I enjoyed the world that the book took place in.

I really liked the idea of the story, but it didn’t really stick with me very much.

I really liked the whole concept of the book. The story was somewhat different from what we have been reading about the mediaeval period. The detailing helped me to realise the seriousness of the situation Jalice was in.
Story' main focus was on Jalice who was initially kidnapped and the journey of how she discovered the truth behind the lies she has been told.
Amazing story

A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for approving me for this eARC back in 2020. My sincerest apologies I only got to read it now.

3,5/5

This book came out almost 3 years ago, and has a sequel, and a planned third (final?) book. I only just got to it now, but if you happen to be interested, the ebook of this first book can be downloaded for free via the author's website!

I really enjoyed this book, though I'm not sure how coherent my review will be, given how tired I am. It was an easy read and never lost my attention. It was a lot darker than I had anticipated, which is not a bad thing at all. In fact, I loved that!

The book starts with the POV of Annilasia, who was my favorite POV character of the book. In terms of main characters, I think I'd even call her my favorite; though this does not mean she is Good. All characters are wonderfully morally gray! We then switch to the POV of Jalice, which were the most annoying parts of the book for me. She's incredibly naive, and even when the time came where I had hoped she'd be better ... she wasn't.

At the halfway mark, we suddenly get a few POV chapters from Hydrim (I was so confused, as that's where I'd left off the day before and I was thinking I'd missed something) and a few from Delilee. While both important, Hydrim's were exhausting to read (which is by design, I'm sure), and Delilee's felt without closure. Maybe that's resolved in book 2? I hope so!

I also love the fact this book was wonderfully diverse without it being A Thing, save perhaps for some pronouns I felt were incredibly forced. I've seen of zie/zir before, so that was pretty normal to me, but fae/faer I couldn't wrap my head around due to 'fae' already being a word on its own. Some of the diversity I am sure will play a big part in the sequel(s) and it's the only reason I'm even remotely tempted to pick it up.

Because as much as I enjoyed reading this, it was also incredibly predictable. I'm not sure if we were supposed to know the Big Reveal that early on already or if I just picked up on it (and if it is known, why build up to it like this?) but it kinda killed the suspense at the end. Even what was clearly supposed to be a twist had me shrugging like 'called it'. I'm also not sure I want to spend two more books dealing with Jalice, or with Annilasia, given where character development brought her. The summaries of the next two books also don't reel me in (and be careful, the summary of book 3 starts off with a massive spoiler for book 2), so if I ever read book 2, it won't be in a hurry.

A big shout out to Vowt, though, who with precious little page time, found a place in my heart. May you and Mygo live happily ever after.

I was very happy to receive an arc of this book. I love a good fantasy story with a journey element. The main character was such a strong female lead and I felt like I connected with her throughout the book.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and this has a lot of great action plot. I would love to read more of the series.

Let me start off by saying I wasn't expecting much from this. It's important I say this because sometimes I am incredibly surprised by what I read and other times... not so much. This was the other time.

The Jealousy of Jalice follows two women, Jalice and Annilasia. They are not likeable, and I never felt that they were meant to be liked. Often it is impressed upon the reader to really form a bond with the characters but it was not the case here. Personally, characters are very important to me. They need to be fleshed out, three-dimensional people instead of a screen for the author to project weak traits onto.
Unfortunately, these characters weren't important enough for me.

One huge plus point is the worldbuilding. The author has evidently thought out this world to the smallest pebble. It is a living, breathing thing just waiting to be explored. It is incredibly diverse - both in culture and sexualities. And I want to applaud the lack of romance in Book One. A welcome change.

A thing I was not fond of was the writing. While it is fairly simple - for a book set in what we would call 'medieval times' - it was much too descriptive at times, and in the wrong ways. While the wordbuilding is amazing, I still could not explain to a stranger what this books is about. There were no info-dumps (thank god) but I also had to find out about the world as the characters interacted with it. If this is up your alley, give it a shot. But it didn't do it for me.

