Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! I rated this 2.5 stars (rounded up here).

In The Last Soldier of Nava, we follow Shadow, a magically gifted warrior, as she awakens after a long time, only to find the world she left behind full of secrets, shifting loyalties, and buried histories. having been captures, Shadow is pulled into a conflict that threatens both her people and her understanding of who she is. As she navigates political tension, old rivalries, and mysterious powers, it becomes clear that the fate of the whole kingdom may now be at stake.

The premise really drew me in: a fractured world, a soldier with a heavy past, and a magic system rooted in legacy and mythology. The opening was intriguing, with promising characters and glimpses of a unique magical world. But while the foundation was solid, the delivery didn’t quite land.

Much of the story felt rushed or underexplained. Shadow’s relationships, especially those at the Stronghold, were described rather than developed, so the emotional payoffs didn’t feel earned. Important elements from the past were referenced without enough clarity, and several in-world terms were introduced with little explanation. The magic system was compelling but underutilised, leaving too many questions unanswered.

The romance subplot also fell flat for me. Scarlett was simply mean to Shadow for most of the book, and then the shift toward romance happened so abruptly that I had to double-check if I’d missed something. There was very little buildup or emotional progression to make the development feel believable.

I genuinely think this would have worked better as a duology. There’s a lot of potential in the world-building and themes, but the story needed more room to breathe. With more space, the relationships, lore, and emotional arcs could have landed with much more impact.

DNF at 25%

I really loved the premise of the book but unfortunately this book was not for me.
I feel like it was too slow paced (up to 25% and that the world wasn’t explained very well, it was like the book just expected you to know things that had never been mentioned,

Enemies to lovers is one of my fav tropes. A really great read. I loved the story and the world building. The characters I really connected with. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to read this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the e-arc in exchange for a honest review.

I feel like the story and world building were well written and the plot sounded promising, but it wasn't perfect in my opinion.
I think the author should have taken more time to develop and edit because the story itself is great.

I rated this 3.5 stars. This book had a strong start. We were plunged into action from the very beginning and i was enjoying it a lot. The city of Nava (known as Iksong in the present day) once flourished under the rule of the moonbearer and the dawnbringer until the moon bearer became power-hungry. He used someone known as the soldier to bring havoc and gain control. The soldier, now known as shadow lives with Sae until she is captured and taken to the stronghold. In there she finds corruption and her father's plans for the future of Iksong. She realizes that she may be the key to restoring the land but she must trust the one who captured her to win.

While the storyline seemed promising i feel like it wasn't executed as well as it could have been. The descriptions were lacking in areas and i struggled to picture characters or scenes at times. I feel like everything was moving quite fast and it was a bit strange that friendships were made without many scenes of them actually doing things to build up that connection. I don't want to give anything away but you'll know what i mean if you pick this book up.

The action and beginning was strong which is why i boosted the rating up. Like i said, that i did enjoy it at the start but it grew weaker as the story went on. I didn't find myself having a favourite character so i couldn't connect with any of them. The ending was a bit messy and rushed and i have plenty of questions as there was a lot that could have been explained. Maybe if the book was longer, we could have gotten the character development we needed and more about the backstory to past events or places.

While this story didn't grip me as much as i wished it would, it may be to your liking. This book will be out on 19th June in the UK.

Thank you so much Rachel Quinn, HarperCollins & Netgalley for allowing me to read and e-arc for an honest review.

The Soldier was a weapon created by her father to destroy those in power to grab on to it. She died brutally and was put to sleep after her last battle facing the Desert Rose, a warrior who was anti-thesis to her.

When Soldier awakened again, her memories were fragmented but she remembered killing Desert Rose. She went by her new name Shadow. By some twist of fate, her path crossed with Scarlet, who was Desert Rose’s twin sister, with similar power. Scarlet was set on avenging her sister’s death by killing the Soldier but she had no clue the Soldier was right by her side.

Despite the guilt eating her, Shadow was forced to follow Scarlet, to the Stronghold, to find any clues that could lead to finding the Soldier.

While this was all happening, Shadow was expecting to meet the Moonbearer, the source of all her problems-her creator. He was nowhere in the Stronghold and the crown prince was also unaware of his whereabouts.


After Shadow and Scarlet entered the court, the plot was ripe with greed, manipulation, court politics, and power-mongering legend. It was a good example to illustrate how power in the wrong hands could destroy nations with little regard for their own subjects.

