Ok, so for a debut this felt really well written. I also liked the world building, it was very easy to read and easy to get into the story. And the cover is just BEAUTIFUL. Caught my eye instantly.

The problem, for me, was the so-called morally gray protagonist. I do have a faible for the morally gray but Teia was just thoroughly unlikeable. Here edginess and all the banter felt very forced. Also her motives are not made understandable throughout the book, which just makes her allthe more obnoxious. She is just acting ignorant and selfish all the time. The other characters were okay, but a bit bland as well.

This book was a good and solid debut and I can't wait to read more from Tiffany Wang!

I was hooked from the start because of the FMC's unpredictable choices and actions. She kept me interested and even though she is considered to be a morally grey character, I found myself rooting for her.

The world and the magic system was straightforward and easy to understand, so that's a plus. The secondary characters made the book much more enjoyable to read. They had their own unique personalities that really shines throughout the book and I need more of their interactions!

There were some pacing issues where the chapters dragged for me but overall, I had fun reading the story and I'm eager to know what's next.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the ARC!

I liked this! I saw some of the author’s tiktoks and became intrigued, so I’m super glad I got a chance to read this. I like an ensamble cast of characters, and this one had some greats. A morally grey protagonist is always fun, and I enjoyed the magic and political twists and turns. The end twist was a bit predictable, and I would’ve enjoyed a longer story. I think the character development could’ve been done better if there was just more to read. That being said, this was a fun YA heist/fantasy novel, and I’m hoping for a sequel. Another book could help with the character development and the world building, and the ending of this one is set up perfectly for another installment, so I’m crossing my fingers! 🤞

4/5 stars and an excellent debut for new author in the fantasy YA space!

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. I found the characters to be complex and interesting, while still hitting on those familiar archetypes that we know and love - the shifty thief, the handsome guard, the sunshine-y idealist. I found Teia to be an interesting character, and more morally grey than we usually see in YA protagonists. The general magic system is interesting and I would like to learn more about how it is magic gets passed down and is integrated into the story. This book definitely sets up a lot more of a fantasy story going forward, as magic was not very central to this story line beyond political ramifications and minor action sequences.

I felt the pacing was a little uneven, but once things got going, they really got going. The plot was also a bit repetitive (breaking into the same prison twice?) and there were some word choices that kind of snagged on my attention in distracting ways.

I think this is a great choice for fans of The Ember in the Ashes, Defy the Night, and Graceling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for access to the eARC of this book!

this book was exceptionally good! Thankyou to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for this wonderful ARC inexchange for an honest review! RTC soon after the publication!🥰💌

It is neither great or awful, it just simply is. For YA I do think it is fine, since it doesn't go too in depth about certain aspects, but since it's lacking in areas I wanted more of (the whole plotting and scheming and politicking) I feel rather neutral about this. I also went into this thinking it would be a standalone, so for it to end as it did...

This book is a light and humorous fantasy that explores the political landscape of Erisia. It has a fast pace, but some sections feel rushed, especially in the second half, while the beginning drags a bit. Some lore elements seem haphazardly included, making the plot less cohesive. However, the characters and action sequences stand out. the heist scenes are enjoyable and well-crafted. The diverse and witty characters add depth, and I appreciated their interactions whenever they were together. Overall, it’s a fun read that I was lucky to access early through Netgalley. Thank you!

“Their eyes followed her as she left, taking in every step of the Halfling Princess, the Shaylani Half-Witch.”

“This was something strange and new, the fragile weight of a friendship. Built from the barest of bones, spanning the thinnest tightrope-and yet unequivocally there nonetheless.”

I loved it !!! Wow !!! This fantasy book surprised me deeply !!! I never thought it would have turned out the way it did !!! A morally grey, heist driven, royal fire magic, young princess, halfling and bastard daughter of the king who plans on dethroning her terrible, awful, evil brother by joining the rebels. Isn’t this the premise for a very very good fantasy book? Because it truly is !!! It’s fantastic !! Our fmc Teia is the morally grey character we usually fall for and whose motives we try to understand but unlike some other characters we have already met, she stays strong and true to herself until the very end. She is badass, she is powerful and she is strong. But she is also determined to get what has been denied to her for too long. And the rebel she meets are gonna give her a new perspective on the war to come.
And when old legends and mythical powers will start playing a part in it all … Teia doesn’t know what to do, how to move or whom to trust. But I loved going through her story!!! The narrative felt so easy to get through and there was no info bombing at the beginning or in any part of the book, which I really appreciated!! That last 30 pages probably screwed me up for real but … it felt like an unexpected good surprise that left me wondering. And after that epilogue … I’m interested in more !! So much more !!!

