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alexisdpatt's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
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
5.0
“Priestess” by Kara Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW: religious trauma, infertility, SA, homophobia, self harm, violence, suicidal ideation, mentions of death in childbirth.
“Priestess” follows the story of Edie Finch as she and a group of women are captured during an invasion of their home city of Eccleston. Disguising themselves as priestesses of Saint Agnes, the women are transported to Tintar, a land where magic still exists.
I absolutely loved this. I am not a “romantasy” reader. I never find them enjoyable because there is either too much fantasy and not enough romance or vice verse, they all suffer from annoying and unbelievable stupid/naive FMC and they overly rely on tropes. This book does none of that.
Reynolds perfectly balances the fantasy and romance to where they intertwine and circle around each other. Edie Finch is a strong female lead. She’s 38. She’s lived a life. She feels adult and mature which makes this story feel so mature. Any mistake that Edie makes is because she’s human, not because she’s a child. And the tropes that are in this book are subtle and used in a natural way within the story.
My only real critic is that I needed one more round of editing to catch all the double or missed words. Other than that, it read very smoothly.
I might still be hesitant of romantasy books after this but at least I now have book to recommend to people who are looking for something more off the beaten path.
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