Such an interesting new world with an awesome romance. I wasn't sure about this when reading the first chapter but as soon as the pov started to alternate I was hooked. Amazing characters I just couldn't help but love.

One of the best books I've read this year.

I have to admit that I wasn't sure at first. The back-and-forth first person was confusing for me until I got to know Noc and Leena and the others. Then it was easy. Fell in love with some of the secondary characters, too. I really need to know more about Kost, Calem, and Oz and...all of them, thank you very much.

The worldbuilding is very unique. I can't compare this book to any other that I've read. It is very unique. Leena's backstory unfolds in perfect bits and pieces, while we are left to puzzle out Noc's--although a huge clue is dropped at the end.

This was a spicy read, too. No closed doors but not so much sex that you got bored. It was very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Can't wait to read what happens next.

I was quite taken in by this book. It was a little hard to get into at first, but once I got a few chapters in it became imperative that I finish it as quickly as possible. I loved Leena and couldn't help but root for her. She got dealt a lot of bad hands, but still managed to pull herself through. Noc was such a fascinating character and seeing him trying to distance himself while being magnetically pulled to Leena was fabulous. The idea of beasts and the charmers that can tame them was fascinating and I can't wait for more from the series. I hope that we see more of the secondary characters since they all seemed to have their own stories to tell.

This was a debut that really felt like one. I did enjoy it at times but at others it just wasn't doing it for me. The story could have been a little more polished but overall, I think this was a good first try at a full length story. I will say that this felt like the fantasy version of Pokemon. This one ended very well it felt like a full and complete story.

Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym M. Martineau is the first book in a new paranormal romance series called The Beast Charmer. Billed as a cross between Fantastic Beasts and Assassin’s Creed it lives up to the hype. I found myself fully immersed in Leena’s world and fascinated with her creatures. Personally I can’t wait for more from the world!

Leena Edenfrell is an exiled beast charmer with a price on her head. She is bitter about the events that led to her exile, and she is cunning. She has to be with the people she now deals with. To live outside her community she must trade in beasts. Raised to love them and cherish her beasts, this is agony for her to hand over a beast in exchange for gold. This alone made me like her. Her conscience gets the best of her time and again, but she will do anything to protect her creatures.

Noc is the leader of the undead assassins…yep they are like vampires. At least that’s how I pictured them. He is cursed though. Anyone he loves falls ill and dies. So Noc keeps himself separate from his clan and keeps a firm (imaginary) line in the sand that he will not cross. He will not allow himself to feel for anyone. Then he meets Leena, and despite his hard and fast rules, he finds himself falling.

Noc’s assassin failed to kill Leena and instead gets himself captured by her. To bargain for her own life, she exchanges the assassin with Noc and promises to deliver four beasts in exchange. This leads Leena, Noc and three of his skilled assassins on a trip across the continent looking for a beast that will allow Leena back into her community and the beasts she promised him.

I love the world-building more than anything else in the book! Each beast mentioned is unique with its own abilities and talents. I found myself visualizing them as Leena describes them. Leena’s exile is also at the forefront of the story, along with Noc’s curse. Noc wants a cure, Leena wants to go home. Together they might just get what they want.

Overall I really enjoyed Kingdom of Exiles. I struggled a little at the beginning of the story. The author fully immerses the reader in the world and it took a bit for me to catch up. Once I did though, I fell in love with the beasts, their world, and of course Leena and Noc. I can’t wait for more

I finished this on June 3rd so I'm quite late reviewing it but I loved this book so much it was hard to get my thoughts in order. It's been a LONG while since I've finished a book and then immediately wanted to read it again (in fact, I did just that when I received my pre-ordered copy)! This book was just that good.
Not only do I love the cover but the second I saw the description of Fantastic Beasts meets Assassins Creed, I knew I had to read it and I'm happy to report that I was not disappointed.
Kingdom of Exiles is beautifully written and has everything I look for in a fantasy/romance novel.
Assassins ✓
Exotic beasts ✓
Exquisite world-building ✓
Action-packed with a dash of romance ✓
Strong heroine and a tortured but swoon-worthy love interest ✓
Entertaining/lovable cast of characters ✓

It was a magical read. And the beasts? Thanks to the descriptive writing, they're very easy to picture - especially the beast realm. I was hooked the second I started reading this and the release of the next book can't come fast enough. I NEED to know what happens next!