“Teia wasn't sure when they left the Temple of Past-only that they stood there for the longest time, the Halfling Princess and the rebel boy, until the very last candle had burned down to nothing.”

“She held back a laugh.
It was the stuff that forever was made of, if only time would slow down.”

I got a copy through Netgalley, this however didn’t affect this review.

Inferno’s Heir is a political fantasy and while I usually pick up some lighter fantasy, I really did enjoy this!

We follow Teia, who’s set to mary and abusive lord on the outskirts of her kingdom, the match secured by her half-brother, the prince and heir to the throne. Teia also has been spying on everyone in the palace and learning all of their secrets to use against them.

I really liked Teia as a main character, because you never knew what to expect from her, which shows in all of her actions. The dynamics between her and the other rebels in the story are heartwarming, but also tentative, because Teia knows these friendships will have an ending.

There was a very small sub plot of romance, which I actually liked, because if it would have been a bigger part of this book, the rest wouldn’t have felt as strong as it did now. Of course, I’m eager to see how it will develop in the next book(s)

The middle part was the weakest of the book as it was a bit repetitive at times, but the beginning and ending more than made up for it.

This book started very strong for me. I was instantly hooked and thought it’d be a favorite of the year. The magic system and world are easy to understand, and different from other books I’ve read. The main plot kept my interest and the FMC’s next move had me guessing.

My biggest issues were the pacing and the length. This dragged multiple times for me. I needed to be shown more in this instances and not just told. Or it just needed to be shorter. There were several times when I thought it started to pick up, but again I felt myself wanting to just skip to the next chapter.

That being said, I enjoyed the cast of characters and wouldn’t mind getting some varied POV’s in the next one. I think the supporting characters were one of the strongest parts of the book and I’m excited to see where we go with them.

Overall this is a good debut and I’m interested to see where the next book goes. The main plot and the characters are enough to make me want to finish this duology (I think?) out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

I wish I could do more precise ratings on GoodReads. Don't let the four stars fool you, this ended up being a 4.75-star read for me. I was immediately drawn into the story from the first page and didn't want to put this book down. It had a way of blending almost magical realism with a medieval-style world. I found that the fantasy aspects of this novel were very digestible and didn't get lost in the details while also creating a rich world for the reader to appreciate. I would definitely suggest this book to all fantasy and magical realism lovers.

An absolutely stunning debut! I thoroughly enjoyed Inferno's Heir, from start to finish. I was hooked immediately! The writing is so beautiful and every time I remembered this was the authors first novel, I was astounded all over again because it was just so GOOD!
Teia was by far my favorite. That girl is ruthless and she's not above doing whatever it takes to achieve her goals. I never knew what she was going to do next, but I didn't put anything past her! The tension between her and Tobias? I was eating it up and wanting so much more of it!
I am still distraught over that ending, and I know I am going to be anxiously waiting for the next book! Tiffany Wang burst through the gates with this novel and definitely earned a fan with me!

Inferno’s Heir is a YA fantasy debut featuring an interesting morally grey main character. I want to start by saying that the writing was phenomenal and the story lines were clear, I’m just not sure if this was for me.

Our main character Teia is stuck with a forced marriage proposal thanks to her sadistic half brother who is the soon be king. Teia can control fire and water, thanks to her father and mother respectively, but is seen as an outsider.

Wanting to control her own fate, she seeks out the rebel group, looking for a girl who is rumoured to control fire as well. This rumour angers her brother as only members of the royal family can control this element.

I’ve heard this is similar to Six of Crows, which I’ve been meaning to pick up. There were fun elements; the heist, some minor romance, and lots of secrets. I just couldn’t get behind Teia’s actions or motivations. As a morally grey character, I’d hoped to find her likeable in order to justify her actions but something just didn’t click for me. Like I mentioned earlier, the writing and plot was really good, it just didn’t resonate with me.

Inferno’s Heir is a solid debut, but I’m not sure if it did enough to convince me to seek out the sequel.

Inferno’s Heir is a YA fantasy with a morally gray heroine, political intrigue, and an interesting magic system.

Teia is the princess of Erisia, but her life is controlled by her sadistic half-brother, Jura, who will soon be crowned king. Able to control both fire and water, Teia is seen as an outsider and little more than a royal bargaining chip. Determined to take control of her own future, Teia sets out to find the Dawnbreakers, a group of rebels determined to overthrow the monarchy and establish a democracy. What she finds is friendship and acceptance like she’s never known. But as secrets are uncovered and a prophecy revealed, Teia must decide whether friendship is more important than a crown.

