Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!

If you are into high fantasy with a mix of science fiction and whirlwind of adventure this is just the right for you. The world building is immersive and very vivid which may deter some people who are just starting on complex fantasy lore. Definitely a series worth exploring!

Overall, this was a good book. The world building was top notch but I had issues with the details of the magic system and by the end of the book I was still confused. I enjoy multiple POVs but there was just too many for me here. The action scenes are done so well and I wanted more of them! Overall a great debut

"Grieving Gold" by Daniel McDaniel immerses readers into a richly crafted fantasy world centered around the city of Luminocity, where light and darkness vie for dominance. The narrative follows five protagonists with fascinating backgrounds and motivations, including Laxerion Tama, a disowned noble entangled in family strife, and Ilumi, a young scientist harboring a deep, dark secret. As we see the war looms on the horizon and ancient technologies resurface, each character grapples with personal challenges while navigating a world teeming with danger and mystery.

Daniel's storytelling prowess shines in this ambitious epic fantasy debut, offering readers a tapestry of intricate world-building and compelling characters. Despite the initial complexity, the plot gradually unfolds, revealing unexpected connections and enthralling twists. The magic system, intertwined with ethical dilemmas and technological advancements, adds depth to the narrative. I was so impressed by the magic system and after reading Daniels background if made it even more impressive honestly. I instantly followed him on instagram!

I am a big lover of different POVs so I was in my element in this book. I can understand why it can be daunting initially but as the storylines converged it created a cohesive and engrossing narrative experience. McDaniel's adept handling of multiple viewpoints ensures each character receives well-deserved attention, contributing to a diverse and dynamic cast.

"Grieving Gold" promises a captivating journey for fantasy enthusiasts, blending elements of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. With its fast-paced plot, intricate world-building, and complex characters, this novel sets the stage for an enthralling series that has me eagerly anticipating the next instalment.

Strange worlds in this fantasy novel, centred around the city of Luminocity. Light and dark are tussling for power. Lax must resolve family issues and help his brother Val. Illumi has been sent to spy n the scientific community, while Ariana must fight for her life. Monsters are chased my Daub.

Enjoyed this novel full of new and interesting characters. Blood releases powers to help each hero out. So we have lots of twists and turns, interactions between characters and loads of danger and mystery. Keeps you reading to find out what happens next.

Grieving Gold, the first in an all new fantasy series from Daniel McDaniel, centres on five protagonists who live in Luminocity. Laxerion Tama has returned home as his father is gravely ill, but after years of being disowned, Laxerion finds the noble family house is not what it once was. His brother Val-Gustus Tama is doing what he can to uphold the mantle his father leaves behind and must do what he can to protect the city from war. Ilumi is a young scientist newly arrived in Luminocity, but is way more than meets the eye. Aiana is desperate to become a huntress and will do anything to make that dream happen. Finally Dawb is an orphan who spends his days running cons in the streets and seeks revenge for the loss of his best friend.

Grieving Gold is a hugely ambitious tale set in a really fascinating world. McDaniel has conjured a really fascinating world and the world building feels incredibly detailed. The magic system is unique and I really enjoyed getting to know the world and the characters. McDaniel’s writing style is easy to understand, though it did take me a little while to really understand the story and the characters. The book is well paced and I am intrigued to see where the story goes in subsequent books in the series. The story does end on a bit of a cliffhanger so this has definitely made me keen to pick up the next installment. McDaniel does a really good job of weaving fantasy, science fiction, and horror elements into the story. There’s plenty going on to keep the reader hooked and even a few monsters that I definitely wouldn’t want to meet.

Grieving Gold has a wide cast of characters and they’re all really well developed. Each POV felt unique and engaging, though it did take me a little while to get to grips with who was who. I enjoyed all the POVs though I did feel the most compelling ones were Laxerion and Val-Gustus. Grieving Gold is quite a chunky book at just over 600 pages, but the plot moves quickly and there were plenty of times I struggled to put the book down.

Grieving Gold is a compelling and thought-provoking tale, one that fantasy fans will completely fall in love with. If you’re looking for a unique and fresh fantasy series with compelling characters and a unique magic system, this is one you will not want to miss.

First of all thank you to Daniel for letting me review a wonderful book.

i found this book very refreshing to be in a new fantasy world , i loved so many of the characters and there are a lot of them , There were some i love to hate and others which stole my heart .