Kingdom of Exiles, The Beast Charmer
By: Macym M. Martineau

I am completely charmed by this book. Macym M. Martineau has created an exciting fantasy world full of magic, adventure, and mystery. I love how we explore relationships between people and the beasts in this world, especially the concept of family and trust building throughout the novel. In this book we follow Leena, an exiled charmer who is forced to sell beasts, animals she bonds with, in order to survive and Noc an assassin who is contracted to kill her by any means necessary because failure means his own death. Both have dark pasts and secret agendas, together along with a couple more assassins embark on a mission throughout the realm. I don’t want to give much away because I think that going into a fantasy adventure with little information is the best way to enjoy the story. There was no dull moment, I thought that the storyline kept pace, the only thing I wish that was more present was the moments with a charmer and their beast. Nevertheless I really enjoyed myself reading this book and I am looking forward to the next installment.
Thank You to NetGalley for allowing me to read this novel for an honest review

An impossible love story. He is the leader of a group of ruthless assassins. He has secrets and he is cursed. She is a Charmer with magic skills. She doesn’t trust anyone and she’s been exiled by her own people. Also, he’s promised to kill her… There are also magical beasts and engaging and likable characters. And yet, I couldn’t completely get into the novel. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the story and how it evolves and I couldn’t wait to see how it ended, but it felt a bit strained and I wasn’t completely engrossed.
All in all, it’s an intriguing and enjoyable novel and I look forward to see what happens next.

Kingdom of Exiles is the first book in Maxym Martineau's Beast Charmers series and I though it was a great debut novel. The hook in the blurb for this book is "Assassin's Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them" and it was that reference to Fantastic Beasts that totally made this a must read book (I have to confess to never having played Assassin's Creed but I am a HUGE fan of anything in the Wizarding World).

Leena is a Charmer with a collection of weird and wonderful magical beasts. She was exiled by her people after being betrayed by the man she loved and now she's surviving by slowly selling her beloved creatures even though that is something completely forbidden in her homeland. The punishment for her actions is death and now there is a price on her head, Leena's only choice for survival is to make a deal with the leader of the Assassins. Noc jumps at the chance of obtaining magical beasts for him and his closest allies but he is keeping huge secrets from Leena, one about a curse on his family and another about the nature of an assassin's oath. Both of these have huge potential to hurt Leena in the future so Noc has some big decisions to make.

There was a lot to love about this debut, firstly I have to talk about the different magical beasts we encountered and how much fun it was to learn about their abilities. If anything I'd have actually liked more of this side of the story, particularly about the bond between Charmers and beast and the magical realm that the beasts lived in after being captured. I have a few questions about how that all works that I'm sure will become clearer as the series continues but I could still have read about the bests all day long.

The story reminded me a little of Amanda Bouchet's Kingmaker Chronicles, it has a similar set up with a young woman with certain abilities and a group of men who are accompanying her on a journey because she can give them something no-one else can. I really liked the camaraderie of Noc and his closest team but I think it would have been nice if there had been at least one more girl included in the top tier of the assassin's guild, especially since there are so many further down the ladder. I liked both Leena and Noc but I do think the romance between them develops a little too quickly, it starts slow which was great and I thought we were going to get a slow build that develops across the entire series but by the end of the book it had taken things a little too far in my opinion, especially since they've only known each other a few days at that point.

I think we could have had slightly less of the romance and more of the world building and this would have felt like a more satisfying and well rounded read but don't let that put you off because it was still a really enjoyable story that left me eager to carry on with the series. It's definitely going to be fun to see where the story goes from here and I've already got books 2 and 3 at the top of my 2020 wish list.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from Kingdom of Exiles but it definitely exceeded my expectations!  

This book had it all:
Slow burn romance
Action
Great world building
Mythical creatures
And steamy scenes
I mean what more could you ask for?!

Leena is an exiled beast charmer who does what she can to survive.  It sucks she can't return to the safety of her homeland, but she's adapting.  Noc is the leader of Cruor, a guild of raised dead, who are killers for hire.  Noc's guild is tasked with ending the life of the exiled charmer, who has been branded as a criminal.  However, Leena thwarts the Cruor's first attempt on her life, and comes knocking on Cruor's door to confront Noc.  Leena and Noc strike up a deal - she wants the hit removed, and he wants something else. 

