*I was sent this for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

This story is certainly one which ticks a lot of the boxes for stuff that I like. We have dragons, big tick, drama, across the world and within small stories of the characters, another tick, and epic scope and large worlds, tick. Generally speaking this was fun and easy to get into, I think it has great scenes and moments from the big battles to the smaller conversations.

We follow three main characters: Tele - a keeper of knowledge; Navid - a seer trying to control his curse; and Gabriel - the son of the king. Each character has their own sections of the book but of course all three plot lines cross over and affect one another.
Of the three, I liked Tele’s and Gabriel’s plots best. They were the most enjoyable to me as they’re pretty complex characters and they felt like they had things to prove. Personally Navid was less interesting to me but he did have his shining moments at times.

One interesting thing in this book is the journey. We see a lot of journey in both a literal sense and also in a metaphorical sense. The characters do a lot of travelling to uncover truths and learn new knowledge and pass on news. They traverse across various cultures and terrains and I found their conversation as they went to be a good part of the plot. Gabriel in particular goes on a more personality/physical journey with his morals and goals. I think his is a stereotypical growth story, but I love this troupe and I enjoyed his development over the book. Also, did I mention DRAGONS?!

I generally had a good time with this and it seems like this author has a ton of potential and the world and story too. I would likely try future books in this world and I am pretty intrigued to see what comes next. 3.5*s.

Final constructive note:
I did have a niggle with this book, which was a pretty irritating for me (although likely this would not bother most people). I am an editor in my day job so I often spot typos/errors in books, and I have a fair tolerance for this, but this book had a super weird issue where the author appears to use the wrong spelling of a word, or a very similar word in place of the correct one. I started to note down instances of this once I’d got halfway through and seen it time and time again:
Parish/perish
Affect/effect
Phased/fazed
Manor/manner
Ceased/Seized
I know this is something that a solid re-edit of the book would pick up and fix, so it’s not a big detractor overall, and hopefully this will be fixed in future editions, but it was just such an odd and frequent thing I can’t not mention it.

There are a lot of things that I really enjoyed about this book. The different cultures, POVs, creatures, and the magic wove together to create an interesting world, history, and the adventure that we followed in this book. Wilbourne’s take on dragons was really refreshing and fun to follow. I liked Navid’s POV especially because of his character growth throughout the book thanks to his interactions with the world at large and a couple of characters specifically. One of my favorite parts of this book is how important the connection between nature and its laws and the magic system is. The detail there is really nice without being boring. I also like the focus on knowledge in general and think that Wilbourne did an excellent job of having characters act in accordance with their upbringing, whether that was in the way they view the world or how awkwardly they sometimes interact with other people.

I do have a couple of things though that didn’t work so well for me. Two of them in particular, with one of them taking up more page space than the other. The smaller one is convenience. There was a particular item, that while really cool, is rather convenient in many situations. I did like that there was at least a little bit of a limitation put on its use but overall I would’ve liked more background information on it so it’s not just a thing that turns into exactly what you happen to need in those particular situations. I’m sorry I’m so vague but I don’t want to give too much away. This one is probably me being a bit picky but I struggle with convenience items in general. The other one though is what I really struggled to find believable, which is the ability (or rather inability?) of the military. I don’t know how to describe this without spoilers but for one person to come in and rise in its ranks is alright, but for a whole group of new people to become better than the rest of the entire military with zero experience beforehand? That was a bit too much for me. The country may have been young but there was a war previously and there were career soldiers, so I don’t see how this group of new soldiers would be given such important tasks to complete with absolutely nobody of any significant experience involved. I would also expect the opponent, a militarized country, to be more capable in their setup and skills.

These are both things that may not be an issue to many readers at all and the raving reviews I have seen obviously show that. I also want to add that I am definitely invested and intrigued enough that I will be continuing with the series as well. In addition, I like Wilbourne’s writing style in general. It feels really smooth apart from a little bit more editing neededand I like that he writes in a way that lends itself to theorizing and discussing, which I both love to do.

4.5 stars rounded up

Buzzwords: slow-burn fantasy, detailed worldbuilding and magic system, multiple POV, complex characters, dragons, found family, reluctant prince, great female characters and religious conflicts.