An average rating from me: while it was certainly enjoyable and set in a great world, the downsides are too big for me to ignore.

First off, I’m not a big fantasy / sci-fi reader - I did however absolutely love this book. The characters were well established, where you don’t love them but you also don’t hate them, it was such a refreshing way to enjoy characters that aren’t saccharinely sweet or over the top just mean to make a point across about their personalities. The plot was well paced, effective and kept me reading wanting to know more - the flow of the story was great.

One of the best parts of the authors writing was that we didn’t get any massive information dumps - as a reader this is one of my biggest pet peeves and why I generally stay away from fantasy - allowing me to read the story, and learn about this fantasy world slowly without having everything thrown in my face within a chapter or two, was wonderful, it felt like I was actually along for the ride of the characters, as opposed to just reading about their journey, and the customs of the people.

I’m hooked for the series - and can’t wait to dive into book 2. Thank you Netgalley and Jesse for the ARC copy of this book, it was a great read.

An exciting, nail-biting, sci-fi adventure! The worldbuilding and lore is well-done, complimenting an easy, imaginative writing style.

One of the best books I read this year!
The world building was stunning and very well crafted, the details of the world were slowly unfolded during the narration and not just dropped all together at the beginning so the reader can savor every new information that is added to the picture. The characters were all pretty much morally gray which made difficult to take sides, but this is something I liked of the book. I only wish there were more explanation about the magic system, I‘m not sure I understood it completely.
I can‘t wait for the second novel to be published!

What an epic story!!!!!! What can I say about this story? The characters are amazing! Dynamic. Realistic. And relatable. The plot was absolutely amazing! My attention was held the entire time. Twists. Turns. Suspense. I love the entire story!!!! I was sad when I finished. Amparo has an amazing story!!!!

I received this book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange of an honest review. This was such an enthralling futuristic magical fantasy story that was very creative and takes us on a journey that leaves you wanting to read more. This was such an enjoyable and fast read. I wonder how the next book will be. I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

I loved this book. The atmosphere was everything I wanted it to be. I loved the plot and storyline in the book. I loved the characters in this story. It gave me all the feels I was looking for when I started reading this. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

Unfortunately despite multiple attempts at different times I couldn't persevere with this book and DNF at 52%

Initially I was captivated by the fast moving action and the thrill of the plot to kidnap Jalice (the priestess) which in turn was a bid to overthrow her omnipotent husband.

The writing itself is eloquent and the world is magical with a brilliant cast of creatures and characters. Sadly I was confused pretty early on about where this was set, how the world worked etc and I didn't get enough world building to help me make sense of it.

Then at around 40% it felt like the story hit a lull and just didn't pick back up and I lost interest caught between constant flashback scenes that took away from the current situation and left the story disjointed.

A very exciting idea for a book but sadly was not the book for me.

Review will be live on socials mid July

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review

The Jealousy of Jalice is a fantastic adventure. It's about to be true to yourself, to find what is left in our memories and to witness how our handling can lead to so much devastation. This books was full of action from the start, but at the middle did caught up so you got to know the characters. I do believe that this is such a fantastic fantasy story; with a very interesting magic system and a quite basic foundation of the story - two sides that are rivals and about to take down a monarchy.

But this is also so much more. I did enjoy the characters and how every one of them were different, you never mixed them together. I did also enjoy how they developed from page one and throughout the story. Also how excellent Bailey was to uncover certain parts of the world and the magic at the time, so it never felt like an info dumping.

I do really recommend this book and I'll be collecting it when it comes out the 22nd of September - and I hope you do too! And I'll also very much anticipated the sequel!

