Title: The Ashfire KingAuthor: Chelsea Abdullah
Series: The Sandsea Trilogy #2
Pages: 544
Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Publisher: Orbit
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy
Synopsis:
A merchant and a prince trapped in the crumbling realm of jinn must figure out how to save one world to return to their own in The Ashfire King, the second book in the Sandsea Trilogy.
Neither here nor there, but long ago… After fleeing a patricidal prince, legendary merchant Loulie al-Nazari and banished prince Mazen bin Malik find themselves in the realm of jinn. But instead of sanctuary, they find a world on the cusp of collapse.
The jinn cities, long sheltered beneath the Sandsea by the magic of its kings, are sinking. Amid the turmoil, political alliances are forming, and rebellion is on the rise. When Loulie assists a dissenter—one of her bodyguard’s old comrades—she puts herself in the center of a centuries-old war.
Trapped in a world that isn’t her own and wielding magic that belongs to a fallen king, Loulie must decide: Will she carry on someone else’s legacy or carve out her own?
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The Ashfire King is a strong addition to the series. I buddy read this with Leslie @ Books Are the New Black and was eager to jump back into this dangerous, high-stakes world to find out what was going to happen to some of my favorite characters. It was a wild ride with some twists and turns and revelations that shocked me.
I loved the character development and felt it was a major focus of the book, especially with Loulie and Mazen. The chapters from their perspectives and their growing relationship were some of my favorite parts of the story. I was a little disappointed that Qatir didn’t have a larger role in the book even though it made sense contextually. I have a feeling he will be a major player (hopefully) in the next book.
Overall, I thought this was an intriguing read. There were a few parts in the first third that dragged a little for me, and the pacing was a bit slow in general. That being said, a lot happened? It’s one of those stories that feels like not a ton happens, but there’s actually a lot going on. And after that ending, I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next book!
The Ashfire King has returned.
There is a difference between choosing silence and being silenced.
Every story is a memory. A tale that happened neither here or there, but in another time and place. Our job as storytellers is to describe that reality as we understand it. It is the listener who must determine what is and is not.
There is no such thing as a single truth. There are just the stories we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves.
She would never tire of seeing terrible men cower.
A crime forgotten is not a crime forgiven.
The past was the past, a story already told, and though he could certainly weave it into a different tale, it would not change the reality.
In the absence of truth, people make up their own stories. That is why there is so much hatred.
Not here, not there, but long ago…
To live is to persevere. For the world, and in spite of it.
Chelsea Abdullah is an American-Kuwaiti writer born and raised in Kuwait, where she grew up listening to stories about mysterious desert creatures and wily (only sometimes likable) heroes.
Consumed by wanderlust, she has put down roots in various states. After earning her MA in English at Duquesne University, she moved to New York, where she currently lives. When not immersed in her own fictional worlds, she spends her free time playing video games, doodling characters, and hoarding books she doesn’t have the shelf space for.
Great review and I love your choice of quotes. I am definitely intrigued to see where the story is going to go next after that ending.
Thanks, Janette. Yes, I’m curious too. I have a feeling it’s going to go in ten different directions I didn’t expect. lol
Great review, Julie! I’m glad we were able to buddy read this together!! 🙂
Thanks, Leslie! Me too!