Ashlords by Scott Reintgen Published by Random House Children's Books on 2020
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Epic
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Goodreads
Red Rising meets The Scorpio Races in this epic fantasy following three phoenix horse riders--skilled at alchemy--who must compete at The Races--the modern spectacle that has replaced warfare within their empire.
Every year since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they've raced them. First into battle, then on great hunts, and finally for the pure sport of seeing who rode the fastest. Centuries of blood and fire carved their competition into a more modern spectacle: The Races.
Over the course of a multi-day event, elite riders from clashing cultures vie to be crowned champion. But the modern version of the sport requires more than good riding. Competitors must be skilled at creating and controlling phoenix horses made of ash and alchemy, which are summoned back to life each sunrise with uniquely crafted powers to cover impossible distances and challenges before bursting into flames at sunset. But good alchemy only matters if a rider knows how to defend their phoenix horse at night. Murder is outlawed, but breaking bones and poisoning ashes? That's all legal and encouraged.
In this year's Races, eleven riders will compete, but three of them have more to lose than the rest--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?
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Why Did I Read?
As many of you may know, two of my all time favorite books is The Scorpio Races and Red Rising. So when Ashlords has those two books as the comps? I was wary to say the least! However, I can safely attest that Ashlords was a whole lot of fun and I greatly enjoyed it!
My Thoughts:
I don’t think the comparisons for Ashlords are completely accurate so take them with a grain of salt! The only way it’s similar to The Scorpio Races in my opinion is that there’s a race. I more felt the Red Rising vibes (a group of people wanting to rise up and rebel against their oppressors) but most of all, I was reminded of the Hunger Games! This race is televised and the interviews with the contestants definitely gave me major Hunger Games vibes. Anyway, just wanted to get that out there so if you’re like me and you saw those comparisons you know what to expect.
The true star of this book are the phoenixes! They are fascinating in this book! I can’t stress how cool I found them to be. It’s so unique. The whole process of the ashes and components and how they’re put together in order to have an entirely different phoenix reborn is so, so cool! As a horse lover, this was right in my wheelhouse. I absolutely loved it! The race portion of the book was so much fun. It took awhile before we got there but it was awesome. It had me on the edge of my seat!
There are three main POVs and all of them are interesting characters giving us a different perspective of the societal hierarchy in the country. Rebellion is brewing from two separate groups to rise up against the Ashlords and the groundwork for what will happen is just getting started. I can’t wait to see what direction things will go in because each of these characters are well developed and multi layered so I’m already invested in their journeys. One of the POVs is in second person which did throw me off at the beginning because it was a little jarring. I rarely read anything in second person. However, after the first few chapters in that POV, I did get used to it and it seemed more natural.
In short…
If you are interested in a fast paced high stakes story with the most interesting take on phoenixes, this is for you! Magic, political machinations and more abound: I can’t wait for the sequel!
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