3,5* upped to 4
I fell in love with the gorgeous cover and found the blurb interesting.
I was expecting a mix of magic and politics but I'm not sure if that was what I got. It's surely a book full of intrigue and politcs, the fantasy side takes the backside even it plays a part.
I like the Balkanic/Greek background and I found the initial chapters interesting as I was introduced to the world and the characters.
It's a slow burning story and not a lot happens.
I struggled a bit with this story and I would have liked some more action.
I think I will read the next book in this series, this one seemed like a sort of long introduction.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are

In a Garden Burning Gold tells the story of a family that rules a troubled nation, of a fierce and abusive man who has held power for more than a century thanks to the magical powers that he controls, and his twin children who come to try to challenge his rule.

The story takes place in Thyzakos, one of several nations that have come together to form a federation of countries ruled by un-ageing, magical leaders called Stratagiozi. The Argyros family has ruled Thyzakos for more than a century, ever since patriarch Vasilis Argyros killed the former Stratagiozi and claimed his title and powers for himself. As with other Stratagiozi, Vasilis has shared some of his power and responsibilities with his children, tasking them with controlling the tides, creating the constellations in the night sky, and changing the season.

His eldest daughter, Rhea, is tasked with ushering in each new season, and her powers are tied to her consorts. At the start of each season Rhea picks a suitor to marry, spends the season with them and their family, and come the end she kills them to end the season and usher in the new. She's had hundreds of consorts over the years, and has become numb to the killing, believing it's part of her duty to her father and her nation. However, when she returns home at the end of autumn, having delayed the changing of the season when she didn't kill her latest husband on time, she finds an angry father, and a nation on the brink.

Rhea's twin brother, Alexandros, who is also their father's right hand, tells Rhea that the nation is on the brink of war. Some of the lords and nobility have begun to tire of their fathers rule and are unhappy, and open rebellion has begun to form in the distant north where separatist groups have started to form in secret. When new suitors arrive at their home for Rhea to pick out for the new season her father tells her quite flatly which man to choose, wishing to strengthen their relationship with one of the noble houses. However, Alexandros has plans of his own to try and get to the bottom of the separatist issue, and has invited one of the northern heirs to present themselves to Rhea.

Despite fearing her fathers wrath, Rhea chooses Michalia, the northern heir, as her consort. Heading out into the cold north, Rhea prepares to try to learn the secrets her brother needs to solve the Separatist issue; whilst back at home Alexandros must try to keep everything from falling apart whilst avoiding his fathers punishment.

In a Garden Burning Gold is a dense book. Just picking this novel up you can feel it's a thick, heavy thing; and the content inside mirrors this in some ways. The first thing that you'll notice when you open the book is that there's a big list of people and places before you've even gotten to the story. This is probably something that you're going to want to just skip right past. I would not recommend reading this first as I got three or four names into this and was immediately lost. For example, the list begins with several location names, titles, and characters both living and dead with no context to them at all. I didn't know what Thyzakos was, where Ksigora is or how it relates to the story, why it was telling me about a dead saint, what a Startagiozi was. I felt my eyes beginning to glaze within the first minutes of starting the book.

Skip this. Just skip these pages and use it as reference later if you need it, because everything important that you need to know, all of the places, people, titles, and how they all relate to each other get explained in easy to understand ways as the story unfolds. It was much better to discover it as it went, and I honestly never found myself going back to the list at the front of the book because Rory Power made all of these new complex systems and people easy to track over close to six hundred pages; no easy feat. I can only think that perhaps the publisher wanted to include a list of characters to help readers out, but probably should have put it in the back of the book rather than the front.

After this somewhat odd start, however, In a Garden Burning Gold quickly became a book filled with political intrigue and complex schemes. Whilst the book is very much a fantasy novel, set within its own world with certain people possessing magical abilities, it's not a traditional fantasy story, and instead plays out like a political thriller. Very little of the book deals with the regular folk of this world, other than a handful of times when we get to meet the ordinary, everyday citizens through the eyes of their rulers, this book deals almost exclusively with people in positions of power, wealth, and privilege. More specifically, the book deals with the Argyros family.

The Argyros' are a strange mix to say the least. Vasilis, the head of the family, is frankly a bit of a bastard. It's clear very quickly that he's a man who runs his family through fear. His children, people who are more than a century old themselves, are treated like children who don't know better, and are afraid to set foot out of line for fear of his punishments. In a Garden Burning Gold isn't afraid to show Vasilis punishing his children, and has some pretty graphic depictions of abuse throughout the book. Having seen novels where fathers seem to rule with fear, yet never go into how, it makes for a decent change to see how these kinds of situations come about. It highlights what abusive behaviour is like, and doesn't shy away from its depictions.