My main concern with the book was I was lost a few times because of the changing pace of the events which made me lose track of the plotline. The remade part of the plotline was not that clear to me. It was mentioned a few times but wasn't really shown how it was important for the story. However, the climax was gritty and rounded up the story pretty neatly for me. The remade part of the plotline was not that clear to me. It was mentioned a few times but wasn’t really shown how it was important for the story.

The Last Soldier of Nava is a story of Shadow who was honed to be a weapon, in her previous life, to bring down empires overcomes her true nature. So, if you are starving for a Korean sapphic fantasy, I'd recommend this book!

Thank you HarperCollins for

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for the DRC of the book!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for approving me to read this, I’m rating it 3.75 - 4.0 stars.

God the main character deserved better and that’s not to say the character is a victim, I love an imperfect character. Our FMC is complex and has a dark kind of aura and mystery surrounding her, she thrives in survival mode it seems. Things start unravelling quickly for the FMC with bargains and war on the horizon with her at the centre of it all, but feeling like a pawn.

I would like to see what happens next because of where this book leaves off, I feel like there’s still a lot to go wrong and our FMC still despite everything remains at the centre.

I went into this with high expectations and was disappointed with how bland it became. A shame because this had huge potential

This is a fantastic read. It is a thrilling, adventurous, atmospheric enemies to lovers read. I loved Shadow and seeing her relationship with Scarlet develop throughout the book. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

3⭐️

I feel like the world wasn’t explained very well, it was like the book just expected you to know things about the world that had never been mentioned, the writing overall is also off, it jumps from one thing to another nothing really connects a lot of the sentences together. Some parts of the plot are only briefly touch upon never going in to much detail and the the parts that where more detailed didn’t really need to be and led the book to being boring. The magic system could have been interesting if I was more explored but as it wasn’t it just felt like I’d seen it many times in other books.

The second half of the book was better it was a lot more fast paced but it was still lacking in a lot of ways. I saw where the book was going from the beginning it was quite obvious so it wasn’t overly exciting.

I feel like the characters weren’t very well described I had no real idea what any of their personalities where, I feel like the descriptions of rooms and locations where over described while literally everything to do with the story was under described

I liked the relationship between Scarlett and shadow I think the pacing of their relationship was done well and u could see the progression of the relationship very well through out the book

Overall if u don’t mind slow paced books I would recommend this book it was nothing extraordinary or never done before but it was okay.

Thank you Netgalley and Hapercollins UK for the digital arc

I really enjoyed the book. The plot and world building were very well done, and the plot was fascinating.

I hadn't seen anything about this book, but the cover immediately drew me in and the synopsis sounded very interesting, so I decided to request it.
I'm glad I did, as this was quite the hidden gem!

The world building felt unique, especially the whole premise of the main character. It also felt bleaker than most East Asian-inspired fantasy novels I've read so far, which was a nice change.

The romance wasn't my favorite, but I did overall like how it was executed and I was certainly rooting for them after a while.
The plot was very engaging and even though it took me a bit to get into the story, I was ultimately hooked.

I didn't love the writing style, something about it made the story a bit inaccessible at first, though I can't quite explain what exactly bothered me.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would certainly recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

The Last Soldier of Nava is a Korean mythology inspired sapphic fantasy in which we follow Shadow, a young woman who was raised as a weapon by her power-hungry father a thousand years earlier.

I found this book really easy to read and was intrigued about both the world and the characters places and roles within the world. The development of the relationship between the two main characters was well written and I did not want to put this book down. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

I really loved the idea of this book, which is essentially a sapphic enemies-to-lovers fantasy with a hint of romance. It’s inspired by Korean mythology, and it follows Shadow, aka The Soldier, a weapon/warrior for her kingdom who is awakened at the brink of war. But Shadow doesn’t want to be a weapon anymore, so she goes into hiding. Enter Scarlet, she is the keeper (I still don’t understand what this title is except it’s second to the Prince), whose sister was killed by the Soldier and she wants revenge. Scarlet doesn’t know Shadow is the Soldier reincarnated, so Shadow needs to keep that secret from her while the two of them work together to stop the enemy. Unfortunately this plot started to derail around the middle, rerouting to a different direction that didn’t really work for me. There were a lot of twists, but I just didn’t feel anything for them. And I really didn’t like the ending.

I loved the dynamic between Shadow and Scarlet. I loved that there was more focus on building trust and friendship rather than the romance. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good romantasy, but sometimes you want the romance without distracting you from the main story. And this was very well done. When Scarlett and Shadow got together, it felt right rather than rushed.