This is a great debut. The pacing was a bit uneven, but the characters stand out, and having a morally gray heroine makes for some fun twists. Teia is unique in her ability to control two elements, and Wang establishes a magic system based on familiar elemental control but with some unique distinctions. Jura is a truly sadistic villain, but I honestly wanted more from him. Wang nicely sets up a future big bad, and I’m interested to see how far he’ll go to achieve his goals. The secondary characters—Kyra, Enna, Alara, and Tobias—all have a decent level of depth, and I’m sure their stories will continue to be fleshed out in future books. I was less interested in the romance, but I’ll reserve judgement on that for now.

As far as the plot, a lot goes on but not a lot actually happens, if that makes sense. There are fun heist elements and the blackmail and secrets allow for some sneaky and complex planning,, but things go from point A to point B very quickly without feeling like we’ve really gone anywhere. There’s a lot of world-building, which is done without much info-dumping, and I’m sure the story will find its stride as the series continues.

All in all, Inferno’s Heir is a solid debut, and I’m intrigued to see where Wang takes Teia and the rest of the crew.

Inferno’s Heir is Six of Crows meets elemental magic with a dash of The Hunger Games. It has fire and water magic, political intrigue, a band of rebels, morally gray characters, and a heist or two.

I enjoyed the firebending vibes in the story. Wang doesn’t shy away from showing a brutal world, especially when it comes to Jura—and even Teia. Characters are forced to make decisions, whether they end up making the right one or not. But I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of the characters' banter alongside the darker plot.

I’m excited to see where the sequel takes us. There was an interesting bit of lore dropped near the end, and it will definitely be a major player in the next book. I’m also looking forward to getting to know the side characters better.

If you like elemental magic, political intrigue, and morally gray characters, then I recommend this one.

Let me preface this first. I’m all for supporting debut authors and indie presses, and I admire Bindery Books’s interesting platform in doing so. Inferno’s Heir is one of four in their first round of publishing, and I was intrigued by its premise.

This starts off with beleaguered princess Teia, whose rights are infringed upon by sadist half brother Jura, who will soon take the throne and control every aspect of her life. To subvert this, she approaches the common folk rebellion who has been mistreated over the years (made far worse with Jura’s influence) and agrees to steal a precious family jewel to prove her loyalty to their cause so she can betray them to win favor with her brother. Sounds like a wonderful premise for a plot and character driven story with the prospect of action adventure, high risk drama, and the promise of new friendships, budding romance, and a changed-for-the-better Teia, right? Right?

I will say for the most part this delivers on each of these points, but personally for me, the connection of dots was just a bit off. As a warning, Princess Teia is pretty cutthroat. It’s understandable since she has had no one in her corner for many years, and the hatred her brother directs towards her is immense. It’s no wonder Teia will do anything for her survival and that unfortunately, shows in the best and worst ways. Also, there’s little we see of the actual rebellion and their leader, focusing on three other characters instead, characters who are just as young, impetuous, and self indulgently idealistic as Teia and one questions, is this the best the rebellion has at their disposal? Granted, this is YA fiction, so I shouldn’t be surprised that the spotlight is on these underage people, but it just seemed too incongruent for my old brain.

What this has going for it is an interesting world full of conflict and antagonistic countries where I assume will be further expanded upon in the sequel. The elemental magic too was compelling, and one knows that will feature more heavily as well. Toss in two heists, an amazingly talented thief who’s for neither side, and a hint of chaste romance, and this will probably appeal very nicely to the overall masses who enjoy a YA magical dystopic fantasy.

However, I wanted more emotional stakes, more maturity, and more personal growth for Teia. Surely, this will be forthcoming in the next book as this technically ends on a cliffhanger. It remains to be seen if the sequel’s reception will pique my interest enough to check it out.

Thank you to the author and Bindery Books for a copy in exchange for an honest review posted to GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6839530576

I really thought I predicted the ending of this book but it dis a complete detour on me. Like I thought Teia our main character was going to completely change how she viewed her path and she was going to join the rebels and be with them in the end. Let's just say it's really hard to change who you truly are. The sequel has to come as hard hitting as this one if it wants to live up to the hype of this book. I need to know if what happened in the end really happened and we get a whole new setting. Teia is probably one of my favorite unlikable characters I've ever read about. She's cunning and conniving and selfish but in all the right ways that a flames protagonist is. She feels real for this story. When betrayel and death are your companions you tend to have a different outlook on life and this book really goes with that. Really loved this one. Can't wait for the sequel. Or anything else Tiffany Wang writes.

