Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley & Jo Riccioni for a digital galley of The Branded in exchange for an honest review.

Out of all the fantasy books I’ve read recently, this one was probably my least favorite. With that said, it wasn’t bad – just not as good as many others I’ve recently read.

One big turn off for me were the uber long chapters. I lose interest and become bored really quickly when chapters last FOREVER. That may just be a personal preference, but I feel like if the chapters had been shorter, my opinion might be just the tiniest bit higher.

So many things were done well by the author. The character development, the world building, the lore & main idea of the story were fantastic. The author is obviously very talented.

The main character irritated me to no end & the whole story seemed a little juvenile for my tastes.

I know many readers enjoyed this book, but it is one that I will pass on continuing with for the series.

I am rating it 3-Stars. I will not be promoting it, but I also will not speak negatively of it.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book!!! I was hooked from the beginning. The female lead was strong, feisty and everything you want in a fantasy. I loved the other characters as well and can't wait to watch the growth of them in the next book. This was Handmaid's Tail, witches, a not-necessarily deadly infection, and a little Hunger Games sprinkled into one beautifully written book. One of the relationships gave Daenerys and Khal vibes and I loved that. I also appreciated that the romance did not overpower the plot.

Overall this was a very unique read and I can't wait for book 2!

I want to express my gratitude to Angry Robot for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. From the very start, this book captured my heart and kept me engrossed throughout.

The depiction of breeding in the story stirred up strong emotions in me, evoking anger, yet the portrayal of Nara as a resilient and evolving young woman filled me with hope.

I was completely immersed in the world that was created, a dystopian setting with subtle echoes of other works in the genre yet wholly unique and thoughtfully articulated. This world drew me in and held me captive, adding depth and richness to the overall narrative.

"The Branded” is a rollercoaster of emotions, encompassing feelings of hope, anger, sadness, intrigue, and frustration. I am eagerly anticipating the release of the next and final book in this captivating duology.

Oh my goodness, where to start??? This book grabbed my attention and help it from start to finish! Nara and Osha are a wonderful pair of sisters who have to deal with a world of political deception, propaganda, mystery, and all sorts of revelations. The relationship that the sisters share is very sweet, and goes through a lot of change and growth throughout the novel. The characters all have been incredibly fleshed out and have flaws and strengths that make them incredibly realistic. I am on tenterhooks waiting for the sequel to come out!!!!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot publishing for the opportunity to Arc read “The Branded”. I really enjoyed reading this book. It had a little enemies to lovers, arranged marriages, and magic. What’s not to love. There is a lot of fun banter between Nara and The Wrangler they were my two favorite characters. I cannot wait for the next book it left on quite a cliff hanger and The Wrangler has a lot of explaining to do! Lol

This story started off slow I had some difficulty getting into it. But stuck with it, and it paid off. It's a complex fantasy that unfolds as you go. It's a very slow burn romance with witty characters and a complex world. Overall a good read!

The Branded thrusts the reader into a divided world and fully immerses them. I throughly enjoyed this book and liken the feelings I got to when I read Forth Wing, as it read like a celebration of previous reads. For example, there is the dystopian vibes of The Grace Year and The Hunger Games. Themes of sexism, classism, prejudice and racism are explored. In terms of fantasy elements there’s witches, healers, prophecies, deadly viruses and wastelands. The FMC is badass and a hunter/fighter. Basically a recipe for plenty of action and adventure. The tropes/characters aren’t new but they still felt unique. There’s a very slow slow-burn romance that was not at the forefront of the story and I liked its understated nature. Definitely invested in this book now, especially with that ending!
A great plot, pace and a celebration of powerful women. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I wanted to love this book so much. The premise, world building, lore, and characters were so well done.
What lost me was most of the significant events were happening outside of our main characters point of view. Nara is dragged along through the story by events or from deception and her thoughts became a little repetitive. If Branded had multiple POV’s (Osha, Brim, Nixim, even Haus) I think it would have been a more dynamic read.
That being said I still really enjoyed this book and the huge world and I’m interested to see what happens in book two!

