This book is a masterclass in how to write a main character who is...morally complicated, to say the least. The world building is exquisite, the stakes are high, and the pace is just right. I don't think I've ever read a book where I vacillate more rapidly between rooting for the main character and watching her with absolute dread. I am eagerly looking forward to the second installment!

I really liked this one! Definitely interested in seeing more from this author. If you haven't read this one yet, you should!

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

A good female rage story about a woman who is allied with a demon. Binsa was truly villainous to keep herself in power. I loved how she wasn’t afraid to do what it took throughout the book. The pacing was a bit awkward at times, but overall it was still enjoyable.

Giving this one a 3.5 stars!

While I think it's a generally well written story and I enjoyed a lot of the world building, there wasn't a lot here to differentiate it from a lot of other fantasy novels. For most of the novel, I had no strong feelings toward it --- I wasn't loving it, but I also wasn't hating it. It was just a decent book with a decent premise and a decent execution.

All that said, I very much enjoyed the turn the ending took! Initially I wasn't going to continue the series, but now I feel like I very much want to see how far Binsa will take things. It just took a little too long to get there for me to go above 3.5 in my rating.

Would recommend to anyone looking for a dark fantasy book (no romance) with an interesting magic system!

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books

Oh WOW! Amazing new fantasy series from a debut author AND the fmc goes from morally gray to outright dark? Amazing. Incredible. Chef's kiss I love it.

This story follows Binsa, a young girl pretending to channel a famous goddess, allowing her to live in comfort and safety. In reality, she made a deal with a demon and will stop at nothing to get what she wants aka maintain power she currently posesses.

It is that plot point that keeps me from giving this story a full five stars. While the pacing is appropriate, I felt the story meandering and me wondering why I cared. Her goal is to maintain power which is not quite as interesting as a quest to get power. The crises in this book are more existential and in Binsa's head as opposed to physcial, tangible things. It seemed to me that Amy Leow, the author, had a clear beginning and end for this book, but struggled a little on getting there.

That being said, I am eagerly awaiting book 2 in this (I believe) trilogy because that cliffhanger was crazy!!

The Scarlet Throne
by Amy Leow
The False Goddess #1
Fantasy
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: Sept 10, 2024
Orbit Books
Ages: 16+

Binsa was chosen to be the Goddess's vessel, but instead of a goddess inside of her, there's a demon.

Finding that the priests have decided her time as the goddess's vessel is coming to an end, Binsa will not leave quietly and will sacrifice many to keep her place on the throne and only that power will come from growing her demon's blood magic.


No, the talking cat isn't cute and cuddly, and the priests aren't that cutthroat either. It's a plot that progresses slowly with only a few places where the could have been real action, instead of the fluffed-over telling that it was.

It's not a bad story if you like slow-moving political plots. There's really no fighting so it's lacking on action. But I did like that the MC was the 'bad guy', but I also get why she was the bad guy, but could have made different choices to keep the throne.

As for reading the next in the series... Even though this one ended as a small cliffhanger, I don't know. Yeah, I would like to find out what happens, but at the same time, I don't know if I could force myself to read it.

There is some violence and blood, so it's suitable for readers sixteen and older.

Maybe a little more history, a lot more action/or descriptions of the action, and more depth to this world, history, and characters might have earned this one more star.

2 Stars

The Scarlet Throne by Amy Leow is a fantastic piece of south Asian representation, including raw and anti-hero characters.

However, I expected more from the plot than what was given. The book went according to synopsis, as Binsa, the living goddess, is threatened by the possibility of being cast out onto the streets and thus goes to desperate measures to ensure she remains, but rather than a linear, rational way of getting there, she takes a route that condemns her further and further to evil blood magic.

Overall, the book should’ve been everything I loved, but it just fell short. The book dragged on in the middle and there were so many loose ends that I ended up losing track of. As well, the main character is extremely unlikeable, and while I know that’s the point, I don’t think it was my cup of tea.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I’m fascinated with the way this story is told and it’s POV. I don’t think I ever really read books from a villains POV and I kept trying to figure out at what point she was going to “redeem” herself, but she just kept spiraling. And I loved it. She was never good per se. Like you see why she is the way she is; I mean she has a literal demon inside of her. But she’s also thirsty for power and keeping it. Even when something is identified as a possible weakness for her, she still exploits it a bit. And by the end you’re like woah she’s kind of a villain! But I don’t hate her. I’m just fascinated to see where this goes.