Leena, Noc, and a few other colorful Cruor characters find themselves on an adventure through the realm to fulfill Leena's bargain with Noc.  With a hidden past and dark curse attached to him, Noc finds his pull to Leena irresistible even with its deadly possibilities.  And as Noc and Leena become closer, they find themselves entwined in a larger story neither expected - one where secrets come to life, love can kill, and not all is what it seems. 

I found this story to have a well-built narrative, fantastic world-building, and likable characters.  If Fantastic Beasts meets Assassin Creed meets Pokemon is of interest to you, I suggest you pick up a copy of this one ASAP!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shelby – ☆☆☆☆☆
Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym M. Martineau absolutely blew me away! I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this totally exceeded my expectations.

Leena is an exiled Beast Charmer. They are a rare breed of people (?) that have the unique ability to charm and keep various magical beasts, which range from fluffy and sweet cuddle bugs to dangerously violent war-mongers. I enjoyed learning about the beasts just as much as the character development! Did I mention that I love Leena? She's brave, strong, sassy, and smart but she's also compassionate and passionate. She doesn't back down from a fight but knows when to step back. The more I read, the more I wanted to meet her.

The adventure that Leena ends up on is partially her own plan, with some wrenches throw in. Specifically, the bounty placed upon her life and being carried out by Cruor, or the Shadow Assassins. We are trying to figure out WHO placed the bounty, why they're after her, and how to remove it.

The assassins are another interesting lot of people, just as intriguing as Leena. They each have their own history, and I hope that we'll get a book per character. I fell in love with Os's sweetness, and Callum is the constant flirt, Kost is a dark unknown, and then there's Noc. I'm not giving anything away, but Noc's story is something I need more of. We get bits and pieces, but I want to know his backstory.

All in all, this was an excellent fantasy story with the depth and world building you'd come to expect. The characters were well developed, and the plot was solid. I am adding the rest of this series to my to-be-read shelf ASAP!

Heart pounding action, fun witty banter, emotionally thrilling highs and lows not to mention danger around every twist and turn this magical adventure has all this and so much more.... was a exciting and highly entertaining read from beginning to end and I look forward to more to come.

First of all, Kingdom of Exiles didn't remind me of Fantastic Beasts or Assassin's Creed, even though that's what the synopsis claims. It was more like a Pokémon adult romance. Ash has to work for his Pokémon, Leena does the same for her beasts, and the relationships were similar. She also chooses beasts for her companions, and I couldn't help thinking, "I choose you!" whenever she did. Regardless, I really enjoyed the book and its characters.

The beasts were my favorite part of Kingdom of Exiles! I wanted to know more about their abilities, the beast realm, and why they would willingly choose to work with humans (other than companionship). Most of them are crazy powerful and intelligent, but they seemed to easily bond with Charmers, even those that are supposed to be difficult to tame. I wish we had seen more failed attempts, or at least given examples of people who had been unsuccessful. Additionally, they seemed to be able to converse with Leena on some level, and when she gave her beasts to the members of Cruor, they were able to communicate despite the obvious language barrier. I wish that had been elaborated on, as well as their abilities and what they entailed. I feel like we were shown very little of their powers and capabilities.

Cruor was probably my second favorite thing about this book. People die and are raised from the dead to become assassins, which is pretty cool. However, once they die a second time, they cannot be reborn. Again, I wish we were told more about this and Cruor's existence in general, but the history was vague. I thought their ability to command shadows was interesting, and liked the dark vibe it gave the story. Noc is their leader and crazy powerful, but we never see him going all out. It's hinted at a few times, but he never fully gives in. What is he truly capable of? I also disliked that his history remained hidden throughout the story, even though I'm sure it'll be a focus in the second book. It was alluded to many times, and we have a pretty good idea what it is, but nothing was actually confirmed. Whenever Noc would approach the topic, or Leena would ask a question, something would happen that prevented their conversation.

