Knee Deep in Cinders
Freedom. Magic. Vengeance.
Vilas is a man consumed by anger. Kept prisoner in the city that slaughtered his people, he dreams of the day his magic is unsealed so he can burn everything to ash. When the city’s queen asks for his help hunting down rebel cultists, he agrees in exchange for his freedom, his magic, and a night in her bed.
Given access to only a fraction of his magic and forced to work alongside a jailor who can seal it entirely, a quick escape is impossible. Vilas knows his freedom hinges on his wits—and his self control. But every day he’s reminded of the horrors done to his people, testing the limits of his restraint. Can Vilas outwit the queen and have his revenge on the city, or will his all-consuming rage be his undoing?-Goodreads
Title: Knee Deep in Cinders
Series: Standalone
Author: Ashley Capes
Page Count: 276
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.75/5.0
Date Read: November 9th, 2024
Opening
Knee-Deep in Cinders is my third read now from author Ashley Capes. This is also my second in just a couple weeks. I'm not sure which of the two recent reads I enjoyed more as they were very different stories which I'll try and touch on as best I can with my review below without too many spoilers.
Pacing
The pacing of Knee-Deep in Cinders seemed smooth to me. This is what I'd consider an average length of story as far as pages and the story never seemed rush or on the other end of the spectrum, no slogging either. All three reads from Ashley Capes seemed very polished to me as I haven't come across many editing issues or typos that heavily trip me up. This typically means a smooth read. I didn't have any issues with names of characters or locations in this read either.
Two more things I'd like to point out differing from my previous read from this author. The previous read followed two different character arcs through most of book one. This is another point, the previous read is indeed a series while this one seems to be a standalone from what I can see.
World Building
The world building was really interesting to me. This is where this story started to differ from A Drifting Sun. I can't really put a pin in why but the previous read gave me vibes more along the lines of traditional fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth. I think the swamp scenes have a lot to do with this. Knee-Deep in Cinders gave me vibes loosely of The Count of Monte Cristo. Regardless this world had a lot going for it. I'll touch on the characters in the next section but the magic and races of this world were very entertaining to me. There is also plenty of political workings taking place in this one to keep a reader on their toes as well.
For such a shorter read (to me) this world seemed deep in history and content which was very nicely done. The author does a great job in filling the read in on this history as the story progresses.
Character Development
The character development was really enjoyable for me. I liked the singular focus following our protagonist through this story. I don't have a preference between this style and multiple characters, this just clicked well with me at the time of reading. There are plenty of additional supporting characters in Knee-Deep in Cinders as well. Our main character had a really good arc from beginning to end. Even several of the supporting characters had some solid change or growth to be seen by the end.
Closing
In summary I've really been enjoying the three reads under my belt by Ashley Capes now. One of them is a series so I will be planning on continuing that one going into next year and he honestly has quite the library of other reads I can look into as well.
One of the biggest reasons I can recommend this read is the fact that it is a standalone. Our buddy read group just recently had a brief conversation on how often we read books that just get us involved in yet another series to try and add to the list to keep up with. If you're looking for a fantasy read with an interesting world, a solid cast of characters, a good story and just aren't ready to add another series to keep up with, give Knee-Deep in Cinders a shot!
Scoring
Pacing 4.75 / 5.0
Worldbuilding 4.75 / 5.0
Character Development 5.0 / 5.0
