You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
This book had four parts for me:
First 25% was not enjoyable
Second 25% was just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Third 25% was fun and interesting but my attention kept drifting
The last fourth was GREAT and made me excited to read the next one
I think I need to read the next one as a print book and not an audiobook though
Also I think my review could be summarized as: would be a mediocre/bad movie but a fairly fun tv show
Also I do stan Britta but Deka felt like such a Mary Sue and the romance felt so inorganic
First 25% was not enjoyable
Second 25% was just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Third 25% was fun and interesting but my attention kept drifting
The last fourth was GREAT and made me excited to read the next one
I think I need to read the next one as a print book and not an audiobook though
Also I think my review could be summarized as: would be a mediocre/bad movie but a fairly fun tv show
Also I do stan Britta but Deka felt like such a Mary Sue and the romance felt so inorganic
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
I enjoyed the writing style tremendously. The plot itself is fantastic as well. However, I was unprepared for the amount of violence--especially violence against a specific group of women. The pacing of the novel was slightly off-putting. The plot moved slowly for two-thirds of the book, leaving the major climax and revelations to the last few pages. It may be deliberate given that the book is part of a planned series.
Kudos to the author for creating a jarring piece of fiction. The characters, the story stay with you for a long time.
Kudos to the author for creating a jarring piece of fiction. The characters, the story stay with you for a long time.
I really wanted to like this, but wound up having to force myself to finish, and probably would have been happier just giving up. Deka just doesn't have any agency -- amazing things happen to her, but she doesn't make any real choices. And the writing towards the end gets really weak -- it feels like the author had sold an unfinished manuscript and just had to force something onto the page. Oh, and there's a totally gratuitous romance that appears to be there mostly so people can't claim that all the males in the book are terrible.
I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the action, Protagonist, pace and writing style. The plottwist was kinda lame but the rest of the book was absolutely amazing so I’d still recommend:)
An unjust patriarchal society. A girl unsure of herself. A destiny she could have never dreamed of.
Girls aren’t allowed to be near sharp things from the moment they turn fifteen until the day after they’re proven by the Ritual of Purity. The Infinite Wisdoms forbid it, ensuring that we do not bleed a drop before the Ritual.
Deka is a 16 year old girl who lives in Irfut, a village in the West-African inspired country of Otera. Under the watchful eyes of Oyomo, the god that all Oterans worship, every teenage girl must undergo the Ritual of Purity. This ceremony determines whether their blood is pure (red) or impure (gold). Those deemed impure are referred to as alaki, almost immortal demons with special gifts, and are sentenced to death. But their death may not be their final death, that is, they may have to die multiple times before they stay dead. When Deka is determined to be an alaki, a mysterious woman shows up and gives her a choice: stay in Irfut and be put to death, or join the emperor’s army of alaki. As only one of those options keeps her alive, she chooses to leave with the woman and accepts her fate as a soldier of the emperor.
This imaginative tale was a pretty light read and still managed to be everything I want in a YA. Female empowerment, twists and turns, an unexpected villain, and a light-hearted romance that wasn’t the center of the story.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mysterious, dark, and adventurous tale. Deeply cathartic for those who dream of toppling the patriarchy.
I loved it. Although this book was way way darker than I expected for a YA novel. But the characters were compelling, well written, the action was fun, and the overall conceit was really nice. Fantastic debut!