I had been eyeing this book ever since it came out, because look at that cover!! And I am happy to report that, for me, the inside of the book lived up to the outside! I had an absolute blast. This was the type of book that constantly made me want to pick it back up once I put it down and that is a feeling I love when reading!

This book follows three primary characters. Tele, a keeper of knowledge (think: awesome female scientist); Navid - a seer trying to control his mysterious curse; and Gabriel - the heir to the throne who just wants to be a warrior. These characters all felt very distinct and I enjoyed each of their POVs. There are also a couple of other characters (including the antagonist) that we get the occasional chapter from and I think they were just as well-developed as the main three we follow, so that just goes to show how good the character work is here.
Also, I really connected to these characters from the start, which is super important for my enjoyment of a book. I think Tele was my favourite, but I really enjoyed following all of them. There’s some amazing character development in this book (for all of the characters) and I loved to see that, it felt super earned and natural to me!
Tele has a different cultural background than the other two characters and I think that the author did a really good job of showing the cultural differences through her POV. We see The Dominion through her eyes and learn about this land with her. And since she is a scientist-type of character, we get to dive deep into the magic and lore of the world along with her. Therefore, the wordbuilding never felt info-dumpy or overwhelming to me, it all clicked into place as we got further into the story.

Speaking about worldbuilding, I love the fresh take on dragons here. I am not going into detail, because part of the fun of this story was uncovering the mysteries of this world. But safe to say that they were awesome and I would love to see more of them (even though they were not the benevolent companions that you sometimes see in other dragon stories, but I loved that!).

I would say that parts (or Movements) 1 through 4 of this book felt quite slow-burn, but that is something I really enjoy. The story was compelling all the way through, but I wouldn’t describe this as a super ‘edge of your seat’ book… for the most part. Because once we get to part/Movement 5, the pace suddenly increases and the stakes are raised. We switch POVs way quicker than before and that really adds to the sense of urgency, I just couldn’t put the book down anymore at that point.

Now, this isn’t a perfect book. I had this weird experience with the writing, where I really enjoyed the prose and descriptions, but then there were some odd technical errors that kinda broke my immersion. I’m not a prose snob whatsoever, but at some point I started to notice that some sentences missed a word or that some words were just spelled wrong, which changed the meaning of the word (i.e. ‘where/were’, ‘clinched/clenched’, ‘ceased/seized’, ‘parish/perish’). Now, it’s not like the book was littered with these mistakes, but it happened enough times that I started to notice it and therefore I find it worth mentioning.
Aside from that, the book felt super polished and I really liked the addition of interior artworks and cool chapter headers!

Overall, I had a really good time with this book. I can’t wait to see where these characters go next, because I am quite invested in their stories!
Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys epic, slow-burn fantasy with detailed worldbuilding and super compelling characters.

If you're looking for Epic Fantasy, The Seventh Cadence delivers. The stakes are high, the world is large, and the characters find responsibilities beyond reckoning thrust upon their shoulders.

The main two strengths of The Seventh Cadence are characterisation and world-building. To focus on the latter first, this brings all the vast history you would expect from a high fantasy novel. There are multiple kingdoms, and an old vendetta, and whilst much is left unexplored and will hopefully be expanded as the series progresses, they are satisfying and engaging elements of the story.

The characters all feel very human. They have their goals, their flaws, and the formation of relationships feels, overall, very realistic - a few minor moments aside. They are also, for the most part, likeable, aside from those we are supposed to dislike.

Within the story, there are conspiracies, action sequences, and exploration. Mysteries unfold and answers unveiled.

There are times when descriptions can be somewhat wooden, or dialogue leans too far into exposition over organic presentation. The middle third of the book suffers from some inconsistent pacing that can make it mildly less enjoyable.

I see a lot of potential in this book. It suffers a little from how much it needs to set up what I expect will be an epic series. There are grammatical errors throughout that may be jarring for some, but I found the story kept me engaged despite these - in fact, for me the errors were easily overlooked.

Whilst this lost a mark in some places, it remained a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy story and I look forward to seeing how the series - and the author - evolves.

“In knowledge there is power. In truth there is freedom”.

This is quite the epic fantasy! I truly enjoyed this book!