DNF halfway through chapter 7.
This debut by Jesse Nolan Bailey seemed very promising, and the craft put into every page spoke volumes about the love the author has for his world. But... Even though the worldbuilding and flowery language were enticing enough, i was turned away by the unlikable characters.
There was nothing about either Jalice (the Tecalica, kidndnapped and led on a journey) or Annilasia (the patronizing assassin) that would make me sympathise with either of their situations. They were behaving rational enough, and their reactions have been understandable (in most cases), but I found i didnt care about either of them. The only character that has seemed interesting and I would love to know more about, was Delilee, but she disappears from the main plot right at the beginning.
I think the author should move the effort he put into the superb style (the writing style pretty much overshadowed the plot and characters in my eyes) to the giving his protagonists more layers.

To begin with, the cover is a doozy. That was what initially piqued my interest. The lone figure, ominously walking toward some sort of entrance, inside an almost futuristic ancient pyramid, or structure. It just begged me to read it to find out who Jalice was, and why she is so jealous?

I was able to see, enjoy, and appreciate the darkness underlying the writing. There are aspects of horror, fantasy, and a layered twisting of genres that could not have been written even a few years ago, that shape the unveiling that was “The Jealousy Of Jalice.”

As the story gets going, we are seeing from the perspective of Annilasia. She is on a personal mission to abduct the “Tecalica” (Jalice) who is essentially the ruler of the realm’s wife.

In order to abduct her, she enlists the Tecalica’s body double, Delilee, who has agreed to have magical wards placed on her, and to partake of very dangerous, and addictive substance to ensure the plan succeeds. The substances, magically speaking, help her appear as Jalice, but being addictive, also have almost horrifying withdrawal symptoms. By doing this, Annilasia hopes to take Jalice away from her protective bubble, to get her far enough away, to find out why the ruler has done the  aweful things he has done, and how Jalice has remained by his side through all of these atrocities. There is more to this story as all the main players share history from their childhood.

The story from there mainly follows Annilasia and Jalice as they escape and then attempt to work out, and resolve the big “why” of the world’s situation. There are so many interesting things happening…There are hidden “aethertwisters” residing in the forest. I loved the Magic used in the book, without giving too much more away, magic that separates you from this reality, and plunges you into a deeper reality that at times was completely freaking scary. Beasts in the forest clothed in – actually, you don’t want to know what. Just do what the end of this next quote says to do:

““Drain that parasite until it crackles with black!” the dokojin screeched. “Pollution to the chaos. Get the book. Read the book. Get the book. Read the book.””

One aspect I thought was really cool was how some of the characters were neither fully male, or female, at least from the other characters perspective. The writer used terms for he/she that were extremely creative and fit the story so well for those characters. The writing was fantastic and even poetic at times, which was unexpected for a dark fantasy with frightening moments that made me think of some of those cult horror films.  This was the first time I kept track of  quotes along the way that I really loved. Heres one while we’re at it:

“I miss my Realm, starborn,” Elothel said softly. “It’s too quiet here. I listen for the Music, but the rocks and fires that hover in the sky are lifeless in your Realm and out of reach.”

The last quarter of the book was on freakin’ fire. There are dropped revelations, a new character called a “Mirijin” with total control of this aether magic joins them on the quest. Maniacal craziness ensues inside their minds, a magical book driving Annilasia insane, as well as other facets coming together.

The story really comes together in the end, it’s tense, unexpected, scary, and left me in awe, with the hope for a book 2, which I believe will happen. The book also made me a bit introspective as well. It is a great example, to the extreme, of what jealousy can do to someone, and the impact a selfish attitude and actions can have not only on those close to you, but on the world as a whole.

I’m hoping for a little more detail about this world in the next book. Talk of the great war, and these tribal peoples being able to seek out the stars really left me excited to hear more about this world’s past and history. As well as answers to other questions that were intentionally left unanswered, I’ll be excited to get answers to in the next boom.

9 out of 10 stars!! Great book.

