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hellobookbird's review against another edition
4.0
From the ashes I rose, like a phoenix from the pyre.
In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.
Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders—even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks.
However, just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, the new empire learns of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all.
But fire forges weapons. Obsidian, steel . . . even phoenixes. All are tempered, fortified, and made stronger after passing through the flames. The same can be true of people.
I had no idea phoenixes were what I needed.
The story is told primarily through three character perspectives: Veronyka, Sev, and Tristan. While the beginning is a bit of a slog (and thus no 5-star rating) the history of the two sister queens is well-developed and the parallels to the sisters in the present make it more interesting. Despite thinking a good chunk of the initial novel could have been condensed, the story progresses fairly quickly after Val's betrayal. And what a betrayal!
In Pyra, death was celebrated as much as life. Only through endings could there be beginnings. That was the lesson of the phoenix, and it was the lesson of my life as well.
Once Veronyka—now known only as Nyk—makes it to the hidden Riders, things move at a steady clip. Her arrival isn't welcomed by Tristan, son of the leader of the Riders. When they're forced together to help Tristan train, it begins a battle of Tristan's wounded pride vs. Nyk's will to be accepted as worthy of a phoenix. (I'm a super fan of the rivals-to-lovers trope so this was totally okay by me.) As Tristan's disdain slowly melts to grudging respect, to admiration, to camaraderie, their friendship is tested by the arrival of none other than Val, Veronyka's sister, and the coming army.
Most of the other soldiers thought Sev was as dull as an unsharpened blade, and Sev did his best to encourage that assessment.
As much as I would have been happy to focus just on Veronyka and Tristan (and the phoenixes during training, of course), Sev had his own part to play. Aside from being in the army marching on the Riders, it isn't immediately apparent why we should pay particular attention to him. As the novel progresses, and his character develops from simply existing to having a purpose that drives him, it becomes clear that we are nowhere near done with Sev...and he'll likely become a major player later on in the series. I'm hoping against hope he has the potential to be intrigue-worthy and am waiting to see where he goes from here.
There was a difference between friendship and family, between the people you chose to surround yourself with and the people you were stuck with, good or bad.
Throughout the novel, it touches on deeper topics. Veronyka struggles with the meaning of family and those close to you. Tristan struggles with overcoming fears and accepting help from others. Sev struggles with his sense of self and what makes life worth living. Val struggles with the differences of protecting vs smothering her sister
Spoiler
and repeating her own historyI had a sister once. If I had known then what I know now, I might have chosen not to love her. But is love ever truly a choice?
And the battle between empire and Riders! Gosh, I don't even know what to say about this other than I'm soooo glad it lasted way more than two pages and I need way more of it! Gimme the second book now, please.
They called me the Feather-Crowned Queen, my brow decorated with phoenix quills, my right to rule written across the stars in fire. They called my sister the Council’s Queen, for she was nothing more than their puppet.
Mixed among the perspectives are letters the past sister queens had sent each other or written in their journals. These little snippets and insides into the past were fun, well done, and super quote worthy. I love me my quotes.
Recommended for fantasy lovers. A great dedication to an underappreciated mythical creature.
_nika_'s review against another edition
Tbh this is really good but it’s chunkyness is intimidating me
runaps's review against another edition
3.0
I’d say this one is 3.5 for me, mostly because Val took my enjoyment out of the book, it felt strenuous to read through her parts, which, I think, says a lot about the author. It’s some who knows how to write.
whendles's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
5.0
librarianlizreads's review against another edition
5.0
I decided to give this book a try because I love fantasy and phoenixes, without having heard anything about it. I was blown away by what I got in return.
I have always been drawn to books based on world building, history within a fictional society, and characters that you can love and root for. I appreciate a story the most when the characters can make me laugh, growl, and cry.
This book...literally has it all. The world building is great and the history of this society is phenomenal. It feels so real and believable. I find myself believing that this world was shaped by war and the goddesses of their history. I also found myself hating, loving, and putting my whole heart into the success of these characters.
If you enjoy fantasy, the struggle of discovering who you are, and overcoming all obstacles, including your family, this might be a good read for you. I for one am so glad that I decided to read this book. It is now on my list of favorites. Love it!
I have always been drawn to books based on world building, history within a fictional society, and characters that you can love and root for. I appreciate a story the most when the characters can make me laugh, growl, and cry.
This book...literally has it all. The world building is great and the history of this society is phenomenal. It feels so real and believable. I find myself believing that this world was shaped by war and the goddesses of their history. I also found myself hating, loving, and putting my whole heart into the success of these characters.
If you enjoy fantasy, the struggle of discovering who you are, and overcoming all obstacles, including your family, this might be a good read for you. I for one am so glad that I decided to read this book. It is now on my list of favorites. Love it!
kdchip's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book, The phoenix riders, soldiers and the spying everything pulls you into this great book. I couldn't put the book down once i got pulled into this fantasy of the phoenix riders.
airyashi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
neelamreadsalot's review against another edition
1.0
DNF.
I got to Chapter 10, and then I was just done with it.
This book seems like it has everything it needs to be a great story: betrayal, phoenixes, magic, soldiers. But the author info dumps soooooo hard and soo frequently. Info dumping is where you stop the storyline to provide information/explanation about the history of the place, people, object etc. I got so annoyed, I put the book down several times. Sometimes she would info dump right in the middle of an action scene! I get that these things might be important but there are better ways to execute than a million em dashes, and pages worth of history that I won’t care about it.
If you like that sort of thing, then this is the book for you. I didn’t like that every time she info dumped, I got pulled out of the story.
