K.J. Charles's Reviews > Realm of Ash

Good grief, this is a good book. I liked Empire of Sand a lot, but Realm of Ash is *outstanding*. A fantastically well developed world based on the Mughal Empire, with terrific politics, scheming, culture, huge complexity lightly sketched in. And it has so much to say--about women and being forced to fit into allotted places, and hurting people out of love, and the clash of what's effective and what's right, and compassion, and massively about colonialism and stolen/denied identity, the effect on the colonised, the generational damage of abuse and enslavement. All of this in a heart-thumping adventure story with high stakes, a gorgeous romance, and terrific female friendships.

Really exceptional. I hid from the children for two hours to keep reading. This is the face of SFF now, and it is glorious.