A review by dominiquediane
In a Garden Burning Gold by Rory Power

adventurous challenging slow-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

3.0

Let’s get one thing out of the way from the start - Rory Power can WRITE. She has a way of hitting you with the most unexpected depth and leaves you thinking about her books long after you’ve finished reading them. I was beyond thrilled to receive an arc of In a Garden Burning Gold, ready for more of the same deep, darkly poetic writing style that walks on the edge of horror, but I was left slightly disappointed. 

The high fantasy setting is Greek inspired - which was supremely unique - and clearly a LOT of time and effort went into creating the gorgeous language and building the political landscape. As other readers have noted, a map would have helped a lot. It was refreshing to read something with a fantasy Greek atmosphere that wasn’t based in Greek or Roman mythology. However, there’s almost too much world building and character establishment in comparison to the plot. That intense focus on world-building also slowed down the plot in a lot of places. In all honesty, this book seemed like a clear build up to a second book where the real story will undoubtedly take place. That’s not to say that nothing happens in this book, though. 

The two viewpoints followed within the story are those of Rhea and her twin brother, Lexos. Rhea has the power to change the seasons by sacrificing a new husband/lover each year, and Lexos controls the tide and stars. They have two younger siblings with powers as well, and meanwhile, their father, a magical ruler called a ‘Stratagiozi’, has power over death. Despite the book being very info-dumpy, I still am not 100% clear on how the magic system works. Hopefully, there will be more detail in the next book. 

Most of the novel centers around the political intrigue of this fantasy world. There’s a lot of buildup and subterfuge and war-talk, and the pacing conforms more to this aspect than it does the character development or immediate plot. The anticipation of inevitable conflict is really what drives things forward. So despite loving Rory Powers’ other novels and racing through them, this took me a surprising amount of time to get through. There were certainly a few emotional scenes and a few parts where I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, but they were minuscule in relation to the rest of the book. 

All in all, not the worst fantasy novel, but I was definitely left wanting more - and not in a good way. However, I will definitely be reading book two, so take that how you will.