and got it in the mail the day it came out. I put all I had planned for that afternoon and dove right in. I got through about half of the novel that first night; I simply did not want to stop. This novel is an amazing continuation to Ash Princess.

This novel picks up after Theo’s escaping the grasp of the Kaiser in the first novel. Theo now fights to gain alliances to take back her throne. Though, she finds herself in a tricky situation. To accomplish her goal, she must sacrifice much of the freedom she fought so hard to gain. She has to negotiate and find the best ally to help her take back her country. She goes through a long journey full of danger and adventure. I was annoyed for a long portion of this novel. In the first novel, I was so annoyed with the Kaiser. I hated him, which was the point of his character. I wanted Theo to kill him and could not wait for that grand finale. It did not end how I wanted, but it gave me hope for good things to come in Lady Smoke.

In Lady Smoke, I was so annoyed, in the same manner, with Dragonsbane. I mean, in a sense, her character is trying to help the naive Theo get the best alliance, but Dragonsbane just got on my nerves. I had hopes that she would be like a Professor Snape character: one readers hate/are annoyed with until the very end. That hope for the character kept me invested in her as a character. I wanted her to actually become likable.

Audible Review:

Narration Rating: ★★★★★ / ★★★★★

Narration by Saskia Maarleveld

Maarleveld does an such an  excellent job narrating this second novel in the Ash Princess series! She effectively captivates the emotions of the characters and gives the listening experience a satisfactory feeling of being submerged in the story. However, just as the first novel, I did have to read at more than a 1.5 speed. 1.0 speed was too slow for me, and was quite dreadful to listen in that speed. At 1.25 speed, Maarleveld’s narration is about the speed I read, so I enjoyed it at that speed more. However, I did want to get through it quicker so I listened to it at a faster listening speed. For those of us who like to multitask and listen on the go, I recommend listening at a 1.75 speed, so one does not miss anything. For those who are listening while reading the book, I found 2.0 and 2.5 speed to be the best speeds. 3.0 was too fast for me, and I was missing a lot of what the narrator was saying and had to eventually slow down the narrator’s reading speed. 

Other works by this Author:

Ash Princess Series

• Ash Princess
• Lady Smoke