This is a book that promises Phoenix horses, it even has one on the cover, yet barely delivers on that promise. It had more politics than Phoenix horses and that was incredibly disappointing, especially because it never made me care about the politics nor the characters. Disappointingly mediocre.

Great story and loved the romance. Loved the cast of characters and how the story came to be. Great story and I would read this author again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me a copy of the e-Arc. I am very grateful! This one was very memorable for me and will definitely read more from this author in the future!

Scott Reintgen did it again and I am on the edge of my seat, itching to find out what happens next. Ashlords is like the dream book for anyone who couldn't decide between asking for a horse or a chemistry set....you get both. The character development is superb, they all have their own reasons for racing and desire to win and honestly it is so hard to pick one and root for the entire time. Told from multiple POVs, I found myself rooting for whoever just happened to be telling the story.

Where to begin?  First off let me say that I really wanted to like this book.  Although I have not read Red Rising or The Scorpio Races, I will say this book reminded me of a cross between The Hunger Games and the movie/real life story of Hidalgo.  The synopsis grabbed me from the beginning; phoenix horses, gods, alchemy, a great race, I mean it sounds so action packed and exciting.  To top it off you already get an idea that there will be three main characters; a champion’s daughter, a scholarship entrant and a revolutionary’s son.  Those descriptions alone had me interested, what revolution are they referring to, why are there scholarship participants and how big of a deal is it to be a champion’s daughter?

That being said, I started this book on July 17th and it took me till September 4th to finish it.  Not because the story was too long, or I was too busy (I finished at least 10 other books in this time frame) but because this book just could not hold my interest at all.  

When we start in the beginning and meet Imelda (scholarship participant) I was intrigued by her and her abilities despite it being made that she comes from a lower background.  Her determination and intelligence made me like her right away and I could see myself rooting for her right off the bat.  

Next we met Adrian who is the revolutionary’s son.  The fact that Adrian is portrayed as this smart, strong and big guy but refers to his father as “daddy” was a huge turn off.  It gave me creepy vibes every time I saw it written and I was constantly questioning what kind of relationship that had that that was the preferred term.

The last character we meet is Pippa who is the daughter of two previous champions and who annoyingly and for some unknown reason is described in a second person POV.  She is the only one that this happens with and it was completely unnecessary and did nothing to help with the book.  I found myself wanting to like her, but the POV just drove me mad the whole time.

The races don’t even start until half way through the book and seeing as how the back of the book hypes up this huge race, I was so disappointed that the race was completed by the end of the book.  It just felt like a lot of hype and then a massive let down.  I knew going into this book that it was a part of a duology so I expected the race to continue into the next.  Yes, there is a cliffhanger to lead you into the next story, but I find myself not very interested into seeing where it leads.  It does seem like I’m the odd man out in these reviews, and maybe this story just wasn’t for me.

I received a review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As many of you may know, two of my all time favorite books is The Scorpio Races and Red Rising. So when Ashlords has those two books as the comps? I was wary to say the least! However, I can safely attest that Ashlords was a whole lot of fun and I greatly enjoyed it!

That being said, I don't think the comparisons are completely accurate so take that with a grain of salt! The only way it's similar to The Scorpio Races in my opinion is that there's a race. I more felt the Red Rising vibes (a group of people wanting to rise up and rebel against their oppressors) but most of all, I was reminded of the Hunger Games! This race is televised and the interviews with the contestants definitely gave me major Hunger Games vibes. Anyway, just wanted to get that out there so if you're like me and you saw those comparisons you know what to expect. 

The true star of this book are the phoenixes! They are fascinating in this book! I can't stress how cool I found them to be. It's so unique. The whole process of the ashes and components and how they're put together in order to have an entirely different phoenix reborn is so, so cool! As a horse lover, this was right in my wheelhouse. I absolutely loved it! The race portion of the book was so much fun. It took awhile before we got there but it was awesome. It had me on the edge of my seat!

There are three main POVs and all of them are interesting characters giving us a different perspective of the societal hierarchy in the country. Rebellion is brewing from two separate groups to rise up against the Ashlords and the groundwork for what will happen is just getting started. I can't wait to see what direction things will go in because each of these characters are well developed and multi layered so I'm already invested in their journeys. One of the POVs is in second person which did throw me off at the beginning because it was a little jarring. I rarely read anything in second person. However, after the first few chapters in that POV, I did get used to it and it seemed more natural. 

In short...

If you are interested in a fast paced high stakes story with the most interesting take on phoenixes, this is for you! Magic, political machinations and more abound: I can't wait for the sequel!

