This is a review in Sept 2023 for an ARC. Because of that, I really want to stress that there is a good story in there but it needs a lot of editing which I really hope it gets.

Lets start with the good:

There are some really nice one-liners. I won't say the prose is always amazing but parts of it are quite lovely. The world is interesting too. I think the concept is there, it needs to be ironed out though.

Which leads me to some of the issues. I can get over the issues people have with the romance plot IF any of it was justified in the writing. But it's not. The second Antony shows up the writing takes a major turn for the worse. Nothing is explained or it's vaguely mentioned and then repeated over and over. There are so many examples of this. I think people are mostly bothered by the repetition for emphasis but the part that bothered me was just the straight up repetition of information. For example, "Character Name, who is So in So's grandfather..." then a page later "So in So, the grandchild of Character Name." It's just not good.

The dialog is painful at times. My copy asks not to have sections quoted so I won't but the dialog between the two princes when we first meet them both is awkward at best. Every conversation from then on out was a slog to read through.

Then there's the world building. I really want to stress, I think the concept of a future-tech society coming in and taking over a magic based society is interesting. What I don't understand were some of the choices. I know it's a common trope now to reference real societies/places that have no real connection in the book but Romans? Why? Romans with guns and cars??? It pulls you out of the reading or at least it does me every time I come across this trope. The world building also wasn't really fleshed out on the page. There are parts that left me confused. Like Antony saying that the Pengu are genetically superior species. So they aren't human? Then we have the constant reference to "Death" even in context where "death" would make more sense as if the god was always being mentioned. But that's a whole other aspect that fell flat. Tell us about the gods and magic. I wanted to know more.

Honestly I really hope that this book gets the edit it deserves. It's an interesting story but as it stands now, it needs a lot of work.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is a novel that is mostly an allegory about Western Colonialism/Imperialism. The setting is China in an alternate universe with magic. This version of China is being invaded by another, "science" based alternate universe where Rome never fell. The situation roughly parallels historical Western Colonialism/Imperialism and a great deal of the plot also relates to atrocities committed in Manchuria during World War II.

The magic system for this setting involves people called "Xianlings" who have specific magical gifts. The cost of the magical gift is that it will eventually shave years off the gifted person's life. The story follows Ruying, a young woman whose magical gift (or curse might be more accurate) is Death. She is coerced into becoming an assassin by a Roman prince in order to protect her family. She allows herself to be convinced that the prince has good intentions, but it is gradually revealed that she probably shouldn't have trusted him. (Which is not necessarily a spoiler, since there's a preface by the author about what some of the worldbuilding and backstory is based on. See:"atrocities committed in Manchuria during WWII.")

This book is bleak, and more than a little grimdark. The writer doesn't make Alternate Fantasy World China an absolutely ideal place, and doesn't make the Romans a faceless evil. (This can be an occasional problem with this type of story. The urge to drive home The Point with this kind of story can occasionally be overwhelming.) At the same time, you know which side is (very very very much) in the wrong. (It's the Romans by the way. They are objectively horrible people for various reasons that will become clear during the course of the story. See again: "atrocities.")

Ruying is a strong character motivated by a desire to protect her family, who is coerced into doing things that her family will condemn. Her desperate need to believe that she's doing ultimately the right thing was painful to witness. The ending is extremely open, with Ruying coming to the realization that she need to make amends for her actions. This may or may not mean we can expect a sequel. (If there is a sequel, I will definitely want to check it out.)

This review is based on a galley edition received via NetGalley.

This book was extremely hard to get through for me so I didn’t get far. I am not a fan of this prose. This writing style feels so stiff and it leaves much to be desired. I cannot get through this at all.

This book was so much better than originally anticipated and I had high expectations! Molly X. Chang did an amazing job showing fight between needing to survive and wanting to keep your morality still. This was an amazing book and even more surprising a debut!! Only rating 4 * because it did fall slow a tad in the middle of the book.

Oh, what a stunning book.

It captures the softness of life, of familial love, of yearning for peace on the backdrop of pure brutality in colonization and scientific advancements in the name of power. Magic and science mingle together in a way that is just so damn fascinating; the vastness of the world is gorgeously done and the secrets that linger throughout the entirety of it are magnificent.

