Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

Let me open with, I LOVED this book.

If you would like more details, please see below:

Kingdom of Ash and Briars (2016, Holiday House, Young Adult Fantasy)

Sixteen-year-old Bristal is a perfectly average orphan, until she discovers she’s one of only three remaining elicromancers. Ancient, immortal beings, elicromancers were nearly wiped from existence after centuries of warring in the realm. Now Bristal in one of them, and an exceptionally powerful one at that. With the rare gift of shape-shifting, she can become anything or anyone she chooses. In an ancient battle of good versus evil, Bristal finds herself torn between two paths. As power builds within her she must decide to help the mortals of the realm, or release her power and face unknown terrors. Relying on her shape-shifting abilities, Bristal works toward the good of the realm, protecting princesses, disguising herself as a man, gaining the confidence of kings, and always working from the shadows. But war, and an army of darkness approaches, and Bristal must find the courage to show her true form.

Kingdom of Ash and Briars, written by Hannah West, is an incredible and engrossing new fantasy. Drawing inspiration from traditional fairy tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Mulan, the story weaves these tales together in an exciting and new way. Bristal is a likable and clever main character, and readers will appreciate both her strengths and her weaknesses. Though she is a powerful elicromancer, she is so well-written as to still have many human qualities, making her both believable and relatable. The world-building is quite good, though it’s a bit limited in scope. However, it is not difficult to envision Bristal’s world or feel a part of it.

This is a sweeping, epic fantasy, and it’s surprising that it was not written as a trilogy. The world, characters and plot are exceptionally well-crafted, and there is so much happening in the plot that the book could easily have been extended. For the most part, the pacing is well done, and it’s impressive the amount of information and plot twists that occur within 355 pages, but there were points in the story when the passing of time was unclear. The first part of the book also felt a bit rushed, and the villain was established somewhat hastily. The villain is perfectly terrifying and believable, but she only begins to feel really real toward the middle of the book.

Kingdom of Ash and Briars is a brilliant retelling of traditional tales. With exceptional creativity, swoon-worthy love interests, and sweeping scenes, this is one of the best new young adult fantasy books I have read in quite a while.

A beautifully told fantasy with strong female and male characters, fairy tale romance, action, and adventure. Highly recommended for teens and adults who enjoy fantasies and fairy tales.

Five stars for Bristal, may they each shine as bright as her elicrin stone.

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Bonus Book Content

Check out the book on the publisher’s website with bonus questions for classroom discussions.

Learn more about author, Hannah West, at her website.

The Kingdom of Ash and Briars hits shelves September 15, 2016

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Thank you to Holiday House for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Happy Reading!

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Quick Note:

Somehow I got all my dates completely wrong for upcoming blog tours and such. Probably because I had to rearrange my newspaper review schedule and I was looking at that old schedule when I posted. So…here is the updated (and correct) schedule for upcoming tours, reviews, interviews and such

September 15: Max at Night Blog Tour

September 20: You’re My Boo Book Review and Author Interview

September 22: The Storybook Knight Blog Tour and Author Interview

September 29: Guest Book Review by a young reader of Mysterium Book #1: The Black Dragon

I have also updated the original post 🙂