The Sun and the Void has two main characters, Reina and Eva. I was interested in both throughout, but from the very beginning I was really captivated by Reina’s story. With all of her family gone, Reina makes a perilous journey across mountains following an invitation from her grandmother. Reina will do everything to keep the favour of her grandmother and the family she serves, including getting involved with the magic of mysterious god. She is part nozariel, a race often mistreated, and this results in a deep desire to belong somewhere. She makes some questionable decisions and I wanted to hit her sometimes but it fit her characterisation so well!

As I read more, I became more and more interested in Eva as well. She is part valco, who rule in some lands, but not where she lives. Her grandmother is ashamed of her absent father’s heritage, and Eva does not fit in with the rest of her family. She is desperate to get away and avoid the arranged marriages in her future. Eva had some great character development as she gained agency and power and I think her coming story arc will be very significant.

I liked to see how both Reina and Eva interacted differently with the most significant side characters – Celeste, Javier, and Maior, and some characters also came in at the end who will be more present in the series. One of my favourite things to see in a fantasy book is characters who make bad decisions for both good and bad reasons! I felt frustration at their actions, but I also wanted them to succeed, and given how the book ends, I am especially intrigued to see how the characters will progress. The first book of a series is always interesting because the characters are often inexperienced and naive, but the end gives a great glimpse of what is to come.

We got to see a few different locations within this world, all of which were different and yet connected. There is a lot of information given to the reader, and lots of detail, which could overwhelm some people, but it worked perfectly for me as epic fantasy. You are kind of thrown in at the deep end with learning about nozariels and valcos, but just go with the flow and you will soon feel part of the world. The same is true of the magic system, which I found really interesting as it felt very natural and integrated with the mythology of the world too.

I won’t say anything to specific in case of spoilers, but I really liked how there were so many plot points that had the option to go in many different directions. For example, I loved how multiple characters were obviously established as sapphic, but I also could not tell who was going to end up in a relationship with whom! When there are love triangles or multiple love interests in books I often find it literally pointless to even consider the other options because one relationship is obviously more preferable, so I loved the variety in this book.

You can really tell how much care and attention has been put into the world building, with religion and mythology as well as politics and history. The writing is beautiful and descriptive in a way that really does the fantasy genre justice. It is also worth noting that the commentary on discrimination and colonisation is reflective of South American history, and the culture is portrayed with such care and emotion. This is an incredible debut and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

5/5 stars

The Sun and The Void is a sapphic fantasy novel full of magic, Latin heritage, amazing word-building, and incredible characters.
The book has a lot of information to take on board at the beginning, but do stick with it (use sticky tabs to go back to parts to jog your memory too) as once it really starts it's incredible. This is such a perfect foundation for a new epic fantasy series to grow from and I can't wait to see what happens at the end of this book and where the next installment will lead us! The book is told across two POV - Reina and Eva and do feel more drawn to Eva's character out of the two but as with any amazing fantasy series, you never know how much your opinion will change further into the series.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review

In a lush world inspired by the history and folklore of South America (it has Venezuelan and Colombian inspired landscapes and a lot of mythology drawn from Venezuelan folklore), this sweeping epic fantasy addresses colonialism and racism, as an ancient magic war and two young women’s quest for belonging unfolds. Told through two different POVs, Sun and the Void follows both Reina, a half-Nozariel orphan searching for what remains of her family, and Eva Kesaré, a quarter-Valco bastard with a powerful affinity for magic.

The pacing isn’t perfect (part one is definitely slower and clearly a set up for part two, especially regarding Eva’s path, even if she doesn’t get as many chapters as Reina), but the world and character-building is so well-done that it didn’t bother me too much. We have newly formed countries that, just after a revolution, are reeling from the lingering impacts of colonialism, including a major religious divide, as humans believe in the Virgin and indigenous people are polytheistic and worship the Gods of the Sun and el Vacío, Ches and Ramahgut. There is also magic, which humans obviously despise, and the magic system is simple enough to understand: there are four branches of magic and you need potions to cast spells.

As for the main characters, they are at the bottom of their social classe, even if not at the bottom of society, and also caught between two worlds as mixed people often are, which inevitably brings a lot of suffering and feelings of displacement. Because the story is very character-driven, we really get to know Reina and Eva, and asked to determine if their actions are justifiable enough to excuse the harm they often do. I personally preferred Eva’s personal journey, even though Reina got a lot more airtime. I also found Maior and Javier the most interesting characters, and I am hopeful they will get more airtime and development in the next installment.

