Scan barcode
alicia_rausch's review
adventurous
funny
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.75
This was a breath of fresh air and it was great to see Egyptian rep in a space where it’s lacking! The writing was great - I enjoyed the sense of humor and liked all the characters. It’s a promising debut, but did suffer from pretty large pacing and storytelling issues and often felt confusing and messy. There was also a lot of lore dumping that didn’t serve the story. The bones of the plot were SO good, it was just how they were unearthed that I struggled with. So much so that this took me 3 attempts to even push through the first 25% of the novel. We spend so much time preparing for the action of the book, which doesn’t really occur until about 70% of the way through, that it often felt like a bow pulled tight but never released. I’m excited to see this series continue and watch the authors storytelling skills develop along with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Pedophilia
quiet_reader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, War, Sexual assault, and Colonisation
manaledi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'd heard good things and this was a good read. It was slow at first and fairly character driven for high fantasy. None of the elements - secret princess, morally grey prince, deadly challenges, rival territories - are particularly unique and yet it all comes together smoothly. A quibble in that the magic system is very poorly defined in terms on who can do what and how much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Colonisation, War, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
pandorica_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
This book was excellent. The moment I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.
Sylvia is a troubled soul lost to the past. She has a secret that could kill her and the power to stop anyone who tries. She has been in hiding for many years and closed off from any companionship for just as long. On the day of a festival, everything in her life changes forever.
Arin is the Heir to the Nizahl Kingdom and Commander of their army. During one of his missions, he discovers a small village in the outskirts of a bordering kingdom. While approaching, he finds someone performing rites to a fallen Jasadi. Here he starts to form a plan. Arin then decides to use Sylvia as bait in his current mission.
The plot was magnificent. The writing was captivating. I’m honestly shocked this was the authors debut book. When I know the book is going to be a series, I usually postpone completely finishing the book until the next book is available, but with this book it was impossible! I cannot wait for the second book to come out! While some of the more popular books end with a massive cliffhanger that could drive anyone insane, this book ended on a very nice note.(not like yay, I would be happy if that were the end of the series but more like everything came together in the end.)
I could not recommend this book enough. I’m going to make all my book reading co workers and all my book reading customers read this book.
Sylvia is a troubled soul lost to the past. She has a secret that could kill her and the power to stop anyone who tries. She has been in hiding for many years and closed off from any companionship for just as long. On the day of a festival, everything in her life changes forever.
Arin is the Heir to the Nizahl Kingdom and Commander of their army. During one of his missions, he discovers a small village in the outskirts of a bordering kingdom. While approaching, he finds someone performing rites to a fallen Jasadi. Here he starts to form a plan. Arin then decides to use Sylvia as bait in his current mission.
The plot was magnificent. The writing was captivating. I’m honestly shocked this was the authors debut book. When I know the book is going to be a series, I usually postpone completely finishing the book until the next book is available, but with this book it was impossible! I cannot wait for the second book to come out! While some of the more popular books end with a massive cliffhanger that could drive anyone insane, this book ended on a very nice note.(not like yay, I would be happy if that were the end of the series but more like everything came together in the end.)
I could not recommend this book enough. I’m going to make all my book reading co workers and all my book reading customers read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Colonisation, Classism, War, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Genocide, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, and Sexual assault
ayvie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
I literally had trouble putting this book down to read anything else. The MCs were so engaging and interesting and complicated that I could not wait to read more. The fact that neither MC is 100% right in their understanding of their histories is fascinating and interesting. (Though I'd argue that Sylvia's misconceptions are less of an issue because they are the result of her being a victim and not the result of her being an aggressor/policer). They're both having to adjust and learn their misconceptions - some of which they've built their entire lives on.
I'm unsure about the romance. I am having complicated feelings about it and need to let those stew a bit. Coming back to this - I honestly wish the romantic elements hadn't been involved at all in this book. It felt uncomfortable and a lot of it is outside my lane to really delve into. I do think the groundwork is laid for something here, and I'm unsure where it's going to lead (and honestly, I'd be happy if it led to no romance at all).
It felt like the point should have been discomfort and I'm unsure if that was entirely what was portrayed.
I'm unsure about the romance. I am having complicated feelings about it and need to let those stew a bit. Coming back to this - I honestly wish the romantic elements hadn't been involved at all in this book. It felt uncomfortable and a lot of it is outside my lane to really delve into. I do think the groundwork is laid for something here, and I'm unsure where it's going to lead (and honestly, I'd be happy if it led to no romance at all).
