Rating: 5/5 stars Pages: 448 Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Orbit Books Release Date: June 2, 2020 Ryx’s magic is broken. Unlike everyone else in her family—the ruling family of Vaskandar—all she can do is drain the life of anyone she touches. But while her grandmother is away, Ryx accidentally kills a visiting dignitary, and activates the mysterious magical artifact sealed in the obsidian tower at the heart of her family’s stronghold. Ryx leaves her castle walls for the first time since she was a child, to seek out the help of a group of magical experts. They must return to her home, and take control of the artifact before it can destroy the world.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an eARC of this book**
THIS BOOK. Wow, might be one of my top books for the year. For some reason while I was reading it I was getting the same vibes as I first did when I read Sabriel (no idea on why, but yeah, there it is). Anyway there’s a lot to love about this book. First off, I really like Ryx, she just felt real to me, and wow did I feel for her about her magic. And there was so much shit going on, girl is strong AF for keeping it together as well as she did. AND I love to see a nonbinary secondary character, well fleshed out and a little chaotic in the best way. I just loved them. And let me go on about all the balls in the air with this one (stop laughing, it’s a juggling joke!). But actually, I think in terms of starts to a series, this book does a fantastic job. There’s a lot going on, we can see subplot after subplot getting laid out, and I’m just watching Ryx juggle all these balls and waiting for one to drop. But actually, I think everything was tied up in a pretty satisfying way, while leaving a fantastic path for the rest of the series. Also. The worldbuilding! I loved it, it was new and interesting, and it worked so well to make things even more terrifying (I’ll be vague cause spoilers!). I especially loved the way the plot played against the things the characters thought they knew, and how over time history gets skewed. Just perfect. Anyway, I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who’s a fantasy fan, I think it does great as an adult book, but I definitely think it would also appeal to older YA readers! And excuse me while I go get the companion series to read! Also for those who are wondering… I had absolutely no trouble following everything, even though I started with this book and not the other series!
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