The two youngest children in the family, Chrysanthi and Nitsos, are the least developed of the group, and we don't really get much chance to know them. This is in large parts due to how they're treated by Vasilis, given even less responsibility or trust than their older siblings. Despite being decades old they act like kids, not really having much to do, being kept out of important discussions, and spending most of their time doing whatever activity they want. They've been initialised by their father so much that it seems to have affected who they are as people.

Rounding out the family are Rhea and Alexandros, our two point of view characters. As discussed in the breakdown of the plot, these two characters actually have responsibility, and play important parts in the running of the nation. Despite this, they are both also prisoners of Vasilis in a lot of ways. Alexandros is desperate to be seen as a man, to be listened to when he comes to his father with advice and suggestions. He's a smart man who is capable of doing more than he's given, yet never gets a chance to shine. This is a big driving force behind everything he does in the book, as he desperately tries to prove himself by 'saving' the family. Rhea begins the book quite dissimilar to her brother, and simply wants to perform her duties as her father lays out so as not to incur his anger. She isn't looking to prove herself beyond simply keeping Vasilis happy, and it's only through what she experiences in the north that we see her actually begin to grow and thrive as a character.

Speaking of the north, we get to visit a number of interesting locations throughout In a Garden Burning Gold, and Rory Power manages to make a lot of these locations feel different and unique, whilst also having it feel like one cohesive whole. The Argyros family home, Stratathoma, feels like a wonderful Mediterranean estate, surrounded by beautiful blue waters and open, airy architecture. Ksigora in the north feels cold and hard, a place where it's more difficult to live; yet always feels like a beautiful, mountainous place. Trefazio is almost wild and exciting, with strange customs, oppressive heat, and huge, expansive buildings. Each of the places that the reader visits in the book feels so incredibly clear in your head, with wonderful descriptions that leap off the page.

One of the things that Power does best though is the political intrigue and shady dealings. There are multiple times where our characters find themselves in dark rooms, plotting out schemes and making deals. These moments are done incredibly well, and I got bought into a lot of the trickery that takes place in this book, trusting characters I shouldn't have whilst being suspicious of the wrong ones. It was wonderfully crafted so that I never felt like I had all of the information, and was always thirsting to learn more, but seemed to think I knew enough to have most of it figured out. Much like the characters, I bought into the lies and the half truths and was totally taken in by it; leading to a wonderfully surprising series of conclusions.

Sadly, the story doesn't really end with this book, with it instead being the first part of a continuing story. That being said, it still felt like a book that stands on its own, that you can read and be happy with and not need to return to this series if you don't want to. I think that people will want to, however, and that this is a series that will get a lot of notice thanks to how clever and complex it is, without being exclusionary. I think In a Garden Burning Gold is a book that people who don't normally read this kind of genre will be able to pick up and really enjoy.

Unfortunately, I DNF'ed this at 10%. From the very first word of this book, I knew it would not work out. It is hard to explain why, but the combination of the boring writing style and the fact that nothing much happened in those first initital chapters, didn't intrigue me. I decided to stop reading it, because I knew it would not work out, sadly.

{AD|GIFTED} A captivating and immersive fantasy with Greek influences. I wasn't sure what to expect as I read the first few chapters and struggled to keep up with all the names and titles, but I was quickly swept away by the richly detailed world-building. The author has created a cut-throat world steeped in magic, introducing the reader to different geographies and histories without bogging down the narrative.

The story is told from the points of view of twins, Rhea and Alexandros. Conditioned by a toxic relationship into serving their father, the action soon finds the twins on different sides. As one works to dismantle the status quo, the other tries to cement it. The plot is engaging and fast-paced, and I especially enjoyed the sections with Rhea and Michali. Rhea and Alexandros have two younger siblings who were both absolutely fascinating. I think the sequel has Chrysanthi's POV and I'm honestly so excited.

If you're looking for a luxurious and rewarding fantasy, full of political machinations, ambition and revolution, then definitely give this book a try. The sibling dynamics alone are worth reading for. Highly recommended.

