A bit of a slow start for me, and it took a while to get into. Also, there are multiple POV changes within the same chapters, so that was a bit confusing to navigate on audio.

But! Once I got the characters down and the main gist of how this world worked, I was sucked in! This gives me strong Princess Mononoke vibes and I really enjoyed that aspect, although I’m still a bit put off by the Valiants’ and their need to change native landscapes (

that THEY’RE a part of to be historically accurate??

) and essentially create colonies 🧐 The final battle and epilogue do show that this changes, but it just happens so fast and feels a bit rushed. 

But overall? I liked it. An adventurous YA fantasy featuring Filipino characters  and world!