I thought Daniel's story telling is amazing , there is lots of detail that is in the book so for some might be a bit much but i think really helped me understand more of the story , also the world building oh my gosh wow in some ways i would like to live there .

It's a pretty fast paced book It had me sucked in and i wanted to stay forever . i do not want to give anything away as this book is not out yet for a while .

i will say this if you love being sucked into new worlds then i promise you will enjoy this .

i'm giving the book 4 ,5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the arc of this book!

Characters
We follow a grand host of characters, which makes this very enjoyable. The characters are all from different walks of life and are pretty distinct in their upbringing, beliefs, motivations and goals. We follow Lax and Val, siblings striving to fulfill their father’s wishes; Dawb, a street urchin aiming to avenge a very personal loss; Ilumi, a scientist who ran away from the life she knows because staying only means stagnation; Ariana, a huntress with a harsh upbringing, foiled by her own recklessness as she tries to right a wrong.

Plot and Writing
Core
The plot of the story follows the main characters as they strive to fulfill their goals. There is minimal overlap between these different threads of the plot until about 85% of the book. This allows the author to establish the characters within their bubbles and give them all their backstories before finally having them meet one another. And the execution is done well, too. The distinct voices of these characters set them apart and their motivations and goals are well laid out. They all have action-oriented plot points which also have ongoing suspense threaded into it, so it’s pretty intriguing. The writing is also pretty easy to digest, so it keeps the reading train going.

Worldbuilding
The world-building is pretty solid as well. The world in this book is quite rich in society and culture, in the diversity of its population and their various walks of life. For instance, we have Dawb and his gang who steal, beg and borrow. We have their rivals, so to speak, who run an organized gang. We have Ilumi and the science-y people at the Institution who are dealing with their challenges. We have the ‘elites’, Lax and Val who open the reader’s doors to the upper echelons of the society. It is a very lush picture in terms of world-building.

My only gripe is that the actual fantasy element of the book, the ability of the people to ‘find’ something in the light, and ‘lose’ something in the darkness is a bit vague to me. I’m not sure if everybody has this ability, or if it’s just a chosen few who get lucky with it. Or how they decide on what they choose to find/lose. Lax, for example, chooses to ‘find lies’, which allows him to persuade people by making them believe something is true when it actually isn’t. The character Duke ‘finds’ chances; Aiana finds/loses weight. How are these attributes selected?

Style
The writing style is one aspect where it might be a hit or miss for readers. While I personally prefer a lot of dialogue between the characters, them preferably not shutting up, ever (within reason and characterization), I have to say the writing in this book is definitely more narration-oriented. And this is done not just with elaborate descriptors and lengthy passages, but also when dialogues/speaking is warranted by the character. That just brought me out of the reading experience immediately.

The ending also seems a bit hurried in terms of relationship building. For instance, the closeness of Val and Luster just explodes toward the end when most of their interactions feel like they’re entirely off-page. So I was just left scratching my head as to when they got this close with only a handful of interactions.

Another such instance is between Dawb and Ilumi. The overall context is that Dawb saved Ilumi from some thugs and so Ilumi starts speaking to Dawb, out of a sense of gratitude for saving her life. Their third interaction has Dawb rushing away without even speaking to her, because he’s had something happen to him. And her thought later in the night was

"…she was worried about Dawb…"

I don’t think I’d ‘worry’ about a person if they ran away from me without even hinting what’s happened, despite the gratitude for having saved my life. Dawb just bolted from there without giving Ilumi any context of why. She could worry about the behavior, yes, maybe wonder why he was in a rush, or was so rude, even – but worry about him? What does she even know about him?

The last point here is that I did not like how IRL world things somehow found their way into the story, without even a change in the names. Like we’ve got chewing gum, tortillas, sandwiches, avocados, mascara, electricity, suitcases, ‘dudes’, and so on. It might not bother everyone, but it did take me out of the story.

To conclude…
I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series. Despite my minor issues, I really did enjoy the characters and the world. The entire idea of finding/losing attributes as a fantasy element is just so refreshing to me and I do like the characters in this story. I also absolutely love the author and his determination to write this story, mastering the English language all by himself. I can’t say no to any of those! 😀

Rating: 3.4

TLDR: Yes it can be a challenging start but if you are a fantasy fan and want something refreshing, read this!

