So I’ve taken the time to stop and think about this book, and I still love it as much as I did while I was reading it/when I finished it. Reading this was such a fun experience! When the plot was lacking, the dialogue from the characters kept me reading, and when the characters were irritating me the plot was moving at a pace that kept me going because I needed to know what was happening!!

I was very much caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this. The setting was western meets desert and apparently, I’m really into that. The world was unique, it gave off some Ember in the Ashes vibes, but with better world building and more answers. There was an elemental type of magic, so everything was super linked into the setting of the book…it all felt natural and didn’t have me questioning if it was at all possible. That is something I can really appreciate in a fantasy book, when the fantasy aspects are natural enough that I’m not left doubting or wondering where the author came up with it.

The characters were so SO great! I loved them individually, they were all really well developed. These were also the types of characters that don’t give too much away at once, their relationships are slowly built and their own personalities are slowly revealed in a way that lets the readers learn about them as they learn about themselves (which is my favorite thing ever okay). I loved the sprit in Amani, she is strong and passionate and I love how much she grows throughout the story. I was a Jin stan literally from the first time he was introduced. He was just so mysterious and I was trying to figure out who he was the entire time (and despite all of the signs I was wrong). Secondary characters were just enough to keep me interested in the story line and not spend the entire book obsessing over Amani and Jin, but I could have used some more from them. They served a purpose, and they did so well, but there wasn’t too much of them aside from that and I am hoping that there is more of a focus on them in the rest of the series, because tbh that was my ONLY issue with this story.

So basically besides wanting more from the secondary characters I had no issues with this story. I loved everything from the plot to the characters and their relationships. The chemistry between characters and also between the characters and their setting was so intoxicating. The plot was easy to follow but not boring by any means, there are I guess three twists and while I was able to guess the general idea of two of them (although I wasn’t able to guess them completely) the third completely blew my mind. I think that if people can get into the setting of this book that they will really enjoy it. I’ve already placed a request with my library for the next book and I am anxiously waiting to be able to read it!!