A rich, magical and powerful fantasy with a brilliant world and plenty of twists, Nora and Lotte are my favourite characters and I really enjoyed Nora’s relationship with August. The ending had me hooked and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

The Notorious Virtues is a fantastic fantasy that kept me up late into the night turning pages. As a fan of Hamilton's debut, Rebel of the Sands, I was very much looking forward to her newest novel, and my expectations were certainly exceeded. Hamilton's inventive tale of an heiress fighting for her fortune is quite unforgettable.

The novel is the first in a planned trilogy and it artfully sets up a vibrant, clever world, high stakes, powerful magic, and a cast of vivid characters. Walstad, a city where the rulers enjoy outrageous wealth and the impoverished are neglected and maltreated, is a spectacularly intriguing setting. The glitzy haven is brimming with luxury, danger, injustice, and threat of rebellion. Furthermore, the city is surrounded by a magical woods and Hamilton masterfully weaves in the folklore of the forest and the origins of the Holtzfall fortune.

While there are four POVs, the reader most commonly spends time with Honora (Nora) and Lotte. Nora Holtzfall is a rich, spoiled, yet exceedingly clever heiress hoping to solve her mother's murder. Lotte has been hidden away for years, and only learns of her Holtzfall heritage once the Veritaz trials begin. These two girls are very different, and I really enjoyed their interactions as they come to terms with what it means to be cousins in such a dangerous, bloodthirsty family.

There are also hints of romance in this first novel, which I truly enjoyed, and more than a fair share of wit and humour. Moreover, for a novel focused on a competition of virtues, almost every character is morally grey. The questionable integrity, anger, and resentment of the characters makes the story even more compelling and unpredictable. Speaking of unpredictability, the ending of this first in the trilogy is wonderfully unexpected and makes me excited for the future sequels.

I heartily recommend The Notorious Virtues to anyone looking for a new, original fantasy adventure. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games or Brandon Sanderson novels, this book is for you. I had a rollicking time joining Nora, Lotte, August, and Theo.

*I received an e-ARC for free in exchange for an honest review*

The story unfolds within the glittering yet treacherous confines of the Holtzfall family, where a deadly competition known as the Veritaz determines the heir to a vast fortune and magical dominion. The Holtzfalls are embroiled in a contest that tests not only their magical prowess but also their moral compasses. As the trials progress, the line between virtue and vice blurs, revealing the dark (but not unsuprising) underbelly of a society obsessed with power and prestige.

"The Notorious Virtues" is a compelling reminder that the monsters we fear may not lurk in the shadows but could be hiding in plain sight, adorned with the trappings of virtue. When you dig a little deeper its also a reminder of the safety and security everyone takes for granted, even when they think they the opressed

For those who enjoy a story that delves into the complexities of human nature and the paradoxes of morality, "The Notorious Virtues" is poised to be on the top of the TBR pile. It stands as a testament to the idea that literature can be both an escape and a reflection, providing a space to confront the uncomfortable truths about ourselves and the societies we inhabit.

Thanks to Netgalley and Faber and Faber for a review copy of this book. Alwyn Hamilton further expands the world from her previous series in this new start of a series filled with rivals for magic power and riches. With the heir to the powerful family now dead it is clear that a new heir must be chosen from among the granddaughters of the current ruler of the family. It must be the granddaughters because there’s only one opportunity to claim the position and the heir’s children have had their chance. Nora, whose mother was the heir until her murder a few day’s previously, is the obvious candidate to win, but she knows that there are many scrupulous people out there who would give anything or do anything to see her fail. Especially her cousins. But the talents and power she does have, the magic rings and other spelled objects help give her an advantage and the protection from the large family of knights born to serve the family members puts her childhood friend Alex at her side most times all give her an advantage. Until her favourite aunt springs a surprise daughter on the family as a last minute contender. Lotte seems naïve and easily manipulated but as the days progress and Lotte finds her own power and talent of mind reading not an evil thing as she believed but something she can put to use. The tension builds as each cousin finds strategies as they await each new test that will eventually lead to the winner.

A tense plot built on confrontations and incidents that show each character with all their positive and negative attributes helps to give a richer understanding of the main characters in the story. The world building was solid enough and well established to navigate the issues and goals of the narrative. With multiple viewpoints the story presents many angles that shape the direction of the narrative and provide greater intrigue at times. It makes for a good start to a new series all in all and fans of the previous series as well as newcomers will definitely enjoy it and look out for the next instalment.