At first, I loved the world-building and magic system this book had to offer, but when reading it I found it hard to get into it. There were too many storylines and plots for me. Sometimes it was hard for me to read smoothly because of some terms and word choices. The main character Nara can come across as overly angsty. However, she is also very brave and bold. Nara goes on one immense quest to find out who she is when it appears that she's a Branded. Contrary to her twin sister Osha. The main quest is clear and adventurous, but it feels a bit too elaborated with too many side quests. On her journey, Nora is accompanied by the mysterious and charismatic Wrangler. They have amazing banter and witty remarks towards one another, making their relationship a sufficient enemies-to-lovers. Every character is written well and in-depth. Sometimes they felt a bit flat, but there is some character development. Personally, 'The Branded' was a bit too elaborate, flat en complex. However, it has an amazing fantasy world-building that I think everyone should give a try.

The Branded written by Jo Riccioni is a completely different type of fantasy. You will find all of your favourite tropes, absolutely, but the writing style is invigorating, conversational, so immersive and absolutely entertaining. The beauty is that it is a crossover with speculative or dystopic fiction and this new style had me hooked and I really want to read more!

YA is not usually my jam, but I would say this is Ya into Adult in the writing style, so again, it straddles genres imho.
There was an exceptional amount of worldbuilding and character development to lay a strong foundation for this series. The magic system is unique as is the premise. Kept my interest throughout, so much so that I did a side by side read/listen with the audiobook. Certainly one to watch out for

Thank you to Netgalley, Angry Robot and the fantastic author Jo Riccioni for this awesome ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

The Branded by Jo Riccioni is a fast-paced adventure of survival, freedom, the dark truth and a little bit of romance. Twins Nara and Osha live in a World where people are born branded or pure. The pure live in a settlement and the women are coveted for pairing with suitable pure males to continue the perfect bloodlines. When one of the twins is sent away from the settlement and there is an attack, chaos ensues.

This was a lot of addictive fun! It was easy reading, enemies to lovers, strong FMC with great banter and discovering magic. It is slow burn but doesn’t only focus on the romance.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Epic, complex, and action packed rollercoaster ride of adventure, passions, betrayals, and destinies. Richly developed reality that sucks you in and keeps you addicted with bated breath. Can't say enough about this one, ends on a cliff and we wait not so patiently for the next ...

If The Grace Year, Divergent, & The Prison Healer had a baby, it would be this book! In this story, there has been a plague impacting the majority of the people in the world, called the “Branded”. Those who remain uninfected are considered “Pure”, with Pure women being the only people who can pass on resistance to the virus to their offspring. Despite the Pure women being the key to the success of future generations, they’re treated like cattle. But there may be another way to defeat this virus. I really enjoyed the magic system, the world building, & the political intrigue of this world. The treatment of women in this world made me feel so many emotions. The characters were multifaceted & felt realistic. Overall, I really enjoyed this read! My only critique would be that sometimes the pacing felt inconsistent- the beginning & end of the story was quite fast paced, while the middle portion was on the slow side. Still loved the story & I’m so excited to see what happens in book 2!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this first book in a new and interesting fantasy series! It was a slow burn story, but the interesting characters and qworld building kept my attention! I really enjoyed the romance and chemistry between Nara and the wrangler! I can't wait to read the next book and see what happens!

I read another review that said this is going to be a series, and for that I am grateful. While not the most perfect debut, this series has a lot of potential. While I didn't love all of the references to religion, I found the characters and the writing style to be quite interesting. I look forward to what this author has to offer in the future!