Regarding dynamics between the characters, I thought they were very intruiguing and complex (a lot of dysfunctional family and power struggles dinamics), and can’t wait to watch them develop further in the sequel, especially the romance. Speaking of that, this book has a lot of f/f pining, and I mean it. The sequel will certainly have romance, but this book didn’t even had a slow-burn: it was pure angsty yearning and, at some point, within a love triangle. I did love the conclusion to it, though.

I don’t think this will stick with me.

The book opened strong and had me in its grip for a while. Two protagonists with deeply internalized insecurities and their respective family dramas – I was in. The worldbuilding was vivid, the magic system interesting enough and I liked where it was heading, but not for too long.

This is one of those books I’d probably rate higher had I read it way before the release date, imagining there’s enough time for trimming and polishing, but this is already out in the US and that doesn’t give me hope. The plot started to meander at some point, and it was ultimately very predictable. I’m left with questions I doubt there’ll be answers to and some anachronisms and questionable adjective choices left much to be desired in what was otherwise writing I actually enjoyed.

Pentimiento as a religion pulled me in at first and I was excited to see where this Catholic inspired variant with “the Virgin” at the top would go but as far as I’m concerned these guys could’ve just been any regular old Christians and not much would change. I’m dying for interesting religious systems to be explored in fantasy.

All in all this would’ve been so much better after a round of edits and some trimming. Hopefully the next installment addresses some of the questions and deepens the story but as of right now, I’m not burning up for it.

I was attracted by the gorgeous cover and liked the world building and the ideas. Unfortunately I found it very slow and some less page would have made this book a gripping and intriguing one.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I really like slow-burn sapphic fantasy retellings (hello, The Priory of the Orange Tree) but unfortunately The Sun and the Void did not hit the nail on the head for me.
I think my main issue was that I just didn’t really care for the characters or understand much about them. This book featured characters of different species, which was interesting to see how they were perceived in different cultures of the world. However, I found them really difficult to picture (and I’m not sure I was a fan of one of them having a tail). I also kept forgetting who was who (and what was happening) if I put the book down for more than five minutes. There was kind of a character list at the start, but it was more like family trees in list format - I kind of wanted to know a bit more about who each character was, what their part was in the world’s history etc. as I think that might have helped me put together the characters more.
Neither of the main characters particularly had their own motivations, they were always doing what other people wanted or what they thought would make other people like them more. This made it difficult to root for them because I didn’t know what they wanted or what they stood for. Because I didn’t really care for the characters, I found it really difficult to want to pick up.
I certainly don’t mind long books, but I still like stuff to happen on all the pages. This felt really slow, like nothing was happening even when it was. I didn’t want to pick it up because, even when stuff was happening, I wasn’t invested.
I do think this had some promise, so I do wish I had liked it more. I did think the different species were interesting and I think there was a rich backstory to the world, in terms of the history and also the religion. I think, as the gods and the culture/rituals began to creep in, I started to enjoy it more but I think I was too far into it at that point for me to overlook my earlier thoughts.
It was an interesting read, but unfortunately not everything I wanted.

The Sun and the Void was a book I think I'm really going to struggle to review. It was intensely political with epic world building and a wide cast of characters and, while the story was incredibly slow burn, the ending felt overly rushed and a little anti-climactic compared to all the build up.

The story is told from the POV's of Reina and Eva. Both of these characters are seen as different thanks to being half-breeds between humans and creatures - Reina Nozariel and Eva Valco - and are both desperate for somewhere to belong, somewhere where they aren't looked down on for their heritage, rather praised for it, and are willing to do some pretty drastic things to achieve it. While these two women should have come across as harsh and brutal, especially due to some of their actions, they instead came across as weak and easily manipulated. You could say this was due to their eagerness to belong and be useful, but they could have easily been made into characters that made those same decisions willingly instead of due to being naïve and I think, had that been the case, they would have been infinitely more interesting. Instead they become characters who completely loose control over their fate, rather willingly place it into the hands of people who would use them for their own means.

