Lady Smoke

Written by Laura Sebastian

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

The second installment in the New York Times bestselling series "made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir" (Bustle), Lady Smoke is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's 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.

Praise for the Ash Princess Series:

"A darkly enchanting page-turner you won't be able to put down."--Bustle

"A smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down." --Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series

"This searing page-turner is a compelling examination of the complexities of both evil and resistance."--Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night

"A dark and spellbinding epic." --Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless

"A rebel queen fans the sparks of revolution...[and] Theo's first-person narration remains enthralling with emotional immediacy...[while] packed to the brim with intrigue and the promise."-Kirkus Reviews

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9780525525950

Laura Sebastian

Laura Sebastian was born and raised in South Florida and has always loved telling stories-many apologies to her little brother who often got in trouble because of them. She currently lives in London with her two dogs, Neville and Circe. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess series, Half Sick of Shadows, and Castles in their Bones.

Reviews for Lady Smoke

[jthierer_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After having read the first two books of this trilogy, I believe that Sebastian has fallen victim to the YA trilogy trend and is trying to drag a really great book out into three mediocre volumes. (I reserve the right to change my mind after I read volume 3 of course). Very very little actually happens in this book despite it being almost 500 pages. There are scenes after scenes of Theo meeting with potential marriage partners, many of whom will never be seen again. Now, if those scenes are funny or character building or even just beautifully written, I might be willing to overlook how they don't move the plot forward at all. But they honestly aren't. Theo continues to be a whiny, insecure child the entire book who thinks she is so "smart" because she is manipulating someone only to find out she's the one being manipulated.

That said, I do think there's an interesting story in here, I just wish we could get to it a lot faster!

[pascale1812 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In which Theo leads her band of merry rebels into five-hundred pages of diplomacy, disillusionment, and not actually spending that much time considering husbands.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This novel picks up where Ash Princess left off and provides new challenges for Theo and her allies, which include an imprisoned Prince Soren. Her aunt and pirate captain has arranged a potential alliance for Theo - on the condition that she select a partner to marry. Despite opposing marriage on principle, Theo finds herself playing along - and entertaining a legion of suitors - in the hopes of gaining an ally with an army. While she's theoretically free of the kaiser's court, there are plenty of schemes and poison going around. Fun reading and I will look forward to returning to Theo's world in the next volume.

[zeborah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Compared to the first book, the political maneuverings seemed less developed, probably because there were more players on the board to deal with and the "beserker" phenomenon was becoming a more important subplot. It still held together pretty well, especially given the second book in a trilogy is a tricky beast.