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gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Holy moly the politics and mixed POVs we get in this book! The slow pace of the book really allowed us to connect with each character during their POV and how their decisions affect everyone else around them as well as their goals and their struggles. The world we learn is beautiful and vibrant keeping you want to learn more about what is happening around you and how everything can to be where we started at the book.
I cannot wait to see how this trilogy goes and when the next book comes out I will definitely be getting it.
I cannot wait to see how this trilogy goes and when the next book comes out I will definitely be getting it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Blood, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
teri_b's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved getting into this world that is fuelled both by fantasy and science fiction elements and has
fire at its core.
Loved the introduction of the three main characters, Elena, the heir apparent to the thrown, Yassen, hired assassin now body guard, and Leo, the current Phoenix King and Elena's father. We experience the unfolding story through Elena's, Yassen's and Leo's point of view.
And then we also meet Elena's soon to be husband Samson, who comes with an army of his own, the Black Scales.
It becomes clear fairly quickly that all is not well in the Kingdom of Ravence, and rebellion maybe even a revolution maybe well on its way.
As events escalate Elena finds herself thrown into a series of events that change her, as she has to make choices as to where her alliances and her trust lies, assuming, that there is anyone she can trust.
Underlying the whole novel is the magic of the phoenix and its outward symbol of fire. It is beautifully woven into the narrative as we get glimpses of the phoenix through what each of the main characters believes about the phoenix and his powers. And yet, the true magic of the phoenix still has to be revealed.
There, too, is an immersion into colours and flavours/scents that I have not yet encountered in a fantasy novel. I absolutely loved this sensual layer, that brought colour & spice into the story & to me as a reader.
The book ends on a cliffhanger of some magnitude.
And now we wait and see where the story takes us from there.
I have to admit that I am curious whereto the story will develop. Hopefully much more of the phoenix magic will become apparent. And me thinks, Elena, Yassen and Samson will be amazing in their new found powers.
fire at its core.
Loved the introduction of the three main characters, Elena, the heir apparent to the thrown, Yassen, hired assassin now body guard, and Leo, the current Phoenix King and Elena's father. We experience the unfolding story through Elena's, Yassen's and Leo's point of view.
And then we also meet Elena's soon to be husband Samson, who comes with an army of his own, the Black Scales.
It becomes clear fairly quickly that all is not well in the Kingdom of Ravence, and rebellion maybe even a revolution maybe well on its way.
As events escalate Elena finds herself thrown into a series of events that change her, as she has to make choices as to where her alliances and her trust lies, assuming, that there is anyone she can trust.
Underlying the whole novel is the magic of the phoenix and its outward symbol of fire. It is beautifully woven into the narrative as we get glimpses of the phoenix through what each of the main characters believes about the phoenix and his powers. And yet, the true magic of the phoenix still has to be revealed.
There, too, is an immersion into colours and flavours/scents that I have not yet encountered in a fantasy novel. I absolutely loved this sensual layer, that brought colour & spice into the story & to me as a reader.
The book ends on a cliffhanger of some magnitude.
And now we wait and see where the story takes us from there.
I have to admit that I am curious whereto the story will develop. Hopefully much more of the phoenix magic will become apparent. And me thinks, Elena, Yassen and Samson will be amazing in their new found powers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, and Death of parent
gimmiiie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Murder, Death, War, Xenophobia, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Violence
bookforthought's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-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
Well, wow! The Phoenix King is the Indian-inspired adult fantasy I didn't know I needed.
Set in a gorgeously intricate world rich in lore and tradition, the book is narrated through the POV of three very different characters: Leo, the current king of Ravence, who is preparing to cede his crown to his daughter while trying to fight a terrible and hidden enemy; Elena, the soon-to-be queen, struggling to feel worthy of her title and desperate to ensure the safety of her beloved kingdom; and Yassen, an assassin desperately trying to free himself of his bonds through one last job. These characters couldn't differ more from one another, and I really enjoyed how their individual voices came through in their respective chapters. They're complex, flawed, and make some really bad, but really tough, choices and it was very satisfying to watch events unfold while getting to know them better.
The characterisation was a little shallow at times, which was a shame, and there were a few turns in certain characters' behaviours that didn't really make sense as nothing in their POV chapters had previously indicated such thoughts or intentions. This isn't a huge issue but rather more of a pet peeve of mine, since to me it just doesn't make sense for a character to withhold information from or lie to the audience when we're in their mind. Still, it worked to get a few surprises in and didn't have a massive impact on my overall enjoyment. This is only the first book in a trilogy, so I hope there will be space for further development in the next instalments. There are some pretty memorable secondary characters too (I love Ferma!) and each of them had a few unique characteristics that made them interesting and added value to the scenes they appeared in.
