A huge thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first book in a new fantasy that had me on the edge of my seat and absolutely having to finish this book to find out what happens next. (AND me needing the sequel, ASAP).

This book reminded me of a perfect mix of:
Hannah Whitten’s - The Foxglove King
MK Lobb’s - Seven Faceless Saints
Rachel Gillig’s - One Dark Window
Kate Dramis’ - The Curse of Saints

Honestly, if you liked any (or all) of these books I would highly encourage you to check out this novel for yourself, because believe me it does NOT disappoint.

This book perfectly blends the fantasy and romance aspects of this novel, and doesn’t let the worldbuilding or plot fade into the background when the romance does happen. (I like romantasy, don’t get me wrong, but it always bothers me when books with fascinating worlds and plots get sidelined for the romance, rather than having them both work together.)

We follow Jinx, a thief, as she tries to solve a riddle that keeps her away from her family, and Apollo, an aristocrat, who is dealing with suffering from an affliction that is punished by his society. Jinx has the power to transform herself into looking like anyone, and using illusions to trick people into seeing things incorrectly - and this power allows her to be a notorious thief well-known for their exploits. However, she is forced to work alongside Apollo when she realizes she can blackmail him into helping her solve the riddle that failure to solve will sever her from her family forever. Doing this, they both learn secrets about the other and learn how to work together, while also learning that they may have more in common than they initially thought. As they work together to solve both of their problems, they begin uncovering a higher corruption in their society and need to solve it - before it destroys them both.

The worldbuilding and magic in this novel was fascinating, as we learn that those who were afflicted with a plague 20 years ago were transformed into people who have magic powers and may be not quite human anymore. This affliction, called being Cursed, makes them the bottom of society where merely existing can be a death sentence - unless they can prevent themselves from being found out. There is also a religious aspect in this novel, where as we learn more and more of it, we can see some of the cracks in the pieces that are missing - and that, when it is discovered - is a huge game changer for how they understand their world. (This highly reminded me of the religion in Seven Faceless Saints.)

The characters in this novel are very lifelike, and it isn’t hard to sympathize with both Jinx and Apollo as they navigate their lives and try to solve their problems. However, as the story progresses you start to see that what both of them assumed were their biggest issues are only scratching the surface of what is really going on - and this book ends on a killer cliffhanger that I cannot wait to see how the next book continues.

I would highly recommend this novel if you like romantasy along with plot, political intrigue, and a religion that may or may not have a secret hidden in plain sight. I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as it did, but once it started it grabbed me to the last page and I couldn’t stop reading until it was finished.