ACTUAL RATING: 4.5 STARS

This review can also be found on Dusk Angel Reads

So there has been some ‘drama’ for this book. So I want to address that first.
I don’t know everything but from what I can tell some people read this book out of context and went ape shit at the author on Twitter. This was written with the authors own culture/heritage in mind but apparently some people viewed it differently/from a different cultural view and called it Racist & “anti-black”. Originally this book was meant to release in I think April. But the author decided to cancel the release due to all the hate she was receiving. We thought it was all over for this book but then the author decided to release the book but go in and do edits and to add emphasis to the culture she is trying to represent. Now it will be released on the 19th of November, 2019.
So this review is based on the original eARC that I received from Delacorte Press through NetGalley which is before any of these edits. And I wanted to say straight up that I do not see anything wrong with this book! I guess I can kinda see where someone could see it as Racist if took out of context. The character death that I think all the racist comments are behind was described to have “bronze skin” & “Brown Curls” which in a not ASIAN inspired book could be assumed is a ‘black’ character however this is an ASAIAN inspired book.. There are a few Asian cultures who have these features too and that is what the author was going for as opposed to placing a single (FOR EXAMPLE) African character in and ASIAN inspired fantasy.
I really enjoyed this book and I quite simply don’t see what the issue is… But anyway, I won’t mention any of this again, this is just a normal review from here on out and here it is!

**All quotes were taken from the eARC edition of this book & may differ from the final copy

“Your Affinity does not define you”

“What defines you is how you choose to wield it.”

Writing
I really enjoyed the writing in this book. The flow of this book was awesome. There was the right amount of action and adventure but also some slower areas where we got to focus on the characters too which I enjoyed. I really enjoyed the action/fight scenes! They were written in a way that felt quick, but you were given all the details so it made sense. I feel like some authors try and write it fast paced but then leave out details, so when you actually break it down, it doesn’t make sense and the movements don’t flow. This was definitely not the case with this book!

“Papa had once told her, after Mama’s death, that there were two types of grief. One was the type that crushed you, that broke your soul and shattered your heart, and left you an empty shell. The other was a grief that made you stronger. You rose from it, you sharpened it, and you carried it with you as a piece of your armour. And you made yourself better.”

Plot
This book is absolutely full of twists and turns. It’s also not afraid of being brutal and ripping apart this calm world. This plot was completely unpredictable! There wasn’t a single thing that I guessed correctly and I loved that! Fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

“Ana had no weapon and no plan, but she also had nothing more to lose.
And that, perhaps, was the most dangerous type of an opponent to have.”

Characters
I really enjoyed both Ana & Ramson! The banter, the sarcasm, the treats, etc. LOVED IT ALL!

Ana is such a badass character and I loved her. Even with everything that goes down in this book she never lets it stop her from following through with her plans. I love that you see all the struggles she goes through and she pulls through all of it and is such a strong character.

“In the face of fear, one could choose to run, or to rise.”

Ramson I really liked too! He was mysterious, funny and super interesting. I loved learning about him & can’t wait for more of him in book 2!

We also had a heap of side characters and all of them were amazing and well fleshed out! None of them felt one dimensional. You learn to love all of them and then your heart gets wrenched out of your chest, soooo there is that. But the characters are amazing! All of them.

“Figure out what you want to do in this life. Live for yourself. You might be the world’s strongest battleship, but you can’t navigate without a compass.”

Overall
I loved this book so much! Everything flowed, the world was thought out& the characters were well developed. I really can’t fault this book! I can’t wait for this to release and the rest of the world can read this amazing book!

“The smallest, weakest ones are often the most underestimated and tend to be much stronger than we anticipate.”