This story starts out with Tele, a young woman who is a Keeper of the Covenant on the run from her home and the evil Prophet, or Wizard, Tristan. Navid(who is a seer and considered cursed by humans) finds her while on the run and brings her to his home Candor to go to the Sanctuary where the prophets are located because they foresaw that she is the key to saving their kingdom from the Deseran Dominion.
In the meantime, King Jeremiah and the other kingdoms are trying to prevent a war with the Deseran Dominion who seem to be building an army and want others to come back into the Creed. Tragedy strikes before Navid and Tele arrive in Candor, and the city Candor is attacked by ice breathing dragons or drakes that kill King Jeremiah. This changes their plans. Navid and Tele now have to find out what, or who, caused these creatures to come and to heal The Seed left behind by the Wizard Titan that is supposed to keep their world intact. And Gabriel, the king’s eldest son, now is to become king at a young age, and yet would rather be a warrior than king, and has to make a decision as to what he will do, and the consequences of the choice he makes.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read an epic fantasy, and this one delivered! It’s a bit slow going, similar to Brandon Sanderson’s work, in that you really get to learn about the world, the types of people in the world, you learn about each individual character and really get to know them. When it comes to epic fantasies, I think it can be difficult to do amazing world building, and also character building and connect with the characters. I actually connected with the characters in this book! I mean some of them *cough* Tele *cough* I wanted to smack like all the time, and others, like Gabriel, I just fell in love with and really admired the characters they are and the type of people they became.

There is a good range of a characters in this book. Navid is one of my favorites. He is a seer who can basically just foresee every little step at all times. He can foresee what will happen with multiple different choices or decisions. However, he was trained from a young age that what he has is a curse and he cannot allow it to take over his thoughts and allow him to succumb to this power he has. My heart went out to Navid! Especially dealing with Tele who is feisty, but rather rude and really never gave him the time of day, and then suddenly would tell him that he’s not his curse, he decides what his power is. Navid was always so patient and so kind, merciful, and just cared a lot. He never wanted to use his power because he was afraid of allowing it to turn him into a monster. His growth in this book is amazing, and I look forward to seeing how it continues in the next book!

Tele, on the other hand, unfortunately was probably my least favorite character. She’s paranoid, impatient, rude, and can be a bit insufferable. And I know she went through a lot from a young age up to the present time, but still, she could have backed off a bit

This book follows three characters and their quests to save the kingdom from an invasion from the oppressive Deseran Dominion. It has HUGE character growth that I loved watching on the pages as well as found family. ⁠
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The world building Jim does is absolutely wonderful. He spreads it out in such a unique way so the reader doesn't suffer from info dump while also giving us a beautiful world to learn about it. ⁠
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He also combines science and magic in a truly unique way and I can't wait to see more of that in book two. ⁠

3,5* rounded up

I've been given an ARC of Seventh Cadence quite a while ago, and just finally managed to get around to it. There's quite a lot of typos in it, which I hope is due to the ARC, and edited by now.

This book is a very promising epic fantasy debut, that offers readers a lot of things! A big world, politics, two nations at war, multiple POVs, intriguing world building, different cultures, dragons, and a personal favourite of mine: scholars!

If you like the classic feel of some good old tropes, but also with a few nice new ideas, this is definitely up your alley!
I'd definitely recommend it if you like authors like Ryan Cahill or Michael Miller.

It's a big book, and at times it definitely could have been trimmed down a bit, when there were 10 words where one would have sufficed. Especially if it is repetitive descriptions, or being told things yet again. Here's a minor example:

The forest was dark, but alive. It wasn’t the darkness Navid had been used to in Caldor—the dead feeling of a windowless room. Here, the darkness was alive.

Wilbourne uses the good old "let me explain this to you" from one character to another, which obviously is in fact meant to explain things to the reader. Mostly it's done smoothly enough, but at times I thought "Yes, yes, I got it, can we move on?".

Despite this, and the slow burn pace, I was happily reading along, always intrigued about what would happen, and where we'd go exploring next! I was easily hooked by the mysteries, the characters and found the magic fascinating.