"Twins imbued with incredible magic and near-immortality will do anything to keep their family safe—even if it tears the siblings apart"
I loved wilder girls by Rory power and was looking forward to this. It was great

From the very first line I was hooked by this fantasy saga with Balkan-inspired world building and a family with powers to control the world around them. The two point of view characters, twins Rhea and Lexos, as well as their younger siblings Nitsos and Chrysanthi, pulled me into their lives immediately, starting with Rhea as she returns to the family home after the death of her consort. It soon becomes clear this is the latest of many, and that it is routine, and in fact duty, for her to marry a new steward’s child at the start of every season, and kill them to usher in the next. This time, she has delayed the killing and winter is late in appearing, making her fear what her father will say of her failure to carry out her task. Even before we meet him, her father Vasilis Argyros looms over everything.

As a Stratagiozi, Vasilis Argyros lives far longer than an average human life, and his children also benefit from this slowed-down existence. They, and other ruling families like theirs, are what keep the world turning; literally. While Rhea affects the turning of the seasons, Lexos commands the tides and stitches the stars into the sky each night. Their brother Nitsos builds clockwork creatures that affect their real life counterparts, and Chrysanthi can paint new shades on anything around her and they will be reflected throughout the kingdom. I cannot emphasise enough how much I love this concept. The settings, aided by the world building, are so incredibly vivid and I could picture each place so clearly; Stratathoma with its deep blue walls and rocky cliffs, Trefazio and its excessive wealth, the cold city of Ksigori with its great lake and ancient buildings… I felt like I was there through it all.

What I appreciated, though, was that despite the idyllic settings, this is a harsh world and the Argyros family lives in constant fear that one of their stewards will kill them and take their power, just as they did to the Stratagiozi family before theirs. That is how Rhea finds herself torn between her father’s wishes and her brother’s strategies when it comes to choosing her next consort, because each disagrees on where the bigger threat is coming from. While their father looks at one unruly steward, Lexos is worried about the northern part of the country, where dissidents have been gathering and the people whisper of rebellion. He pushes Rhea to marry Michali, the steward’s son, whom he believes is involved in the plot against their family, so that when she kills him at the end of the season the rebellion will collapse.

In the North, they still secretly worship the saints, who used to wield the powers of the Stratagiozis until one of their own killed all the others and created the current order. When Rhea arrives in the North she sees a side of her country she has never before seen, and uncovers family secrets that have her questioning the rightness of her father and brother’s strategies. I really liked how the twins, so united in the opening chapters, find themselves on completely different paths and ways of thinking. I also liked the family dynamics overall, and found that the sibling relationships were very well portrayed; the little rivalries, the middle child syndrome, the youngest getting away with anything, and the pressure of the older two in bearing their father’s expectations.

The whole thing really had the feel of a Greek tragedy, especially from about the midway point. It was full of family drama, secret plots, unforeseen twists, and terrible betrayals. There was a moment when one of the twists made me put down the book and not want to deal with the consequences, but in the end I had to know how things would play out, and I ended up reading the whole thing in a day. As far as I know this is a standalone, and it works well that way, but there is definitely potential for a sequel and I would be very eager to read more about the tragic twins and the complex world they live in.

In a Garden Burning Gold is the first book in a series. It is written in dual POV of the twins from third person. This book follows twins Rhea and Lexos whose father rules their small, unstable country using their control over the seasons, tides and stars to keep the citizens in line. They have been protecting their two younger siblings from their father for around 100 years. However other nations are jockeying for power and something must be done. I liked that this novel had a Greek setting even though it is a fictional setting. The writing was good and easy to read/enjoy. However, I have to keep this honest and In a Garden Burning Gold was a huge disappointment for me. I absolutely loved Rory Power's two young adult books and they are some of my favourite young adult books of all time. This had a very different tone because it is adult fantasy and I just did not enjoy it. I was bored around 12% into the story. The characters and story just felt very flat to me. I would compare this to Castles in their Bones by Laura Sebastian because it has a similar vibe even though it is young adult. I did not like Castles in their Bones either. I know plenty of people who will love this story, I am just not the right person for it. Unfortunately I will not be continuing in the series.

I was really excited to read this book and it initially grabbed my attention with its unusual premise and characters. I’ve read elsewhere that the book is Greek-inspired and I definitely got a sense of the Byzantine at first but it was lost as time went on. Some elements felt Russian inspired to me too which would make sense with the whole Byzantine feeling but I’m not sure whether or not this was a deliberate choice by the author.