Thank you Orbit for the copy!

Leow's political fantasy debut, The Scarlet Throne, follows a young woman who makes a deal with a demon to keep herself from being ousted by a powerful religious sect that worships her. Binsa is a complex character whose desperation causes her to make difficult (and often amoral) choices in order to survive and not be cast out into the streets. There are some really excellent elements to this story, such as the intense political maneuvering, as well as the heartwarming aspect of found family. Highly recommended.

I found the premise of this book very interesting. What would you do to keep being in power? Binsa did not have much choice with her mother pushing her to become the next girl to become Rashmutan and being the host for the demon Ilam but she certainly works hard to stay on the Scarlet Throne! Starving your body so you do not get your menstrual cycle and become a woman, plus going out to kill people (scum people, not good ones) for your demon to drink their soulstreams in return for power to bring rain and other miracles? That is dedication and I kind of admire her strength in that regards. Though Binsa might not have the best morals. Still, I kind of want her to keep what she has because there are secrets within secrets and her priests and the other Rhaktis are plotting to show her as a failure even though they might not be any better. And seeing this all unfolding through Binsa's eye does predisposition the reader to taking her side, though I do like Medha (who is a nice foil of innocence when compared to Binsa)too. Also the way that Binsa tries to keep her brother with her because she does love her family (mother aside but who can blame her?)

I would not call this a fast moving book (except for that ending when there are so many revelations and plans in action) but it sets everything up nicely, introducing us to the fantastical land with gods and demons and magic and many secrets about the truth. And after that ending I do want to see if Binsa can rise again, with the help of the surprisingly likable Ilam (whose form is a shadow cat, and I love his sarcasm!) I will say this is a good origin of a villain story.

As my teenager say "I support women's rights and rights because they are never wrong."

This being a debut novel shocked me. The prose was done so phenomenally I was checking for the author's backlog and surprised to find none. 'The Scarlet Throne' is an intriguing dark fantasy centered on Binsa, an anti-heroine whose descent into evil through a demonic pact offers a refreshing departure from traditional chosen one narratives. The story leans heavily character driven over plot, which was sad to see some supporting characters lack the depth needed to fully support the story. I also feel as if the story was somewhat caught between YA and adult fantasy audiences, but that was easy to put aside as it is a fantastic addition to the genre as a whole and shines in its portrayal of a truly morally grey protagonist. The intricate power dynamics between living goddesses, scheming priests, and supernatural forces were all wildly fascinating and held my attention easily. The absence of romance may disappoint some, like myself, but I would never let that detract from my overall scoring of a fantasy novel that felt so refreshing.

Binsa is a wonderful representation of the morally gray female. I really enjoyed her depth and complexity as a character!

While I loved the FMC, the supporting characters and the plot all fell a little flat for me, leading to the three star rating. It was a good book, but not one I’m going to rave about.

I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately I feel like this just wasn't for me - which was no fault of the book! The political scheming was completely going over my head, which didn't allow me to fully connect and make me want to keep going.

I absolutely feel like fans of GmThe Poppy War, and Game of Thrones will LOVE this!

The Scarlet Throne has to be one of my favorite heroines in a while. We love someone who wants power, wants to stay on top, and will do anything for it. This is the ultimate fight to the power against demons, gods, and religious authority. It's about how these powers at be use us up, dry up our lives and wait for us to outlive our youth, only to have us pick the very replacements. It spins it all as what we would want, a graceful retirement, but what happens when we don't want to retire? The Scarlet Throne exists at this junction. If you've wanted your characters to descend, to fight to win, and to sacrifice, this is for you.

A brilliantly written dark fantasy! How often do you get a story where girls get to be truly wicked for the sake of wanting to be? Give me more villainous girls!! Amy Leow has written a truly lush fantasy and I absolutely loved Binsa's descent into darkness. Also, I'm forever an Ilam fan!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher of this book for this eARC.

I really liked the premise of this one. A Villain origin story that was "chef's kiss*

I only wished that the main character was a bit older, as it threw me off.

I've never heard of the living child goddess of Nepal, but author Amy Loew takes the idea in an intriguing direction, in that she considers what might happen if one of the living goddesses decided that she didn't want to give up her role and be a regular person.

Main character Binsa was trained from a very young age by her mother to be able to withstand the various trials that young girls go through to become a living goddess. Binsa's mother threatened her, beat her, and taught her how to be tough, calculating and cold.

