I completely judged a book by its cover for this one.

While it had a great start, it was ultimately an average read for me.

The writing was flawless and the plot very well planned, but there was just some satisfaction missing for me by the time I reached the end. There were still aspects of the world building that I didn’t understand and I felt that the book would have been something more if we had dived further into the complexity of some of the darker themes such as the price of Rhea’s power.

Some of the conflict in the book felt a little too much like it was purely to move the plot forward.

However, I feel the potential here and as a person who as a general rule does prefer sequels I will certainly be picking up book 2.

I would actually recommend this book for the pure potential and the unique storytelling.

This is the first instalment in the Argyrosi series.

Rhea and Lexos are twins born into a family that create the very fabric of the world. The help the leaves to unfurl, the roses to grow their colour, the stars to shine in such a number and ferocity, and for the majority of the inhabitants to stay safe from their tyrant of a father.

Fantastical stories centring around siblings will forever be some of my favourites and Rory Power has, here, exemplified just why. The decades spent with each other means they see just who the other is, without the airs and graces they would cloak themselves in for a stranger. They are bonded not through similarities, as friendships are, and are forced into love through their extended time together. Despite all that, they would die in a heartbeat for the other to live and their differences become their allies, as they fight alongside each other and face their enemies. Bonds can become brittle, however, and all their actions are cloaked with a fear that betrayal will occur, providing further tension to an already edgy read.

I enjoyed both of Rory Power's previous books and was excited to read her new book. I've been putting this one off for ages and found myself no longer wanting to read it. However I decided to take the leap and sadly ended up dnf-ing.

I don't know if it's because I went in already unsure but I just could not get into this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

Thank you so much for letting me read this book. After I first didn't manage to read this book in time I did read it and am so happy I did because I very much enjoyed it.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

An epic story with fantastic characters and a mammoth storyline. In. A Garden Burning Gold is a brand new adventure for all fans of everything fantasy..

After reading Powers YA horrors I was excited to see she had written an adult fantasy, it did not disappoint. I loved the premise and execution of this book and was excited to bit the hardback when it reached my Bookshop.

I was so excited for this book and it has left the door open for the second one. It took awhile to get into but I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to see where this story goes.

Tampoco es que tuviera muchas expectativas sobre la lectura de In a Garden Burning Gold, bien fuera porque no conocía al autora o porque lo que más me atrajo de la sinopsis fuera que los protagonistas fueran mellizos (una de mis debilidades). Pero es que me he encontrado una novela muy floja en la creación del mundo y con unos personajes pusilánimes, además de unos giros de guion que se ven venir desde el minuto -3.


La fantasía es de inspiración griega, o al menos eso se desprende de los términos utilizados por la autora, que habla de unas ciudades estado controladas por humanos extremadamente longevos con capacidades mágicas que comparten con sus hijos. El equilibrio entre estas ciudades es bastante inestable y las intrigas políticas están a la orden del día. Los protagonistas del libro son Rhea y Lexos, los mellizos que ocupan el siguiente puesto en la línea de sucesión de su padre, aunque tienen otros dos hermanos, Chrysanthi y Nitsos con un papel menos relevante.

La “magia” de Rhea es controlar que el cambio de estación sea la más propicio posible, algo que consigue con el asesinato ritual de su consorte, escogido entre los súbditos de su pequeño reino. Si tenemos en cuenta que como digo la familia en el poder es prácticamente inmortal, pues Rhea carga con más muertes en su conciencia que el Castigador, pero eso parece que le ha influido poco en el carácter, se ve que matar a tu marido es simplemente otro día más en la oficina. Lexos es el segundo de su padre, que parece estar en horas bajas.

El sistema mágico no es que esté mal explicado, es que directamente es intercambiable según le convenga a la autora. Y las conspiraciones políticas de las que se jacta Lexos son de una ingenuidad notoria, sobre todo si tenemos en cuenta que llevan décadas en el poder. El ritmo es bastante lento, cosa que tampoco favorece para nada al libro, que pretende ser complejo pero se queda en el intento, porque como digo el escenario tiene la consistencia de unos pilares de papel de aluminio. Y las revelaciones de la parte final de la novela están más vistas que el hilo negro.

