I’ve read and enjoyed both of this author’s Sci-fi books, so I was excited to see what she did with a fantasy story.

This is fairly light in its fantasy elements, as there are only certain people that can use the Idolfire, basically faith set aflame, which I loved as a concept. We see this mostly through main character Aleya, who uses it sparingly. I also really liked the ideas of the gods, and I especially liked the idea of Nivela

stealing gods/idols to grow their own power as they conquered foreign lands, reflecting the way real world empires like Rome would come in and strip natives of their culture.

I also really liked the conclusion/reveal that came in the climax of these gods and their potential origins

when Iona is revealed to have been an ordinary woman in life who lost her family that carved the idol in her own image.

I liked all three of the main characters, Kirby, Aleya and Nylophon and their contrasting personalities. I really loved Kirby’s opening section, which was sweet and tragic matching with her personality as a kind woman, a little too trusting and naive, but a guiding star inspiring others around her to change, including Aleya and Nylophon. Aleya, in contrast, is more untrusting, hot-headed and stubborn. She believes a lot of people are against her due to her origins, so she’s felt the need to prove herself superior by being the best, smartest, strongest, etc. though that definitely pushes some people away in the beginning, she does grow throughout the story. Nylophon is the soldier who doesn’t want to be one and a bit of a misogynistic brute at that, but in a way that was still endearing, and he does grow and I really liked the conclusion of his arc.

This is a sapphic book, but romance is definitely not the focus. Some may find it disappointing that Kirby and Aleya don’t yearn all that much, rather for a time they are inconvenient travelling companions, and then fairly easily decide to be a couple. There aren’t any internal or external forces that keep them from being a couple throughout the story. But this is more of a plot focused story than a character one, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Compared to Curtis’ other works, this feels less like a series of vignettes and more like a continuous story, however, I adored the 2nd person chapters that was a poetic description of the rise of Nivela, almost like retelling a legend.

I’m eager to see where this author goes next.