Ash Princess
#5343.92 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2018–2020 Reading commitment Medium Laura Sebastian Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
Theodosia has spent a decade as a captive in her own conquered country, forced to watch as her occupiers execute anyone who defies them, all while she plots quietly for the day she can reclaim her throne and free her people, in Laura Sebastian's completed young-adult fantasy trilogy. Stripped of her royal title and renamed Theo by her captors, she is raised alongside the Kaiser's own son as a kind of living hostage and propaganda tool before a chance to escape and organize a rebellion against the empire that destroyed her family finally arrives. The trilogy, Ash Princess (2018), Lady Smoke (2019) and Ember Queen (2020), follows Theo's transformation from a compliant captive into a genuine political and military threat to the empire that raised her, moving between courtly intrigue, war, and Theo's own uneasy claim to a magic tied to her deposed bloodline.
Epic fantasy, Romantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Ash Princess trilogy Laura Sebastian
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ash Princess | 2018 | 1 | core | 3.86 (77,224 ratings) |
 | Lady Smoke | 2019 | 2 | core | 3.96 (39,314 ratings) |
 | Ember Queen | 2020 | 3 | core | 4.02 (30,000 ratings) |
Quick answers
- How many books are in Ash Princess? Ash Princess's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Ash Princess? Publication order, starting with Ash Princess. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Ash Princess finished? Complete (2018–2020).
- How much reading does Ash Princess take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Ash Princess ranked? #534 in this site's official ranking, based on 146,538 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #534?
Ranked #534 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.92 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 147k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #533, Magic of the Lost (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 3 books · Complete · 147k ratings · Ranks #534 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Ash Princess (2018)
- Lady Smoke (2019)
- Ember Queen (2020)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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- Caraval Portal fantasy / Romantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.04
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.92 across 146,538 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Ash Princess accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Ash Princess Trilogy series bibliography (specialised series-tracking site) Tier 3
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Sebastian
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon covers the complete, published trilogy.