Four houses, heirs steeped in power, politics, romance, magic, and gods...In a world in which there are four realms- the realms of life, death, light and darkness, which all converge on the city of dusk, that each have a god and with each god comes a heir and house of their own. The story follows Risha a necromancer trying to maintain peace, Angelica an elementalist wanting to find acceptance and validation from her family with her eyes on the throne, Taesia a shadow-wielding rogue who wants nothing more than to protect her kingdom and family...except there’s a darkness lurking to break free in her, and Nik a soldier who is dealing with the grief of killing his brother and being shunned by his own god and dealing with the family tension. Each of the heirs is dealing with their own family issues, with their own power complications, and the threat of turning on one another. Complicated relationships and betrayals come to a head as the realms are dying and the gods withdraw their favor. There is more at play than the heirs could ever imagine and with the lives of their loved ones at stake and the entire realm on the line they’ll each have to figure out how if they can trust one another and what they are willing to do and sacrifice in order to save their realms. Risha is struggling to come to terms with her powers, particularly with how her mother would rather her marry herself off to build an alliance rather than focus on using her powers, it also doesn’t help that dead bodies have been going missing and showing up a few days later mysteriously. Angelica is struggling with finding her place, proving she deserves to be recognized when her powers require her to use methods that bring shame to her family and the fact that the only way she’ll ever be worthy in her mothers eyes is if she seats herself on the throne. Taesia just wants to be free of the politics, of the duties, of the leash that keeps her trapped in her family, yet when she finds herself going along with her brother’s plan to stop the king and commit treason and possibly unleash demons things go from bad to worse and the lies and secrets she keeps grow to the point where she has pushed everyone out of her life except for the hunter who she can’t help but come back to. Julian is a hunter who just wants to save his mother from her sickness and provide medical care for her, but he is struggling with keeping his powers in check, particularly keeping the beasts locked inside from coming out. Nik is the son that shouldn’t have lived and is struggling to live with the guilt that he feels after his brother has died, it doesn’t help that his god has shunned him and that his family wishes his brother had lived instead. This was a great start to a trilogy, despite the slow buildup at certain parts and decisions of some characters it was a great read, I am intrigued to see where the story goes next and how it all plays out. While it’s a lot to keep track of since there are a lot of POVs and so much world-building and plot happening, its a fun fantasy read and I would definitely recommend it. I would have to say my favorites would be as follows: Risha, Julian, Angelica, Taesia and Nik.

*Thanks Netgalley and Orbit Books, Orbit for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*