This is an Afro-futuristic dystopian novel that I discovered on TikTok. As someone who loves reading dystopian Afro-fantasy written by Black authors, I jumped at the opportunity to read this. 
It follows Jashi, an orphan girl descended from a forgotten tribe who can secretly command fire from her body. When she is forced to marry the most feared man in Ksundii, the Faresh - who also happens to be an old childhood acquaintance - she gets entangled in a bigger conspiracy plot and must learn to wield her powers to save her country from imminent danger.


This was an amazing concept and premise that held my attention. I appreciated the many elements to this story - the dragons, the legend of Ksundii , the dragon tribe people, and the symbolism of Zendaalans representing the modern Western Powers. But the Second Act is where the pacing felt slowed down tremendously. The book did a lot of “telling” rather than “showing”  plot twists and backstories.  I felt like whenever an interesting gem would drop, it would drop because one character would spend 10 pages telling it to another character.  Instead of tension or action-packed scenes, we got...10-page monologues full of backstory. I definitely think that was a missed opportunity. 


I don’t feel too particularly strongly towards any character. This book was not quite a forced-marriage-romance, not quite a battle story but I think this was a well-written First Book for a series. I am excited what lies for the Ksundii and Omani people, and where that war is headed. I'd entertain Book 2 if it does come out.

Update: It looks like Book 2 "Rising" and published and available on KU. I will take a look then...