What first intrigued me about this book was the promise of a high-fantasy world, the different POVs, the original religion, the impending dark doom (I love dark books, specially dark fantasy ones), the complex storylines, and the existing reviews saying it had South American elements in the culture. As an avid reader of dark fantasy books from a South American country that loves books representing different cultures, I was sure this would be at least 4 stars for me. Although it didn't stand up to everything I was hoping for, the story kept me intrigued enough to keep going and I am glad I did.

Grieving Gold is a strong epic fantasy debut, with a compelling magic system, that leads the reader in a journey of exploration of this new world through the different POVs. We get to see the son who, despite holding grudges against his dying father, embarks on a journey to save the family. A homeless boy trying to survive life in the streets and the mysterious danger that is befalling his friends. A young scientist, new to the big city and its technologies, follows her passion while hiding a secret. A hunter needs to prove herself to gain back the respect of her community. A general doing everything he can to avoid what he believes will be the end of his country. Sometimes these POVs overlap, which leads to some interesting interactions and amusing surprises that really caught me off guard.

However, although this book had everything for me to love, it took me a while to get my bearings around the magic system and to get invested into each character. During the read, I would constantly get frustrated that as soon as I was feeling a connection with one of the characters, their POV wouldn't show up for many chapters. The length of one chapter wasn't enough to get me hooked, and it was only through reading multiple chapters of the same POV did I start understanding and rooting for them.

The introduction to the world was also quite abrupt and as I usually prefer a slow build myself, I felt very confused for the first half of the book. There is a lot going on in the different POVs, and some of it is nuanced enough that I only understood the connection several chapters later. There are however people who love a book that can hit the ground running, so they would be perfectly fine with this pace.

After the 50% mark, things started making more sense and my interest started to peak. I was still struggling at times, but something in the story kept pulling me back to read more. Even though I didn't always understand exactly what was going on, I was extremely intrigued how the story would play out. I started seeing the connections that were invisible to me at the start, started understanding the magic and how it as used, and couldn't wait to find out the big mystery.

I finished the book yesterday and, looking back, I would still tell my past self to read this. Yes, it was confusing at first, but the world is so vast and intricate that a slower introduction would split this book into two. The intriguing developments would be lost and the action wouldn't make sense until the second book. The South American influence mentioned by other reviewers I really couldn't understand. Perhaps it was because there is a hint of indigenous culture, or because the religion worships the celestial bodies, or perhaps there was a reference I didn't understand, but I didn't personally see any clear reference to South American culture.

This is the first book in a series and I am extremely curious about what the author comes up with next! Grieving Gold has laid the foundation for a fantastic epic tale and I am eager to read the next book and dive into this world again.

Thank you NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Endless Equinox for the ARC.

Daniel McDaniel's Grieving Gold is an intriguing epic fantasy read that I highly recommend. The worldbuilding and magic system is very complex and unique and is introduced in a way that is not confusing and lets the book have a steady pace. I really like how the magic system is so greatly intertwined with the novel's plot, in a way that complements the darker history surrounding the novel's events. I also like the focus on technological advances and their ethical implications which I have not really seen much in fantasy novels.

There are five main characters, who are all very interesting with their own complex characterisations and motivations. However, the changing POVs were abrupt at times and did make some parts of the novel hard to understand. I did like how the POVs of these characters eventually intersected, though they did start off as seemingly separate storylines.

This novel has a diverse set of characters with a fast-paced plot, and I cannot wait to read the next novel in the series.

The world building and magic system in this book is unique and absolutely fascinating, on a par with Brandon Sanderson.

I found the perspective between characters shifting a bit too fast for me and that was a bit disconcerting for me.
Would love to read a prequel book based on the first chapter.

A big thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure this one was specifically for me. At first, I really thought it would pull me in, but I found it hard to get through at times. I would recommend it because the characters are all fun to read about.