Estamos ante una novela fallida de la que recomiendo huir. ¡Y es solo la primera parte! A mí por lo menos en esta no me vuelven a pillar.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an early review.

DNF at 40%

Normally I wouldn’t write a review for a DNF. However, this book is so long that I felt I got a good feel for it at this point.

This story is a Greek myth inspired political fantasy. I love Greek inspired stuff and while that element was well done, unfortunately, overall this book was just plain boring. It’s clearly setting up for something, but I need a taste of what that is. Not hundred year old immortals acting like actual teenagers making a bit of a mess of things. I took a break from this book, hoping it would make me more willing to continue it and while I tried, I found I just didn’t care.

So, while the writing itself is decent, and I can imagine the plot will pick up (in the sequel, based on what I’ve seen in other reviews), I will not be continuing with the series.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

In A Garden Burning Gold has a stunning cover and intriguing premise - I'm always on the lookout for more fantasy centred around siblings, as the Green Bone Saga and The Once and Future Witches are some of my favourite books - but unfortunately this book doesn't work for me, so I have to officially DNF it. I have a feeling I don't gel with Rory Power's writing which made it hard for me to get into this one.

Having enjoyed Rory Power's two previous novels, I was really interested to see how she would tackle a fantasy. Unfortunately, this book just did not work for me at all. I found the plot confusing and meandering, with very odd pacing and characters with little depth or motivation. The atmosphere was good and the world itself was interesting. I would have liked more exploration of the powers at play and more understanding of the political climate. Instead, there was a love story that seemed unnecessary and felt shoe-horned in and an ending that just...ends! A pretty big disappointment for me I'm afraid.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

»In A Garden Burning Gold« is now the third book I've read by Rory Power and somehow I still don't know whether I like her books or not.
The thing is, that every time I see the covers and read the synopses of her books I think "sounds amazing, need to read it" and then I pick it up and... it's not what I expected/wanted. Rory Powers books so far always made me feel, that the stories were missing something and »In A Garden Burning Gold« was no exception.

The plot sounds really good in my opinion; two siblings on different sides of a war, complicated family relationships, politics...

And the thing is, that »In A Garden Burning Gold« is all that but also not enough. At least for me, it wasn't.
The book is with nearly 500 pages quite long and it also felt really really long. In the beginning I was struggling because the world was a bit confusing at first, lots of words I didn't knew that weren't explained properly. But after a while it got better, I began to understand the world but for too many pages I was waiting for something to happen. The plot was veeery slow. Some parts were more interesting then others but please, don't expect an action packed book or anything because that is not what this is.

The characters were intersting enough. I liked Rhea and reading from her perspective and how different she and Lexos were, how they were growing apart. The book is from both POVs, Rhea's and Lexos' and I know that that was probably the point but I hated Lexos. I couldn't stand reading from his POV. There's a quote at the end, it's a thing Lexos says to Rhea and her thoughts and I'll just leave it here because it describes their relationship pretty well:
»[...] Have I ever treated you life as less important than my own?«
A thousand times, she wanted to say ].

And that was my though exactly. I hated how Lexos treated Rhea and his other siblings, it was sometimes painful to read from this POV because he always thought he was right and knew better than everybody else.

So, half of the characters I disliked - as I said, I'm pretty sure Lexos is written that way on purpose and at least there's room for character development? They do have an interesting relationship, I just couldn't stand him anyway - and the plot was a bit too slow for my liking. There were some twists, most I saw coming from miles away. Especially the ending felt a bit lackluster to me. It sets up a sequel nicely and I am actually interested in reading said sequel but I also wonder what the point of this book was. It feels like this was just a little, teeny tiny bit of the plot, of the war that's yet to come. It felt like this book should have been the story before the story, if that makes sense? I wish most of what happened in »In A Garden Burning Gold« would have been summarized in a few sentences and used as motivation for the characters. (Listen, I know that sounds a bit mean but in my head it makes sense and that is how I feel. I'm not saying the book was unnecessary, but for it just wasn't working like this.)