The worldbuilding is intricate, seamlessly blending classic fantasy elements with sci-fi ones. Elements coming from South Asian culture (Indian in particular) are used effectively and I love the fact that the author chose not to translate certain words, as that would have massively diminished the reading experience. The world is complex and heavy in politics, with both potential war with other states looming on the horizon and internal unrest brewing within, as well as a sort of transnational anarchist terrorist group creating chaos. At times, it felt as though there was almost too much going on and a lot of exposition was needed to bring the reader up to speed, which made me feel as though the plot was suffering from being slowed down so much. I did appreciate the themes explored here, especially those around identity, belonging, power and choice, and in the midst of all the action and drama, there were a few well-landed humorous moments and a very delicate romantic subplot that worked very well.
The pacing is another element that mostly worked, although at times it felt a bit uneven, as things seemed to move very slowly and then suddenly action erupted and everything happened at once. Still, when it did I was glad I'd stuck with it through the slowest parts, as there were some pretty epic action scenes. The writing certainly helped, as it flowed very smoothly and kept me turning the pages even when nothing was apparently happening. The book does get pretty dark at times, so you might want to check the CWs first, especially if you're particularly sensitive to fire/burning as that is a central element of the MCs' religion.
Overall, this was a great start to the trilogy and an absolutely banging debut! I'm confident a lot of the minor issues with pacing and characterisation will be fixed in the next instalments. Definitely recommended if you're looking for an epic fantasy mixing in sci-fi elements, explorations of identity and belonging, or a badass female MC!
I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley as part of the blog tour organised by Compulsive Readers. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley as part of the blog tour organised by Compulsive Readers. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Xenophobia
inkdrinkers's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Told through three point of views, The Phoenix King is a blend of science fiction and fantasy, set in an India-inspired world. Yassen, an assassin turned bodyguard, Elena, heir and future queen, and Leo, the current king, all battle each other as they fight against a prophecy that might end their world as they know it.
The Phoenix King has a highly interesting premise and gorgeous cover.
I had such high expectations for this novel, and unfortunately it met none of them. Going in, I knew it would be a blend of sci-fi and fantasy (or science fantasy), something done rarely, but when done well it's incredible (see: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao) - this was not done well. I felt so disconnected from the world from the first page, and as I kept reading I just kept feeling more and more confused and like every bit of science was shoehorned into the plot and just left half-wedged in there to "make it fit" since the book was trying to genre blend.
I found it very awkwardly written, from the character perspective changes, to the way the world felt almost like a parody of sci-fi in some moments (the strange new curses, the religious zealots with no purpose). The tone of the entire novel is set forth with a prologue that I absolutely didn't connect with, featuring a bizarre chase (he's a highly trained assassin, why does he suddenly suck at his job?) and throws the reader into a world that doesn't even attempt to ground itself before creating and introducing new ideas.
I know this was the author's debut, and I feel like you can TELL it was their debut, because the writing is so choppy and, on a technical level, seems to be unable to handle the massive task of building an entire world, religion, and plot in 400 pages. I, also, can't help but be a little annoyed that this was published prior in 2021, and this is the updated edition of the book, with apparently edits, more content, and extras. I'm a little shocked that this version of the book is the one that's gone through more editing because I still feel like it's lacking clarity in far too many areas.
I wish I had enjoyed this as much as I hoped I would, but it completely and utterly missed the mark for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.
Content warnings: Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia
The Phoenix King has a highly interesting premise and gorgeous cover.
I had such high expectations for this novel, and unfortunately it met none of them. Going in, I knew it would be a blend of sci-fi and fantasy (or science fantasy), something done rarely, but when done well it's incredible (see: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao) - this was not done well. I felt so disconnected from the world from the first page, and as I kept reading I just kept feeling more and more confused and like every bit of science was shoehorned into the plot and just left half-wedged in there to "make it fit" since the book was trying to genre blend.
I found it very awkwardly written, from the character perspective changes, to the way the world felt almost like a parody of sci-fi in some moments (the strange new curses, the religious zealots with no purpose). The tone of the entire novel is set forth with a prologue that I absolutely didn't connect with, featuring a bizarre chase (he's a highly trained assassin, why does he suddenly suck at his job?) and throws the reader into a world that doesn't even attempt to ground itself before creating and introducing new ideas.
