The Descent of the Drowned was one of my most anticipated books of 2021. I was lucky enough to get an ARC from NetGalley, and this book did not disappoint! I absolutely loved it.

First of all, this book deals with a lot of heavy topics, and there is a trigger warning at the beginning of the book. (a thing every book should have) The trigger warning is for physical and emotional abuse, mention of rape and sodomization, sexual assault, suicide, bigotry, drug abuse, and human trafficking. None of it is really graphic, and, in my opinion, these topics are dealt with very well, but it can still be triggering and hard to read.

The Descent of the Drowned is set in a colonized Indo-Persian world, and it is inspired by Pre-Islamic Arabian mythology. It follows the two main characters, Roma and Leviathan. Roma and Leviathan are very different people, but both of their stories are about power, self-discovery, freedom, and redemption.
"They were both survivors. They never quit. No matter how badly they were beaten, or how much they bled."


Characters:
"She wouldn’t sob. She wouldn’t shatter. Never again."
Roma… Roma is everything to me. She is so strong, and she has been through so much throughout her whole life. Her relationship with Chirag is probably my favorite relationship in this book. He is Roma’s brother, but she raised him as her own son, and their relationship is such a big part of her character. She has been taught to be silent and to serve men, and I just loved seeing her find her voice. Roma also broke me. Like, she absolutely broke me. Her story is so heart wrenching and she made me cry multiple times. She just has my heart, and she’s definitely one of my new favorite characters of all time.

"He felt it now. The self-disgust. Things were easier for him when he didn’t have to control his demons, so he let them run savage, and as a consequence people around him got hurt."
Normally when I read about anti-heroes it’s a good person with a bad side, but Leviathan is kind of the opposite. He has done a lot of bad things, and his morals are pretty messed up after all of the things he has been through and all of the things people have made him do. He still does a lot of terrible things, but I still love him. He’s so well written, and his story breaks my heart. In this book, he struggles a lot with redemption because he doesn’t think that he deserves it after everything he has done.

Also – the side characters. The side characters are amazing. I loved so many of them. I love Chirag, Junho, Kanoni, Malev… There were so many good characters.

The story is kind of slow-paced, which I’m usually not the biggest fan of in fantasy books, but I really loved it in this book. I think it was mostly because I got so invested in Roma and Leviathan so early on. In my opinion, the slow pacing makes this book better. It really gives you time to get to know the characters, and it’s just so amazingly written. I do really love the plot and how different parts of it really challenged the main characters and forced them to make quick decisions.
For me, it was a page-turner from the beginning, but it wasn’t because a lot was happening with the plot, it was just because I was so invested in the characters that I needed to know what was happening to them. The second half of the book really picked up on the plot, though, and there were so many reveals that I hadn’t seen coming.

This book really put me through it. I got so invested in the characters so fast, and the more I learned about them, the more I loved them. They also made me cry. Multiple times.

The only complaint I can think about right now is that it took a little too long for the magic system to really be explained, and I’m still not sure if I completely understand it, but it’s definitely interesting and really intriguing. I would also have loved to see a bit more backstory from side characters like Yoshi and Malev. There were hints to their stories, but I would love to see more of them.

The ending?? The ending!! It destroyed me. I need more.

In conclusion, this book is both heartbreaking and beautiful, and I am in love with it. If it sounds interesting to you, I will definitely recommend it, but remember to check the trigger warnings first! There are a lot, and even though it’s not graphic or in deep detail, it’s still present throughout most of the book because some of the topics are a big part of the main characters’ stories.

The book begins and there is an almost lyrical quality to the text. The author’s writing style is entrancing.

Roma’s story is a gut-wrenching one. She traverses a difficult existence with a sort of iron will. Over time, she accepts the truth of her situation, which is dire. She suffered so greatly as a child that it seems impossible that more cruelty can find her, but it does.

Roma bends but doesn’t break—or maybe she does break and chooses to reform herself. Regardless, this tale inspires hope for a greater humanity and resilience in the face of atrocious acts. The human spirit of the reader cries for Roma but also for any suffering in our world after this read.

The fantasy elements are intriguing and include main characters descended from powerful gods or magical beings. They have certain abilities that they themselves struggle to understand and accept. It adds another layer to an already richly layered story.

The author wrote this book to spread awareness about many issues including sacred prostitution, human trafficking, and Rohingya genocide.

Brilliantly and boldly written.

I think this book is incredibly well written and explores some interesting mythologies and premises. That being said, I will not be finishing this book after the introduction of "honor rape" in the story. This is a really triggering content for me and this came up a couple of time in the early chapters of the book. I am not sure how prominent this is in the rest of the story, but I made the decision to not continue reading. If you are fine with really dark, heavy topics, I do think that the story and world is engaging!

I want to start with that this book does cover some heavy topics, not out right in deep detail its mostly just mentioned but just a slight warning for anyone who would love to read this book, that being said the book itself is completely amazing and the way it handles such topics is just heart wrenchingly beautiful.

The world Ana Lal Din has created is beautiful as it is devastating, the characters really try to overcome the circumstances they are given, its all just so beautifully written. The reveals in this book were amazing, I am completely obsessed with it and cannot wait to see where the story takes me next.

Roma is such a strong MC despite everything she has been through and is put through, she somehow manages to get above it. My heart breaks for her, she is brought up into this world of lives and even when she pushes for rightness and answers people still turn their back on her but she doesnt let that stop her. She is such a well written character and i love her to pieces, i cant wait to see where her character goes from here. and that reveal at the end?!?!?! OMG my girl is gonna push and survive I know it.

Levi (Leviathon) he is just so amazing, his story is well established and very driven. His story starts with him losing his mother and just wanting answers just wanting to protect and have justice for his people, he really doesnt take anything from nobody and his character is one of my favorites i have come across in a long while. The way he can tell Roma has been through everything and just respects her space and really just wants to earn her trust and hopefully and HEA is in their future because boy do they deserve it.

in conclusion,
I absolutely am amazed by this book and once I saw it I knew I wanted to read and I'm so lucky I received this ARC because I am completely in love with it and cant wait to see where they go from where they are. the ending really left me hanging and i need answers , I just need more. This book was written so beautifully and magically. This author deserves all the hype in the world.

*ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I dived into this book ecstatically because it sounded so good and intriguing and honestly I thought that I would love this book after reading it. well, the book was indeed good but I have to admit that I didn't love it. I wanted to love the book but I couldn't.
The writing style in this book was pretty and the plot of the book was slow-paced but it did not drag on or boring. I think this is the kind of slow pacing that does not make you feel bored because in that moment you also get to know the characters and all the things that happen are also interesting to know.
In conclusion, I found this book to be alright but still a bit dull. Don't let my review put you off because I know that lots of other people loved it.

I loved the characters. I loved the dialogue and descriptions. I ?I've the events and pacing. Great read . Quick