So... would I recommend »In A Garden Burning Gold«? Maybe. If it still sounds interesting to you, go read it. If you're not into slower fantasy books, don't. Then it's probably not for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for an eARC!

A garden buring in gold is the first book of Rory Power's fantasy duology that presents a dense and fascinating story about Rhea, her twin Alexandros and their abusive father who rule Thyzakos.

The story is full of political intrigues and complex machinations. The result is a full and rich but often slow-paced narrative.
The Balkanic/Greek background is fascinating as well as the magical component...even if the political part emerges more, obscuring the magical part.

I admit I was expecting a more pressing story with better character development, especially for the secondary ones who can't really stand out from the background.

I loved and was drawn in by the fact that this novel had a Greek setting and I have to say I’m glad I was drawn in by that and the stunning cover. . The writing was really good and so easy to draw the reader in The characters and story were fantastic. This was a pleasing fantasy debut and I will be looking out for the next book

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

My thanks to Titan Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘In A Garden Burning Gold’ by Rory Power in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in a fantasy duology that introduces the Argyrosi and the country of Thyzakos, which is ruled over by these powerful, near immortal beings.

Vasilis Argyros is the Stratagiozi of Thyzakos and father to Alexandros, Rhea, Nitsos, and Chrysanthi.
He is a tyrant who holds dominion over death and uses fear to control both his people and his children.

His eldest daughter, Rhea, is able to control the seasons and is utilised by her father to show favour to certain stewards via marriages that bring prosperity to the chosen region; though at a dread price. Her twin, Lexos, is his father’s second in command and is able to control the tides in order to maintain the security of the country’s seaward borders.

For a hundred years Rhea and Lexos have been each other’s only ally, defending themselves and their younger siblings against their father’s increasingly unpredictable anger. Yet now there is an independence movement gaining ground within Thyzakos and the leaders of other nations are starting to jockey for power. ….

I was very pleased that Power opened with a Dramatis Personae as it certainly assisted me to keep track of who was who as the novel progressed. It did seem that the focus was mainly upon the twins, Rhea and Lexos, though their siblings might be more prominent in the second book. I was especially taken with Rhea’s story whose continual cycle of bride and widow, then bride again had a mythic feel to it.

While there is a fair amount of exposition at the start, this approach to world building is something I welcome, though I am aware it’s not to all readers’ tastes. Certainly it isn’t long before things start heating up in terms of action, intrigue, and revelations.

Overall, I felt that ‘In A Garden Burning Gold’ was a strong opening volume that not only held my interest throughout but left me wanting more. I shall be eagerly awaiting Argyrosi, Book 2.

A final note of appreciation for the stunning blue and gold mosaic style cover design.

Definitely recommended for lovers of fantasy who enjoy plenty of political intrigue and machinations alongside the mythical and magical.

Thanks, Netgalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read and review! It took me some time this time, but it was worth it! Awesome, emotionally heavy read!
An amazing novel that describes the deep relationship between two siblings, who are burdened with their father's legacy. and expectations The author shows so well all the things that can go wrong in the relationship between a parent and kids and how the bond between two siblings can struggle to remain whole.
AMAZING AND BRILLIANT READ! AND THAT CLIFFHANGER.....JUST WOW! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SECOND INSTALLMENT!

Rhea and Lexos are twins with powers that allow them to help their father rule. In a Garden Burning Gold is a high fantasy with a fast plot and lots of world building - which unfortunately made it very hard to follow. A lot of the characters are unlikeable in a way that I enjoyed, but I did have trouble keeping track of all of them throughout the book. It had great potential, but I'm afraid it just wasn't for me!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love rory power's transition to adult fantasy!! She doesn't lose the prosaic writing or its rhythmic structure, and ventures further into the genre with compelling character relationships and family rivalry. Absolutely loved this one, and I cannot wait for book 2!