The central concept of the characters' powers was really interesting and unlike anything I’d come across before so I was looking forward to seeing how this would develop. Unfortunately, the initial promise quickly got bogged down in a glacial geopolitical snoozefest. The character points of view alternate and I found Lexos’ chapters to be particularly difficult to get through. I remember the first time I read the Game of Thrones books my heart used to sink when I got to a Daenerys chapter and this is what his chapters felt like to me. Rhea’s were better but she was such an unlikeable character for most of the book that I struggled to engage with her either. Morally grey characters still have to be likeable in their own way, but I struggled with Rhea.

I disliked the way the story played out and the direction in which the characters moved. I was disappointed because it started so promisingly but just didn’t deliver for me personally. It’s marketed as an Adult novel but there wasn’t anything in its writing style, characterisation or themes that set it apart from a YA book to me either.

Thank you to Titan Books for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In a Garden Burning Gold is Rory Power's fantasy debut, and having read her debut book, Wilder Girls, I'd say this one is much stronger.

The story was imbued with magic, myth and betrayal and was a very enjoyable read. We follow near-immortal twins Rhea and Lexos (Alexandros) who hold the power of the seasons, stars and tides as they discover a plot to overthrow their father's--the Stratagiozi--rule and become entrenched in trying to save their family which could force the twins on opposite sides of the battle.

Personally, I enjoyed Rhea's perspective a lot more than Lexos' as I felt that she had a better personality and was able to connect with new characters much easier while forming relationships I truly cared about. I really hope we get a short story or novella surrounding her and Michali as I just loved their interactions. Her power--controlling the seasons--also weighed on her a lot more as she has to kill her consort for the season to change. This made her character arc a lot more emotional and one I could connect with as she was more vulnerable.

Lexos' perspective was a lot subtler and political which provided a nice contrast to Rhea's. As the story progressed he became someone I did care about a lot, too, as he was involved in many plot twists, some of which were predictable but others not so much. I also found his relationship with his father to be much more interesting. They constantly struggled between being political partners and being father and son. The conflation between politics and family was very prevalent throughout this story as their Baba would treat them as his kids to people he wants to control in a matter of seconds. I wish we got to see more of this relationship, alas, we did not. The character of Baba also provided another parallel between his relationship with his children as it is made clear that he only cares for the power and land, not the citizens associated with them. He cares for his children's powers and not them themselves.

Power also heavily improved on her world-building in this book. The book was fairly slow going for the first 40% but I really appreciated it as it allowed us to explore the different parts of the world in more detail without being bombarded with an info dump. By doing so she was able to properly explore the different politics, geography and even religions within the world which was nice. The only thing I wished she explored more was the twins' powers (and relationship) as they were told to us but shown in an extremely limited way which was disappointing as it was an amazing premise; though, with the way this ended, I believe their magic will be at the forefront of book two.

Another thing I loved about this book was the politics. While it was your typical revolution story there are so many betrayals and plot twists that made the last 60% fly by. There are two scenes that really stand out to me, both of which occur in one of my favourite places visited: Agiokon. I hope they revisit there in book two. Some of the twists felt a little rushed and I wished they were given the proper attention they deserved to richen the emotional depth of the story. If you love politics and twists then this book is definitely for you.

Lastly, the writing was pretty good. The best way to describe it was that some of the writing felt harsh and kind of hard to read whereas other parts flowed very nicely and had many beautiful lines. Additionally, there were a lot of funny one-liners which gave a nice reprieve from the more serious aspects of the story. You could also tell a lot of thought was put into crafting the world as a whole as there are many influences from around the world that blend together to form the amazing world it takes place. Greece is the place it is most notably influenced by, I would say, so if you love Greece and its culture I would recommend this.

Overall, this was an extremely promising fantasy debut and I am looking forward to book two after the end of this book. I highly recommend picking up a copy on release day: April 5th 2022.

Thanks to Titan for sending me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A political fantasy intricately woven and set in an ancient-greek inspired world that explores the ties of family, love and power.


Rhea and Lexos are twins and the children of a less than loving father who’s lust for power makes him unpredictable and prone to using the siblings for his own gains with no concern for their personal wellbeing.

Our story begins as a rebellion is taking root in the snowy north and Lexos and Rhea- both intentionally and unintentionally- become tangled up in the unfolding conflict.