Ashlords is the perfect combination of horse racing competition with the addition of phoenixes.  The addition of the phoenixes and how each racer had to mix combinations of powders to create a new horse to ride each leg of the race is very intriguing.   Along with this you have a battle brewing between layers of this society and that adds in a whole other element when you find out who wins the race.  This book is brimming with deception, backstory and just the right mix of competitive danger.   Pick this on up now before the sequel Blood Sworn comes out in February 2021.

4/5 stars

I really enjoyed this fantastical horse race story that felt like a magical mix of 'The Hunger Games' and 'The Scorpio Races'.

<u>Characters, Pacing & Points of View</u>
This story was an easier fantasy story to read and I was able to fly through it. The magic system and world building was beautifully done. There were several interesting points of view throughout the story which included the main racers Imelda, Adrian, and Pippa. Even though there were several characters, each had such a distinctive voice that it was easy to tell the difference between them. I really enjoyed Imelda The Alchemist's story and spirit the most.

<u>Overall</u>
Overall, I really enjoyed the start to this YA fantasy series! I'm interested to see where the next book takes all these characters and how it all ends.

*Thank you so much to Random House Children's, Crown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this  digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing I want to talk about is how much I loved the phoenixes in this book. Instead of birds, the phoenixes are horse shaped, and there’s an alchemy element which changes their attributes every day. They also die every single day when the sun goes down and rise in the morning from their ashes. All of these aspects give this book a unique take on the phoenix mythology in this world.

The race itself is kind of okay. For some reason I kept thinking of The Hunger Games because of the set up, but the racers met each other a lot less throughout. Plus it is genuinely a race, whilst the riders can attack each other to get ahead – they can’t murder each other and most of the day is spent riding their phoenixes as fast as possible.

Most of the action seemed to happen at night when they weren’t racing. This meant you either had the action and fights or you had the phoenixes but rarely both which I found disapointing. You defintely go into the book expecting lots of phoenix horse content, but most of the exciting parts of the book aren’t with them.

Ashlords has three POV’s and we start with Imelda. From the outset she is the most interesting but her storyline isn’t linked that much with Adrian and Pippa in this book. I do think they will intertwine more in the next book though.

Imelda is a Dividian which are a lower class in this world, and her story starts off with her wanting to prove Dividians can be riders. Throughout the book she begins to understand the complete disregard that Ashlords have for Dividians, and so she develops into more of a rebel who wants to show up the race. This storyline starts off strong and also grows on you as it develops, and it makes you want to know what will happen.

Adrian is a Longhand which is a offshoot from the Ashlords ancestors and who have their own land. Ashlords still look down on them the same as Dividians, but have less control over them. The world building around Ashlords, Dividians, and Longhands is very distinct and I think it gives a lot of motivation and thought process to each of the characters.

Because of this, Adrian’s father is trying to create a rebellion which will allow them to separate from the Ashlords for good, pulling Adrian into his plans. Adrian is in the race to encourage rebellion once he wins the race. To be honest, I don’t understand why he had to be in the race for this rebellion to start properly, but I did like him as a character so I’m not too bothered. He’s extremely clever but also quite naive when it comes to his family – I think he’s going to go through lots of decisions in the next book that will be hard for him.

Our final POV is Pippa who is the child of two Ashlords who’ve previously won the race. Pippa is like the living personification of the Horse Girl you knew at school. Despite her determination to win, she’s naive and is betrayed early on in the races which forces her to grow very quickly as a person. Her POV is also told in second person which is different to the others, and I hope this was done for a yet untold reason.

Each of our characters is forced to grow in the book, especially as they were very naive at the start about different things. I liked that each of them had this development and it felt like a natural progression as they learned and experienced new things.

Other characters that appear are Gods and spirits. Gods live in the Underworld but they like to appear and get involved in human games now and then. I loved that this is somehow a huge secrets for the Ashlords that gods give boons to the racers, however I would have liked to see more of the Gods throughout the book. I’m hoping this might be a bigger part of the second book, and this was just hints for the world building.

The gifts given are most often in the shape of spirits who can help their rider, and the spirits do this in order to be free of the underworld. Pippa has a spirit and she really helps Pippa get through the race. I also believe this may be why her POV is second person… I’m not sure if it would have the same emphasis otherwise.

Overall, I found the book to be quick and easy to read and everything is very straigthforward. Ashlords focuses on the races, but it’s defintely heading into rebellion territory like The Hunger Games for the next book. Unfortunately, I liked this book as more of a standalone and I’m not that interested in the next one as it will most likely include rebellions and romantic sub-plots I’m not interested in.