This is everything I want in an epic fantasy - all kind of brilliant.

Well, this ended up being a difficult book to review. To state the obvious; with the cover of this book, and the description of what this story was, there was so much possibility and opportunity!

I think the best approach would be to list the positives and the frustrations, so here we go…

Positives:

The author’s note might be the thing that saves this book. I was so moved from her letter, that I immediately stopped and googled what she was talking about. That was such a tragic historical reference, and I immediately felt invested.

The opian crisis depicted scenes that so many of us could truly visualize. The focus of addiction, how it can destroy families and relationships, and how it’s not as simple as “just quitting” was well executed from the beginning.

You could understand the abuse and neglect that Ruying must have experienced from her father, and from others who feared her gift.

In real life, when it comes to war and heartbreaking situations, there’s a lot of “gray” scenarios. Not everyone is as brave as they think they would be, people do what they said they never would, and situations you never could have imagined, happen. This book definitely exists within that “gray” area.

The connection between the magic system and folklore beliefs was intriguing. I definitely loved learning about how magic is unique for everyone who possesses it, and how different it can be.


Frustrations:

There is no way you can forget who Antony Augustus is. I felt like you continued to read his full name, CONSTANTLY. Or you would be reminded that he was the second brother. And then at one point, it was supposed to be a surprise to Ruying that he had a third brother? When HE constantly said he was not like his brother(sssssss). I’m not sure how that was supposed to be a surprise or that he lied to Ruying.

The internal monologue... So much of it was repetitive. I understand the intent was to emphasize whatever Ruying was experiencing or feeling, but it was so excessive and so much of the pages went to repeating her thoughts instead of developing the world, the characters, or adding to the history, etc.

The Gods are mentioned, since so many gifts are connected to gods, but it’s pretty generalized, and as the reader, you’re assuming which gods might exist. I’m fine with leaving room for interpretation, but this could have been an area to dig into if it wasn’t wasted on repetitive dialogue.

I understand the ploy of using the Romans and this crossover universe situation, but I honestly couldn’t stand it, and it felt a little hokey. Also, because the Romans are coming from a dying Earth, assuming the Roman empire never fell and we’re in this futuristic timeline, all I could envision was The Happening by M. Night Shyamalan, and though they are nothing alike, I felt like this book was trying to achieve some unexpected twists, but everything was so obvious.

The love interest was pretty cringe...

I understand how her character could fall for her captive (I love Beauty and the Beast as much as anyone else does, so I’m not hating on the Stockholm syndrome scenario), but the execution was lacking. Instead, so much of this romance is built up in Ruying’s internal narrative and it was hard to find it appealing.

“You don’t understand. He’s different. He wants to help! He’s not like his brothers. He’s good. I know he is. He wants to help us and—” (Mind you, this quote actually comes before it’s “revealed” he has a second brother, so that’s also weird.)

I understand that you’re wanting Ruying to have doe eyes for Antony, but lines like above are so tiring. Books should be moving past this narrative, even if it is a YA book. ESPECIALLY if it’s a YA book. It just falls into this trend that women are helpless and naïve, and Ruying is NOT a child by this point. Plus, there’s so many other moments similar to this and for no reason because there’s no chemistry between them. Heck, Antony has done NOTHING show he deserves this defense from her.

And look, I’m usually a fan of enemies-to-lovers, or a Romeo/Juliet/I-can’t-fall-for-him-because-he’s-the-villain narrative, but that’s not what this was. From the moment he sees her, he’s mystified. And she can already tell that he’s “different” than the other Romans, so this isn’t even a true enemies-to-lovers situation.

Finally, I’m all for the morally gray MMC. In fact, I LOVE a morally gray character. There was nothing morally gray about Antony. Actually, there was nothing to Antony. Period. He wasn’t fascinating, his back story didn’t make you “feel” a certain way, and at the end of the day, I think many readers will struggle to connect with him.

I wanted to like this story, I truly did, but it wasn’t for me. I think there was so many missed possibilities and sitting through another book where I would see the same lines repeated multiple times is not something I want to do, so sadly, I won’t be moving forward with this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for granted my wish to get this ARC in exchange for an honest review

That was so SLOW like i have to gain some energy before diving into this book, again and again untill finish it. Well lets say, I am either to like this book or just to put this book at the corner of my room as a room's décor cause the cover is so pretty.

