Reviews with content warning for Death - Healer to the Ash King

This was definitely a HOT book. I loved the magical aspect of the book, as well as the king vs servant trope. It was super enjoyable because the interactions made sense with their respected jobs and titles. Although Cailin was definitely a badass heroine who stuck to her guns, even when it could’ve killed her. She was sassy, smart, and diligent.

I love how the only reason that she’s there is to heal the kings future wife/wifes in the running, but she ends up doing what she least expected to do. She’s definitely dirty and knows how to get what she wants, but I think my favorite part was the massage scene, that was SO HOT. I need my husband to give me a massage like that now.

The Ash King was just his level of hotness. He had a power he could barely understand and a kingdom that hated him for all the wrong reasons. He needed a queen, but a queen that would calm his storms and his eruptions. Especially when he got to the point of what felt like no return. The things that we fin$ out about his past and childhood were heart wrenching. I couldn’t believe it at all. It made sense why he was such an asshole. I loved his character so much, especially at the end. He became such a wonderful man that I’m sure I would’ve loved if I lived in the kingdom.

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koistyfishy's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

How can I write a review for something so AWESOME and do it the proper justice it deserves? I feel like I have to repent and humbly eat ALL my negative words and all the annoying grumblings I had regarding Rebecca Kenney. I completely went into this despondent, expecting to be left disappointed and underwhelmed...but what I was given was everything I could have wanted and all I needed!!!

**I do want to prefix this with I can see why this book would not be for everyone. It has a few brutal scenes and does have some problems, that I was willing to overlook since the enjoyment of the story completely dwarfs these issues. Take them with a pinch of salt and read the triggers before deciding if this book is for you.

ALSO...For those of you wondering, the Dark Rulers series is a collection of STANDALONE stories - so this book can be picked up without any need to have read any of the other previous books!

This book follows Cailin (who for the longest time I thought was Caitlin but we will just ignore that). She is a typical simple small-town farm girl who has been blessed by having both Water Magic and Healing Magic. One day the fiery cruel and wicked Ash King rides into her village and gives her little to no choice but to follow her to his Palace. There she will serve as the Healer in the Calling of the Favored, a ruthless violent competition of challenges for Noble Women of the Realm to fight for the right to be the Ash Kings Queen.

It has complex and multilayered characters that grow as these layers are peeled back. An intriguing plot filled with political intrigue, a hunger games style competition and parallel assassination plans. It contains a raw, feisty and steamy romance that develops between two characters who are literal water and fire polar opposites. And lastly, the writing is just incredible, its flow and style and relatively easy ability to read make the pages blur while you are taken on an adventure! This is the type of book you just devour because it is soooo good!

I have come to realise that I truly enjoy a book when there is a substantial amount of Character Development. This book gave me that as our main girl Cailin starts out pretty complex but evolves wonderfully as the story progresses. While her origins are simple, she has very firm beliefs, morals and ideals. What I also loved is she is not innocent. (I am over reading about first kisses and other first times. Give me a girl who knows what she likes and what she wants!). Cailin has to overcome her internal struggles of the feelings she has for a man she hates while combating the magnetic attraction for him. She needs to navigate the politics of the world she is thrust into and deal with impossible choices relating to her friends and family. She is not perfect and she makes mistakes but she is brave, courageous, longing for any type of love and affection and stands for what she believes in.

The Ash King is....hard to gush about how perfect he is because he is not. He is angry, cruel, arrogant, vindictive, power-hungry, selfish and extremely controlling. If you love a man who is morally grey, he's the PERFECT man for you. However; whilst he doesn't have many redeeming qualities, understanding his motives and reasons does allow you to have some insight into the choices that he makes and why he behaves the way he does. He changes through the story as his lust for Cailin turns into something more while he finds his equal in her and while not all those bad qualities disappear - she grounds him and almost neutralises him into something that could one day be better.

The relationship between the two was MAGICAL and truly one of my favourites I've read in awhile! The tension between Cailin and the King and how that mutates into sexual tension driven by hate and lust. Ooof AMAZING! Their scenes are steamy (literally because that's what you get when you mix fire with water), and when I thought they couldn't get any better, the next one would just overshadow the one before.

Now let me move onto the aspects I didn't like too much, The ones that I took with a pinch of salt to just enjoy the story... basically they mainly boil down to two things.

The first is there is a scene in the book where the Ash King does something very cruel to Cailin

To punish her, he forces the contestants of the Calling to shoot at her with Arrows. They are meant to try to aim as close as possible, but not break the skin. However, some of these girls are jealous of the attention the King gives our little healer, that they make her into a porcupine of Arrows. Yes she can heal the injuries but she still feels the pain of each arrow.

While his reason for the punishment was twisted and I don't mind that Cailin forgives him, Cailin very quickly forgives him for this and I wanted to see a little more grovelling or actually any grovelling from the King.

The second issue is something I am just frustrated about in general with Rebecca Kenney's writing and books, and that is her endings MOVE TO FAST. I was 90% done with the book, there were about 40pg left and half the conflict wasn't resolved, it hadn't even reached the climax yet in the plot and there were not enough pages left to give the ending the meat and detail it needed. Given how well and fleshed out the majority of the story was, I would have liked to see a little more added to the end.

Ultimately I loved this book! I love it with my whole heart! I love it even more because one of the bestest people on GR loves it just as much! I couldn't put it down and when I had to, ALL I WAS DOING was thinking about picking it up! It was close to perfection in my eyes as it had what I needed, so I hope that if you do pick it up, you feel the same ♥

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