I know this was the author's debut, and I feel like you can TELL it was their debut, because the writing is so choppy and, on a technical level, seems to be unable to handle the massive task of building an entire world, religion, and plot in 400 pages. I, also, can't help but be a little annoyed that this was published prior in 2021, and this is the updated edition of the book, with apparently edits, more content, and extras. I'm a little shocked that this version of the book is the one that's gone through more editing because I still feel like it's lacking clarity in far too many areas.
I wish I had enjoyed this as much as I hoped I would, but it completely and utterly missed the mark for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.
Content warnings: Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Racism
Minor: Slavery, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I knew going into this book that it was the first in a trilogy. I knew there would be some kind of cliff hanger, adorning to leave us readers wanting more. I thought I knew where Aparna was going to leave it off, but then the story kept going, and I was like "Ok,ok,ok,ok... tell me MORE!" I'm not usually a reader who speculates as they read. I usually prefer to just immerse myself in the story and pick up on the story beats just before the characters do. There were a few moments in the back quarter that I thought I had all figured out, but then there were ✨️plot twists✨️, which I am totally here for. Keep me on my toes as a reader and definitely hooked me for quietly anticipating book 2. There was a lot of world building in the first half or so of this book, but none of it felt too heavy handed. We learned things through explaining traditions to the "outsider" characters, discoveries of information previously withheld from characters, and through general context of the characters moving through the world. I always prefer to be dropped into a bookish world and have an author trust me as a reader to figure things out as we go through the story or give me enough clues to do some googling on my own to figure it out.
I knew Elena and Yassen would end up together in some context. I really thought Yassen was being lined up to be The Prophet, but then the reveal at the end that IT WAS SAMSON THE WHOLE TIME! I was shocked! I liked seeing Yassen and Elena grow closer, especially after their shared losses at the coronation gone awry. I was so glad to see my prediction of the double-double-cross come true on that front. I was a little disappointed in Yassen and Elena finally coming together. It was only like 3 paragraphs! I would have much preferred that be drawn out a little bit more. I'm also holding out hope for a royal throuple (swords crossing please!) With Elena, Yassen, and Samson. I knew since we didn't see a body during the commotion of the ceremony at the temple that Samson didn't die. I just didn't see his role as the Prophet coming. But he clearly cares so deeply for Yassen, and I think to a certain degree Elena too. I don't see why they can't all be happy together!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Grief
Moderate: Racism, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Minor: Xenophobia, Slavery, Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, and War
jane_underground's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Violence, Ableism, Xenophobia, War, and Grief
concretecorn's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
spoilers ahead & ALL personal opinion
let’s do the good first—
i love own voices stories, i am so glad to see representation in fantasy/scifi. this book is creative and not taken directly from indian lore so it’s cool to see it developed into a story that is inspired by my nation. i liked the depictions of kurtas and lehengas, i thought the kingdom politics had potential, and i liked the attempt to make the desert sort of its own character. i thought the internal lore was very well done, and though it took me a little bit to get it, the internal rules of the world ended up working out too.
i liked samson a lot. he’s the type of guy i’d hang out with. i thought yassen’s background story was shaping up nicely. liked the bits and pieces dangled for us to consume so we stay interested and invested in a trilogy since that’s what this is gonna be.
now the bad, and please remember this is just my opinion.
i legitimately was excited for this book, so it’s a shame how it turned out. at first, i thought i was just being harsh when i didn’t like the characters. i thought the point was that they’re flawed, and have bad relationships with one another. for example, i don’t understand king leo’s character at all. i mean, at all. his relationship to his daughter is so confusing because sometimes he’s mean, and other times his inner dialogue is filled with sweetness and love for her. elena was so uninteresting as a character that i didn’t learn her name until like, the 17th chapter. yassen was also similarly extremely boring, while spouting randomly “deep” one liners that make no sense. for example, at one point when he saves elena from an attack on her life, he is asked by king leo why he saved elena’s life. he says, “raveni or not, the desert does not claim me as it’s own. i am only what i am.” what does that mean?!?!?! he says things like this throughout the whole book. by the way, why was it supposed to be out of character for him to save elena? he is literally a part of her guard. they distrust him so much, yet give him unyielding access to the future queen, which literally sets them up to be betrayed in the worst possible way so easily. oh, also, there is no “slow burn” at all. the romance is injected randomly towards the end, and it really gives off “they are together because they are a male and female character traveling together.”
