A round of applause for this fantastic standalone fantasy.

My first thoughts when reading this book were about how well the author set up the story. We are given a full rundown of the Empire, the characters and the gods within the first few chapters and it didn't feel like to much or info dumpy. The writing is so smooth.

Khana is the main point of view throughout, with occasional chapters from others. She has had everyone she cares about ripped away from her, she is made a concubine and has to live at the whims of the emperor. She is raped and ostracised. Her magic is something she tries to avoid using, she hates it as it's what makes her valuable to the emperor. When she accidentally uncovers the secret of the emperor's immortality, she finally has what she needs to escape. But there is nowhere the emperor won't go to hunt her down.

Found family is one of my favourite tropes and this book did it so well. It's like the author took the trope and turboed it up to 100. Each character was fully fleshed out and i really enjoyed reading about them and watching them grow. 
There is some romance, but it's not the most important part of the book, it doesn't overshadow the other characters at all. The friendships were the most important part of this story for me and the way they all helped each other at different stages of their lives really brought the characters to life. 

The way this book deals with all kinds of grief and how it looks different for people was really well done. It was subtle and poignant. The way the story moves around what it means to be you and how even taking away one small memory can change who you are and how much of yourself you are willing to give up for power is brilliant. 

The story flowed really well, the first half really setting the scene, forming friendships and learning about the characters and their trauma so that when we dived into the action the stakes were high and i was on the edge of my seat. There were so many important moments in the book that showed this group coming together, becoming friends and little things that were then mentioned throughout the second half to really show the feelings and depth of the characters and how far they have come. From the cliff diving to the symbol of the frog and how Khana's passion and love of music was what kept her sane throughout her life, nothing was mentioned or happened for no reason. It felt like every word and moment was intentional and there was zero filler.

The Witch who Trades with Death is an all round solid read. It has all my favourite tropes and I love that it's a stand-a-lone. 

Thank you to Angry Robot and Netgalley for this arc