3.5/5 stars

On one side:
Its SAPPHIC, its LATINA, its FANTASY and all those things come together very well in this book. I really enjoyed reading those part of the story. I loved the folklore side of it as well!

On the other hand:
I feel like this book, for what it should have been, should have been a bit more edited to represent the traditionally published book. I really struggled to get through this book, but it might be just my personal experience.

But it's still worth the read and I suggest to read it anyways and see if you like if for yourself

Thanks to Netgalley for E-arc, this review is my own.

"She had left the comforts of the familiar for the hope that her luck would change. Sadul Fuerte was supposed to be a fresh beginning. The opportunity to have the family her father had denied her."

As always, enormous thanks to Netgalley and the team at Daphne Press for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for a review, which is as unbiased as I can make it despite the fact that they are giving me free books.

There was a lot to like about The Sun and the Void; the magic systems that reminded me a little of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, the fractured family dynamics, the unvarnished colonialist parallels- but nonetheless I really struggled to finish it.
The pacing is bad. It was one of the first things that really struck me while I was reading, and I stand by it. Years go by between paragraphs, important events happen that we do not see, characters change and grow. And what that means is that, as a reader, from one chapter to the next, several characters become strangers all over again. It was jarring and I felt like I was playing catch up as characters left and right suddenly declared all of these things that they had done and schemes that they had started, when I had seen none of it.

A lot of the description is either very repetitive (tamarind eyes) or odd (spicy sunlight?) and despite the lavish descriptions of clothing and food, I never really felt like I could visualise the settings.

When I finished, I was almost a bit frustrated by it all. It felt like there were some great ideas in there, but that they were almost getting lost amongst the rest.

Adult fantasy inspired by South American folklore and political history.
There's magic, old gods, a prophecy, backstabbing family drama. It's a place and time of change, not too many years after a revolution, and I think that does come across in the story.

The two main characters are both virtual outcasts: Eva is part-valco, a cause of disgrace amongst her human family; Reina is part-nozariel (the lowest caste, treated as slaves and servants) and the granddaughter of a powerful woman. Both are desperate find belonging in a world that looks down on them.
Unfortunately, although they come from different places and are different species, their desires and limited knowledge of their own heritage means that they're perspectives feel quite similar and they must both receive info-dump knowledge of their heritage. They both feel fairly passive and naïve for large sections. Reina seems to be the main protagonist but she is constantly manipulated, is angry about her treatment but her willingness to perform horrific tasks, strange sense of superiority and inferiority, and objectification of Celeste and Maior makes her unsympathetic and unlikeable. Eva is a little more proactive and initially likeable but I wasn't sure about her development.
By the end, it wasn't the two POVs I wanted more of, it was supporting characters like Maior, who was the nicest throughout, and Javier who's a shit, but one with several more layers to explore.

I really struggled to sum up my views on this book. It was definitely an interesting idea and world but it was a bit too long - the beginning, especially, drags- and yet I didn't necessarily feel like I had a good understanding of the world. The characters were difficult to connect to or sympathise with and I don't think that was supposed to be the case. A mixed bag.

This book had all the makings of 5 star read but it fell short! I feel like I could have skipped half of what happened and still know what was going on. It felt very drawn out and long winded and at times I did consider not finishing it

A South American folklore inspired fantasy which felt fresh. The ancient magic systems and Gods were intriguing.
The weaving of the story lines for the characters was lovely to read. Although saying that also stressful as events started coming together with deep foreboding.
The start was slower as you learn about the characters and the world is created beautifully. The characters are also naive to the magic systems and we learn about them together. After about 65% the pace really picks up leading to a satisfying ending.
I await the next instalment.
A strong debut.
Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I wish I could rate this book higher than 3 stars, because the setting, culture, religion, and politics was so heavily detailed and unique. Reading about new mythological beings like the valco and the nozariel made the reading experience really enjoyable, despite how dense the world-building was.

I wouldn’t change how dense it was, but the huge amount of attention paid to building this world was not given to the characters. For the first 200 pages, I could barely differentiate the two point of views. They didn’t have defining character traits until their storyline’s intertwined, and even then, it was hard to root for them. They were both stuck in a society that hated them for who they were born as and were trying to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately, they both so passive, lacking the agency to think and make decisions for themselves, constantly being manipulated by those around them. This manipulation was fine, until it started happening again. And again. And again. They didn’t catch on until the final 100 pages, which was frustrating to read.

I am glad I stuck with this book, because the pace picked up halfway through and had some great action scenes. Some of the writing was a bit odd, like the “spicy sunlight” description and some other dialogue inconsistencies that could be solved in editing.

I enjoyed the variety of relationships between women in this story, especially the platonic and the familial. The romance was less engaging, because I wasn’t sure who to root for when the emotional connections weren’t set up well enough for me to get behind the relationship. Physically, the main character felt a lot for the love interests, but there wasn’t enough relationship development for me to get behind it.

I will post a TikTok review on @bookswithellak closer to the publishing date.

