If The Grace Year, Divergent, & The Prison Healer had a baby, it would be this book! In this story, there has been a plague impacting the majority of the people in the world, called the “Branded”. Those who remain uninfected are considered “Pure”, with Pure women being the only people who can pass on resistance to the virus to their offspring. Despite the Pure women being the key to the success of future generations, they’re treated like cattle. But there may be another way to defeat this virus. I really enjoyed the magic system, the world building, & the political intrigue of this world. The treatment of women in this world made me feel so many emotions. The characters were multifaceted & felt realistic. Overall, I really enjoyed this read! My only critique would be that sometimes the pacing felt inconsistent- the beginning & end of the story was quite fast paced, while the middle portion was on the slow side. Still loved the story & I’m so excited to see what happens in book 2!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!