4.5/5 ⭐ 

Once again, Brandon Sanderson has encaptured me in his Cosmere world and spun me around in yet another of his magical systems. 

In this world, the two Kingdoms Idris and Hallandren are on the verge of a war. In order to combat this, the King of Idris has been raising his eldest daughter Vivenna to be the bride of the God King. However, the King struggles to go through with it last minute and instead sends his youngest daughter Siri who hasn't had the extensive training that Vivenna had endured her whole life. As well as following the journey of Vivenna and Siri, we follow one of the Returned Gods called Lightsong, and a man called Vasher. 

This book has my heart wrenching and head pounding from the book hangover I know I'm going to get. The one true talent of Sanderson is the ability to create such unique, original magical systems that you have to learn as you go through the book. The basis of this magical system is colours and that's all I'll say about that. 

It does take time for our understanding of the magical system to grow as this is quite a slow paced book. You learn alongside the characters and from picking things up from the characters actions. Some may not enjoy the slow pace and gradual buildup but I love the tension, even if I do get a little frustrated at times. Even up until the end, you are learning about the system. 

The plot itself was also very interesting, though I was a little unsure about how some the POVs would relate. It all came together in the end and my heart was halfway to an aneurysm by the end. My heart was breaking yet also soaring from elation. My mind was blown by some revelations, both at the end and within the book, and I was just hooked. I couldn't put the book down by the end. 

I absolutely adore most characters. Pretty much l the characters you meet in this book have a certain charm to them and I fell in love specifically with Siri, the God King, and Lightsong. I loved Siri’s strong headedness and the God King had my heart aching. Lightsong always ended up with my laughing and rolling my eyes and I loved how unserious and funny he was. 

Denth and Tonk Fah also has some great humour that very similarly matches mine - “mercenary humour” as they may say. Vasher, though he's not exactly throwing out jokes, has more of a mystery to him and his nonchalance also draws me to him. 

I had such an emotional connection to all of these characters and this was such a rollercoaster during some parts of the plot. My jaw was on the floor as all these twists were a little unexpected, which I guess is the point so 1 point to Sanderson.

The only character I didn't really like was Vivenna. She infuriated me for majority of the book and I found it hard to have sympathy for her, though I do love her character development even if it was slow. Her constant insinuation that Siri is incapable had me throwing a fit because I was getting so irritated. But I guess I can forgive her for her (SLOW) growth. 

The relationships within this book are interesting and feel so natural. Vasher and Nightblood, I found, had a surprisingly comedic relationship and learning more about their relationship had me intrigued to know what else happened. 

However, Siri and the God King had me in a chokehold. I LOVED their relationship and the steady build up did not feel forced at all which is ironic considering the circumstances. They complimented each other so well and I think they needed each other very much to learn and grow. 

This book has been such a pleasure to read. The amazing writing and the unique magic will have you reaching for more. I fell in love with the characters and I really hope to see them show up in other Sanderson books because I know I'll be missing them. 

Overall, I adored this standalone book and I think this is a very good book to read if you're not wanting to commit to the Mistborn trilogy (which I also highly recommend). I'm going to have to get this book in hardback probably and I have a feeling I'm going to be having a full Brandon Sanderson book collection.