The cast is diverse and well characterized, from scheming brothers to defiant sisters and unflinching fathers, each character has their own ambitions and beliefs and these intersect and clash over the course of the story.
Though Rhea was quite well developed i felt we could have had even more of that depth and multi-dimensional development early on in the story whereas i found i could only connect to her towards the last few chapters.
Some of the non-familial relationships felt a little underdeveloped and I hope we can see these fleshed out more fully in the sequel.
But the ties and loyalties between the twins, their younger siblings and their father were incredibly realistically written and often heart-wrenching to read.
The same goes for the world building, which despite being detailed and easily visualized in some parts felt flat and undeveloped in others, I would really have liked to see more of the former.
I really appreciated the entirely unique magic system that I have seen, quite accurately, described as a grown-up Encanto. The world lore and magics within it are interlinked beautifully and I particularly enjoyed the twists and reveals that brought new aspects of these to light.

The pacing was somewhat slow at the start but I did not find myself bored at all and the last third packs in enough action to make up for it.
The writing style was easy to follow and i found I read quite quickly though overall it wasn’t to my personal reading taste.
Plot wise the intrigue and politics were delightfully intricate and the foreshadowing subtle enough to go unnoticed if you aren’t paying attention - I was paying attention and very happy to have my theories proved correct.


Overall this is a well thought out political fantasy and I hope the sequel will allow it to be fleshed out and give more development to a cast and world that has lots of potential.

'In a Garden Burning Gold' is a Greek-inspired mythical fantasy tale told from the perspectives of twins Rhea and Lexos. The twins have magical gifts given to them by their father, Baba, as he saw fit, to help him rule over their families territory for over a century. The twins are close, protecting each other from outside forces and the wrath of Baba when things do not go according to his plan. But now there's something threatening stirring in a distant and almost forgotten part of their land. Rhea and Lexos will do anything to protect their family, but at what cost?

This story had such rich worldbuilding, especially during the first half, but was still engaging and imaginative. The magical system is intriguing and each power described is so beautiful and unique. The second half tightened the intensity right until the last page—so much so it feels like the books function is to set up for its upcoming sequel. The main characters are well developed, but they still have an air of mystery. I enjoyed the friendly banter and bickering between them, and am intrigued to read from the other sibling's perspective in the sequel.

This book was absolutely a cover read. I didn't personally get on with the author's debut - but then again I'm not a fan of horror, let alone body horror - but this is adult fantasy with a stunning cover. However, I did like this one - and I think I would have loved it even more if I hadn't read it in the middle of a reading slump.

There's intrigue and magic and secrets to discover, and plenty of twists and betrayals. I saw one coming, mainly because otherwise a certain character didn't have much point being the book, but the others were great and one in particularly caught me by surprise. I wouldn't quite go as far as calling this a political fantasy, mostly because of Rhea's half, but it's definitely got some elements of it in there, which is always fun.

I liked how you could tell this book was both Greek-inspired but also absolutely not trying to be a "Greek book." The inspiration is there, but then the world building goes further, makes it into something new and different to the stereotypical "Greek-inspired" books.

The family relationships are so complicated in this book, between the siblings and between them and their father. I like messy families in books, particularly ones where they love each other but it's complicated, because it affects how much support they get, how much someone might try to talk someone out of bad decisions (and whether it will be listened to), and what they'll do for each other. We get all of that here.

Because Rhea is away for much of the book, we just get a glimpse of her and them at the start of the book. Most of the family interactions are Lexos' with his father, and some with his siblings. He loves and hates his father, and I really liked how that all came together in the finale.

It's the first in a series, and this book wraps up the bulk of its story in such a way that it launches the sequel. I look forward to continuing this story.

Not my favourite book of the year so far but it was an interesting book to fill a few hours. I did not feel as connected to the main characters as I had hoped but enjoyed the story , especially the ending which was the best bit.

The only thing that slightly saved this for me is the final plot twist. Not saying it made up for the rest of the book but the last 30 pages got finally somewhat interesting.

The world and political intrigue is super complicated and yet very shallow. The world building is quite weak and seem to focus on all the wrong things. There is a multitude of names, characters, regions, some specific to that world religions, but nothing is ever explained and somehow the reader is supposed to know what it all means, included some new language that doesn’t bring anything to the plot except a headache and confusion.

Nothing happens for the first half. To be honest, not much happens until the very end. Instead of describing Rhea’s dresses, the story would have benefited of some in depth world building instead of leaving the reader to try desperately to piece things together (which I’m not sure the author herself knew where the plot was going and how the world should look). Everything is as if behind some mist, and you can’t quite picture, the world, people, customs or much of the action. Everything just blends together. The writing makes it really hard to picture or imagine any of the surroundings, clothes, even characters.