Sparkling, twisted, magical, spellbinding and so much more. A perfect book for book clubs. Sit down and prepare to be transported to another world.

Thanks to Netgallery for my ARC of this book, my first by Alwyn Hamilton. This book needs to be published now so I can own my own copy and read again. Fantastic world building, magic, money, power, treachery and so many twists and turns, it makes you breathless reading. And the ending… Need a sequel soon!

I received an arc copy of this via NetGalley before any corrections to be made. I didn’t think this book was going to be as long as it was. I felt that there was too much going on at once and I thought the multiple pov was very confusing, I kept getting them mixed up in the beginning. I didn’t feel the trials were seamless because of the other things going on it was all mushed up into one. Regardless of that I couldn’t put the book down, there is so much potential and I really did enjoy it when I was over half way, I think when all the corrections have been made this will be a great book and I will probably buy it so I have it on my shelf as a trophy. I do recommend this book 100%

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

The Notorious Virtues is a fun 1920s inspired fantasy. It is part political intrigue, murder mystery and part magical trials; with the trials often taking a bit of a back seat throughout the plot.
We read through multiple different POVs and each of them had a distinct voice and perspective that helped me understand their world.

It is very obvious the author has put a lot of time and effort into crafting this world. However, the combination of 1920s aesthetic with fairytale felt jarring and often left me confused. In the same world we have cars, mechanical steampunk-esque wolves and fairytale creatures and curses.

Overall a fun book but not necessarily a world I’d want to return to.

As a fan of the Rebel of the Sands trilogy, I was really looking forward to finally reading this book! While it admittedly had quite a slow start, when the plot begins to unravel and the characters (specifically Nora) start to drive the story ahead, it really emerges as an engaging read.

Honora (Nora) was such a strong character in a band of different personalities. She was well-balanced, motivated and had the most entertaining interactions throughout the book - especially when she starts to develop her relationship with August. I would love for this to become a larger focus in the sequel.

Lotte took a bit more growing to, but I enjoyed her development after she accepted her Holtzfall heritage and started to take pride in it.

As a whole, the story was engaging with multitudes of narratives in terms of characters and plot lines, in which Alwyn has clearly added to the beginnings of her expansive universe established in her original RotS trilogy.

An astonishing read. You can't help but be captivated by the world and its characters. It was impossible to not want more.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of The Notorious Virtues from the publisher.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with TNV. I found the characters to all be very distinct, especially the four main POV characters, and didn’t struggle to know who was who at any given time. I think the characters were what really made the book for me. I loved their interactions as they learned who they could trust and built unlikely relationships with one another.

TNV is a twist on the ‘deadly games / tournament’ trope as a group of wealthy teenagers compete to see who will be the heir to their families fortune and magic. The plot largely follows two of these teenagers: with two of the others being largely irrelevant and another more of a side character who exists to irritate our protagonists.

The trials were all reasonably innovative and I really enjoyed that they could pop up at any point in the story. There were times where they felt like more of a side plot to the many other twists and mysteries going on in the background, but I think this helped TNV not fall into the trap of being too stale for me to want to keep reading.

There is a magic system however I think this is one of the weaker parts of the book. It wasn’t explained too well and the difference between innate inherited magic, special gifts and charms that could be used by anyone felt arbitrary to me. There were more than a few occasions that convenient magic and some well-timed run-ins with other characters meant that otherwise deadly situations were avoided.

Overall I really enjoyed my time with the book and can’t wait to get my hands on the next instalment in the series. I think anyone who likes reading about rich teenagers, family drama and deadly tournaments is going to really enjoy this one.

This really gripped me from the beginning

I loved all the characters and this book was so well written and can not wait to see what more the author has to offer

I have some mixed feelings about this book. Although the story was good and for the more part enjoyable, I found myself wishing it would hurry up and get to the end. It's a big story with a lot of political discourse, shoved into a book that felt it should just have been able the family and the magic trials the heiresses had to undergo.
Now that's not to say that the political stuff wasn't necessary, it was important to the world but it was nothing new. Poor people with no magic are mad at rich people with magic and want to turn the tides.
I think perhaps what got me was that some parts were really exciting and some dragged on. It felt like a much longer read than it should have.
So although a bit of me enjoyed this book...another bit was just relieved to reach the end. I don't see me bothering with the sequel.