For this to be a first novel is surprising. I hope that Jesse keeps his drive to write in his own way and that this book ends up in the hands of other lovers of dark fantasy. Speaking of, below is a giveaway, so make

The world that we are presented with here in this novel is dark indeed. The Realms have been torn apart, and the powerful artifacts known as the Stones of Elation are missing. The political system is corrupt and the chief, the Sachem, has let the people down and because of this, darkness has spread across the land. The people are growing desperate. Annilasia and Delilee have concocted a harrowing plan to heal the rift in the Tribes by having Annilasia kidnap the Sachem’s wife, Jalice, and leaving Delilee in her place as impersonator and spy. Jalice is, obviously, less than happy about this arrangement as she believes the false trumpeting of her husband. But there are secrets in Jalice’s past. Secrets that once brought to light could turn the tide of darkness once and for all.

Easily one of the best aspects of this book is its diversity. Within this story there are characters representing not only various genders and sexualities, but the cultures are representatively diverse as well. Fantasy novels sometimes have a tendency to focus on the ‘medieval Europe’ area of history, so it is indeed really refreshing to read a book where we get to experience a wide variety of different types of characters and their cultures. There was a perfect amount of description in this story as well. Rather than info-dumping too much information in too short a period of time, the author instead gives us a little at a time; enough to make sure the readers understand what is happening and enough to keep us very interested as well. It is a great blend of give and take that I found immensely satisfying. I also really enjoyed the characters, character interactions, and dialogue, particularly between Annilasia and Jalice. If you are a fan of strong female protagonists (and anti-heroes) in fantasy novels than I highly recommend you check this one out.

I found that this book was a fantastic addition to the fantasy genre. It contained many of the tried and true tropes that exist within the genre already, as well as providing fresh and unique twists and discoveries that would, in my opinion, impress even the most hardened of critics. I would recommend this book to old time fans of epic fantasy (particularly dark fantasy) as well as those new to the genre who are looking for something different.

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I really enjoyed this one. In truth, I give it 4.5/5.

There were things I loved - the three main characters are interesting, complex, and realistic; all are flawed in different ways. The supporting characters are also interesting and I wanted to know more about them. The villains are fantastic - the menace they manage to exude is palpable in its horror aspects but never felt hyperbolic. I do wish we’d gotten a bit more downtime with Annalisia and the others on her quest, though that might have affected the pacing.

I didn’t expect the horror bits of this novel, but they caught me off guard in a good way. The novel can get a bit gruesome, but it never went too far for me.

There was so much about this novel I loved. The setting was awesome - a favourite concept of mine is when a world is built on long-dead, technologically-advanced civilizations that have left their remnants behind - Halo, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, AdventureTime, etc). I loved the “Venom” aspects of the dokojin (these were so well-done). And the tension builds to a fantastic pitch, especially for Delilee.

The “jealousy” plot turn wasn’t a surprise at all, but the journey to get there was fun, exciting, and complete with small twists and turns - other than where it ends up, the novel doesn’t take the paths you expect.

There were two small things that brought the rating “down” for me. The first is more of a pet peeve - I don’t like when we’re not told that a novel is not self-contained. An open-ended conclusion is fine (and sometimes preferable), but this novel doesn’t stand on its own - there are facets that aren’t resolved at the end, forcing a sequel.

The second is that the novel could have used a bit more exposition in terms of how the aether “magic” worked. While I understood the concepts enough to follow the story, and I loved how we were left to postulate on how the past (with its hint of technology) contributed to the present, there were more intricate details I was a little confused about at the end. We’re given a short explanation from one of the characters, but I would have liked a little more background on how the tribes functioned, what the population was like (how many people were in a tribe - hundreds? thousands?), what the realms were, and whether magical aspects are a normal part of society or whether it was something on the fringe that regular people never interacted with. Basically I wanted a little more from an anthropological standpoint.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this novel and look forward to the second.

received a copy of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review
This was kind of lacking in entertainment value I guess is the way to describe it. It just didn't hold my interest like I expected.

I think is a classic “its not you, it’s me” break up. I started out this book with maybe too high of expectations but as I was reading it just didn’t hook me. The characters where meh as I just did not care for most of them and because I have so many other books to read I am moving on and leaving this as a DNF. I do think there are going to be people out there that just love it but unfortunately I’m not one of them.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.