The characters make no sense. They’re over hundreds of years, looking in their 20s and behaving 12. They’re naive and ignorant and it is not really logical as to why. Lexos is his father second, travels with him and deals with the affairs of the “state”, having his own opinions on threats over the realm, that his father is supposed to be overlooking. And yet, he doesn’t know anything about the other “regions” traditions and habits and keeps being surprised by everything. Rhea had consorts in various part of the realm and yet acts as if this was her first time and she never saw the world. I don’t get the characters, motivations, aspirations and goals. Things just happen, decisions are made because there needs to be some kind of plot, and everything is very low stakes, even murders and deaths. No one seem to have a personality or a reason behind anything they do, except some vague notion that the family has to be protected (not sure how any of those choices are related to it).

Overall, there was an idea that was quite interesting with twins making the world get on, under their cruel father’s umbrella. However, the twin link was never used so they might as well just have been siblings (in particular that they have 2 other siblings and they all have lukewarm relationships). Everything is murky and foggy and there’s no clarity regarding descriptions, world building, characterisation or plot. It’s just so vague on top of having not much happening that I struggle to find anything to hold onto. Quite a disappointment as there was an idea but it seems like the author herself wasn’t quite sure what the idea was and where it was going… Unfortunately, I won’t be continuing this series.

This sounded so interesting but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I enjoyed the fantasy world and how it was inspired by Greek mythology, I found the fantasy aspects interesting and they were my favourite parts of the book. It is high fantasy so it does have a complex world which I liked. I know for others it would take some getting use to as high fantasy isn’t for everyone. The writing itself was beautiful and it was very good for imagery about the world. The descriptions of some things were longer than I would usually want and it made the plot feel slower due to describing things. Unfortunately I didn’t really get into the plot and found it a slog to get though. I also didn’t find the characters very interesting. I found them all dislikable.
Overall I know some people who would adore this book and I will be recommending it to them, however it jut wasn’t for me.

the balkan-inspired fantasy setting was interesting, as i don't think i've ever read anything like it, but unfortunately i found its overall execution quite average.

however interesting, the magic system was not explained well (explanations came after several chapters) and it felt like the worldbuilding was just being teased. i had no clear picture of what the food looked or tasted like, only that it was a certain color or that it was delicious. there were too many descriptions of palaces and clothes, which would've been fine, but it was not balanced by character development or anything else, so the book felt stuffed with architecture and clothing.

the characters were not as complex as i had expected from adult fantasy and i wanted more of the siblings' relationship dynamics explored, so i wish we had more time developing each of them. the twins' dynamic was told more than shown and the other siblings had barely any personality. rhea was naïve and weak for someone who's lived for so long, and even though she was sheltered and privileged most of her life she should not have been as inexperienced as she was portrayed to be. and lexos was not interesting at all. the other two siblings were even more two-dimensional than the twins. i was not invested in any of the twins' storylines, so i took all the events passively. i thought the politics were dry and unconvincing, because we did not have time to establish and develop the countries' relationships, and were only told of the international relations briefly. so, i felt like the plot and characters had the illusion of depth because of how long and slow the story unfolds, when in reality it's a pretty shallow and mediocre story.

overall, there wasn't anything remarkable about the book. it's not terrible, it's just OK.

I’m really sad but I’m DNFing this one at 35%.

Right off the bat, Rory Power’s writing is gorgeous. Really lyrical and beautiful, and absolutely what has kept me going through the book.

The concept has really intrigued me so I think I might grab the audiobook when it’s released. I think reading and listening at the same time might hold my attention a bit better.

However, the world building was just confusing and not well explained. I’m generally pretty good with high fantasy and don’t often struggle with world building, but so many people and places have been thrown around and I really can’t tell what’s relevant and what’s not.

By 35%, I feel like I should have a pretty good grasp of the world but it’s just a bit all over the place and I’m struggling to care about the world or the characters. It kind of feels like there are so many people, places, and concepts mentioned that the main characters aren’t as developed as they should be. I also don’t understand most of the magic system and, considering the whole premise is two twins who are being torn apart, there seems to be very little chemistry between the two of them.

I was really looking forward to this one, so, hopefully, I get on a bit better with the audiobook.

2 stars for the concept and absolutely gorgeous writing.

This book cover.. wow. It's the most stunning book I have ever seen.

Because it's so pretty, I was counting on the contents being slightly disappointing. I have not read Rory Power's earlier work, since I don't read YA often, but I was interested if this adult fantasy novel would appeal to me. And it did! The world-building is unique and original, the characters are fleshed-out, and I loved reading it. Here's to hoping she writes a sequel, or even other fantasy novels!