2.75 stars rounded up

This is based on very real events of World War II and the horrors that were acted upon the Manchurian people by the Japanese.

Another review that’s really just a random mashup of my thoughts:

I actually really liked Ruying’s character and felt that her choices were understandable given the circumstances. She felt very human whereas I feel like a lot of fantasy protagonists are a bit too good at making what should be hard decisions. Anthony was very interesting too, misguided as he was.

I couldn’t help but compare this to The Poppy War especially with the way opium and magic were represented. This has much more of a sci fi vibe to it with the Romans being from another world of science and technology and invading Ruying’s world that was blessed by magic but it still felt very similar in many ways. I’m not saying this is a ripoff necessarily but it kind of feels that way…

We spend around 90% of the book in Ruying’s head and it was just boring. I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I ended up pushing through and the last 30% was more action filled but I’m not sure if it’s enough for me to continue with the series when it eventually comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Del Rey books for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review (still can’t believe I get to say that🥰)

Overall, this book has a lot of potential.

The thing that stood out most for me was the writing. Chang has a delicate way of weaving words together to create a vivid picture of the world her characters live in. I thought the prose was lyrical and intelligent, but in a way that felt authentic.

I also really enjoyed the relationship between Antony and Ruying. I loved their banter and how seamlessly the romance developed between them.

However, there are aspects of the book that took away from my enjoyment.

My big issue is that the world-building lacked a lot of depth. Many things were not explained properly or weren’t thoroughly explored until later in the book. The magic system was one area that I found incredibly lacking. A crucial aspect of this book is the main character’s death magic, but it isn't explained at all. I wish I knew more about the Gods and the different magics that the Xainlings possess.
Furthermore, I wish I knew more about the Roman Empire. The Romans weren’t fleshed out enough to make them a believable enemy. Their society wasn’t explained, their technology wasn’t explained, and their motivations weren’t explained. Nothing about the Romans felt developed and I couldn’t understand them as antagonists.

In addition, many of the characters were underdeveloped. Excluding Ruying and Meyia, most of the characters were flat and static. Antony, for example, felt more like a caricature rather than a complex character. His backstory was given to us in the form of an info dump and we were told about his actions rather than shown most of the time. And even outside Antony, many characters were presented this way. Consequently, I couldn’t form a meaningful attachment to anyone.

Finally, much of the book felt repetitive. I noticed that many details were often mentioned multiple times. While this isn’t inherently bad, it happened so frequently that it sort of felt like I was rereading the same paragraphs on different pages. This made the reading experience pretty dull and made the book feel very long and drawn out.

4.5 Stars!

It starts out a bit slow but it picks up pretty quickly and I really enjoyed the book! I enjoyed the change in Ruying. I really do not trust any of the colonizing Romans. They usually just want more and more and cant get enough. It is not Er-Lang’s fault that their world is dying . I hope we see how Antony really is. Can he really be trusted or is he really like his brothers?

Okay so Spoilers ahead since I want to remember the plot for the next book

Ruying must bargain for opian in order for her sister to continue to stay aware. She lives with Meiya, her twin sister addicted to opian, and her grandmother. One night, Ruying decides to steal from a Rome Prince. Later on, that same prince, Antony, decides to start a raid in order to keep Ruying as his assassin. They start to trust each other. Ruying has killed about 50 men for him. She finds out her next target is the Sihai emperor and this is when Ruying starts doubting Antony. The Phantom’s men come after them and Baihu is part of the Phantom’s men. When Antony is on death’s bed, Baihu shows Ruying what Antony is really doing in the labs and she sees Taohua pass away from the experiments. She confronts Antony and pretends to be on his side in order to help the Phantom with bringing war.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this arc.

The start was extremely exposition heavy, which I don’t enjoy. It’s easy enough to read, and it flows well. I stopped at the end of chapter 2 (5%). Easy three stars “liked it” for the target audience, four for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Rating: 3.5/5

I am a sucker for beautiful covers and this one pulled me in immediately, along with the summary which left me very excited for the beginning of what’s to come.