Grieving Gold is already going to be one of my favorite books of 2024! Grieving Gold is a beautifully written epic fantasy that combines elements of fantasy and horror with a steampunk twist. The book centers around a diverse set of characters, including a conman/ex-noble on the run, a successful military general trying to make amends with his estranged sibling, a naive but extremely intelligent scientist who may also be a spy, a determined and dangerous huntress from the deep, and a street urchin who can only think of vengeance. The author elegantly weaves each of these stories together, while also giving each character their own voice and attention. The book is action-packed with well-developed characters and dynamic world building. If you're looking for an imaginative, fast-paced, gripping read with a cast of complex characters and fantastic world building, I cannot recommend Grieving Gold enough. Easy five stars! I can't wait for the next book!

Find your strength in the light, or lose your chains in the darkness.

Luminocity is a city bathed in the light of three godly suns. It's on the brink of war, while something dark and eldritch is bubbling beneath its surface.

Five main characters have to navigate the city's complexities: Lax, a disowned nobleman who now makes a living through daring heists; his brother, Val, an officer who is desperate to please his dying father and protect the city from imminent invasion; Dawb, a street urchin who witness unspeakable horrors happening to his friends; Ilumi, a young and eager scientist with a secret mission; and Aiana, an underground warrior who wants to prove herself. In addition, there is the mysterious Duke, a dark and sinister force, who makes his way through the city.

My biggest issue with this book is trying to follow the multiple POVs. Aside from the five main characters, we're also given brief POVs from minor characters who experience something that may contribute to the overall plot. That made it hard to follow and at times I struggled to continue. The world-building is very complex and I had to keep my wits about me. That doesn't make the book bad – in fact, I found the world-building quite interesting, especially the South American twists.

My favourite character was Lax. I'm a sucker for heists, particularly in fantasies and I enjoyed his prowess. Ilumi is another great character – her secret or ultimate goal is never really explained to the reader and I'm intrigued.

The author has said he's influenced by Brandon Sanderson and that is quite clear. I'm quite sure I can see how he draws from books like 'Mistborn'. I think this book is worthwhile if you persevere but it is quite long. It's the first in what I believe is a series. I'm interested to find out what happens to the characters next, and I hope the next book comes quickly because with a storyline this intricate and with so many strands, I'll probably forget most of it before book two and I don't think I'm willing to read such a long book again! A valiant first effort.

Grieving Gold is the first book in a series that promises to thrill and captivate readers. The book is a fast-paced read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. McDaniel has crafted an expansive world with detailed settings and intricate magic systems to transport you to a new and exciting realm. The well-developed characters have unique personalities, complex motivations, and fascinating backstories that make them come alive on the page. The plot is equally impressive, full of suspense, twists, and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. If you're a fan of fantasy novels and looking for something new and exciting, this series is a must-read.

This is the start to one heck of an epic fantasy series. Grieving Gold follows numerous characters story lines and they don't all intersect within the first read. Each character is thoroughly developed as the book leads you through political intrigue, something dark festering beneath the surface, a new take on magic, and various relationships.

Since there were so many different PoVs, you could easily get lost with who was doing what, but the story is well developed and pulls you in. I can't wait for the next book!

Great world building! Enjoyed the Author's writing skills. A must have for any book collection. Received a free ARC copy from NetGalley. Look forward to more from the new voice.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. Massive thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I unfortunately did not have a great time reading this book. The writing style was not for me. I do think it was a good story overall but its not one I would recommend over other fantasy books.

I felt like this book was mildly hard to follow. I liked the concept and some of the characters but it felt choppy to me and that made it feel like a slower read.

This fantasy story is about Luminocity. It is an ancient city built on the rotting remains of an old humanity, stood among the skeleton ruins, been there for years, decaying, all voided with deadly and creepy buildings that are surrounded with misguided history.
In the metropolis, affluent men can have destitute loved ones. There are street creatures that may feel like kings, superiors, when they have the proper good people as family. But no matter what happens, the three suns and three gods above them keep an eye on all things, shining their light and fueling whatever keeps mankind going. But there is a fourth sun, a fourth god, whom mankind took for granted. There are several different characters that push the storyline in different light/prospective. They all have different lives and have different perspective to life.
However, when conflict is developing, it could be different from the typical border skirmish that most people are aware of. Beings are haunting the city, and they appear to have their tentacles in all kinds of pies.

Truth be told, with regards to the world structure, it required me investment to understand and imagine the world. Yet, as the story advances, everything appeared to be enclosed by a bow and as the plot and the characters got together, it got really fascinating.