We open with a bang. Marilia is a grown woman with a dead husband, and she is about to face death by a charging army.

Then from the prologue we cut to chapter one, and Marilia is a child, pampered and observant and too clever for her own good. We watch as she tackles loss, as she runs with her brother from everything she’s ever known, as she adjusts to life in a foreign land, then learns to find her place in a society that doesn’t fit. (And I do appreciate the use of a game as both a plot piece and a metaphor. It was a clever and fun way to get Marilia to find herself)

I love stories like this. Stories about girls who are clever but awkward in appearance; girls who are too bold for the men around them; girls who are too daring for their oppressive society. And I loved Marilia: her temper, her resolve, her wit, and her quiet strength.

The writing was melodic and flowing, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. The culture and characters were introduced quickly and intelligently. There was never a point where it felt as is if the author was overexplaining or talking down, things (places, languages, etc) just existed, and we as readers were existing in the story with them.

The sapphic aspect of this novel was a complete surprise. Marilia’s attraction to women was simple, true, and beautifully woven throughout the narrative in a way that felt honest, rather than performative.

Her relationship with her brother was interesting, definitely. I didn’t grow as fond of him as I did Marilia, but I did like their almost antagonistic bond... he is handed acclaim that she would have earned tenfold, if she were a man. Her bitterness and jealousy is understandable. Seeing her face down this issue and rise above it was super damn satisfying.

Now I’ve never read a book published on Amazon Kindle, so this is a first. A very positive first. I enjoyed this so much that I read it in the span of a few hours, never mind the headache raging in my temples! A million recommendations. My eyes will definitely be peeled for the sequel novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the author for the arc!

Marilia the warlord follows the story of our main character’s journey to adulthood. It is set in an imaginative, immersive fantasy world the author creates full of political intrigue and danger.

This book is divided into different parts for the stages of Marilia’s life, starting from when she’s 9 living in a brothel with her prostitute mother and twin brother Annuweth. She’s then adopted by a warlord her father knew along with her brother, where she manages to defy tradition and use her new found gift for strategy to follow in her fathers footsteps.

The opening draws you in thrown into the middle of a tense moment during a war. I was instantly engaged and wanted to know more.
Its easy to imagine the scenery and world from the authors descriptions. The action/battle scenes are well written and tense.

The writing is very high quality. I found the way the author made me feel connected to Marilia and relate to her really well done. The way she was strong willed, capable and determined, but had her faults being jealous of her brother. How she felt she didn’t fit in with her group of Petrea and the other noble girls but found a special relationship with Camilline made me think back to my own experiences with female friends.

“Something about Camilline—the ease of her smile, the quickness of her laughter—reminded her of Petrea. But with Petrea, Marilia had always felt just a little on edge, somehow out of her depth. With Camilline, things were simpler. She felt only warmth. If Petrea was a sweltering bonfire, then Camilline was the steady, comfortable glow of its embers after a long night.”

The only really negative things for me was I lost track of all the different kingdoms, it didn’t really impact my over all reading experience though. Also I felt the creatures that were briefly mentioned like giants, ghouls and dragons etc could have been expanded on and explained more.

Overall this was a page turning low fantasy book with a fantastic female lead. It almost had a Grimdark edge to some of the scenes that I throughly enjoyed.

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Solid 3 stars. There were times while reading where I had to really try to understand the world building here. A bit confusing a times, but one can push through due to an adventurous plot line.