This is a first of a series and both the writers wanted to give as much information about the story background, settings, the place where battles/crime happens, everything is very detailed.

The story does have a lot of information about pretty much everything that’s a part of the story which can make the story drag a bit however as mentioned above I think it’s to character and world build everything.

The characters are strong and powerful. Literally the writers take their time to even describe what they are wearing and everything in every little details. Some may like this some may not.

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 for trying something different and for the whole world building and all information about the world and everything which I loved.

Loved the twists and was soo hooked! Mixes magic and politics to create a fantastic story! The Gods were very intriguing aswell, Highly recommend.

This epic fantasy novel was an enjoyable and engaging read and I and will definitely be continuing this series. This is a one of those books that has however left me with mixed feelings.

The world-building and magic system are both very well done, there are some very engaging character arcs, some excellent battle scenes as well as a smattering of political intrigue. The scope of the story is enormous, with religion, actual Gods, demons and an approaching war all in play.

On the downside, the length was a drawback. I am not at all averse to a sprawling epic but this felt too full of unnecessary detail that distracted from the main plot threads. I also found myself going from really liking one of the main characters to finding them irritating and unpleasant. This may be intentional given the character arc but it didn't sit right with me.

That being said, there is an awful lot to like about this book and, being the start of the series, it has drawn me in. Whilst it could be trimmed down, the pacing actually felt good and there was plenty of originality here.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gatestone Publishing for an ARC of this book.

DNF’ed at about 100 pages, because this deeply deeply deeply needed another editing pass. I will not be leaving a star rating because I did not finish it.

I was compelled by the blurb for this and very excited to get lost in a new fantasy world, until I realized that I would be getting lost in the pages and pages of world building and character backstories that don’t add anything helpful for the reader. This problem is worsened by the authors’ propensity for telling emotions instead of showing them. As an example: Mistress Teer’s introduction.

We’re introduced to her in a paragraph that gives a physical description of her and her actions. Andric (the POV character at the time) refers to her as a “woman” and notes that her outfit marks her as a stable master, implying to the reader that he doesn’t know who she is, but he does know her by rank. Two paragraphs later, it turns out Andric knows exactly who she is (Mistress Teer), because he addresses her by name. Why would he have acted like he hadn’t know her before hand? Particularly when the next sentence tells us that she is the person who taught him how to ride. He clearly knows her. We are then informed exactly how Andric feels about her (it’s positive) through a sentence that reads (roughly) ‘Andric always liked and admired Mistress Teer’, before delving into one of the first mentions of this world’s magic system and then a lengthy rumination on Andric’s feelings of inadequacy when compared to his older brother. Don’t we have a crime scene to get to?

The authors are clearly trying to expand the world, but its superfluous information, because if the average reader is anything like me, they’re going to forget most of it immediately without any sort of context for what parts of this information are important. If an author drowns the reader in information, it doesn’t make the world feel more real, it makes it impossible for the reader to sort out what matters and what doesn’t. And so, I don’t remember any of it.

The book then gets dragged down to the point where investigating a crime scene takes 7 pages, but all the mess before that takes 25 pages, including a detailed description of Andric getting dressed, the history of the royal castle, the backstory of his friend Barak, and Andric trying to do some magic. I get that Andric is supposed to be bad at time management, but the other POVs are like this as well. The link to the wiki at the front of the book should have been a warning sign.


So far, the book reads more as someone’s TTRPG setting that they quickly slapped a few character archetypes in to make it work as a novel. It’s a shame, because I don’t hate the world (the way the gods work in this is neat! I was and am curious!), but I have very little interest in trawling through more fluff to get to the plot.

First book for these authors and its definitely a fun ride. Multiple different gods, with matching churches who regularly summon Daemons for use, either in their churches, or for nefarious reasons.

A well thought out plot and story with some twists to keep you fish-hooked. Great pacing imaginative magic and interesting plot.

I am definitely interested in more in this world..

This was a 4.5 star read for me! Don't let the length of this book deter you! This was an incredible read! It is war heavy, there's religion and political intrigue, and occult magic. This book really immerses you into the story.