This was excellent- from the sharp and unpredictable plot to the well observed characters that really made the setting feel real and lived in. It would have been really easy for Lotte to feel boring next to the glittering socialite Nora, or for Nora to seem shallow next to Lotte, but both girls came through strongly and complemented each other perfectly. I loved the romance, too- especially Nora’s. It’s been a while since I’ve read a fantasy book I enjoyed this much, and I eagerly await the sequel and, hopefully, its deeper dive into the magic underpinning the world.

First of all I would like to thank Netgalley and publisher Faber and Faber Ltd for an Earc of this book. This is my honest opinion.
If you love great world building, magic, trials, family secrets and power struggles then this might just be for you.
We follow Nora and Lotte, the former having everything and the later having nothing, until Nora's mother is found dead and Nora suddenly has to compete in the Veritaz Trials with her cousins to determine who will be the next heiress.
Cue trials, power struggles, secrets and mysteries to solve.
This book was great, 5 stars and i need to know what happened, when is the next book??
Look out for this book on March 27th 2025

One of my favourite reads of the year !! Easy 5 stars !! It was a fast paced, page turner that has left me so excited for the sequel. Each character’s POV was had me invested in each of their storylines, and kept me guessing all the way through.

4.5/5⭐️

‚Life is completely fair to those who deserve it‘

When her mother is found dead in an alley, the Holtzfall’s have to find a new heir for their family throne, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one worthy family heir.

I haven‘t heard of this book until I saw this beautiful cover and e-ARC up for request on Netgalley! Thank you so much Netgalley and to the author Alwyn Hamilton for providing this ARC!

The story is told through multiple POV’s. Each character comes from a different background, which made it easy for me to keep them apart. Most of the time, the story picked right back up, whenever there was a POV change. This was so refreshing, as I usually struggle with books that involve a lot of different POV’s, especially when you have to follow more than one or two different story lines. This wasn’t the case for this book.
I loved the way the Author connected and developed the characters relationships. It felt natural and not forced at all. There is some romance in this book which was fitting to the story and heartwarming, I really liked it.

Not only are the Holtzfall’s the wealthiest family in Walstadt, but they are also gifted with magic. They definitely came in handy throughout the story, while the Cousins have to accomplish each of the trials, using their own unique magical gift. It was definitely well integrated!

In the beginning of the book, there was not enough world building in my opinion, as I was confused in what age/time the book takes place in. It became a lot more clear throughout the story.

I really enjoyed this YA urban fantasy novel a lot and would definitely recommend it.
I found this fast paced and adventurous story absolutely entertaining.

I really wanted to like this book but I struggled with it. I felt it jumped all over the place. I get what the author was trying to do but maybe I wasn't in the right mind set to read it. Xx

This is a near perfect fantasy, a glorious concoction of fairytale, 1920 style politics and society, family dynamics, revolution and betrayal, vividly written and expertly plotted. I didn't want to put it down.
A ruling family, descended from the city's founder, rich in both fortune and magic, only one can rule. And, as the only heir to the heir, Nora Holtzfall has always known it will be her . Beautiful and talented, Nora is the city's darling, on the front cover of every newspaper, her partying lifestyle headline material. But when her mother is murdered her status of heir is no longer certain. Now she and her cousins will have to take part in the trials every generation of Holtzfalls is subjected to, the Veritas trials, unexpected, dangerous and designed to see who is most virtuous, who deserves to be heir.
But with Nora also desperate to find out what happened to her mother and with revolt fermenting in the city, this year's trials are going to be more treacherous than ever, in every way.
A brilliant start to what promises to be a stand out series. Highly recommended.

"Well, I must apologise for my absense. The truth is I really, really would just have rather gouged out my own eyes than spend two hours watching Modesty do almost anything"

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really struggled trying to figure out if I would give this 3.5 or a solid 4 stars.
I've settled on 4, because despite my reservations, I am still thinking about that ending.

This had the potential to be absolutely fantastic.
I am a games/trials girly at heart, and believed this was RIGHT down my alley.

However, the pacing was a little bit confusing, and while all 4 (5 including the historical chapters) POVs were meant to connect, and all told the same story that eventually intertwined; it felt like there were 4 different story arcs happening. It felt very disjointed and I felt like I was bouncing around constantly, not able to really commit to a storyline.

The middle third of the book was just not for me; I struggled to want to pick it up, and very nearly DNF'd it at about 55%.
I'm really glad I did finish it, because the last 25-15% was worth it, and I will be continuing the series.

I just wish some of the other story arcs weren't as convoluted as they were.

Thank you to NetGalley, Faber and Faber, and Alwyn Hamilton for the opportunity to read this eARC.