Positives of Ashlords
Character development
Gods, spirits and Phoenixes!
Negatives of Ashlords
Better as a standalone book

This book was such a fun read for me. I could not put it down once I started. This writer does a great job grabbing you right from the beginning. At first, I thought this was going to be a regular rags to riches store. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was instead an epic horse race set to the backdrop of unrest and rebellion. Did I mention that the horses are phoenix horses?  So, in this horse race your mount dies in flames every night only to be reborn with the dawn light. This is all with a touch of alchemy thrown in. The elements that you mix with your ashes every night will dictate when abilities and skills your horse will be reborn with…. like teleportation!  
This is a wild journey with many twists and turns I never saw coming, and a few that where easy to spot. I highly recommend for anyone that likes a fast-paced adventure story. I can’t wait to see how these characters advance in the second book. Thank you to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley

I loved the beginning of this book! The plot was very unique and it was very fast paced! I struggled a bit with the middle but the ending was strong! A very solid read for me.

This is the fantasy book of my dreams! Did someone say The Scorpio Races? Phoenix Horse racing? I loved everything about this premise, but once I started reading I couldn't stop. Scott, please teach me how to plot your novels with so many twists and turns that keep readers guessing the whole time!

So.....good book, but Red Rising??? This Howler says NOPE! Regardless of the off comparison, this book is unique and imaginative with lots of treachery and deceit. Loved the writing, great concept, read in one sitting, and need book 2 now!

Scorpio Races with a hint of Hunger Games and a lot of action and alchemy.  The sequel cannot come fast enough!.

Somehow Reintgen never ceases to amaze me. This book is chock full of complex characters each striving for something different, each overcoming their own personal challenges. It's books like these that I find are going to shape the people who read them. And I am thankful for writers like Reintgen that write these stories that develop a world full of diversity that make it so we can understand our own world better, even if they don't have magical  horses that are born at sunrise.

Interesting characters and worldbuilding. Conceptually interesting. 

I loved the social structure depicted in this novel, as well as the inclusion of gods, magical creatures, and other worlds. While I had trouble remaining interested in the novel itself, the cast of characters and constant change of perspective made it a bit more refreshing than your typical dystopian/revolutionary tale.

Phoenix horse racing is a phrase that immediately made me gasp the moment I heard it. This book was marketed as Red Rising meet Scorpio Races, and my expectations were HIGH. Unfortunately, I think that comparison was unfair to the book and made reading it less enjoyable because of having such high expectations.

Overall though this was a good read with likeable characters. The book is told form 3 different POVs and they were all great. I loved the concept and the overall story, and I adored the magic in the book. 

Although a fun read, the book failed to meet my expectations. The first half of the book could have been condensed so that we could get to the "race" part sooner and spend more time there, which was really the most exciting part.  I also felt at times that there were too many ideas and concepts in the book that seemed to have been an afterthought and were not fully fleshed out.

The ending was quite the cliffhanger though, and I liked the book well enough that I will be reading the next one.

I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

So the teaser says this is Red Rising meets Scorpio Races, but I have to amend that because the Hunger Games vibes in this book are REAL!!! I dont know that I would compare it to RR, and I havent read SR, but if you love the Hunger Games, you will love this! I really enjoyed that the book was told in 3 POVs and the author wrote the characters from different actual POVs (1st, 2nd, etc) as well. It made the voices very distinct and unique.
The story had so many twists and turns and I never once got bored, and we were left on a perfect cliffhanger to make sure I need the next book NOW! Also, bonus points for an epic cover!

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen is the first book of a new young adult fantasy duology series. The story follows three of the Phoenix racers by changing the point of view between the characters with each chapter as they prepare for the upcoming race.

The riders in the big race will be riding Phoenix horses that are brought to life by the rider’s alchemy giving them all unique qualities. At the end of each day however in the race the Phoenix return to ash until their rider can resurrect them again.

Pippa, Adrian, and Imelda are three of the eleven racers that are preparing themselves for the grueling battle ahead. All have trained in the ways they could with one coming from a champion family and expected to win, one being a scholarship entrant, and another a revolutionary’s son preparing for war.

Well Ashlords certainly took an often used clashing society full of the different classes of citizens on the verge of uprising to a different place. The idea of the big upcoming race somewhat gave me images of them being tossed into the Hunger Games but with a whole new unique battle for these entrants using magic and mischief to compete with their Phoenixes. The end of this first book was just enough of a cliffhanger to show that book two will probably take readers to a whole new side to these characters story too to leave readers wanting more.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.