This was a very solid start to a very promising fantasy romance series. I really liked the exploration of Zarya’s emotions towards Row as it alternates between a father figure and a captor. I thought that her conflicting opinions made her more realistic as she’s understandably angry at him for keeping her trapped for her whole life but also caring for her. 

The first issue was the lack of convincing rationale for the character’s actions which led to inconsistent characterization and generally stupid decision-making. It feels like this book was written with specific scenes in mind so the entire plot is structured to fit around these scenes. Character personalities, motivations, etc are changed to ensure that they go from scene A to scene B, even if it doesn’t make sense. For example, the events that led Zarya and Aarav to Dharati seem to happen with little to no explanation.

Vikram and Yassen find Zarya and Aarav in the forest so they bring them in front of the queen. We are never given an explanation why they’re meeting the queen other than “it’s suspicious for them to be in the forests.” Once they get there, however, it seems that all is forgotten and they’re allowed to just leave the day after.

It’s clear that for the plot, the author needs both Zarya and Aarav to be introduced to the social elites of Dharati but has done so in an extremely random way. In another example, Zarya wants to do something in secret but the author wants Zarya to be caught by Yassen. So instead of Zarya hiding in her room or any secluded area, the author makes her go to a public area even while Zarya expresses her desire to not be seen. Stated character motivations are frequently in conflict with character actions without explanation. 

The next issue was the lack of character development for anyone other than Zarya, though this is somewhat improved in the second half of the book. The characters' outfits are described in excruciating detail to the point of becoming repetitive but their personalities are not developed very much. Vikram’s physical attractiveness is emphasized over and over but he has basically no other defining attributes or personality. Aarav is similarly devoid of depth, going from borderline abusive towards Zarya to a sort of brother-sister dynamic. I didn’t feel like I connected with any of the characters and I was not invested in their stories until the very end of the book.

The “slow burn” and “enemies to lovers” aspect of the romance was also a big letdown. I understand that this is the first book in a series but Rabin literally doesn’t have more than a few lines of dialogue in the whole book. The author keeps telling us that Zarya and Rabin have this deep connection, that Zarya “feels” like Rabin is trustworthy, etc but their actual interactions consist of “What’s your name?” “Where do you live?” and nothing else.

The author also tackles the topic of caste systems through the vanshaj, the descendants of two evil twins, who are marked with a tattoo and relegated to menial tasks. However, it is interesting to note that not a single character in the book expresses support for this caste system, even characters who are in positions of authority or power. It’s incredible how such a system of oppression could continue to exist without any character being morally complicit. 

I think this series shows promise and I think the next book will be able to improve on the issues that I mentioned especially since a lot of the groundwork has been laid.

Thank you to NetGalley and Second Sky for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.