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A review by syllareads
Imbued by Helyna L. Clove
4.0
For transparency's sake, let it be known that I have received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not impact my rating or review of this book. Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC before the book was released!
I had such a nice time with this book! Imbued is the first book in a series (the second installment, Untwined, is set to release in 2026) set in a world where magic is forbidden, and punishable by death (or worse). Our protagonist, Calla, has been hiding her magic ever since the day she arrived in Kiriong, chased by something she does not remember. And yet, after years of hiding what she holds inside her body, a new arrival might just be the thing that unravels her entirely.
One thing that captured me about Imbued were definitely its characters. Calla is a wonderful protagonist who only ever wants to be invisible because hiding is safer than outright standing for your morals. She's a wonderful person I can't wait to see more of in the sequel. Gray, her counterpart, was an intriguing figure as well - far more gentle with Calla than she could afford to be with him, his presence felt needed to draw Calla out of her shell and into outright anger she never dared express otherwise. Marigo, the third character with significant time dedicated towards, was a lovely addition to the two arguably most important characters, especially to Calla. She is sweet, incredibly supportive, and yet her own distinct person, something I appreciated immensely.
The only difficulty I had with the book was how the expanding story didn't always mesh well with the deep character exploration, especially when it came to time dedicated to each. While Calla's character development journey felt like one of a kind, especially regarding her cPTSD and her attempts to try and deal with that, the actual story itself picked up immense speed towards the end, with not a lot of space dedicated to it. I hope book 2 in the series carries a better balance between the two elements OR foregoes a larger plot in favor of characterisation instead of trying to cram a penultimate battle, a personal revelation, AND multiple sieges and battles into the last few chapters, even if some of these events happened more off than on-screen.
Overall, I'd recommend this book to those fantasy readers looking for more character exploration, and romance that isn't taking the main focus of a fantastic story!
I had such a nice time with this book! Imbued is the first book in a series (the second installment, Untwined, is set to release in 2026) set in a world where magic is forbidden, and punishable by death (or worse). Our protagonist, Calla, has been hiding her magic ever since the day she arrived in Kiriong, chased by something she does not remember. And yet, after years of hiding what she holds inside her body, a new arrival might just be the thing that unravels her entirely.
One thing that captured me about Imbued were definitely its characters. Calla is a wonderful protagonist who only ever wants to be invisible because hiding is safer than outright standing for your morals. She's a wonderful person I can't wait to see more of in the sequel. Gray, her counterpart, was an intriguing figure as well - far more gentle with Calla than she could afford to be with him, his presence felt needed to draw Calla out of her shell and into outright anger she never dared express otherwise. Marigo, the third character with significant time dedicated towards, was a lovely addition to the two arguably most important characters, especially to Calla. She is sweet, incredibly supportive, and yet her own distinct person, something I appreciated immensely.
The only difficulty I had with the book was how the expanding story didn't always mesh well with the deep character exploration, especially when it came to time dedicated to each. While Calla's character development journey felt like one of a kind, especially regarding her cPTSD and her attempts to try and deal with that, the actual story itself picked up immense speed towards the end, with not a lot of space dedicated to it. I hope book 2 in the series carries a better balance between the two elements OR foregoes a larger plot in favor of characterisation instead of trying to cram a penultimate battle, a personal revelation, AND multiple sieges and battles into the last few chapters, even if some of these events happened more off than on-screen.
Overall, I'd recommend this book to those fantasy readers looking for more character exploration, and romance that isn't taking the main focus of a fantastic story!