I really enjoyed the start of this book!
The world building was nice and the magic system was intriguing!
I enjoyed the strong female characters being the focus. Sula's journey was interesting and the tension kept me hooked, until it didn't.

The writing left me wanting, the sentences were too short, too final. It made the narrative feel low quality and made it hard to connect with characters on a deeper, more emotional level: I was intrigued but I didn't really care.

I don't feel like I wasted my time reading Dustria but it's not something I would re-read!

Thankyou netgalley for the book

I received an advanced reader copy of Dustria and want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for giving me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my honest review!

Dustria is a multi-POV novel set in the high-fantasy world of Erath, a realm composed of three continents where Immortals, humans, and the Others exist—and sometimes coexist. There’s a lot happening in Erath: kingdoms teeter on the brink of war, addiction runs rampant, and Immortals—revered as gods—are revealed to be fallible.

One of my favorite aspects of Dustria was its exploration of addiction. The consistent mention and use of Sapphire by various characters—and their differing levels of dependency and perspectives on the substance—created an authentic depiction of addiction and the culture surrounding it. This book stands out for addressing addiction without fully demonizing it. The way it’s written makes me think Sankar has been personally touched by addiction in some way, which adds depth and authenticity to the narrative.

Sankar’s writing is truly brilliant. Her prose is lyrical and captivating, making it easy to keep reading even when the plot feels overwhelming. She uses language masterfully, painting vivid scenes that linger long after the book is finished.

I also appreciated the complex and compelling themes woven throughout the story: addiction, betrayal, forbidden love, coming into one’s own, and reconciliation. Sankar does a fantastic job delving into these themes, and they kept me engaged from start to finish.

That said, I feel like this book only scratches the surface of the story it wants to tell. It could have benefited from being a short series rather than a standalone novel. So much is introduced right from the first chapter that a slightly slower, more exploratory pace would have allowed the story to fully unfold.

At the start of the book, there’s a character directory and a map. While helpful in theory, flipping back and forth to the directory felt like a hassle, so I decided to meet the characters as they were introduced. That approach worked better for me, though I still got confused at times. Once I identified the recurring voices, I focused on them, which made it easier to follow the story. The map, however, didn’t help as much as I’d hoped. Many locations mentioned weren’t marked, making it difficult to piece everything together. At times, I wondered if I was mixing up continents. Ultimately, I did my best to keep the locations straight and didn’t stress too much over the details.

The multiple POVs made for a challenging read, especially in the first half. There’s a lot happening all at once, and it took some time to understand how everything connected. By part three, I found my groove and became fully immersed in the story.

Despite my frustrations, I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy darker themes and beautiful prose. For me, it’s a three-star read. If it were the first in a series, I would have rated it higher—but both unfortunately and fortunately, it left me wanting more.

Once again, I’d like to thank Madhurika Sankar, NetGalley, and BooksGoSocial for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC!

I unfortunately didn't vibe with the author's writing style, which made it hard for me to understand and follow the lore and world of the story. I found the purple prose was laid too thick, so it was quite much for me.

“Can we redeem ourselves from terrible mistakes made in our younger years or do we, sometimes, need to find alternative ways to frame our lives in order to grow as individuals?” When I read, I find myself wanting to get lost in a book but all this book has so far done is lose me. Claimed to be “dark, disturbing and beautiful,” I find this ‘praise’ to be slightly misleading as the only disturbing thing about this is how much this feels like a draft of a book that needs a phenomenal amount of work. Understandably, this is the author's Debut novel but I feel like more work needs to go into this to make it the masterpiece the author is selling it as. Starting with the synopsis of the book, I was led to believe that I was to be reading a fantasy novel, not pulling apart a book for an English essay. I don’t want to think about hidden messages when reading fantasy. I want to get swept up in a world that makes me forget about the day to day. So far, all this book has done is make me think. From having to constantly refer to the obnoxiously overdone character guide at the beginning of the book that in no way helps a reader but just hinders us to flat characters with no depth and minimal description. I take no pleasure in giving books bad reviews but when I have to DNF a book that shows so much promise if only more creativity went into it, I don’t know what else to do.

An intriguing debut! I thoroughly enjoyed this story. There was just enough mystery and magic to keep me turning the pages. While there are parts that perhaps felt a little unpolished, I'm certain most readers would find this book redeeming.

Also an excellent addition to the shelves of anyone trying to diversify their reading this year.

Dustria by Madhurika Sankar is a masterpiece! Loved every second of this book. So so so good. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.