A solid and promising YA fantasy debut. I love morally grey characters so Teia was pretty much written for me if I'm being honest. Pacing got a little off track in the latter quarter, but overall it was a great read. 4.5

Before I get into the story, I just want to say how much I absolutely adore the cover! Its what grabbed my attention, to give thisbook a go!!

Teia Carthan, an outcast princess with control over two elements, is constantly on the run, fearing for her life as her ruthless half-brother Jura hunts her down. Jura set to become king, Teia knows her days are numbered unless she makes a bold move. Desperately, she comes up with a plan to join the rebels and then betray them to secure her safety. But as she spends more time with them, forms bonds, and begins to understand their cause, her loyalty starts to waver. Maybe the rebels are right, and the monarchy she grew up with needs to be torn down.

*Inferno’s Heir* has an intriguing premise that pulls you in with its familiar yet enjoyable tropes. Although the pacing can be uneven and the characters could have used more depth, it’s still an entertaining read. The mix of modern elements—like guns and hotels—alongside swords and magic feels a little out of place at times, but the action, particularly the fight and heist scenes, keeps the momentum going.

Teia’s story is compelling, though her personal growth sometimes feels more told than shown. The chemistry between her and Tobias is one of the book’s highlights, and while their romance could be developed more, there’s definitely something there. I also loved Enna, a character I hope plays an even bigger role in the next book.

Overall, *Inferno’s Heir* sets up an exciting sequel, and despite a few first-book hiccups, Wang’s writing shows real promise. I’m excited to see where the story goes next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books!

A solid YA fantasy debut, following a black-sheep princess (Teia) who becomes immersed in a duplicitous personal mission to dethrone her ruthless, soon-to-be-king brother (Jura), through deceitfully joining forces with an emerging rebel alliance, known as the Dawnbreakers.

It’s been said many times already that this story has similarities to Six of Crows, following a cast of multi-skilled, misfit teenagers, who join forces to pull-off an impossible heist (or two), each with their own varying motivations and personal levels of morality, and full of rousing dynamics and snappy banter. That’s about where the comparisons ended for me, though, because even with familiar story and character elements, Inferno's Heir still felt like a fresh, imaginative take on the genre at hand.

I’ll admit this was slow-going for me for a time, definitely finding the second half more engrossing and worthy of holding my attention for prolonged reading jaunts than the slower-paced first half of the story. I believe my biggest problem was that I had a disconnect with Teia as our morally-grey heroine. She felt a bit contradictory and fairly unlikable to me; I never really warmed to her personality, her methods, or her motives displayed throughout—at least, not in the way I assume I was meant to while the story progressed.

For me, it was an interesting choice to write Teia this way. In a sense, I felt like I was following one of the villains of the story instead of one of the heroes, and I didn’t quite like how that made me feel (which is an odd reaction indeed, considering how much I generally love morally grey characters in my fantasy stories). However, this may have been a purposeful choice on the author’s behalf, in which case, it worked, and I felt exactly what I was meant to feel towards this fairly sociopathic, definitely traitorous, self-survivalist heroine.

Pushing back with some positives, I quite liked the side cast of female characters (especially Kyra and Alara, and master thief Enna), who I hoped get more page time to shine in possible sequels (because this was very much a series starter). Love interest Tobias was a little wooden for me, but not so poorly drawn that he’d be Mal-levels of unredeemable for me going forward (IYKYK). Big bad brother Jura was adequately menacing and I quite enjoyed the scenes he featured in because they gave the story a kick, even though he was absolutely a reprehensible excuse for a human being.

The writing quality was fairly remarkable for a debut fantasy tale, with clear and cohesive narrative styling and world-building that was simple yet effective, and very easy to comprehend. As someone who regularly becomes overwhelmed reading fantasy stories of this nature, often confused over dense detailing and heavy composition, I was pleased to find myself immediately in the story, following Teia’s (often questionable and treacherous) journey with ease and understanding, even if it took a while for me to get invested.

My favourite aspect of the story, however, was the idea of the elemental magics at play and the little tastes we got of the larger world’s myths and legends, that will clearly play-out in bigger, more comprehensive ways in future sequels. I mean, you can’t dangle the idea of dragons in front of me and not deliver them, right!? RIGHT?!!

This was my third official read from Bindery Books upcoming collection, and, although I’ve had mixed reactions so far (one I loved and the other… not so much), I can happily say I liked this one on a lot of levels—definitely enough to read future works from this promising author, including some much-needed sequels, that’ll surely expand this world and these characters in all the right ways!


***A special thanks to Bindery Books (via Netgalley) for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.