This is very much a book where style has completely overwhelmed, obfuscated, ornati-fied and ostentatiousized the substance. It’s a chore to read. Descriptions are laboriously hammered out, every character speaks with the same pompous voice, and it’s a shame because at times there are some actually nice images, some very eloquent turns of phrase … but there’s so much nonsense around it that it’s like trying to see the diamonds amongst the cut glass.

It’s one thing for an immortal or a highly educated person attending a surgical college to use $50 dollar words, but some farmer from another country or kingdom or some local ruffians, all using the same language, speaking in exactly the same style? It makes it clear that no thought has been given to what these characters would sound like as people. Rather than having individual motives and motivations, they are merely there to be dolls, moved along by the plot and doing — and saying — what the plot needs them to.

I found it hard to care about the plot when I was struggling so much with the writing, and struggling to stay interested long enough to read the next page, let alone the next chapter. The world building is lackluster, forced into confusing and clumsy shape by the needs of the plot rather than being a support for the story. There are a few errors scattered about, such as breaches instead of breeches, and a few words used for flavour rather than accuracy — again, style over substance — that kept snagging my attention. This is, I think, a debut, but it’s not an enjoyable one.

I’m very sorry, but skip this book. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really wanted to love this book and feel that it has very high potential. The writing style is beautiful and the plot is intriguing. The first 20% or so had me hooked but then it started to get very confusing.

I don’t think this book is bad at all but I think it needs more work. Definitely more world building, character development, and detail.

Thank you to the author and publishers for this ARC!!

What I liked:
- the book’s theme is about addiction and how it affects people differently, and gives lots of different perspectives of this
- the world building is great. It’s very descriptive and it helps the reader picture the world
- I love a strong female character!!

What I’d change:
- jumping from different POVs can sometimes get complicated
- there’s a lot of things going on at once which makes it hard to follow at times
- the dialogue was very brief and could have benefitted from ‘fleshing out’

⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have never before read a story that centered around addiction and while the premise was intriguing the story was underdeveloped and failed to capture me. The story could have been developed into a trilogy at least, there was so much content and a few time skips that could have easily been fleshed out. Because of the constraints of trying to fit the story into one book, the world-building often was given as an infodump and the character growth was shown in leaps instead of smooth arcs. By 3/4 of the story I was genuinely interested to now how everything was going to work together, but was disappointed by how lackluster the climax of the book was.

Most of the characters began as very unlikable which made it hard to connect with them for the first 1/2 of the book. While they work through their individual problems, the fact that every single character was rather dislikable made me not want to root for any of them. The prose itself wasn't awful, but needed more time to properly develop the world and the lore.

Overall, this story could have been expounded into an epic fantasy series, but as it stands it feels more like an elaborate outline than a fleshed out novel.

The world of Dustria felt like a wide thought out one, we had lots of different people across the kingdoms including one in the island prison of Dustria.
It was interesting to see how so many different people in different societal positions could be influenced and center their lives on substance abuse. Also interesting was the exploration of sexual abuse within such a drug-focused hierarchy. Khorda one of the powerful Immortals sleeps with Tansia, his much younger servant whom he knows is desperate for any kind of survival in this twisted world. Because it is in third person we observe the unfolding narrative and can note these little additions that truly show how much Sankar had put into her worldbuilding.
Sapphire is a drug that this world is centred on; the Immortals (who set themselves up as gods above everyone else as the only people who can drink it without suffering dark consequences and the Others who have succumbed to the Sapphire and become twisted monstrous animalistic not-people. Between these are the normal people, the ones who are not heavily imbibing on this forbidden substance but can fall easily prey to it because of the rampant black market.
One of the characters Nalin’s son aged around ten died because of the Sapphire abuse and Nalin was sent to Dustria with a life sentence for murdering his Sapphire dealer. Nalin himself has gone deeper into a twisted kind of morality, selling humans that are addicts to the Others (as slaves and possibly a food source).
Also the idea that you just throw away the societal problems but don’t seek to address the problem at the core which is society and the Immortals is really interesting.
However a negative that took this rating down a little was that the narratives jumped rapidly between a huge cast of characters, I struggled to grasp all their different stories and how they related to the overall plot of the Sapphire. However despite this it was still an interesting read.

I had high hopes for this book, especially with the intriguing premise, but sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I was promised a dark and beautiful story, yet all I found was frustration and confusion. The writing felt flat, and the characters lacked any real development, leaving me disconnected from the story.

The book’s structure didn’t help either. The constant reference to a character guide at the start was more of an obstacle than a tool. It made the reading experience feel more like a chore than an enjoyable escape. I didn’t feel like I was being transported to a different world; instead, I felt bogged down by unnecessary details and lackluster descriptions.

I understand that this is a debut novel, and I wanted to give it a fair chance, but it felt like it was missing a lot of the creativity and polish needed to make it shine. There was too much focus on overanalyzing and dissecting the text, when all I wanted was to dive into an immersive story. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with it, and I ended up putting it down halfway through.

This book had potential, but it needed far more work to bring it to life. I hope the author continues to develop their craft, but this one wasn’t for me. That's why I'm giving it 1 aka 0 ⭐.

I was hooked from the cover and description, it had that element that I was looking for and was glad it was so well written. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed how the magic was used in this world. Madhurika Sankar was able to weave a strong start and worked overall in this universe. I thought it was a great idea to ask the question of what if someone kills a immortal. It was overall a strong story and was glad I read this.

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.