the world building is fine, the lore is fine. i mean, i think the writing could have more intricately woven elements of the story together. it didn’t escape me that the main conflict— the identity of the prophet— was missing from basically the last half of the book because king leo was driving that conflict and he dies. the twist about the gender of the prophet i saw coming from a mile away, and the eventual last twist was not big enough to counter for the unsurprising and mediocre middle.
elena learns to wield fire like, halfway through, and then that conflict becomes a background element in the overall story. the characters are fundamentally underdeveloped. the best characters were the yumi and samson, who disappear from the book halfway through. they’re not even main characters (though i assume samson will be in the next book).
also can we just talk about how yassen literally planned to betray elena from the very beginning, and sort of just became attached to her, and then was like “oh no! the princess! she’s broken!” and then randomly falls in love with her and she with him? and she just casually forgets that he was a) an assassin who was very good at what he did and b) participated in killing her father and betraying her at the highest magnitude? love how she’s like “i don’t trust yassen” at the beginning but then is like “oh he betrayed me in the worst way possible so now i love him.” i didn’t like the character’s actions, which would be fine, if i had understood why they were doing anything, ever. like, elena has a minor conflict moment when she remembers the jantari are, in fact, humans, but then decides to burn down their mines anyway.
the arohassin are not developed well. why are they doing what they do? i wish we got more of yassen’s time with them because i honestly think it would have been way more interesting.
the political commentary on how the kingdom doesn’t take care of its own is overshadowed by the way-to-long scenes with the king nonsensically obsessed with destroying the prophet.
and just as a point of personal conflict for me, the names were boring. elena and leo? i didn’t really care for the character names.
all in all, pretty disappointed.
let’s do the good first—
i love own voices stories, i am so glad to see representation in fantasy/scifi. this book is creative and not taken directly from indian lore so it’s cool to see it developed into a story that is inspired by my nation. i liked the depictions of kurtas and lehengas, i thought the kingdom politics had potential, and i liked the attempt to make the desert sort of its own character. i thought the internal lore was very well done, and though it took me a little bit to get it, the internal rules of the world ended up working out too.
i liked samson a lot. he’s the type of guy i’d hang out with. i thought yassen’s background story was shaping up nicely. liked the bits and pieces dangled for us to consume so we stay interested and invested in a trilogy since that’s what this is gonna be.
now the bad, and please remember this is just my opinion.
i legitimately was excited for this book, so it’s a shame how it turned out. at first, i thought i was just being harsh when i didn’t like the characters. i thought the point was that they’re flawed, and have bad relationships with one another. for example, i don’t understand king leo’s character at all. i mean, at all. his relationship to his daughter is so confusing because sometimes he’s mean, and other times his inner dialogue is filled with sweetness and love for her. elena was so uninteresting as a character that i didn’t learn her name until like, the 17th chapter. yassen was also similarly extremely boring, while spouting randomly “deep” one liners that make no sense. for example, at one point when he saves elena from an attack on her life, he is asked by king leo why he saved elena’s life. he says, “raveni or not, the desert does not claim me as it’s own. i am only what i am.” what does that mean?!?!?! he says things like this throughout the whole book. by the way, why was it supposed to be out of character for him to save elena? he is literally a part of her guard. they distrust him so much, yet give him unyielding access to the future queen, which literally sets them up to be betrayed in the worst possible way so easily. oh, also, there is no “slow burn” at all. the romance is injected randomly towards the end, and it really gives off “they are together because they are a male and female character traveling together.”
the world building is fine, the lore is fine. i mean, i think the writing could have more intricately woven elements of the story together. it didn’t escape me that the main conflict— the identity of the prophet— was missing from basically the last half of the book because king leo was driving that conflict and he dies. the twist about the gender of the prophet i saw coming from a mile away, and the eventual last twist was not big enough to counter for the unsurprising and mediocre middle.
elena learns to wield fire like, halfway through, and then that conflict becomes a background element in the overall story. the characters are fundamentally underdeveloped. the best characters were the yumi and samson, who disappear from the book halfway through. they’re not even main characters (though i assume samson will be in the next book).
also can we just talk about how yassen literally planned to betray elena from the very beginning, and sort of just became attached to her, and then was like “oh no! the princess! she’s broken!” and then randomly falls in love with her and she with him? and she just casually forgets that he was a) an assassin who was very good at what he did and b) participated in killing her father and betraying her at the highest magnitude? love how she’s like “i don’t trust yassen” at the beginning but then is like “oh he betrayed me in the worst way possible so now i love him.” i didn’t like the character’s actions, which would be fine, if i had understood why they were doing anything, ever. like, elena has a minor conflict moment when she remembers the jantari are, in fact, humans, but then decides to burn down their mines anyway.