We have our two main characters: Ruying and Antony. They come from two different worlds: one heavily focused on science, and one adorned with magic. Those two concepts being put together felt so fresh and fascinating that it really tied the world-building together quite well.

Ruying has the power of Death and Antony is the prince of Rome. The Romans have taken over and colonized Er-Lang, Ruying’s world. Antony needs Ruying’s help to act as his own personal assassin, which she is eventually coerced into doing because of a deal that keeps her family safe. I really enjoyed the family aspect in this book. You get to see and understand Ruying’s doing and undoing, why she makes certain decisions and why she doesn’t. It was actually really sad and it showed the tragedies of addiction. It showed the lengths someone would go to, to keep their family safe, and Ruying’s heart is so big, but her heart could also be her downfall.

The world and the magic system were very interesting. The gods and deities were an intriguing aspect, too. The world-building was gripping and very imaginative– I could actually picture what’s happening in the book, like I was watching a movie in real-time.

The romance itself threw me off sometimes. I wanted less dialogue and more backstory, something to make me cling onto these two characters a little bit more. It just felt like it was going in circles until the very end. Antony is a very deceiving person throughout this book, despite his own small and random POV chapter which painted him as someone who’s essentially sweet and flawed which is perhaps what the author intended, though Ruying was aware of his ways but kept going back to him and trying to go around what everyone was telling her. She wanted to believe him so badly. Basically, it was a frustrating cycle of wishful thinking that led to unimaginable and unforgivable acts upon her own people, leaving Ruying seeing nothing but red.

I don’t really fault Ruying, though, because all she wants at the end of the day is peace for her people and she would do anything to make sure the peace is kept, even if it meant following Antony and his tricks. Ruying is passionate and caring, a strong female character that was written nicely although I wished we could see more use of her powers, seeing as powerful as they are and what she can do.

Overall, this book was good and it was a nice start to something that could blossom into something even greater. I’m looking forward to the next book to see what happens next and to delve into the two worlds a bit more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5 stars
Wow! What a stunning new novel by Molly Chang. I am honored to have been one of the first to read this.

Ruying lives in a world that has been taken over by Rome, a civilization that no one knew about until they broke through the sky. Ruying's world is full of people blessed by magic...but that was no competition to Rome's advancements in science. Ruying will have to decide how she uses the gift of her magic to protect the people she loves from Rome...even if the price is death.

Pros: This was such a fast paced book. I finished it in 3 days, and each day I kept saying "I can't wait until I finish work so I can continue reading!". I was thoroughly engaged throughout the entire book.
Something I liked was that the world building was fairly strong. I would still like to know more about Rome, and the other empires in Ruying's world, but I felt like I understood the world where Ruying came from.
Another thing I liked was that Ruying was such a morally grey character. The whole time I'm sitting here thinking "Come on Ruying, make better choices!" but at the same time, she really doesn't have much of a choice if she wants her family to live. She is caught between a rock and a hard place. I loved how friends from Ruying's past were an integral part of the plot, and you see how her feelings towards them changes throughout the novel.

Something I wasn't a fan of was the romance. I just didn't feel it was believable that Ruying would fall in love with someone who was basically holding her captive, and had hurt her at the start. The whole time she was so indecisive on whether or not she liked the guy and wanted to take things further...she changed her mind every paragraph. Without spoilers, due to the ending I am hoping she does not end up with this guy in future installments and we can see her with a healthier love interest.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and will definitely continue on in the series when it is released. I highly recommend this to fantasy readers, especially if you are into YA fantasy.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read and review this book prior to release!

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Yang Ruying was born with a special gift, like many others in her world - the gift of magic. However Ruying's gift is even more coveted. She is Death's soldier, with the ability to drain life forces from others...at a cost. Her world has been upturned by invading colonizers from an allegory of our world, who entered through a portal in the sky and brought horrors like machines, weapons, technology, science..in all the worst ways. Throughout the course of 'To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods' Ruying must face an impossible decision. Save her people and her land through war and bloodshed or peace treaties? If only things were that simple, but the political intrigue of the Roman princes, especially Prince Antony, will leave her tangled with more questions than answers.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and finished it quickly. The world building was absolutely beautiful, with a needed explanation of the true history behind the book's allegories, and a wonderfully complex and real magic system that ties to the forces of life itself. Each character felt fully fleshed out, if not left with a little intrigue as expected from the first novel that leaves readers wanting more.

