This was a beautifully written fantasy filled with emotion, hope, and unforgettable characters. I loved how the author balanced heartfelt character moments with exciting action and compelling world-building.

The emotional stakes continued to build throughout the story, making it impossible not to become invested in the characters' journeys.

This is definitely a series I'll be following.

I at first worried about the multi pov but I think the Author handled it well without things getting too convoluted. The story keeps you engaged and aware for the most part. There are times where I had a feeling of wanting the story to progress faster or a feeling of where is this going. I like the world of which the story was built. All of the characters were clearly defined and I felt a connection to all of them. I hope to see more development in the next book.

I really enjoyed this as an opening chapter to the brightest burning series It had that element that I was hoping for from the description and from the cover. The plot was everything that I had hoped for and I was invested in the characters and what was happening with them. I love the multi POV to this and how it uses the political conspiracy element in this fantasy world it was everything that I had hoped for and enjoy it a lot. It left me excited to read more in this world and from Krishna D. Patel.

I really liked the premise and plot of this! The writing kept me hooked, and I liked the fact that it was more than two points of view with interesting storylines

I think, with the multiple points of view aspect, it could be done slightly differently. Either A, keep it as it is but make it a bit clearer with the chapter titles as to which character’s point of view we are reading or B, have a few parts for each character or point of view so storylines do not get mixed up or forgotten; e.g. one part could be Zeta’s point of view, another part could be Carina’s point of view, etc. I just feel like, especially with Carina’s and Zeta’s points of view, because a fair bit happens between their chapters, it is easy to forget what happens

this was a really fun read with an interesting plot and writing that kept me hooked. i liked the multiple POV but i think it could be made a bit clearer. i enjoyed all of the characters though and getting their POVs

3.5 rounded up!

this book had me interested just from the description! a murder mystery never fails to intrigue me and i think the start was definitely strong.

this being multi-pov did have me nervous but i also knew that there was a big potential for found family, which is one of my favorite tropes, and i did really enjoy that part and think it didn't disappoint there! but i think the transitions between povs could've been clearer. which a big cast like this, i sometimes found myself confused on whose pov i was on whenever i picked the book up again.

the world-building was quite heavy, especially at the start when it arrived in dense bursts and i had to take a while to just process it, but it was still very interesting. still, i believe the strongest part of this story is its characters and they made this book shine. a very nice read!

3.5 stars rounded up!

I was immediately hooked from the description alone and I was not disappointed!

Brightest Burning is full of interesting plot lines, fun characters, and twists and turns that will keep you hooked while reading. At the core of it all is Zeta, a girl on the run after being accused of the death of the Eta Carinae, who happens to be her best friend.

I really enjoyed the world building and the different types of magic, though I’m hoping that in the next book we will learn even more because it feels as if we’ve only just scratched the surface!

Though I really enjoyed the characters and the multiple points of view, there were times that it got a bit jumbled and I sometimes lost track of whose head we were in. It also made it a bit difficult to buy into the romances that are introduced because I wish we would’ve had more time with each character to properly build it up. But I feel like that now that we have the groundwork for all the characters, that the next book will do a great job at building on these connections!

All in all, this was a very strong start for a series and I will be looking forward to the next book. So thankful I was able to read this ARC!

Thank you Netgalley and Untravelled Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Brightest Burning is an epic fantasy story where the main characters fight back against an expansionist empire.

I enjoyed the plot of the story, and even though it was rather easy to speculate that not all happened as we were initially told it did, I found the narrative to have unfolded well enough to get back to what set off the storyline.

The author uses a lot of metaphors to get feelings and emotions across and does so to a high level of quality.

The magic system was peculiar. The story takes place in an island nation, Aios, and the Continent. And in Aios, there were different groups of people comprising the Aios military, all of whom had their own kind of magic, which was passed down genetically, and there are also the civilians, who didn't have magic.

The exposition of who the different groups were could've started sooner and slower, little by little, but the differences between their magical abilities was shown, and it was engaging.

The history of Aios before the war and how the magical groups came to form the military isn't really clear. It seems like those who are born as one of those groups are trained as part of the military.

On the other hand, the people on the continent, the ones we see, anyway, are mainly refugees and survivors of the war, and they didn't seem to have gift magic, as it's referred to in the book.

It would appear the island nation has several groups of people born with magic and the continental population doesn't. At least, the ones we see don't.

I imagine the future books will explore the world building and the magic system further.

It's mentioned that the book uses a multi-POV format, and I expected it to mean that the characters would each get a chapter or several sections within a chapter where they would have their own POVs.

However, the POVs weren't separated from one another, and you could get one character POV and mid-dialogue, you'd get the other character's. It didn't mar the reading experience, though it's not something I'm used to.

The book also mentions slow-burn romance, and even though I'm not in the practice of reading romance books, it didn't feel "slow" to me, but didn't get in the way of the storytelling, which is what's important.

Lastly, there are triplet characters in the book. I don't have much experience with triplet characters, but I often see readers who are twins being rather miffed at the idea that multiples in fiction finish each other's sentences or speak together, so it's probably worth keeping in mind.

The good thing is, it doesn't happen often, and the characters themselves are likeable.

So, I enjoyed the story and the characters with their own development. I'd recommend it to those who like epic fantasy settings, military scenes, and magic systems.