The world building was incredibly intense and in depth. The author intimately delves into Venezuelan politics, mythology and history and builds her magical world around it, and this was definitely the part of the book I enjoyed most. Through our MC's and their heritage, the author shows us the underlying racism of the culture as well as the tenuous peace that is barely holding her continent together. There's action and plenty of brutal fight scenes to break up from the intense politics, but some of the political scenes are just as, if not more, brutal than the fight scenes themselves, showing how words and actions can be equally as dangerous and harmful as battles and wars. Religion also plays such a large part in the story, not just to show the difference between 'good & evil' but to show how cultures and their religions were washed over when they were colonised. The continent follows three main figures: The Lady, the new religion that has taken over, Ches the previous God who is now only worshipped in certain areas and mainly in secret and Rahmagut their version of the devil. The latter two play an important role in the story and we get to learn a lot about their history and the lore that surrounds them.

The magic itself was incredibly well built and I loved the simplicity of it whilst also having it be intricate in it's use. Geomancy is the ability to use certain elements/minerals to create magic and these, and their use of them, play such a large part in the story and bring in a kind of religious aspect with magic users, depending on what part of the continent you're from, being seen as followers of Rahmagut, evil doers and something that should be stamped out, or for those who follow the old Gods, Geomancy is a sign of strength, something to be praised and not feared.

The authors writing style is incredibly descriptive and, while not overly prosaic, flows in a way that makes it easy to read, despite how heavily political some of the parts could be. The first 75% of the book moves at a fairly slow pace, there are a few fight scenes and plot twist that ensured it isn't too bogged down, but the author spends the majority of her book building to an ending that I felt was a little anti-climactic and rushed. There were bits of the ending that I loved, but as a whole it just felt a little easy for the effort that was put into the build up and fear we were given in the first three quarters of the book. I won't go into too much detail to avoid spoilers, but I do feel that the author copped out on certain things and while the ending might have been visually epic, it just didn't seem worthy of the the first 75% or so of the story.

Like I said at the start, that was a hard review to write because there were parts of the book I enjoyed, but there were also parts that hugely let it down for me, which is a reason why I couldn't write a wholly positive review. Will I pick up book two? I really don't know. The part of the ending I loved is something that will continue into the second book and I'm certainly intrigued by it, but I'm not sure I could put myself through that much build up, for that little pay off again.

Sadly this wasn't for me and I struggled with finishing this book. The world building was interesting but felt very info dumpy, and took me a while to understand. It was not presented in a way that was appealing to me.

This book was high on my TBR for this year as it promised dark gods, queer girls and a world inspired by Venezuelan mythology. The book started out slow, which wasn’t helped by my slight confusion of just being thrown into this magical world without any explanations. While I don't like to just have information dumped at me in the beginning, a little explanation here would have been nice to just get an understanding of the world. With that said, there was a glossary of terms at the end of the book - which I discovered after I had finished it…
Anyway, I pushed through hoping that the pacing would pick up and that I would grow more attached to the characters if I just kept reading. I didn’t. The world-building definitely was interesting, but I had a hard time caring for it since it got lost between the storylines of characters I didn’t connect with. The story just ended up falling flat to me, and by the 3/4 mark I just couldn’t wait for it to be over. That’s not to say there weren't parts of the book I found myself curious or interested in, but they were few and far between.

The pacing in this was super duper off. I don't need to own a special edition. It's got so much hype, it could have cut down a lot of pages and made the characters voices more distinct. There was far too much journeying, and for the lack of plot movement I also didn't get the payoff in character development. The time spent in one place without description/development didn't make sense. The ending was good, but by that point I was reading it just to finish. Might continue but this book took me a lot of work

Thankyou to Netgalley and Daphne Press for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I adored this book! Here are some reasons why:
•Morally grey characters
•Sapphic romance, but not between POV characters (quite rare in books I've read till now)
•Interesting worldbuilding
•Magical races that are not the standard fey/vampires/werewolves
•Complicated history (revolution not always leads to better future)
•Remains of colonial leadership and how it affected the world
•Intriguing magic system
•Plot twists!

Cannot wait for the sequel!

Thankyou to Netgalley and Daphne Press for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I have DNF'd at 7%- for now the world building is too dense for me and im really struggling with all the different names (im dyslexic) will give it another try if they bring out an audio book to help me tandem read

Firstly I'd like to thank NetGalley for an eArc of The Sun and the Void in return for an honest review.

Secondly, I'm sad I can't give this book as glowing a review as I thought I would.

I was so enraptured by the ideas in this book. I saw that stunning cover, read that synopsis and just thought, wow, I need this book.

So when I dove in and the initial action scene with Reina was over, lapsing into meandering world building and characters I couldn't differentiate for their lack of differing personalities... I struggled!