Binsa has been a living representative of the goddess Rashmatun for several years past when most representatives have aged out and been replaced. She has starved herself, and uses every trick she can think of to keep ahead of the plotting priests around her, all of whom are clearly eager to replace her with someone more biddable.

To thwart them, Binsa has her tutor, in reality, and secretly her brother, find out whatever he can to help her maintain the fiction that she can do supernatural things…..oh yeah. She has never heard Rashmutan speak to her, and her audiences with the people and with the priests are clever theatre.

Binsa is, however, in near constant communication with a demon who takes the form of a black cat, Ilam, a snarky, manipulative presence urging her to lean into her darker impulses. When the priests put her in a difficult position, Binsa makes a bargain with Ilam which proves deadly for the villagers living outside the temple, but reasonably successful for Binsa. She also agrees to begin training her replacement, as the priests want, even while she seeks greater power and a definitive way to discredit the priests and secure her position.

This is a character-driven story, and the pacing suffers a little, even while Loew does a fantastic job of showing us each misguided step Binsa takes and its rationale. She's terrified of living on her own outside the protections of the temple, and desperate to stay in a place where she is cared for, can eat well, and faces no danger.

Binsa makes several choices, going from bad to worse, each time justifying them in the name of consolidating her power. She's not a particularly good person, but that's not a terrific surprise, considering the abusive childhood she had, the tightrope she walks as a supposed representative of a goddess, and her fear of letting her power go.

I found myself sympathizing with the young woman, and could understand some of her choices, as it's clear that there is corruption in the system and everyone who lives in a temple, with its comforts and safety, is motivated to stay there.

Even though it took a while for the story's politics to become clear, once that was accomplished, it became kind of fun watching Binsa work. That many of her plans are bad for everyone around her is irrelevant; I found myself eagerly watching the effects of her actions, and with the ending of this instalment, I am definitely curious to know what she's going to do next.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

The Scarlet Throne is an extremely unique premise, and I was very here for it. In TST, we follow Binsa, who was chosen as a child as the next vessel for the goddess Rashmatun - the only issue is that Rashmatun does not communicate with her, but a demon. She was "chosen" for this role due to some horrific acts done by her mother, trauma which follows Binsa throughout the story.

One thing about this story that was both hurtful and helpful was the POV - this is a first person POV from Binsa, meaning we know both her inner monologue and, therefore, what her demon tells her. This is helpful in that we get a unique perspective, and it makes the story all the more compelling. What hurts it, however, is that it's really hard for the reader to be surprised by Binsa's actions in the climax of the book when we are supposed to know what she knows. It removed me a bit from the story. I also wanted a bit more from Binsa in her relationship with the child chosen to be the vessel after her - there were touches of some really great emotional arcs but I wanted more.

I got a bit bored toward the 60% mark, and I think this could have been edited down. But the concept was so unique that I really wasn't able to make any predictions for what was coming next, and I ultimately really enjoyed this.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest reivew!

Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh man, how do I talk about this one? The Scarlet Throne follows Binsa, a girl pretending to be the vessel for the goddess Rashmatun, and is instead in a pact with a demon. She’s maybe a bit unhinged but she’s also quite concerned with losing her position in society and being found out as a fraud.

While I was reading I was unsure how to approach this one—in a lot of ways the story kind of felt like an excellent YA, but it’s written for adults and marketed as adult fantasy. For me, this is primarily because this is written in first person present tense with Binsa as the sole POV character—first person present is a writing style I heavily associate with YA and Binsa is sixteen. Still, despite some initial debates, I think as the story goes on the “hmm this reads a little more like young adult” eventually fades into the background and I think Leow writes a compelling story with interesting happenings. Binsa is young, but she’s also not afraid to do some pretty wild things, and once the book found its groove I think the tone was solid.

I thought the middle meandered a little too much, but the ending was satisfying. I’m curious to see where the sequel will go, and even more curious to see how the planned trilogy will pan out. I feel invested in the world and the magic/gods/demons. Binsa is sometimes difficult to be in the head of, but it’s also fun when she’s busy scheming to hold onto her power for as long as possible while trying to ward off suspicions about whether or not she really is the vessel of the goddess. Leow’s writing was smooth and she took risks that paid off. I think there’s a couple of nitpicks that come with it being a debut, but ultimately it comes together super well. It’s not particularly groundbreaking, but it is fun.