the arohassin are not developed well. why are they doing what they do? i wish we got more of yassen’s time with them because i honestly think it would have been way more interesting.
the political commentary on how the kingdom doesn’t take care of its own is overshadowed by the way-to-long scenes with the king nonsensically obsessed with destroying the prophet.
and just as a point of personal conflict for me, the names were boring. elena and leo? i didn’t really care for the character names.
all in all, pretty disappointed.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Gore, Grief, War, and Xenophobia
lainiereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
THIS BOOK!! THIS BOOK! I am in so much pain.
The worldbuilding? The politics? The characters? The quotes? SO GOOD!
This book has a slower start, there's a lot of worldbuilding and character introductions that take up a bit of time in the beginning, but it was written so well that it was still interesting the whole time. Even while the story was being set up, I was intrigued and constantly trying to guess where the plot was going (surprise surprise, I guessed everything wrong every time!).
Speaking of the plot, THE TWISTS! THE TURNS! THE DRAMA! I went into this expecting lots of plot twists, which meant I was actively paying attention to details to try and figure out where it was going, but man I still got everything wrong! I also have no idea how the next book is going to go (mainly because I've learned I can't predict anything), and I think that's part of what made this book so intriguing. You just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next!
Another major positive is the characters. There is so much depth to every character, so even when they do the wrong thing, they're still lovable. Which, yeah a lot of wrong things are done! If you are a fan of morally gray characters, or you like characters who want to do the right thing but life just doesn't let them, then these characters are for you! Every character is so great (especially Yassen, he has my heart) and Verma does a great job of showing the struggle that each person goes through internally and how they justify their decisions/actions. I really connected with the characters (even though they had me yelling at the book to "stop!" or "please don't do that!" at times). Each character also spends a lot of time reflecting on themself and what they've done, which creates powerful quotes that I will definitely be reflecting on the next time I have a mental crisis. I mean the first line alone is great: "To be forgiven, one must be burned".
If you like reading about characters with a lot of depth, the political conflicts that come with leading a kingdom, and being kept on your toes the WHOLE time, then you will love this book. Plus some things that I didn't cover in-depth, like a wonderful slowburn romance, a strong female lead, conversations about religion and the dangers of fanaticism, and beautiful worldbuilding.
Okay, I am going back to reflect some more on that ending.
<3 Aparna Verma, u are a queen.
The worldbuilding? The politics? The characters? The quotes? SO GOOD!
This book has a slower start, there's a lot of worldbuilding and character introductions that take up a bit of time in the beginning, but it was written so well that it was still interesting the whole time. Even while the story was being set up, I was intrigued and constantly trying to guess where the plot was going (surprise surprise, I guessed everything wrong every time!).
Speaking of the plot, THE TWISTS! THE TURNS! THE DRAMA! I went into this expecting lots of plot twists, which meant I was actively paying attention to details to try and figure out where it was going, but man I still got everything wrong! I also have no idea how the next book is going to go (mainly because I've learned I can't predict anything), and I think that's part of what made this book so intriguing. You just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next!
Another major positive is the characters. There is so much depth to every character, so even when they do the wrong thing, they're still lovable. Which, yeah a lot of wrong things are done! If you are a fan of morally gray characters, or you like characters who want to do the right thing but life just doesn't let them, then these characters are for you! Every character is so great (especially Yassen, he has my heart) and Verma does a great job of showing the struggle that each person goes through internally and how they justify their decisions/actions. I really connected with the characters (even though they had me yelling at the book to "stop!" or "please don't do that!" at times). Each character also spends a lot of time reflecting on themself and what they've done, which creates powerful quotes that I will definitely be reflecting on the next time I have a mental crisis. I mean the first line alone is great: "To be forgiven, one must be burned".
If you like reading about characters with a lot of depth, the political conflicts that come with leading a kingdom, and being kept on your toes the WHOLE time, then you will love this book. Plus some things that I didn't cover in-depth, like a wonderful slowburn romance, a strong female lead, conversations about religion and the dangers of fanaticism, and beautiful worldbuilding.
Okay, I am going back to reflect some more on that ending.
<3 Aparna Verma, u are a queen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Ableism, Blood, Racism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia, War, and Suicide
Minor: Cursing
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