As it was an ARC I did see some grammatical errors, but I'm sure they will be fixed for the full release. At times I had difficulties relating to Ruying, constantly going back and forth between her own selfish desires and the impossible choice of being a martyr - there was almost too much back and forth that tended to make the book feel like it was dragging on. Other snippets of information felt thrown in haphazardly, like the one sentence mention of Meiya's gift that is never brought up again. Looking inwardly, maybe I cannot relate to the back and forth because I have never been put in a situation like this, and that heavy hit home wasn't necessarily for me, which I recognize.

In summary, I think it's a great debut of a book and I look forward to reading the next one that comes out just as quickly. I know the writer will only grow from here, and I am excited to see how the story of Ruiyang, Baihu, Antony, Meiya, and Pangu as a whole come to a conclusion.

Actual rating: 2.5/5
Unfortunately, I was not anticipating the Stockholm syndrome subcontext in this storyline. Wasn't really a fan of out MC romanticizing her captor, nor the hypocrisy she showed towards her old friend over the choices he made when she turned around and made even worse choices. I'm hoping the second book will keep what's-his-face out of the way, and the storyline can progress with the friend's plans. If so, I have a feeling I could enjoy the sequel much more. Because the writing had a solid and pleasant structure to it, while the storyline and the world had a good foundation. I truly adore the general idea of the book, but just did not like how the brilliance of it was shadowed over by our MC growing feelings towards her captor and abuser.

I believe congratulations are in order for Ms. Chang; she did a splendid job with her debut novel. To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is going to be one of the masterpieces that 2024 is bringing.

As soon as you read the dedication and the author's inspiration behind this magical world, you realize that this story is going to be an epic adventure. It is filled with moments that will tug at your heartstrings but also fulfill your guilty pleasures. The dedication is just the first awesome thing that sets the tone for what's to come.
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods tells the story of Ruying, whose life was marred by tragedy from the very beginning. Her mother passed away while giving birth to Ruying and her twin sister; after this, her dad became addicted to drugs that slowly killed him but not before he ruined the family's reputation and subjected his daughters to years of mistreatment.
But Ruying's fate was sealed even before she was born. Her world was invaded by demons that descended from the skies, not from the ground. This cataclysmic event forever changed the course of her life and everyone in her world.

What makes Ruying's world so unique is the magical abilities that every generation inherits from the Gods. That same magic also makes the people of Ruying's world vulnerable to the advanced technologies of the demons from the other side of the sky. What makes our main character so special is a rare magical ability that allows her to pull life right out of mortal bodies. Ruying's people fear her because of her exceptional abilities, but the demons desire her on their side to win the war.
To save her family from the cruel times they are living in, Ruying is capable of anything, including becoming a traitor.

The sentiments that accompany the reader at the beginning of the book are carried through until the very end. I don't know how many times I found myself clenching my teeth or tearing up because the descriptions felt too heavy to keep going. Ms. Chang has done an excellent job of blending historical events with her fantasy world. However, it's worth noting that the book is based on one of the most tragic events in human history - World War II. Some parts are difficult to read without imagining the struggles faced by those who lived through those times. It's heartbreaking to think about the sacrifices made by those individuals just to survive another day or to protect their loved ones.

In this story, there are bad guys like in every other. Nevertheless, the author makes it difficult to harvest any hateful emotions toward those characters. Not only are they morally ambiguous instead of being completely evil, but the author wants the reader to fall deeply in love with them to be able to hate with the same intensity; at least that's how it felt for me when I reached the last page of the book.

Overall, 2025 can't come soon enough. I need the sequel now.

Well, okay, this is going to be one of those books that I was wildly interested in reading--and ultimately fell flat in literally every facet of storytelling possible. The sort of book a publisher hypes up but never quite manages to deliver on its promises, leaving nothing but unfulfilled expectations. I've been mildly following this book/the author since the deal announcement, and as soon as I saw it here--I pounced. Upon reading, it was so painfully lacking in polish (even for an ARC, and I'm not talking about typos, etc. here) that I almost put it down. However, given that this is an ARC, I like to review them properly and that means reading the entire thing.