This book is written from Nara's point of view. It follows Nara and her twin sister Osha and their privileged life of being unbranded and pure. Until one day everything changes and turns their world upside down.
I absolutely loved Nara. She is witty, sassy and strong. The banter between her and the Wrangler was brilliant and had me laughing. The world building and descriptions were perfect and easy to imagine. The whole story was beautifully written and I can't wait for the next installment.
I switched between reading both the book and audio. The audio is perfectly narrated and portrayed Nara as I thought she would sound. The narrator got Nara's wit and sarcasm spot on.
I would highly recommend to anyone who loves fantasy, or if you are wanting to dip your toes into the genre. Not there's not too much in the way of details or characters to make you feel lost as is the case in high end fantasy, and is very easy to follow.

Thank you to Netgalley, Angry Robot, Bolinda Audio and Jo Riccioni for this ARC and Audio in exchange for an honest review

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher (through the Netgalley website) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Angry Robots for providing me with this copy!

My overall rating would be 3.5*, and I recommend this book for fans of dystopia or YA fantasy who are looking for a fast-paced and engaging read.

The Branded is relatively short compared to other fantasies I read, and was a quick and fun read, a good refresher between longer books in series I have been enjoying. Overall, the plot was interesting and the world-building was done well, yet this didn't make a 4* for me as some of the characters felt too one-dimensional. There also were times when reading this that I felt the story was too rushed, and could have benefitted from being more drawn out to fully flesh out the plot. My standards for fantasy at this point are very high, though, and I think that this book is definitely a good choice for anyone looking to get into fantasy, or who just wants an action-filled and quick read.

Thank you again to Angry Robots for the free copy!

5/5 ⭐️
Spiciness: 1/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot Publishing for the opportunity to review this ARC ebook.

This book is the first of a fantasy romance duology, and let me tell you, I could not put it down. The world building definitely starts out heavy, but I was transported to a new world and I absolutely loved it.

General Tropes/Themes:
- First person POV
- Strong female main character
- Banter/tension
- Unique magic system
- Twists and turns

I devoured this book and just could not put it down. The character development, the tension, the world created… It was just very well done and beautifully written. I cannot wait to read book 2.

This book made me laugh, made me cry, made me fall in and out of love and feel things I didn't even know I could. The social commentaries around gender, race and class are beautifully incorporated, thought-provoking and weaved perfectly into the story; driving it rather than overshadowing it.

The characters are flawed and relatable and feel so real it's like they jump from the pages to reel you in. The way Riccioni slowly builds their relationships, with as much focus on the familial and platonic relationships with "side" characters as there is on the romantic relationship, is nothing short of masterful. Every single character is beautifully fleshed out, with their own purposes, motives, strengths, weaknesses and flaws. Each one is moving and leaves you craving to know more about them and what drives them.

The world building is exquisite and drives the plot and politics perfectly. The description of Nara's surroundings are perfect, pulling you right into the World. You're given just enough information about the history to pique your interest, but the first person perspective of a teenage girl still finding her way in the World leaves you yearning to unravel more.

The enemies-to-lovers relationship is so well executed. It's natural, never rushed, and the slow-burn is exquisitely tantalising as Nara battles with trust, betrayal and obscured motives as she falls. But the true love story in this book is between Nara and Osha. There is no love quite like that shared between two sisters. It is unrelenting, unbreakable and a force to be reckoned with. The Branded plays with this theme so well, throwing so many trials and hurdles at the two girls and allowing their love to shine through it all; a beacon in an otherwise hopeless situation, there is nothing either of them wouldn't do for the other.

This book is a work of art, and I need the next one yesterday. Even the acknowledgments made me cry.

I think the big problem with some of the great books is that they don't have the hook. Unfortunately, it is necessary to have a perfect hook so readers can give your book a chance. I'm saying this because readers may not give it the chance it deserves, and in my opinion, it deserves a chance! The concept can be summed up as a fantasy Handmaiden tale, and while what we discover is simple without much room for nuance, it does send the message across quite well. It's not something you've never seen before, but it's not mediocre and is actually done well. Even the annoying love triangle did not bother me, and while it's painfully slow, it's ultimately satisfying in the last half. So, if you plod through the slower section, you'll get a rewarding story.