4⭐

The story of The Sun and the Void is set in a colourful and vibrant world. Romero-Lacruz really makes it come to life with vivid descriptions that make you feel like you're wandering in the lush landscapes of Venazia yourself. It is clear the world lies close the the author's heart because that love seeps through in every sentence. To immerse yourself even more in the world and the story as it develops, I'd recommend investing some time in consulting the glossary of terms as you start reading.

I enjoyed the story, though I found the middle part dragging on a tad too long and sometimes didn't know where the story was heading exactly. I saw some reviews mentioning they found the beginning too long and slow, but I thought that space was necessary to set the story and the relationships between the characters. For me personally, it could even have been a bit longer. I don't want to spoil anything, but I think Doña Laurel's goodness and its impact on Reina's life would have benefitted the motivation of the events that were to come.

I really admire how Romero-Lacruz succeeded in making me simultaneously root for and yell at almost every single character: they all had their flaws and redeemable qualities. The dynamics between the characters were very intruiguing and complex and I can't wait to see how their relationships develop in the future. I found the f/f romance wonderful - and even surprising but in the most pleasant of ways!

What I missed a little was a clear explanation of the magic system, but in the end - and with the help of the short overview at the end of the book - it became more or less clear to me. I absolutely loved the lore and mythology, though, and I was blown away by various plot twists and revelations that suddenly put previous events or conversations in a whole new light.

In short, a very powerful and admirable debut novel that is clearly written with a lot of passion. I eagerly look forward to the rest of the series and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who loves some mythology-heavy fantasy!

I really, really wanted to love this sapphic fantasy and it has incredible world-building and a fascinating magic system. However, I found it confusing to follow and difficult to connect with the characters.

Auch a good fantasy with romance perfect for pride month. I loved the concept of the plot and characters that kept me interested throughout and I will definitely read more from the author

I put this down at 25% just too convoluted and confusing. And that 25% was a hard slog unfortunately.

dnfed @ 16%

It's been a while since I struggled so much with a book. I'm having a lot of trouble with the prose. The dialogues are pretty bad, and the descriptions are overdone. It seems as if the author was more concerned about using lots of rhetorical figures rather than conveying useful information about the story.

Also, I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way, but what's with all the books being labeled as adult fantasy but turning out to have a very notorious YA tone?

DNFing this book is probably one of my biggest disappointments of the year, and I'm not proud of it. However, my TBR is huge, and there are many other books I want to read instead of continuing with a book I'm not enjoying even minimally.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Unfortunately this is put me in the worst reading slump.
The pacing is slow and the prose is really overwritten and littered with anachronisms - I feel like it was missing another round of editing to cut out all the parts that were unnecessary.
The main characters are also both pretty infantile for being protagonists in an adult book (?) - tbh they’re just both doormats which is a choice but it makes it hard to be interested in them.
It’s a shame because the worldbuilding is really interesting but every time I picked up I would just hate my life. :(

It has two narrators
Reina, a Nozariel, human with a beast like tail. She is summoned by her grandmother Dona Ursulina.
She lives in Don Enriques palace who is the leader over that region.
Second narrator is vera who is a valco, humans with antlers and special powers like fighting extremely fast and well.
The pacing is so slow and the book is so sad, it’s hard to keep reading which is why I DNFed it at 33%.

It is disappointing that in a book with magic, there is still a lot of heteronormative, misogyny, sexism and patriarchy. Not to mention the church still having more sway, and the geomancia and their own god/demon being restricted and frown upon.

3.5*

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an arc.

The Sun and the Void follows Reina and Eva, two girls who are both thrust into entirely new lives. I didn't particularly like either girl, though Eva grew on me more than Reina did. I found Reina to be quite childish and also selfish, though I knew it was more out of desperation than anything and her wanting approval from her grandmother, a woman who would do anything to get what she wants.

I preferred Eva's chapters and seeing her go through her adventure with Javier who harbors a deep secret of his own. I didn't particularly like him either, although events towards the end of the book made my feelings change somewhat.

My favorite characters were Celeste and Maior. I feel like if they weren't there I wouldn't have enjoyed the book half as much.

The Sun and The Void is a sapphic epic fantasy adventure inspired by South American history and folklore.

“You don’t care if I live or die. I’m just another nobody in your eyes.”

I really enjoyed this book once I’d gotten past the initial world building (pretty much all of part 1).
This is the first book I have read (to my knowledge) that is based on South American folklore, and I LOVED IT! This book to me was more about these two young women (Reina and Eva) and their separate quests for belonging!

In part 2, I really feel like the characters came into their own and I started to feel more of a connection to them, especially the morally grey characters…sometimes I find relationships within books can take away from the plot, however, this wasn’t the case and I loved the FF and MM relationships and the motives behind these relationships.

I look forward to any future books in this series!🥰

I've been going back and further trying to decide on a rating for this book and eventually settled on 3 stars, although it was more of a 3.5 for me. I found the story to be a little bit confusing at times which lowered my rating, but the ending of the book had just the right pacing and flow which redeemed it. Overall this was an enjoyable debut and a strong start to what promises to be a good series!

Finished! This was a mixed read for me!