I personally like it better when authors slip their information in subtly or through dialog or just simply say “hey, tell me what happened to all the Phoenix riders” and then proceed with a long explanation.
The author also does this thing where she shows how a character is feeling, then tells you how she’s feeling, then gives you a history lesson. Like in Tristan’s intro, she spends all this time explaining why he’s afraid of fire and shows that he’s looking for support from his father after disappointing him several times, and then ruins it by summarizing that he’s not actually afraid of fire, he’s afraid of his father. As if I was too stupid to grasp that myself in her long explanation, she had to spell it out for me at the end of the chapter.
I’m sorry for the rant. I just really wanted to like this book and I tried so hard to read it. But I just can’t get past the writing style.
Pro: the cover is absolutely gorgeous
I got to Chapter 10, and then I was just done with it.
This book seems like it has everything it needs to be a great story: betrayal, phoenixes, magic, soldiers. But the author info dumps soooooo hard and soo frequently. Info dumping is where you stop the storyline to provide information/explanation about the history of the place, people, object etc. I got so annoyed, I put the book down several times. Sometimes she would info dump right in the middle of an action scene! I get that these things might be important but there are better ways to execute than a million em dashes, and pages worth of history that I won’t care about it.
If you like that sort of thing, then this is the book for you. I didn’t like that every time she info dumped, I got pulled out of the story.
I personally like it better when authors slip their information in subtly or through dialog or just simply say “hey, tell me what happened to all the Phoenix riders” and then proceed with a long explanation.
The author also does this thing where she shows how a character is feeling, then tells you how she’s feeling, then gives you a history lesson. Like in Tristan’s intro, she spends all this time explaining why he’s afraid of fire and shows that he’s looking for support from his father after disappointing him several times, and then ruins it by summarizing that he’s not actually afraid of fire, he’s afraid of his father. As if I was too stupid to grasp that myself in her long explanation, she had to spell it out for me at the end of the chapter.
I’m sorry for the rant. I just really wanted to like this book and I tried so hard to read it. But I just can’t get past the writing style.
Pro: the cover is absolutely gorgeous
mels_reading_rook's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
After being betrayed by her sister, Veronyka strikes out on her own to find the Phoenix Riders, who have been biding their time and regaining strength after the last war. Unfortunately, they are not recruiting right now, and they're especially not recruiting girls. So Veronyka takes on the guise of Nyk and begins working for them as a stableboy in hopes to earn an apprenticeship and one day be part of their ranks. Meanwhile, there are forces moving to make sure the Riders disappear once and for all as the reappearance of her sister threatens to shatter the life Veronyka has worked so hard to create for herself...
There are a lot of things to like about this book. The world is rich with an incredibly interesting history, and snippets of it can be seen between chapters as it slowly reveals the parallels beginning to occur in past and present. Because of the author's attention to the worldbuilding, it has led the story to take place in a setting that feels almost alive, especially at the end of the book as hints to bigger machinations led by people with their own goals and desires.
The writing is also great to read. It flows really well, is easy and fast to read, yet flowery without dragging down the pace. I honestly started to switch often between the audiobook and the physical just so I could consume the story even faster. I think that really shows how engaging the writing and the story is, as it left me wanting more in a good way.
One thing to mention, though I said the writing didn't bog down the pacing, unfortunately, I found the beginning of the book slow to read for an entirely different reason. As the setting and history was being established, there would be sections of exposition explaining pieces of the setting's history that interrupted the flow of the story. I actually thought about DNFing the book because of it, but I'm so glad I didn't!
Another thing I really liked was the characters. They became so dynamic, influenced by their experiences and each other! They were so much fun to watch and follow along on their adventures. For example, how Tristan acted in the beginning of the story was so much different from the end, and he would have reacted to certain reveals from the end of the story so much differently if it happened in other places of the book. So good!
Overall, I recommend this story who wants a fun fantasy adventure with awesome phoenix action!
After being betrayed by her sister, Veronyka strikes out on her own to find the Phoenix Riders, who have been biding their time and regaining strength after the last war. Unfortunately, they are not recruiting right now, and they're especially not recruiting girls. So Veronyka takes on the guise of Nyk and begins working for them as a stableboy in hopes to earn an apprenticeship and one day be part of their ranks. Meanwhile, there are forces moving to make sure the Riders disappear once and for all as the reappearance of her sister threatens to shatter the life Veronyka has worked so hard to create for herself...
There are a lot of things to like about this book. The world is rich with an incredibly interesting history, and snippets of it can be seen between chapters as it slowly reveals the parallels beginning to occur in past and present. Because of the author's attention to the worldbuilding, it has led the story to take place in a setting that feels almost alive, especially at the end of the book as hints to bigger machinations led by people with their own goals and desires.
The writing is also great to read. It flows really well, is easy and fast to read, yet flowery without dragging down the pace. I honestly started to switch often between the audiobook and the physical just so I could consume the story even faster. I think that really shows how engaging the writing and the story is, as it left me wanting more in a good way.
One thing to mention, though I said the writing didn't bog down the pacing, unfortunately, I found the beginning of the book slow to read for an entirely different reason. As the setting and history was being established, there would be sections of exposition explaining pieces of the setting's history that interrupted the flow of the story. I actually thought about DNFing the book because of it, but I'm so glad I didn't!
Another thing I really liked was the characters. They became so dynamic, influenced by their experiences and each other! They were so much fun to watch and follow along on their adventures. For example, how Tristan acted in the beginning of the story was so much different from the end, and he would have reacted to certain reveals from the end of the story so much differently if it happened in other places of the book. So good!
Overall, I recommend this story who wants a fun fantasy adventure with awesome phoenix action!