This book was so much fun! I have never read the author before but I enjoyed her style very much, so I think I might pick up some of her other books after this one. This one had a bit more romance than I expected but it had a lot of adventure and twists and turns that kept me entertained.

Alessandra is delightfully scandalous. She is witty and funny but also slightly sociopathic. She delights in using men and bucking the patriarchal system she lives in. She figures that if men can have a thousand lovers then the women must not be being very chaste either so why not. She killed the first boy who broke her heart and is determined to not make herself vulnerable ever again. Instead she has a mission to seduce the king and then kill him and take over his kingdom. She finally sees her opportunity with the engagement of her older sister, since she was not allowed to attend court until that time. She catches the Shadow King’s eye immediately and away we go.

I fully expected for the plot of the story to be a romance. I knew going in that Alessandra would fall in love with the king, and he with her, and she would no longer want to go through with her plan. So, I didn’t really mind when the story started taking me that way. Especially since the romance was handled with a lot of snark and lots of nefarious plotting and teasing. There was so much sexual tension in this book and it was delicious. Kallias set my heart pitter pattering and I hoped beyond hope that he was getting through to Alessandra too. He’s just so delightfully bad!

The only downside I had with this book was that I found the rules of the world building to be a tad inconsistent. We are told from the outset that this is a very Victorian world. Women are expected to be demure, chaste, and never be found in a compromising situation that could ruin their opportunities for a good marriage. Women cannot go to court to attempt to woo a husband until all of their older sisters are married off. The males of the family make the marriage arrangements. All of this is extremely typical. But then, it’s also okay for the nobles to be engaged in homosexual or bisexual relationships. Openly and at court. That certainly does not fit with the world you have built. At all. I am okay with either world. I am okay with a very straitlaced Victorian world. And I am okay with a slightly more liberal world encompassing people of all sexualities. But the two things don’t work well together.

This small gripe aside, I loved this book. It was wonderfully wicked and very sexy. I was sad it was over.

How do you kill a god? As her father's chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: to win back her honour, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying.

Lot of hit & miss here. First the premise is intriguing but kinda heavy-handed... and ridiculous.  A bunch of local villages have little to no contact with each other yet have so much in common: customs, language, traditions & their subjugation to the will of a powerful being.  It's explained Peruxolo just showed up one day, brought everyone to their knees with his powers & it's been downhill ever since.  They still venerate the goddess they've always prayed to- who never intervened in any of this- but this one's here, now & wants stuff.

The idea of a girl leading a village is unthinkable, yet Rasmira's father finds himself in just that situation what with having no sons in all of his brood.  His wife even feels the brunt of his disappointment for her role in all this and responds by both shunning her precocious child and seeking what she considers redemption in a very un-motherly way. Fortunately, Rasmira's sister is a master healer who's created a poultice that heals wounds almost immediately- based on properties of some of the local monsters- and packs a whole bunch of them for her before leaving.  Oddly enough, these come in pretty handy later on.  Whew- glad we dodged that bullet.

During her exile, Rasmira meets an unlikely pair of likewise exiled boys- Iric & Soren- who've been surviving in the wild for about a year now, via their partnership.   After the usual getting to know you/can we trust you process, Rasmira convinces the boys that by working together on their mattgurs, they can all go home- especially if they complete theirs first.  Luckily, Iric happens to be a master at smithcraft to make their weapons & armor and Soren's a pretty darn good hunter himself with a heart as big as the world, the kind of heart a girl could learn to appreciate in a guy.  Wow- what are the odds of all that happening?

Being a YA novel, the three teens with skills & reasoning far beyond those of the adults bond together and manage to do what the adults failed to even attempt in hundreds of years- including bonding together just to survive in the first place.  Go figure.

The concept of the mattgurs is almost incomprehensible.  You failed your Rite of Passage- now go away and die.  We'll assign you a challenge to make it look like you've got a chance to come home but, seriously- fuck off.  Why?  With almost no contact between villages, monsters all over the place and a god who demands so much tribute you need every able-bodied person on hand to meet quotas you're having trouble meeting... why would you do that? Finding, trapping & killing the monsters to complete their quests took some work, but it's nothing anyone else couldn't have done if they'd ever so much as TRIED!  Granted, solving the mystery of Peruxolo takes some effort & daring, but that's the worst part of the book: making everyone else dumb so the main characters seem smart by comparison.  It's made clear that no one's ever even attempted to before just so these three can save the day.

