Nope, nope, massive bag of nope.

The mediocre writing is... probably the best thing about this book, which is saying a lot.

There was that old racist tropes of civilised whites vs savage blacks, which I thought we were certainly over in the Year of Our Lord 2018. This would be enough to give it one star by itself, but tragically, that wasn't even the only terrible thing.

Also - the "romance". I'm not against dark romance, horrible "romance," romance-that-isn't-romance, or the most horrible thing possible - but only if the book and the narrative KNOWS it's horrible. Only if the book purports to BE a dark, horrible book with dark horrible things in it. This tried to pass off abuse as fine, and portray it as an actual romance.

My review: Good quality story. This is a first in a series so there will be more! I enjoyed what I read and look forward to more from this series. Downloaded on netgalley :)

Rating:  4.25 stars out of 5

On a quest for truths that his books can't provide, Vael leaves the golden spires of his safe home to travel north, to the territories of the tribes there. But he gets far more than he bargains for when he is bound to Kayan, a chieftan's son, in a mating ritual performed by a mysterious priestess.

According to her, it is their destiny to save all of Badal'Shari from a terrible cataclysm. And though Vael has serious doubts about fate, and even more doubts about Kayan, he agrees to embark on a so-called journey to save their world..

It wasn't until I searched Goodreads for more information about the author that I realized this story was the first in a series.  Be still my heart.

I was both happy and surprised by this information. The End of All Stories (Legends of Badal'Shari #1) by Julia Rosenthal represented a new science fiction title by a new author for me. At the time I picked it up and started reading there was no indication that this was the start of a Legends of Badal'Shari series.  Nor did I get that from the ending of the story which the author wrapped up to my complete satisfaction.  But Rosenthal has built within this story such an amazingly complex foundation of cultures and rich world building that it easily will support a series.

She has created several races of beings, their cultures , systems of faith, a mythology that weaves legends, religion, fated mates into epic journeys.  And it all starts in a library.

I throughly enjoyed this story, from beginning to end.  The characters, especially Vael, who's inquisitive nature and gentle soul made it easy to  love him.  More problematic for some will be Kayan, who at times is physically abusive.  For those for whom this is a trigger, be warned.  It's not often but it happens and it's within context of the tribe of warrior society that Vael has traveled to.  I can say that Kayan will address his actions as will others throughout the story. There is no sexual abuse.

There are cardboard characters here.  Whether or not you like their actions, its due to the fact these are believable viable beings you are reading about. Rosenthal provides, via other characters and means, the explanations/motivations for peoples various behaviors.  People here, are  as they say,  all too human.  Which makes the story.

There is an element of Vael falling for Kayan perhaps far too quickly for me, given his behavior, even with the fated disposition.  But the author's other elements and their scenes together sold me on their relationship.

And then there was that later section of the story. Just amazing.  All the details, the suspense, the action, and yes, heartbreak, leading up to that ending which I loved.  Which I will not spoil here.

There are couples here I wish to see more of.  People here I wished to see more of.  So I'm thrilled that there will be subsequent stories.  I can only hope these people will reappear in them.  Fingers crossed.

Need a new author and story/series to enjoy?  Pick up The End of All Stories (Legends of Badal'Shari #1) by Julia Rosenthal. It's one I highly recommend.

Cover art: Natasha Snow. I like the cover which seems to be the inside of a tent of Kayan's tribe.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review*

One of my main issues with this story is just how short it is. The world building started off with a bang. I wanted to just know more about everything due to the amazing creation story. Sadly, it all seemed to go slowly and then rush forward. All of the sudden we are at the end knowing the large twist. The ending left me content until I thought about it more. Everything seemed to be tied up a little too perfectly. Children are great, but I feel like they are not always needed to give an ending a happily ever after. Plus, the sex scenes were a little unnecessary. Some things are better left fading off to black.

Still, I finished the book which means a lot coming from me. I feel like if it was longer everything would have felt smoother and fit together perfectly. At the length it is now pieces are too forced together for me to fully enjoy.

A quick-paced sci-fi romance. The story was engaging, but somewhat superficial. The author raised interesting concepts about power exchanges between cultures and between the individuals from different cultures, but never seemed to delve too deeply into the possibilities of those ideas. Overall not bad, but more of a snack than a meal.