The book itself has some really great ideas, but the pacing was not good. I don't think anything really happened for a good third of the book, and without standout characters to keep me at least invested through that slower pace, I'd pretty much lost interest by then. I just didn't really feel anything for our characters, which made slogging through really hard.

I just felt like there was a lack of depth to the characters, and as though they're yet to grow at all, which I appreciate there is still time for. But they were both so easily led and just... weak, in my opinion.

Some of the thoughts and ideas are really interesting, but they got lost in their lack of distinctive qualities. Again, I use the term meandering, because that's just how all the elements of this book felt to me, personally. I came out of it feeling like I still don't have a decent understanding of the world that was built.

This will get a generous 3 stars from me, because I appreciate that in it's essence, this could be a pretty great read for many people. I just unfortunately wasn't one of them.

3.5 stars
Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of this book, it was one I was really looking forward to.
The world building was very good and interesting,
I appreciated the glossary however it felt like a lot to take in with it being right at the start.
I found the first half of the book quite slow, I had to put it down for a bit and try again.
I’m glad I persevered as the second half was much better.
The characters were all interesting but I think the only person I actually liked was Maior.
I wasn’t really rooting for anyone.
The twist was also frustrating as I felt it was very obvious and something I just assumed from the start.
It was good enough that I will be reading the second book,

This book!!! It took me a little while to get into it and get used to the world but once I did, I just couldn’t put it down.

The Sun and the Void follows Reina and Eva in their desperate search for belonging and acceptance, all while becoming pawns in a much bigger plot and becoming the tools of two warring gods.

The world building in this was incredible and so different to books that I’ve read previously. It was great to see new and interesting species into the mix instead of your standard fae/vampire/shapeshifter etc. that is commonly used in most other fantasy books. I also loved all the inspiration it got from South American folklore and culture, it was so interesting to read about.

I didn’t realise that I loved the morally grey main characters trope so much until I read this book. It’s so refreshing to see main characters that aren’t all perfect and good and selfless but instead see characters that have more of an inner struggle between their actions and what is deemed “good”.

I think my only issues with this book is the naivety of the characters regarding one of the plot twists (which I won’t explain because I don’t want to spoil the book), which I expected right when they started talking about summoning gods.

I also found some of the romance to be quite quick and unbelievable. Especially the last two romances that happen (again don’t want to spoil anything).

Other than that, if you’re looking for something new and different with morally grey characters, found families, sapphic romance all with a backdrop of summoning gods and magic - this is the book for you.

This book has so much going for it: an intriguing backstory of warring gods, compelling female characters who have been mistreated by the systems in which they live, and a really unique and interesting backstory.

First, I loved that this adult fantasy reads unlike anything I’ve read before, with such a fascinating and complex magic system. There is a lot going on in this book, and you’re essentially thrown right into its midst, which may throw some readers off, but I think is kind of cool.

I also really liked the major characters this book follows, who are each struggling in their own ways to respond to situations where moral compromise is a necessity, rather than a choice. I was rooting for them and sometimes disturbed by them and I think that fits the book.

I will say the pacing in this book was somewhat slow, and I found the second half far more entertaining and compelling than the first. I would have loved to see some of that action sped up, all while still learning more about the magic. I’m intrigued and excited to read more!

1.5 Stars

This was one of my most anticipated releases, so safe to say I am very disappointed with how little I liked it.
Before I get into my review tho I just want to put the disclaimer that this is a South American inspired story and me not being from there or having heritage from there it might be that I overlooked elements that would've made me enjoy the book more, had I understood them.

Anyways: let's start with the characters and tbh there's not much to say. The characters, both POV characters and side characters were utterly flat and had no fleshed out motivations or aims. The author *tried* to give them motivations but they felt more tacked on that organically coming from the characters themselves (idk how else to put it).
Part of that might be because we didn't really spend time with the characters or seeing them interacting a whole lot with each other. We were mostly told instead of shown how they feel for each other, rather than spending time seeing them interact. Since most of the motivations in some way were connected to their relationships or feelings for other characters that just made all of them feel very wooden and uninteresting to follow.
The characters pretty much only interact when the scenes are important for the plot. For example we are told that Reina moons over Celeste and that she cares deeply for her but we don't spend any time actually watching that relationship unfold and the feelings grow, so all interactions between them feel like just going through the motions and the characters actions in regards to each other feel more like they're just there for plot and trope sake.