It's also LGBT-friendly, as Iric's open homosexuality isn't even an issue & his primary motivation is to get back to his village to reunite with the boy he loves.  The social commentary subtext feels forced seeing how same-sex relationships are normal yet women can't be warriors or leaders.

There's plenty of stuff to like here- the mystery of Peruxolo never really is one, but unearthing the details will hold your interest.  And there's some character moments & insights that are clever and the world itself is interesting.  It just all feels like set pieces that never really fit together.

3.5/5 stars.

***As her father's chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: to win back her honor, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying.***

I'm on page 199. Wasn't feeling it too much at first; seemed more focused on the idea of romance than telling the story. The heroine, Rasmina, was more intent on getting her first kiss from a boy than focusing on passing her battle test, even during the battle. But I gotta admit- I didn't see that particular twist coming.

Things have picked up since her exile: Rasmina discovers allies out in the Wilds and makes progress in her seemingly impossible quest to kill a god (who clearly isn't one). The idea that NO ONE ever ventured beyond the confines of their village is kinda odd and feels forced, but it's not that improbable. Like most YA books nowadays charactersare also LGBT- friendly.

***The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.***

I'm up to pg 317 of 848. This is the best book I've read in a long time! A true heir to the GoT style of storytelling, this a broad, sweeping drama of grand legends, noble beasts, evil monsters, tireless conspiracies, unsung heroes, hidden legacies and schemes high and low coalescing into a perfect storm. And like GoT, there's plenty of people you really shouldn't get too attached to. And I'm not even halfway done yet.

Audience: Young Adult

Format: Audiobook

We're outnumbered. Outgunned. Seven of my men lie dead on their backs. Two more jumped overboard as soon as they saw the black flag of the Night Farer on the horizon.

 

- opening paragraph

 

Seventeen-year-old Alosa is not only the daughter of the Pirate King, but also a captain of her own ship, and a powerful fighter with more than a few tricks up her sleeve. She allows herself to be captured in order to complete a mission for her father - to find one-third of an ancient map which leads to a legendary treasure.

Alosa is a strong, smart, fierce fighter, and she has a secret which can bend any man to her will. I like her character, but she seems a bit cocky at times and I couldn't figure out why (until the reveal). I love that Riden (the first mate of the pirates who unwittingly take Alosa prisoner) is clever enough to see through most of Alosa's tricks. Their rivalry makes it impossible for them to even imagine liking each other, but they can't deny they are both clever and strong-willed.

Alosa is easy to root for. Her relationship with Riden sometimes seems a certain disaster and other times seems meant to be. This book is well-written, exciting, and filled with action and unexpected twists. Even during the last battle, things happen that you won't see coming.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a high seas adventure with a strong female lead - young adults and adults too.

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

I received this book from Booklikes in exchange for an honest review.

Let's start with the cover. Damn, this book is beautiful. Love the font, love the design. Definitely makes you want to read it. On the inside cover, there is even a wonderful diagram of the Night Farer. Absolutely beautiful. I kind of wish there was an diagram of the Ava-lee as well, but Alosa spends way more time on the Night Farer in the book so I get it. Bottom line: the book is gorgeous.

Onto the plot. I loved that Alosa is the captain of her own ship and embodies a remarkable combination of strength and power along with sensitivity and compassion. She isn't a female captain pretending to be a male captain. She sticks with what she believes in and is 100% herself. The plot was very interesting. There are so many twists and turns (some are predictable, but it is still a fun adventure). There are so many layers to this book that it is easy to get lost in the story. Very engaging. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the whole love interest thing. Yes, Riden is ridiculously charismatic (and apparently hot), but the whole Beauty-and-the-Beast-Stockholm-Syndrome thing just isn't my taste. I was a little weirded out by the various references to threats of rape and assault. It made sense in the story, but I think it could be handled a bit better for the audience. 

The narration gets a bit repetitive at times. As the narrator, Alosa has a habit of telling the reader exactly how she feels and doing a lot of information dumps that don't fit with the rest of the novel. Sometimes I just wanted Alosa to get on with the plot instead of trying to psychoanalyses herself in the narration. Yes, we know your conflicted, get back to the fighting. 

The book sets up the next book in the series nicely, solving some issues while leaving others open to be explored later.

Overall, a good entertaining read. I really liked Alosa's character, but could have done without the love-interest aspect. As a YA book, I get the inclusion, but sometimes I want a cool magical book that doesn't spend so much time developing some boring relationship. But the plot was cool and the espionage aspect was exciting. 

This is definitely a book you can easily get caught up in.