The characters took a bit too really show their depth, but I liked most of them from the start.
I adored Tele, as she's a keeper, and as I said earlier, I love bookish characters who are all about studying. Learning along with them is definitely a favourite trope of mine! And a female scholar who also knows how to fight? Even better! She's also socially awkward, which made it even easier for me to connect to her.

Navid I really enjoyed for being quite naive in a way, and not the typical fighter you get in epic fantasy so often. He learns how to fight, but he'd rather avoid it. I liked seeing him grow and stretch throughout the book.

Gabriel is a bit too much the typical prince. Here's a direct quote about him:

He was impulsive. He let his passions guide him. He was idealistic to a fault. The very best of his father.

While I grew to like him once we started into some training, I definitely struggled with his chapters every so often, because it seems everything goes his way. On the other hand I liked the camaraderie surrounding him!

Now some of the character actions just felt weird, or just very... convenient. People who have absolutely no experience get promoted in the army and sent on very special missions. Some scenes really don't make sense beyond making the plot work, but it feels more like a bandage to patch a hole, than a smooth part of the story. As this is a debut I won't really take a star off for it, as overall it wasn't too annoying and most series and authors get better at this with every book.

I realise this sounds like a lot of criticism, but I still read this 700+ page book in just under two weeks, so it definitely has a lot about it to like as well! It's just always easier to point out the weaknesses. As I said I really enjoyed the characters, and especially one culture we meet a bit later in the book. I found the idea about what dragons are really fascinating, and definitely want to learn more about them, and magic. The Keepers are a giant plus for me, and I hope we'll see more of that in book two! The plot also kept me interested, especially through some mysteries and obstacles that weren't predictable.

All in all this was a fun and intriguing epic fantasy I quite enjoyed, and an author I'll happily keep an eye out for!

Actual rating from me would be about 3.5 stars.

Bought this in part because the cover is gorgeous, which doesn't normally factor into my buying decisions, but I mean, look at it!

As to the actual story, I liked the characters and the worldbuilding, and the overall plot is good. However, it felt like this book needed about two more drafts to become something great. There's a ton of typos for one (which didn't factor too much into my enjoyment), but more importantly there's quite a bit of rambling and repetition. Sometimes the prose will repeat the exact same wording multiple times without much separation; as an example, one exposition-heavy chapter noted that a character was coming to terms "with her new world" about three times. Some editing and trimming would have worked wonders in pulling those things out and making it all feel tighter.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it falls just short of a level where I'd recommend it to friends.

Science and Magic

I'd been wanting to read this book ever since I saw the cover during SPFBO8. Wilbourne has a dense world full of magic and science and elemental dragons. I was so excited when the dragons showed up. This mixture of science in fantasy alongside magic was very unique. Also plants that become weapons, very cool. The ending definitely hints at something larger happening in the next book. This book has a lot of cool elements to it and political intrigue that surrounds a lot of the main characters who get caught up in the growing unrest. This story gave me LOTR and D&D vibes. Gabriel's story arc was my least favorite until the end and I really enjoyed Tele and Navid. This isn't a super fast paced book, so it does require you to slow down and really process things.

A solid 5 star finish for me on The Seventh Cadence. Throughout most of the book it was at least a 4 star. I never felt like anything was too unbelievable or the pacing slowed to much to bring it down. I honestly felt this would end up being a very enjoyable read landing in that 4-4.5 range. But the last 20% or so just took off for me. The way things started to come together at the end and ultimately the way the very end was told left me anxious to see what happens in the next book.

Getting into a bit more detail. We do have several characters that develop throughout the book. Relationships (good or bad) continue to grow until the very end. As previously mentioned I felt the pacing was spot on. Things to of course ebb and flow through most of the book. But I never felt like anything got to the point where it became a slog or boring. And the last 20% or so of the book got SO exciting to me with the POV's changing much quicker than the rest of the book. It really felt suspenseful, like we were right in the middle of all the action!

The world building was great as well. The world feels expansive already but it also leaves so many possibilities to grow to other parts not yet mentioned. The different cultures and the fighting style (dance) was excellent to learn and see others learning it during the story.

I'm so excited to see where the group in Caldor goes from here and what they continue to learn. Not to mention what trouble Gabriel and the 2nd League get into next!