I liked Leena as a main character, although I didn't always understand her actions. She was banished from her home, and thought her only way back in was with a legendary beast. However, she sold beasts to scumbags in order to make some money, and I hated that she would trade the lives of her friends (beasts that she personally made a connection with) for money. She could have easily worked at the tavern or whatever, and still searched for the Myad. She didn't have to trade lives for profit. When she explained her reasons, they were flimsy and not entirely believable. She was also quick to trust the people that had recently tried to kill her, and she did little to protect herself. She has a beast that can camouflage itself, Inky, and she doesn't use him to gather information about the members of Cruor. Her beast could have learned so much, if she'd just thought to use him.

Speaking of trust, Leena was way too comfortable with Noc, especially since he nearly choked her death when they first met. I believe that alone should have been a good reason for her to keep her distance. However, she's drawn to him, even when he's icy and aloof. I'm sorry, but if someone tried to kill me, and then was wishy-washy with their feelings (whether they had a good reason or not), I wouldn't have been as forgiving. I definitely wouldn't want to start a relationship (physical or emotional) with them. Noc had his reasons for being cruel and standoffish, but Leena didn't know that. She stuck around without knowing what he was struggling with, and I couldn't get behind that.

Ozias was my favorite character. He was sweet and didn't necessarily want to kill as a solution for everything. Kost wanted to do whatever would keep Noc and Cruor safe, and Calem was simply trouble. All three of these characters have secrets, and the author chose to keep their past lives hidden as well. Everything was a secret. Why Leena's death and bones were needed, who placed the original hit on her life, what Noc's life was like before he died, etc. The author doesn't really reveal anything of importance, which was disappointing. I don't like leaving a story feeling like I still don't know anything about the characters, or what they're trying to accomplish. The major plot was addressed and mostly resolved, but I was still irked by how little information was shared.

I went into this one thinking it was YA, but it's most definitely an adult fantasy. Some of the terminology that was used during the sex scenes was weird, but not overly distracting. The author just used odd words to describe different body parts and what they were doing. It's always frustrating when characters don't call things by their name, but try to come up with creative substitutions. Example: mountain. It's not something these specific characters said, but you get the idea. Also, can someone get Noc a pair of hiking boots...

Wynn was a bastard, and not someone I can easily elaborate on. Also, there are quite a few plot holes, which is unfortunate in a fantasy. If an author creates something new, they need to follow the rules they've set for their story. For example, Leena was able to break a beast's bond with someone else, but doesn't think to do it when it would potentially save her life. There's a beast making a noise that prevents her from sleeping, and another that brings her food, but she doesn't attempt to override their bond in order to escape. Even if there was a reason why she couldn't, she should have at least had the thought.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I did have some minor issues with it. I feel like it had the potential to be more than it was, if a few things had been changed or elaborated on. I'm also not a fan of stories that hold on to their secrets until the next book. I feel like we should get to know something after reading 400 pages.

Kingdom of Exiles was fun to read that I never wanted to put down. Despite my issues with this one, it's a series I plan to continue in the future. Hopefully, there will be more information revealed in the next book!

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on July 5, 2019.

this was an awesome adventure. the characters were fully fleshed out and I loved the world building.

This book screams Fantastic Beasts, Assassin’s Creed.... and Pokémon!!
Sounds intriguing to you? The only thing I can encourage you to do is pick this book up asap.

This novel just ticks all the right boxes for me:
Slow burn romance ✔️
Fantastic action ✔️
Magical creatures ✔️
Merry band of assassins ✔️
Steamy scenes ✔️
Great world-building ✔️✔️

I enjoyed the heck out of this and I can’t thank Netgalley enough for bringing this to my attention. Can’t wait to read the sequel!

Kingdom of Exiles has been one of my most intriguing, fun and magical reads this year so far. I loved every second of it! The characters were amazing, the plot and its twists had me at the edge of my seat and everything that had to deal with beasts, Charmers and the assassin's of Cruor was amazingly captivating and just so well done and interesting. Now I can't wait for to see what's going to happen when the next book comes out!
Full review to come soon.

