The Unblessed Child was a fast-paced, easy to read fantasy. If you enjoy YA fantasy and elemental magic, then this book could be a fun read for you. Oh and it has some LGBTQ representation in some minor characters too.

The story is mainly told through the viewpoint of Aardriyah, a 14 year old girl. She is brought up being one of only few people in town who has no magical gifts. For that she is shunned and humiliated, for her society is built upon the gifts of elemental magic. Those who are water blessed are held in highest regard, her family being among the water-blessed. Of course, things happen and her life changes dramatically.

I enjoyed this book quite much. There were a few things that bothered me a little bit, such as Aardriyah's strange relationship with a male character she was interested in, and the odd old wise man who withheld important information from her for no apparent reason other than to be mysterious. The last, but not least issue I had, was that the book as a whole felt like the first act in a story, rather than a complete whole. As much as I enjoyed the ride, I felt I got no conclusion to the story. Don't get me wrong. There was an ending, but it served as the beginning of something else. Aside from that, I thought the world and the magic system were very interesting. The information about them was revealed bit by bit in a natural way and I loved getting to know more and more. The characters were interesting and the protagonist believable. The book was well written and held my interest all the time. I just hope that I don't have to wait too long for the second book in the series, so I can get the cliffhanger resolved.

Actual rating: 3,5 stars

Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Unblessed Child has the potential to be a good book, the story is captivating and different to a lot of fantasy I have read recently and I liked a lot of the characters.

Although the writing has a tendency to be mess, and sometimes doesn’t make sense, with guidance and advice for the author on how to change this it would be a great book.

I look forward to future work from this Kaldanis and hope she continues to progress and grows into a good author I know she can be!

I just download the book and read it with the help of an e-reader, and I have to say, THIS BOOK WAS REALLY AMAZING!!! I love the story, the world building and above all I love Aardriyah! Aardriyah is exactly the kind of person who deserves to be the protagonist of story. Thank goodness it's a series and not a stand-alone, 'cause I just want more and more stories of Aardriyah. In short, this book is a beautifully written adventurous, emotional, intriguing, nostalgic, thrilling YA (though people of any age group would love it) novel. I am just waiting for the next books in this series. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I sincerely thank NetGalley and the author R J Kaldanis for giving me such a wonderful opportunity and intruding this worthy read to me!

Aardriyah has grown up bullied and treated like a second class citizen in a works divided in 2: The Blessed and the unblessed. The Blessed have power over the ”four elements “: earth, fire, air, water; while Aardriyah does not. This, however, does not stop her from wanting more out of life and does she ever get it. During her adventure she learns more about herself and the world around her than she believed possible.
This story was well written with a great plot and beautiful world, but I found it was a slow start. The first half of the book was slow but the second half felt rushed and I would have happily devoured another 100 pages of details.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with this ARC.

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2.5 stars

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for an honest review, all opinions are my own*

I did not hate this book because it's not a bad book, it was just not a book for me. There is nothing extremely bad in this book, the story is interesting enough that intrigues you to continue reading, the magic system is basically an avatar because of the divisions of people by elements, there is no romance which makes the story much rawer and real almost as if the fantastic world existed. So nothing bad happens in the book except maybe how the main character can be annoying at times but that's not something that bothered me so much.
I have no big reason for not having liked this book since nothing in it is bad enough but it is also not good and just a meh book that did not captivate me in any way but also did not make me hate it.
Int the end I recommend this book if you like fantasy.

Beautiful, stunning, and a bit heartbreaking. I cannot believe the love I have for this in such a short time.

The Unblessed Child is a unique and new take on fantasy as we know it. Perfect for fans of Avatar the Last Airbender or Three Dark Crowns, this story looks into the questions often questioned in fiction. What is family? And how do the 'unblessed' cope in a world filled with those who can harness the magic in the world and themselves.

Although R J Kaldanis' writing leans towards what might be more enjoyed by a younger audience, such as the middle-grade range, as a YA reader and young adult myself, it was still an interesting read that brought back feelings of nostalgia from the kind of novels I would read back in middle grade (primary school). It was even more fun to read about a character similarly cursed in people's opinion of your hair colour!

Any immature language or explanation or relationships between Aardriyah and her family is made up for by the world-building and intrigue of the plot itself. Simply great!

The concept behind this was fascinating from beginning to end. I also loved how the Pronunciation of the characters names was included in the very beginning. I am a sucker for a red headed outcast heroine and Aardriyah was no exception. I loved so many things about this book and will shout from the rooftops to get everyone I know to read it.