Let's start with the concept. It's interesting, and the thing that drew me in instantly. The author tries to establish a world with concepts that never quite meshed together in my head, and instead became a bit of a mess. I am specifically referring to using Romans here. Which are a real people. That really existed. In a place called Rome. Yet, names like Pangu are from mythos, and used contextually in a fantasy realm here. So a magical, fantasy China that isn't actually China? But the author uses the Romans? What? How? Why? The genre-blending--of fantasy and kind of sci-fi, with elements of modern tech (huh?)--just did not work for me. At all. For a book that doesn't explain anything, there sure was a lot of info-dumping as well, relying in choppily written inner narration from a protagonist I found it increasingly difficult to care about as the novel went on.

An interesting concept that was poorly executed, that, somehow, sold to a publisher for a large deal. I am baffled.

Since I saw the book cover on Instagram, I knew that I needed to read this book. I didn’t care what it was about. I just knew I needed to read this book. And after I finished it, I got to say that I was glad that I went in blind. The book summary spoils a bit of the plot of the book. Regarding this book, it is for morally gray fantasy readers.

I know, I know. We all love morally gray characters, and we absolutely love it when it is a female morally gray character in fantasy books. We will always support women's wrong in fantasy books. You always know that it had to be something or someone who pushed them into their morally gray era. And Ruying was no exception.

I don’t care what people say, but I fully support Ruying no matter what. She always knew her gifts, aka magic, were a death sentence. She never wanted it because her magic will always be seen as a weapon, no matter what she wants. People won’t understand, especially her sister. And that’s what separates Ruying from everyone else. She may not do what people expect her to do with her magic, but she will always protect her remaining family at all costs in times of war.

You may call her selfish since Ruying has to work with her world enemy. But what choices does she have in this time of war? She has no power or connections that can help her protect her family. She did what she needed to do for her family to stay alive, even though she questioned everything about herself.

It's a bit hard to read about Ruying's pain. She never wanted to work for the enemy. And she never wanted to use her magic. But war is never kind. She has to do what she has to do to survive, and that’s going to cost her.

I will say that I admire Ruying's strength in protecting her family. She is doing what she can to protect them. It’s sad that her sister doesn’t understand. For me, I don’t like her sister at all. I find her selfish. She only cares for power and drugs. She doesn’t know how much it hurts Ruying to do what she has to do in order to protect. She thinks it’s easy, but life in the war isn’t.

“Power was a dangerous game. Those who wished to be strong couldn’t have feelings like these, couldn’t love. Because as soon as you cared for something, it became your weakness”

Ruying is a powerful Xianling, yet she is left powerless and at the mercy of Romans who invaded her country decades before. Hailing from a once proud military family, she struggles to support her grandmother and sister, and she will go to any lengths to ensure they survive. Even if it means stealing from a Roman. She is forced to use the powers she fears and end up involved in something much bigger than she had ever intended.

Ruying is so strong and devoted to those she loves, and will do whatever it takes to ensure their safety. She is fighting for a greater peace and paying a heavy price. Her internal compass goes between personal conscience and that of society; a morally grey main character. Through practice, she gains control over her powers, but in the end, for whom does she use them?

I enjoyed the story a lot! It’s quite thought provoking and a sci-fi/fantasy allegorical take on the atrocities committed in Manchuria in WWII. Leading up to the ending I truly had no idea what would happen. There is a touch of forbidden romance and betrayal. The ending is COMPLETELY open ended which is hard, but in this case was the right choice.

An absolutely solid read!

Starting this novel, my expectations were moderate, but further into the reading, my expectations were exceeded. The author carefully crafted a relationship between Antony and Ruying that was equal parts believable and tumultuous. The complicated nature of which they were compelled towards each other mingled with their innate incompatibility was interesting to read and kept me at the edge of my seat. Additionally, the development of the world was refreshing. The details the author utilized were vivid and yielded an enjoyable experience. Moreover, the turmoil and motivations of each nation were clear and realistic.

In terms of faults, there were not many to note. One to mention is the lack of follow-up regarding injuries of some of the characters and of occasional time jumps that were without warning and left me mildly confused. However, neither of these things were extremely bothersome. Overall, this novel has wonderful world-building, a strong cast of characters, and well-thought-out settings.