To paraphrase Truman Capote, no matter how far you run you’ll just keep running into yourself. You can’t escape who you are at your core. This is Khana’s dilemma: She ran once in desperation and found everything she had been searching for. Now that her past is coming for her, she knows she can’t run again. That isn’t who she is. That’s not what she wants. She fought to escape and to be free, and now she has even more to fight and live for. 

The Witch who Trades with Death is full of wit, from the kind of silly and fond kind one might see within a household to the gallows humor usually reserved for action scenes and war encampments. If you’re familiar with Alongi’s social media works then this might not come as a surprise, but since I knew nothing about Alongi going in I was pleasantly surprised and absolutely loved every comic muscle flexed because it made every darker moment sink in that bit more. 

Make no mistake, this is a dark fantasy novel with a middling sprinkle of very slow-burn romantasy. Khana has been through a lot of trauma in her past and was sent away to be the Emperor’s concubine when she was young. She knows as little of family and friendship as she does romance and so Alongi made the wise choice to spend most of this book having Khana build relationships and bonds that meant more to the plot and to Khana’s core emotional and social development than thinking about romance. This choice brought a wonderful supporting cast of found family, friends, and enemies to the forefront. 

The third act of this book was absolutely my favorite part of the book, chaotic and full of seat-of-your-pants action. There’s a whole lot of problem-solving on the fly and “fake it ‘til you make it” scenes that made me smile because sometimes plans only work if you know the people you’re with down to the marrow. Plus, the shared emotions, sacrifices, responsibilities, and elation of Khana and the people she’s come to love feels so genuine it’s easy to smile alone while reading. It was a satisfying read. 4⭐️

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher through the Robot Army and via NetGalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Action-Adventure/Dark Fantasy/Romantasy/Found Family/Standalone Novel/Supernatural Fantasy/Witch Fiction