Let me start off by saying what I enjoyed:

~ The world building was fabulous and descriptions of the places were fleshed out and felt so real.

~ Spicy sunlight - I found that description a bit strange but when it's hotter than Satan's armpit here again I might actually use it!

~ Eva and Reina - I really quite liked both of them which is strange for me!

~ The history and folklore of South America.

But then.......

The pacing was so slow, especially in the first quarter, I did have to keep putting it down and then coming back to it. It really felt just too padded out and could've really been a bit shorter for a bigger impact I feel.

I'm still not sure if this story is for me but I must say I am intrigued as to where the author will take the story next.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Characters: 3/10
Enjoyment: 4/10
Plot: 7/10
Worldbuilding: 8/10
Writing: 8/10

Dnf at 42%
I don't currently have time to struggle with books. I just wasn't feeling this one right now. Might come back to see whether the main characters grow a backbone. I couldn't stand them being pushed around by everyone.

I can't exactly explain why The Sun and the Void reminds me of it, but this felt like an epic fantasy equivalent of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride. If you're looking for something fun and entertaining, this might not be the right book for you. I'd totally believe if you told me this was a prequel villain origin story. I'm not against corruption arcs or morally grey characters, but I am not convinced that is quite what this book was trying to achieve.

The first thing I saw in this book was a timeline and a bit of info about the main families. I just love details and worldbuilding like that so I was really excited. I also love little illustrated details.

A recap of what I’d managed to read so far (there are some explanations as well as details about the worldbuilding):

There are 3 types of species: humans, nozariels, and valcos. The nozariels have tails, while the valcos who are going extinct, have antlers. I have no idea where the Segol people came from, but they colonise Venazia which later splits into Venazia and Fedria. The liberator won the war for independence and freed the nozariels from slavery they were then sent to Fedria where they were supposedly treated better. That was, I believe a generation before the book starts.

The first out of the two main characters who also gets more focus is Reina, half nozariel. She lived in the capital of Fedria, Segolita where humans are still prejudiced against them. She leaves for Sadul Fuerte, a province in Venazia, summoned by her grandmother and the only remaining family she’d never met. She gets injured before almost reaching her destination and is saved by the Aguillos, the caudillo’s (some sort of warlord) family, and her grandmother Ursulina who gives her an artificial heart. The Aguillas are valcos who are treated far better than the nozariels

Reina, desperate to be accepted by her grandmother, lets her, and others abuse, use, and take advantage of her. She agrees to help Ursulina with a ritual so Rahmagut, the god of the Void would fulfil any wish. Surely, Ursulina had her motives, and it wasn’t just to help the Aguillos.

Reina's romance either has a long way to go or will end up underdeveloped for my tastes. She and her love interest have very few interactions and are barely seen spending time together.
The progression of their friendship is pretty much skipped altogether. It is only told that in the year that had passed, they became close. And if whatever is going on after that, is supposed to be her having a crush, it does not feel that way. Reina, no longer innocent, justifies her actions as necessary to make her love interest happy again. It is more like infatuation, which, besides being desperate, is practically her whole character.

The other main character is Eva, a half valco bastard from Galeno, a city in Venazia. She has an affinity for geomancia— some kind of magic with metals—which is also connected to Rahmagut. To get rid of her, her family plans to marry her off to someone in the Aguilla family, who don’t mind her being a valco. She meets a certain Aguilla she’d been exchanging letters with—who constantly molests Reina—and is charmed by him. She’d initially reached out to him for help, as he is also a valco. He then intends to take advantage of her hopelessness and get her to help him take over his family. I was mad because I had liked Eva, but then she just seemed to end up the way Reina did, additionally, I hope she doesn’t fall victim to him, romantically.

Both Reina and Eva are told they’re monsters and internalise it.

The worldbuilding was really dense. Lots of magic, culture, history, and religion. I love worldbuilding and the exploration of religious intolerance and oppression, discrimination seemed to be done well. Racism, colonialism, and slavery are also themes present. Again, it’s dark. I like dark, but I need some joy and wholesome moments too. The mood was just too gloomy. I’d prefer more action and less flowery writing, which I’m not a fan of, but at least it was still understandable. The book could have been shorter and still got the point across. My attention kept drifting away. The pacing was weird. Some things dragged and the others were just skipped and randomly mentioned later.

Everything was incredibly detailed and the surroundings were always thoroughly described. I wouldn’t have minded if something interesting was going on too. Despite all of that describing, and the excessive writing, I had no idea how the magic system worked because it was barely touched on. I just couldn’t root for the main characters because I found them boring. Theoretically, I understand why they are doing what they are, I just struggle to find it justifiable. Morality is nuanced.

Arc provided by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing me this arc in exchange of an honest review*

I didn't enjoyed this book. I'm really a fan of sapphic novels. But that was the nice part of it. I really didn't like the writing style of the writer, It had too many descriptions that there were a bit repetitive. Would I re-read it? No. Would I suggest others to read it? Probably.

GREAT! the book keeps you glued to the pages to know more until you get to the end. I have already purchased my copy and can't wait to read it again, the reading is smooth and the English is easy and understandable for me who is not my native language.