It felt like the point should have been discomfort and I'm unsure if that was entirely what was portrayed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Body horror, Torture, War, Murder, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Colonisation
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
This book has a lot of violence depicted in its pages, but it never felt gratuitous. There's a ton of trauma (specifically explored for Sylvia). The child abuse, sexual assault, and rape are mentions regarding a secondary character.roseleebooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall I enjoyed this book. I read through it very quickly wanting to know what happened next!
Things that were done well were the pacing and the setup for the ending. There are multiple plot threads to pick up in the next book which could be frustrating for some readers. The key theme of dealing with past trauma and identity after being separated from the foundations of that identity was intriguingly explored throughout.Also, establishing that the MC was an unreliable narrator partway through the story opens up a lot of possibilities going into the next portion of the series.
There were several things that were problematic here with the FMCs relationship with the MMC,including power imbalance and 🚩 behaviors from the MMC. Other reviews have commented on the colonizer/colonized aspect of it as well, which is off-putting. If the MMC goes full villain in the next book this would make much more sense to me, I'd like to assume the author has purposely laid this unsettling foundation. The love story was secondary to the main plot but the banter is where some of the twists and info reveals occurred
Overall the writing was fairly smooth, the story moved along at a fast pace, and I found myself rethinking things that I took at face value initially about the characters and setting throughout as new information was revealed. I'll definitely be picking up the next book to see what happens next. This may change my review here depending on how some of the above issues are handled.
Things that were done well were the pacing and the setup for the ending. There are multiple plot threads to pick up in the next book which could be frustrating for some readers. The key theme of dealing with past trauma and identity after being separated from the foundations of that identity was intriguingly explored throughout.
There were several things that were problematic here with the FMCs relationship with the MMC,
Overall the writing was fairly smooth, the story moved along at a fast pace, and I found myself rethinking things that I took at face value initially about the characters and setting throughout as new information was revealed. I'll definitely be picking up the next book to see what happens next. This may change my review here depending on how some of the above issues are handled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, War, Xenophobia, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcohol, Murder, Mental illness, and Suicide
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I will eat my hat if this didn't start as fanfiction, and i could definitely make a few guesses as to what. You can tell with the interesting character relationships and the extremely well written sexual tension, and the front loaded worldbuilding and not at all thought through political ideologies. Girl why are you falling in love with the genocidal white man? He really doesn't grow and change politically in what we see. Yeah he opens up to her and sees her as human but the rest not so much. Which is so frustrating because the author succeeds at making it so so hot. I honestly think a lot could have been solved by making them both POC, which would cause less unsavory allusions which I don't think were intentional. He could still have magical hair. Why is draco here? I'm a little bit with Soraya here. Taking down corrupt monarchs and trying to kill the heir of the country that decimated yours, like she has a point. Ok but moving on I really did like Sylvie, her complex journey, and all of her unwanted connections to loved ones. Her friends, Rory, and Fairel really shine. Dawoud only had one scene but it really hit. Overall I have a lot of qualms with the romance, but I did like it and will probably read the next one. Also like, you are going to write insane amounts of heat, to the point where I, someone who is rooting for the antagonist to kill the love interest, thinks they should fuck, and when they finally act on their feels they only make out for a half a second. Come on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Child abuse, Child death, Body horror, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexism
bookswithbethx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Torture, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Child abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Drug use, Violence, Vomit, and War
meltingpages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
This did take a little bit for me to get into, there's a lot of world building thrown at you right away so it took a little bit of time for me to figure out what was going on. Once I got everything straight in my head though I really ended up enjoying this! I loved Sylvia as a character, she's so complex and how she feels about her culture is so fascinating. She also goes through a lot of growth and you can see her coming to terms with her past and what her future should and could be. The trials Sylvia competes in were a surprise, as they weren't really mentioned in the synopsis past mentioning a game, which I took to be a game of political intrigue, not a literal game. I'm all for Sylvia getting revenge for her people and taking her kingdom back and making it better than it was before. I'm all for morally gray characters, and Sylvia and Arin are the epitome of that. I also ended up really loving the Egyptian inspired world, with all the history and culture. I will say though one of the downsides to reading the arc is that you don't get the map, which I always use to help center myself and get an idea of what the world actually looks like and where all the locations are in reference to each other, especially in a book like this where they're travelling around from one kingdom to another. Overall though, I'm so excited about this book, and I'm even more excited for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
More...