I did like the world building to some extents. It was definitely an interesting world. But there was too much confusion. This very much felt like an author throwing too much at the book situation that the reader is left wondering what just happened. This is very much what I was feeling throughout a lot of the book.

If you like Korean mythology and diverse worlds, it’s worth a read. The plot was interesting enough that it did keep me reading, but I also would not be rushing to read this again.

Thank you for the ARC <3

The Last Soldier of Nava gave me major Studio Ghibli and it was was so whimsical, I love books based in mythology and find them just fascinating as well as ways to lose myself in.

I did enjoy this one, but couldn’t help feeling a little confused at times, I felt like the pacing was a bit off at times and that took me out of the story at times. However!! I loved Shadow and Scarlet, they just complimented each other perfectly and the banter had me giggling.

The world building was lacking a little bit, but overall I still enjoyed the story and Shadow and Scarlett’s journey ❤️

I’m mixed on books based on mythology, some pull me in and I’m diving through them from start to end, when I re-emerge gasping for breath. Others, feel like a slow plod through a muddy, rain soaked field, the never-ending pull of the wet earth sucking on my boots. The Last Soldier of Nava by Yejin Suh was neither of these but, it wasn’t a disappointment – this Korean mythology based, sapphic romantasy that draws on the creative and core foundations of myth, magic and story that bring to life a whole world of mythology that I’m very new to.

Whilst I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, which provided an insight into the hierarchical societal structure, there were gaps in the magical system and events that did leave me a little lost, in particular the inferred rules and structure of ‘remades’ and ‘dead zones’. Although this was very much saved by the plots within plots, treachery, deception and slow burn enemy to lover themes in the story. I’m also a bit of a sucker for any magic system that involves light and darkness, never mind the bone warriors and dragons!

Shadow has recently awoken from many, many years sleeping after ‘the soldier’ wreaked death and destruction across the country, including the murder of Scarlet ‘The Keeper’s’ sister. Captured by Scarlet, Shadow is forced to return to the Stronghold, domain of her father, whose control of ‘the soldier’ has been lost as Shadow is now conscious. Scarlet wants Shadow to help her solve and find her sister’s murderer – to identify ‘the soldier’ and make them pay for their crime…

I won’t say that from start to end this was a strong and well paced plot, the latter part of the story did feel like it tailed off but, irrespective of that I did enjoy the mythology, following Shadow’s arc as she realises her role and the possible consequences of her actions in this work, as well as the romance between Shadow and Scarlet. An enjoyable read based on interesting and intriguing Korean mythology.

Thank you Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction, Magpie and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Hey bookwyrms👋🏻

I was so lucky to get approved for an e-arc (thank you @netgalley and @harpervoyager_uk !) and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it!! 🫶🏻

A sapphic enemies-to-lovers inspired by Korean mythology, it sounded right up my street! A shadow wielding warrior awakens with only some of her memory and is thrown reluctantly into a world with dangerous politics and even more deadly abilities.

The romance is slow burn but organic and I absolutely loved the quips between Shadow, our FMC and Scarlet our feisty and fierce love interest. Their relationship was definitely my favourite part bc they have such amazing chemistry!🙏🏻👀 they slowly but surely learn to work together with some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming!!🥳 at some points I got a little confused, butt that could be bc I read this in between other reads!🫡

I really enjoyed this one and I’m excited to see what @yejinsuhh writes next!

a magical world of power, betrayal, love, and finding yourself.

this story gave me avatar vibes with a hint of Studio Ghibli and it was an enjoyable ride.

I did quite enjoy this, the writing was brilliant and the storytelling at times was floorless but then there were times, mostly at the end that I felt lost and a bit confused. the relationship between Shadow and Scarlet is both powerful and sweet and you can see the love they shared for each other.
the characters themselves seemed grounded and mysterious and the same time.

thank you again for giving me this opportunity.

This book felt so much like the types of light novels and manhwas I've read before in a great way. The main characters were the main focus of this book and I genuinely enjoyed them, I wished for more world-building. While thier were so many intriguing and enjoyable aspects of the book i wish it had even more exploration

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC.

Gave this a shot but sadly DNF @ 43% (Pg 160/369). While I love the premise of a Korean-inspired fantasy world, the lore and plot were muddling and did not grip my interest at all. The protagonist Shadow feels bland, and every interaction she has with the antagonist-turned-eventual-love-interest Scarlet doesn't convey any ounce of chemistry. I was ultimately too bored to push myself into reaching the midway point.