Rating: 5 Stars
Publication: February 12th, 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Egalley
Diversity: POC & LGBT+ MC
Summary:
In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart. Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the lost Riders even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks. Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders return and intends to destroy them once and for all.
Sometimes the title of queen is given.
Sometimes it must be taken.
My Thoughts:
I didnt realize this had mutiple perspectives from the summary, but along with Veronika we also follow Sevro, an animage hiding within the ranks of the new empires soldiers, and Trystan, a Phoenix Rider apprentice hiding high up in the mountains with the rest of the surviving Riders. I found Veronikas chapters the most compelling. The way she developped into a more self assured and self reliant character was wonderful to read about. I was super invested in her quest to bond with a Phoenix and hide her gender for fear of not being accepted into the Riders ranks. Seeing Veronika deal with her sisters intensity and unpredictability made her chapters hard to put down, but for someone so cold and calculated it didnt make sense to me that she would sabotage something so important.
Trystan is struggling to overcome his anxiety and the fear of fire, but mostly his fear of failing his demanding father who also happens to be the commander of the Phoenix Riders. Trystan clashes with his fathers rules about not letting any woman join them. Which is pretty hypocritical of his father considering the first Riders where women and if he had let them join they probably wouldn't be struggling to acquire more eggs. We also follow Sevro, who is being blackmailed by an cunning old woman named Trix into helping the animage resistance. He goes from being a coward only interested in his own survival to risking his life for something greater then himself. I thought the hate to love tension between him and the animage Kade was fantastic. The chemistry was amazing in both romantic pairing.
I enjoy the types of plots that fight against oppression. Add to that a world with riders and people whose magic is to communicate with animals and I have a recipe for a great book. My love for rider books began with dragons, but a phoenix is just as awesome. Not to mention theres a bunch of diverse representation. This book made me feel an intense whirlwind of emotions. I read some parts faster than Ive ever read anything in my life all the while gripping my heart for fear of it breaking out of my chest. Id definitely put a warning for animal death. Theres lots of extremely emotional scenes that had my heart breaking into a million tiny pieces, but I know a books amazing if it manages to make me feel so many strong emotions when Im usually indifferent or midly alert when big events happen. I had a feeling some of the twists were coming, but I still got super excited at their reveal.
The writing was pretty straight forward and easy to get into. I found the pace of the plot moved a little slower in some places, but there was enough conflict and tension to keep me engaged. I didnt need to be told three times in the span of a page or two that Phoenix Riders are immune to fire. I like the sentences at the end of each chapter that told the story of the two sister you started the war. I found the similarities between the waring queens and Veronikas relationship with her sister was interesting. There was also some world building details thrown in at the end of each chapter that could have been incorporated better. The rest of the world building was on point. Everything made sense and I didn't feel like I was missing any crucial information. Despite my few minor issues, I absolutely loved this book and cant wait to get my hands on the sequel.
*This book was received for an honest review
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