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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Girl with the Fierce Eyes is a good debut that blends elements of fantasy and dystopian fiction. The story is set in a contemporary world where social hierarchy and magical ability are determined by eye color, and intermixing between groups is forbidden due to the fatal consequences, or so they’ve been led to believe.
Told through three alternating perspectives, the book offers a well-rounded view of the world and adds depth to the narrative. This structure helps reveal the complexities of the society and enriches the plot.
The story was intriguing and made for a quick, engaging read. However, I found the target audience a bit unclear. While the tone and characters often felt more juvenile, the book touches on mature themes with multiple mentions of sex, drug/alcohol use, and allusions to child grooming and sexual assault, all of which suggest it’s more appropriate for an upper YA audience.
Though it skewed a bit young for my personal taste, I believe it will resonate with teen readers who enjoy a mix of fantasy and dystopian elements. The ending sets up for an interesting sequel, and I’m curious to see where the story goes next!
Thank you to One More Chapter for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book!
Thank you to One More Chapter for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book!
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcohol
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Happy publishing day
💭 #QOTD would you rather be able to control water, earth, sound or tech?
Title: The Girl with the Fierce Eyes
Author: Sophia Vahdati
Pages: 384
Rating: 5/5
Spice/Romance level: 🩷 - psssst there's kissing
#Arc eCopy ( #gifted ) - review left voluntarily
UK publish date - 17th July 2025
Well this was just an epic young adult read. The world building had me hooked. The segregations, the poverty, the judgement. The hope. This was wonderfully written. The gentleness of a coming of age, and save the world plot. The little unexpected twists along the way as the plot unfolds.
The characters were great. I loved the description of the mod work from one of them. The different type of rebel groups and beliefs were so interesting.
It is based on a 3 character POV giving different experiences of what makes people tick.
The book is laced with betrayal, loyalty, power play, love and honour. I was so sad when it came to an end.
A well written, build up to a fantastic series.
Will you join the rebels and fight the cause, or submit and fight for segregation and purity?
You'll love this book if you like;
- Young adult fantasy
- dystopian sci fi fantasy
- segregation of powers
- destiny
- friends to lovers
- fire cats
- multiple povs
- rebels
- magic system based on eye colour
- secret identities
Will you be reading this? Let me know in the comments
adventurous
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Thank you Sophie Vahdati, One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK & NetGalley for the ARC! I’m always honored to be chosen.
I really struggled to get into this book. 40% through and I still wasn’t sure what the main goal of the book was or what was going on. There’s a lot of information thrown at the reader at beginning but it never really gets explained or elaborated upon. I feel like this is a great book for some readers but it just didn’t capture my attention.
I do feel the author did a good job capturing a 17 year old girls thoughts about friends and relationships.
I really struggled to get into this book. 40% through and I still wasn’t sure what the main goal of the book was or what was going on. There’s a lot of information thrown at the reader at beginning but it never really gets explained or elaborated upon. I feel like this is a great book for some readers but it just didn’t capture my attention.
I do feel the author did a good job capturing a 17 year old girls thoughts about friends and relationships.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a book I was not sure about. It could be a hit, it could be not for me. However One More Chapter invited me to read the book through Netgalley and decided to accept the invitation and to give this book a chance.
After finishing the book I'm still not entirely sure about it. There are parts of the book I liked, there are parts I didn't like. The book as a whole didn't really work for me, but I guess that has mostly to do with the amount of point of views and the story mostly focusing on what is going on and less on how that makes the characters feel. I think that especially younger readers will love it however, because there is constantly something happening.
I mostly had an issue with the fact that at times it was hard to connect with the characters and hard to understand the direction of the characters and the story. At times it felt like the characters were mostly acting and not so much reacting and it took quite some time before all the storylines came together and we got an idea of what they were trying to do. The finale was a little chaotic and everything happened really fast, but the premise for the next book is amazing.
I did like the magic in this book, though! The magic had some elements of science and the line between magic and science fiction felt really thin in this book. That meant I needed a little time to grasp the world and to understand what kind of society this was and what was expected of the characters. If you're a true fantasy reader, the world might be a little too sci-fi for you. If you love a mix of both these genres, you might want to check this book out.
After finishing the book I'm still not entirely sure about it. There are parts of the book I liked, there are parts I didn't like. The book as a whole didn't really work for me, but I guess that has mostly to do with the amount of point of views and the story mostly focusing on what is going on and less on how that makes the characters feel. I think that especially younger readers will love it however, because there is constantly something happening.
I mostly had an issue with the fact that at times it was hard to connect with the characters and hard to understand the direction of the characters and the story. At times it felt like the characters were mostly acting and not so much reacting and it took quite some time before all the storylines came together and we got an idea of what they were trying to do. The finale was a little chaotic and everything happened really fast, but the premise for the next book is amazing.
I did like the magic in this book, though! The magic had some elements of science and the line between magic and science fiction felt really thin in this book. That meant I needed a little time to grasp the world and to understand what kind of society this was and what was expected of the characters. If you're a true fantasy reader, the world might be a little too sci-fi for you. If you love a mix of both these genres, you might want to check this book out.
