I read this in three days, but did I enjoy it? Yes and no. Just can’t give it a full four stars but I think it’s well worth a try.

This reads a bit like an in between YA and adult slightly steampunk in mechanics dark academia fantasy. After reading and talking with others about the author it makes sense that they’d write this as a bridge having previously written YA books. But personally I’m not a fan of YA, and found the writing to be a bit clunky, sometimes cheesy for how heavy the themes were, and a bit too dialogue heavy and info-dumpy. 

I guessed the magic source while reading the second chapter, and felt it strange to get the “reveal” way later, halfway through the book. I didn’t really enjoy the colonialist turned martyr by the end but those are my only big criticisms, mostly this all comes down to personal taste.

But overall I think this is a pretty great example of how to tackle heavy things in an approachable way. The first chapter is incredibly done and while heavy handed the take away by the end is very in line with my own personal beliefs.

It was annoying to watch Sciona take so long to get there but the level of violence and destruction on its own was pretty satisfying.