KoE really surprised me in it’s complexities and depth and world building.
It was on par with the whole Throne of Glass series.
Yeah.
Maxym Martineau does such a good job making her characters have intricate backstories that are revealed bit by bit, letting the secrets come to light naturally. KoE was more about finding oneself in the midst of emotional turmoil than it was about the relationship between Leena and Noc. The relationship between Leena and herself, Leena and her beasts and Leena and her past took center stage in KoE. The character development in Leena was amazing. From the beginning of the book, the Charmer was wary of men and people in general, having been burned too badly before. Because of that, the connection between her and Noc is especially extraordinary. Noc is willing to work with her, willing to tell her some secrets and willing to protect her from the beginning.
Her past burns weren’t.
The simple act of listening to her and not betraying her shot Noc up so many levels, it was ridiculous.
Noc, on the other hand, wasn’t “truly” burned. At least not in the traditional sense. He was cursed. And it was a terrible curse. I cried.
Noc suffered quite a bit in this book and I sincerely hope that he doesn’t suffer so much in the next book. Like, ease off. He needs a happy ending.
The genre should read: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Romance. There was more fantasy and magic than romance. I mean, plenty of that too. But still. I repeat: The magic of relationships (in general) was the main focus.
The diversity was off the charts for this book; gay, bisexual, straight, lesbian, black, white, I’m not entirely sure what race you are sir…, pretty sure there were some Arab adjacent there…
Point being, it was an amazing book. There were some triggers: harm, scars and torture as well as some violence but it wasn’t that bad and it wasn’t graphic. That’s like the best part about the book.
None of it was graphic. Not the sex, not the fighting, not the deaths. Everything was exactly right. I couldn’t put it down.

Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym M. Martineau

First book in the Beast Charmer series

3 stars

Leena is an exiled beast charmer. She makes a living catching low-grade beasts to stay alive and has made many enemies of Charmers and humans alike. Her latest enemy has put a hit on her and this assassin is like no other. The Cruor are assassins that have been raised from the dead and can control the shadows. After Leena defeats a Cruor and nearly kills him, the leader—Noc—decides to use this hit for his advantage and get some beasts. Will Noc carry through with assassinating Leena? Will Leena be able to prove that she isn’t evil by taming the Myad and proving herself as a worthy innocent to the beast? Who has the hit on Leena and why do they want her to be apart of a ritual sacrifice? I usually don’t pose questions in writing a synopsis, but I figured if these questions pique your interest then this will probably be a book for you. Kingdom of Exiles has a fun plot. The plot follows the vein of most paranormal fantasy novels, but this novel is heavy fantasy (which was an aspect I liked). Martineau has some interesting world-building and I found the concepts of both the Charmers and the Cruor to be interesting and complex. The writing, itself however, lacked in complexity and stank of swoon-worthy cringe. Some of these lines were so unnecessary and completely took out of the story. Here are some examples:
“The confident jerk of her chink threw me, and some of the anger stoking in my core snuffed out. I couldn’t help but admire the way she carried herself. Like an assassin unafraid of death.” (Not too bad, but my eyes still glanced at the back of my head briefly.)
“Please cut yourself. Cut yourself, and let me pretend to fuss over you. Let me get a napkin and wipe away the blood so I can save it for the taming. Please.” (This one was SO WEIRD. It’s even weirder out of context. I can’t believe I read this in a book.)
“Jealousy was a beast, and I feared Leena was the only Charmer skilled enough to tame it.”(Puns and cringe all at the same time.)
“The Myad wasn’t the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Noc would always win that contest.(You could be killed this is not the best time to judge beauty, Leena.)
“He’d absolved me of my transgressions. Clean. I was clean. And worthy of being his.” (Thought she was talking about her love interest. No, it’s her beast who seems to be Jesus.)
“You don’t have to worry about me… I don’t have feelings for you. It’s safe.” (One of those I’m lying about my feelings tropes. How YA.)
Don’t even get me started on the part when the Charmers mentioned Noc being Leena’s mate. I had Sarah J. Maas flashbacks so hard that I swear I thought I was in ACOTAR for a second. Obviously, the writing is this book’s weakest feature. This can be both a hindrance for the reader who reads a lot or a blessing for a reader just looking for a quick and easy read. It’s all those boxes. I’m still laughing about these quotes even as I wrote them.