Similarly, we are given some information in regards to the broader world but it just doesn't feel lived in. Even as someone who reads a lot of fantasy i couldn't get a good grasp on how the magic feels within that world. Even if the system itself was pretty basic (which is not a criticism, idc if a magic system is simpler as long as it fits the story and the world). This is also a world where in pretty recent history (around 2 decades ago) there was a revolution and an overthrowing of a colonial government. Yet none of that played any role for the plot or even was felt in the way the characters moved through the world. Sure some characters were pretty racist. while others suffered oppression but it didn't feel like there was any depth to the exploration of those themes, the racism and bigotry was just there because and to show which characters are bad and which are good or something. At least that is what it felt like to me.
I also tend to not love (intended) allegory based on actually different fantasy races but I recognize that that's just a trope and tool of fantasy. ALtho what I will say is that there was a lot of x race has these personality traits and if that's not something that's subverted, even in the case of fantasy races, that just makes me uncomfortable.
Aside from that tho, with the setup of the world I had hoped that we might get some exploration of the pre-colonial systems of the world but that was very much lacking aside from "in pre colonial times all races living on this continent, lived separately from each other and had no contact".

Lastly the religion: basically there were 2 religions in this story that both felt like pseudo-christianity to me. That is not a bad thing in and of itself, as that is something a lot of fantasy books do. We have the colonial religion that is centering basically fantasy Virgin Mary (which makes sense with the influences, since iirc she is very important in South American branches of christianity).
The second religion however is where my gripe is. Now, I will admit i don't in depth know a lot about pre-colonial indigenous religions. I know that a lot of them where syncretised with christianity as well as the religions brought over by enslaved peoples from Africa, but that's it. However the way there were two entities, one Good, and one Evil that had to be locked away, just felt very christian to me. Both in the fight good vs evil and also in the way it felt very monotheistic and not that that's something bad in and of itself or that the inspiration for that religion should have been non-christian (pretty much my rambling is, idk what the exact influences are but they feel christian to me). It was just that the way that religion was presented and utilized felt very lazy to me. Good vs evil? Been there Seen that. The evil guy can't create new things? Also nothing new. But that would've all been fine if there was something done with that religion in story. But it was just there to provide the prophecy. No exploration how Nozariel and Valco might worship differently, why do they even have the same religion if they lived separately pre-colonisation etc.

My last issue I won't even mention bc that's spoilers, just saying that the central trope of the story also wasn't done well.

Overall I just have to say this was a book with wooden characters, plot that didn't feel organic and all wrapped up in one big trope that nothing interesting was done with.

"The Sun and the Void" by Gabriela Romero Lacruz is a debut novel that showcases the author's talent for creating immersive imagery and sensory details, particularly in the depiction of the world's food, flora, and fauna. The novel's greatest strength lies in its vivid and beautifully crafted descriptions, which transport readers to a lush and enchanting setting.

The author's grasp of sensory elements and the world's natural beauty elevates the reading experience and adds depth to the story. However, the novel does encounter some pitfalls, including the repetition of certain descriptions, such as "spicy sunlight," "marcescent leaves," and "enamel-blue sky." These repetitive descriptors can stand out and may have benefited from either variation or exclusion to avoid feeling overly redundant.

One of the significant challenges encountered in the book is the slow pace of the beginning. The story is divided into two parts, with the true "inciting incident" not occurring until 33% into the book. This extended worldbuilding and character-building phase might test the patience of some readers who seek more immediate plot development.

Additionally, the perspective shifts between the two main characters, Reina and Eva, felt somewhat imbalanced. The reader spends more substantial portions of the story with Reina, leading to a perception that she is the protagonist, while Eva's perspective sometimes feels sidelined in comparison.

Another aspect that may have left readers wanting is the magic system. While the promise of celestial magic is present, the actual magic practiced by mortals appears more mineral-based than celestial, which could be viewed as a promise not fully fulfilled.

Despite these criticisms, the novel's climax is regarded as well-executed and earned, making up for the somewhat slower build-up. Overall, "The Sun and the Void" shows great potential for the author, and while there are areas that could benefit from improvement, it remains a commendable debut work. With some adjustments to pacing and perspective balance, Gabriela Romero Lacruz has the potential to create even more engaging and captivating stories in the future.

I wasn't sure how is feel about this book, but I really enjoyed it. The world building is great and I loved the lgbtqia+ rep.

I thought it could have been a little shorter, but I will be buying the next book and look forward to more from this author.

While the Venezuelan inspired worldbuilding and the sapphic relationship are very intriguing, the execution fell flat for me and the book was longer than needed. Not bad for a debut, but not really for me.