This was a fun YA fantasy/dystopian novel! Let’s start with a lay person plot recap because there’s a lot going on and this is what I was able to figure out. In the Shariza Empire, your eye color determines your place in society and your magical powers. The Azures (blue eyes) are lowest among the caste system and they are the water wielders. Next are the Veridian (green eyes) who are root renders who can heal and feed. Above them are the Sepias (brown eyes) who are earth breakers (warriors and such). The highest class are the Obsidians (black eyes) who can manipulate sound. Society depends on this segregation so someone like Jantsia should not exist. She is a dual-oc meaning her parents come from two different classes and dual-oc children are born with a blood illness that reflects the “wrongness” of their existence. She was not supposed to survive this illness for a few years, let alone for 17 years. But here Jantsia is. She will never have magical powers but she will continue to work as a servant for her Obsidian mistress as long as no one finds out her secret. Not even her best friend (who she is in love with), Kain. But as rebellion stirs, Jantsia and the other characters have to navigate their place in this magical world.
You will probably like this book if you like:
👀 YA dystopian fantasy
💧 A magical systems based on eye color
👀 Love triangles
💧 Forbidden love
👀 Rebels
💧 Secret identities
👀 Multiple povs
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and how those storylines intersected. We have Jantsia’s POV. We also have Kain’s brother’s, Daezen’s, POV – he has been taking care of Kain and his mother since his father passed and is starting to work with the rebels so that he can get enough money for his family. And we have Soba’s POV – she is an Obsidian Inspector who surveys the city for rebels. She just wants to impress the Chief Inspector because she thinks she owes him her life. The story lines were woven really well together and all three of these characters were well developed so it was really interesting to be reading any of their chapters. All of the characters are young (ranging from 17 - 19 years old), so they were definitely young and naive at times, but they had also dealt with enough life stuff to feel like they were more emotionally mature than not, which I appreciated.
The magic system was very cool but I felt like we were still learning new information about it pretty late in the book which made it kind of hard to fully grasp what these characters could and could not do. And boy, oh, boy would I have benefited from a map. I understand the caste system but even within it, each region has nuances and those were hard to keep straight. I could barely tell you where any other region was in relation to the city we were in, let alone how that region was viewed. This story dealt with eye colorism and racism and the intersection of those and I felt like it would have been more powerful if I could fully understand where everything was.
The book ends on a fun twist and cliffhanger and I am definitely looking forward to the next one.
Oh, and I didn’t see drug use and drug abuse in the content warning so I am adding it in case that helps anyone in their reading.
Thank you One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing the eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: July 17, 2025
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The Girl with the Fierce Eyes is Sophia Vahdati’s debut novel. It is a YA dystopian fantasy with a touch of romance.
The empire of Shariza runs on a caste system determined by eye color. Marrying and/or having children with another caste is strictly forbidden. Jantsia’s eyes mark her as Azure, the lowest caste of people, destined to serve. What no one realizes is that Jantsia is actually a dual-oc with an Obsidian mother and an Azure father. If her secret is ever discovered, her fate would be death.
The Girl with the Fierce Eyes was an intriguing read. The caste and magic systems were unique and very well thought out. The diversity in the book was welcome, and I loved that the author was so inclusive. Jantsia is a fierce, independent FMC navigating extremely difficult situations at a young age. Kain is Jantsia’s BFF, and his brother Daezen also plays a large role in the book. The potential love triangle between Jantsia, Kain, and Daezen has been set up perfectly, and I’ll be interested to see where it goes in the next book. If you enjoy YA and dystopian genres, you should check this book out.
Thank you, Harper Collins UK: One More Chapter, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy
The Girl with the Fierce Eyes by Sophia Vahdati is a third person multi-POV YA fantasy exploring a caste system based on eye color in a contemporary-inspired world. Jantsia was born to parents who belonged to two different castes, making her existence not only illegal but also an anomaly in their society because all babies like her die within two years. At seventeen, Jantsia is asking a lot more questions and so is her best friend and crush Kain. The world is at risk of changing and Jantsia might be at the center of it.
The eye color aspects to the worldbuilding are threaded throughout in some of the words as dual-oc (dual-ocular) and a swear word using ‘oc.’ Azure (blue-eyed) caste members are said to have water magic and are often responsible for clean-up as they are the very bottom rung. Obsidian, the same caste Jantsia’s mother belongs to, are at the very top of the system. As often occurs in works with caste systems, eye color is also linked to class with no real possibility for upward movement no matter how hard someone works or what interests they have.
There is something of a love triangle brewing between Jantsia and the brothers Kain and Daezen. Daezen doesn’t totally trust Jantsia and knows that she’s hiding something (her dual-oc heritage) but not exactly what while Kain only just begins to notice his romantic feelings for Jantsia halfway through the book. Jantsia has liked Kain for a long time, but we also see her develop feelings for Daezen even if she doesn’t want to admit them to herself. If there is another book, I would be curious to see who she ends up picking as my instincts tell me it will be Daezen and Kain will become a villain down the line.
I would recommend this to fans of YA exploring caste-style systems
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow what a book!! Something completley different on the market for fantasy lovers! A very heart warming YA that tackles read life problems. There were moments that were so tender and real. I cant wait for book 2!!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Slow starting book but built up at the end. Interesting story line and world building. Enjoyable read