Whimsical Writing Scale: 2.25

Leena isn’t a bad heroine. She has some depth. There are added layers with her secret past, banishment, and lover gone wrong. It’s a fun time, typical to the genre, but fun nonetheless. I also really liked her scenes with taming the beasts for the Cruor assassins. Those scenes made this book for me. The Charmer aspect of this novel is really strong and it was fun.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 3

Noc has some good features, but I wasn’t ever really swooning over him. He didn’t steal the show for me. In fact, out of all the Cruor characters I liked him the least which isn’t really winning this dead guy many points in the romance department. He is also a very grey villain for a while which was fun and I kind of wish he hadn’t fell in love with Leena because I lowkey wanted to see them dual and one of them die. I am writing a fanfiction for this novel in my review. Time for me to talk about something else.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 2

The Villain- Boring. Typical and you don’t even get to find who put the hit on her at the end of the book. The sequel is, I’m expecting, going to be all about hunting down this mystery woman. Lowkey wish Noc was the villain because it would’ve added so many layers to this plot.


Villain Scale: 2

The Cruor are my favorite thing. Seriously, if you love friendship and brotherhood dynamics (which are apparently I trope I’m a sucker for) then this is for you. Think ACOTAR with the Night Court or The League from the League series. Be still my beating fangirl reader heart. Calem is the playboy with a heart of charm and he is a goofball. I adored him and he was so funny. Ozias is my absolute FAVORITE of all the characters in this book. He’s awkward, but sweet and full of awkward charm. Kost was dark and brooding and the most annoying of the characters, but his layered background was kind of fascinating. (Also, if Kost is in love with Noc and Noc refused to let himself fall in love or Kost would die, does this mean that Noc isn’t straight? I will admit that does make Noc more layered than most paranormal romance heroes.)


Character Scale: 4

Overall, this novel is fun. It’s not incredibly complex and I didn’t like the ending. I probably won’t be continuing with the series because I didn’t like the direction shift (unless we follow a different POV other than Leena and Noc then sign me up). This is perfect for fans of the paranormal romance genre and fantasy readers who like some lighter high-fantasy.


Plotastic Scale: 3.5

Cover Thoughts: This cover is gorgeous and even though she looks awkward I like it a lot.

Thank you, Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

***contains spoilers***

First of all, the texture in this book is absolutely gorgeous. It felt like every page was glowing, or dripping, or scaly, or furry. The creatures were great fun, and the action scenes were top-notch.

That said, I had a hard time connecting to the romance. Having a queer hero whose love literally kills the people he cares for, and who is then cured so the straight heroine can be safe just feels ... a little hinky to me. I have a very high standard for magical metaphors for AIDS, and this did not really live up to my requirement that magical STIs be treated thoughtfully. I am certain the author did not intend this metaphor to have this resonance, but it made the reading experience considerably less pleasant for me.

This book was an engaging start to a new fantasy series filled with sympathetic characters and lots of fantastic beasts ala J.K. Rowling. The main female lead is Leena, a beast Charmer, raised in a hidden city filled with Charmers, but exiled after being accused and framed by her boyfriend of a forbidden crime (the "charming" of a human) that he actually committed. The main male lead is Noc, an assassin and head of a special guild filled with people who were raised from the dead and given new life as assassins. He's got his own problems, as he's laboring under a curse that condemns anyone he loves to death. As the book opens, Noc's guild is hired by an unknown Charmer to assassinate Leena, but she bargains for her life by agreeing to gift him and a few of his men with their own beasts to help protect them. They set off on a trip to obtain the beasts as well as a legendary one that Leena has been searching for that she hopes will prove her innocence to her Council.

As you can see, this book has a lot going on. There's quite a bit of plot and world building, although some details were still sketchy and presumably will be revealed in later books. The book definitely had some elements in common with Fantastic Beasts, but at the same time, I thought that the author did a good job in creating her own story and grounding it firmly in a fantasy world that is clearly not just some alternate Earth. The story bogged down a few times for me due to the world building, but the author tells a good story, has a clear vision of what she wants her world to look like, and has the skill to convey that world to the reader.

As for Leena, Noc, his group of lieutenants, and especially, those amazing beasts, I definitely want more of all of them. I think anyone who likes Fantastic Beasts, or who just likes stories with animals in them will love this. Leena's bond with her beasts is strong and loving. Noc is a sympathetic hero, laboring under a curse that prevents him from forming strong, close bonds with others, but clearly wanting badly to do so. I loved Noc's group of assassins (especially Oz) and hope to see more of them in later books. All in all, a very promising start to a new series, especially for a debut author.