I did not like this the way I so hoped I would. I feel very much like it was a woman written by a man (in this case many women) and the immediate sexual discourse just threw me off for the rest of the book. The plot is interesting but I wouldn’t recommend this to a friend.

a story of feminine rage, found family, love and the power of personal strength
Kita is selected as the Junior Commander of the Futuristic Legion, becoming the famed Angel of Yorq, champion of Dueling, she enters the combat battle Ritual proving skill and honor
as the daughter of a duke and duchess, she has duties preset by birth forcing her to choose her own destiny and path.
Her mother reveals Kita is the heiress to a powerful title in Arcone and should claim it before entering the ritual
Kita makes it clear she would rather die then fail the ritual but with her own secrets battling kitas position in power, she must fight her way to the top and protect her loved ones
Gorey, violent, dark and mysterious, this book is perfect for VC Andrews and Xiran Jay Zhao fans!

I enjoyed the story, but the first half of Birthright could use another round of editing. There are quite a few typos and mistakes in the first few chapters. It would also benefit from a prologue exploring Kita's past and skill acquisition to help the reader understand her more and become better invested in her. I found it difficult to become invested until halfway through the book, but after that, I couldn't put it down. More character descriptions, especially of the cat Sarge, would help the reader build a better mental image.
In short, I enjoyed the story and the characters, I just feel it needs a bit more editing.

This was a solid premise for a story and one that did explore contemporary issues in an alternate reality. The problem for me, however, is it felt like a mishmash of stuff. The chapters were straight out of central casting from different sci-fi/fantasy genres. The same can be said of all the weapons that were used by characters in the book. It started out as swords, but morphed into more high tech weapons/explosive towards the end of the book. I lost the thread of the story with all the constantly changing details.

I did really enjoy the main character, though. Kita is tough as nails and doesn’t care anything about the expectations put on her by society. She blazes her own trail and kicks a lot of ass while doing it. She is not one to underestimate!

DNF at 9%.

I really liked the premise of this book, and the characters seemed interesting right from the start. However, it feels like I entered into the second or third book in a series instead of the first. So much of the worldbuilding and characterization within the first chapter felt like info dumping. This book wasn't for me, but someone who likes faster paced stories might enjoy it more.

I will not be posting a review on Goodreads or any other site, as I do not think I read enough of the book to be able to recommend it.

Entertaining and different! Kita is a complex character with a rich and complex personality. Birthright is a riveting, fast-paced coming of age story with an intriguing blend of settings (blending of historical eras), genres (fantasy, sci-fi), and themes. This is a fun read and look forward to where the story goes and how Kita develops.

Kita the assassin is not the most likeable character--she's an antihero--but she's certainly one of the most complex personalities I've read about. Despite her self-centredness, there are lines even she won't cross and she is incredibly loyal to those who stand by her. You will feel empowered along with Kita as you read this book.

As someone who's been a fan of this series for a few years, I've read most of the books. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys strong female leads and sci-fi. It's reminiscent of some of the best high-action anime series (Blue Eyed Samurai comes to mind because of its fast pace and vengeful protagonist).

You don't have to be part of the LGBTQ+ community to enjoy this series. Also, Birthright doesn't delve as much into Kita's relationships, but the rest of the books definitely do.