I think this book is probably great for what it set out to do, but WOW is that not for me at all!

Let me first praise the writing style. The text flowed beautifully, and this style kept me engaged in the story. The book is certainly interesting. It avoids any stereotypes or cliches, and the plot is unpredictable and unique.

However, I really didn't enjoy the ending, and the climax just felt like a huge kick in the teeth. I am all for morally grey antiheroes, but Teira was just cruel and unlikable to me. It felt like her decisions at the end of the book really undermined her growth, and ultimately ruined the things I had enjoyed about the book (like the found family vibes). Honestly, I would have preferred the cliches.

Based on the amazing reviews this book has gotten so far, there is clearly a huge audience for this book. That's not surprising, since like I said, the writing is beautiful and the plot is very unique. So while this book might not be for me, I would still recommend it to anyone interested in morally grey MCs.

This book started a little slow for me, but by the end, I was hooked. I really liked the court intrigue in this book. There was a lot of politics happening, but also a great amount of action and character growth to work together into something beautiful. If you liked six of crows or prison, healer, you will love this book. Great for ya reads up to adult. No smut.

A propulsive debut anchored by a morally gray, sharp-tongued heroine, INFERNO’S HEIR offers everything a reader could want: underground rebellions, palace intrigue, intricate magic, heart-stopping action, a deliciously evil villain, and a found family that won’t soon be forgotten.

Teia has plots to plan. She is a Princess in a Court about to be ruled by a sadistic King.
This book was Game of Thrones with plots, political intrigue, blackmail, and heists.
I loved the way Teia made decisions and thought about things. It made the book more realistic. While some of the plot was predictable it wasn't so overdone to make the book not interesting. The plot is fas paced and it was an easy read.
Very much enjoyed this.

I don’t often give 5/5 ratings but I loved this book and will be recommending it to friends and fellow readers wanting a new ya fantasy read

I thought this was kind of a basic story about rebellion and finding out that what you have been taught and brought up to be might not be on the right side of history, so to speak. It’s been a few weeks since reading this for me now, and nothing really stood out in my notes which makes me believe I thought this to be okay but nothing extraordinary.

Beautiful cover though.

Overall I liked the plot and characters. I felt a connection to them rather quick and I like that our FMC knows what she wants. The world building and magic system could’ve been better explained / executed. It left me a bit confused in some parts but maybe the author will go into more detail in the next book!

what a GRIPPING and fun ride! teia is such a fabulous morally grey femail main character, im so grateful she is the lead of this YA book. i wish i had a YA fantasy title like this when i was younger!

This was a great debut novel! YA fantasy with Cruel Prince x Six of Crows vibes.

I enjoyed the world building, plot, and writing, and felt the character development was good.

Some of the relationship development felt a little rushed to me, but honestly that could just be Teia's desperate need/want for a family.

I'm am looking forward to the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A decent start to the series. The female MC compelety understands who she is and what her place is in this world, ie avoiding her murderous sadistic half brother (the AMT of times she corrected ppl when they said just brother actually cracked me up). It's a geopolitical story with palace intrigue but a very confusing magic system and zero world building, so there's a lot to explore in the next installment. But it kept my interest and the plot kept moving and I'm sure we'll find out more of the other lands and powers and precisely what everyone is TRULY after. But Jura could jump in a lake and have Theia drown him. Huzzah!

This is probably closer to 4.5 stars, but worth the round up. I was instantly captivated by this story. The main character pulled me in immediately and I loved meeting her found family right along with her. Loved that this story revolved around found family, with just a dash of romance.

Teia is a great main character, she has depth and dimension. You watch her struggle with decisions, you get insight into the how and why of her character. She walks a beautiful morally grey line that just made me fall in love with her.

The only bummer is that the twist was slightly predictable. That, and the fact that we have to wait for more of this journey! I can't wait to continue reading!

3.5 stars
Overall, this is a very fun, fast-paced, and well-written book. I really enjoyed the overarching plot and thought the characters and magic system were very strong.

The characters were diverse not only in the traditional sense, but also in terms of personalities, motives, and believability. I think they all fit their own individual roles in the story and played them very well. Everyone had different reasons for being in the situation they were in and even though there was fairly large cast of characters, I never felt like any one character got lost in the plot or pushed aside. Teia was a great morally grey MC and Jura was a very exciting villain. However, there was a lack of emotion and chemistry between some of these characters. I do believe that they all made compelling coworkers and maybe even friends at some points, but I think the romances were a little forced, especially between Teia and Tobias. While I think that they could work together, and the roles they play in the story would eventually create a great romance, I don't think we saw enough bonding or tension between the two for the feelings that Teia was developing to be very realistic. Of course, immediate physical attraction does happen, I think her yearning for him was a bit unearned in this book. I think it would have made more sense to save it for the next book in the series and it should be a bit of a longer slow-burn romance.

While I think that the overarching plot was great and created a very interesting story, there were times were it got a little lost. A morally gray girl trying to subtly and not so subtly fight against her power crazed, psychotic older brother who is soon to become king--will she support the democracy her people are revolting for or put herself on the throne? Amazing basis and very well thought out throughout most of the book. My biggest issue with the plot was that I didn't really realize that the prison breaks were going to be the main focus until about halfway through the book. Honestly, I thought these scenes ended up being pretty weak and wish the author instead focused more of the court politics and the spy ring that Teia was running. This also caused a lot of telling and not showing in the book. We are told time and again that Teia is this great spy and manipulator with a whole network of minions to do her bidding and find out what she needs to know. However we really don't see much of these abilities until the very end. What we do see was very well done and did support everything we been told, so I really think this book would've been so much better if that's what the plot was more focused on.

Other really great aspects of this book was the magic system and the world building. I think any sort of elemental based magic is really fun and it was so realistic that class-levels depended on the powers. For example, only the royal family in Erisia has these fire-bending abilities and the entire system is disrupted when they find that a peasant girl actually has these powers. The little we got to learn of the other kingdoms was also very interesting, and I love how the book ended with the potential to go visit these other kingdoms in the next book.

Because of the weaknesses of the plot, the too much telling and not enough showing, and the lack of emotion/chemistry between characters, I can't give this book much more than 3.5 stars. However, what was done well was very enjoyable, so I think this series has a lot of potential and could become really great.

INFERNO’S HEIR

‘The court thought her a monster, so she gave them one to fear’

In this YA fantasy series-starter, we meet Teia, an ostracised princess, as she struggles to stay alive under the rule of her vile brother Jura. Teia has a plan: she’ll infiltrate the rebels than threaten Jura’s throne, selling them out in exchange for her life. But as she gets to know them, Teia will start to question if the rebels’ ideals are as hopeless as they seem.

When I started this book, I was convinced it was a standalone (second time in a row with a Bindery Books title!), but as the plot progressed I realised it was impossible for it to be resolved in a single 300-page book. Regardless of my initial impression, I did enjoy Inferno’s Heir and I’ll be picking up the sequel as soon as it’s available.

If you’re keen on morally grey characters, found family, humorous banter, political intrigue, heists, secrets and betrayals and mythology, I certainly recommend Inferno’s Heir .

Teia isn’t our usual YA protagonist: she’s the antihero (though not the villain), twisted, traitorous and conniving. If you enjoyed Jude’s ploys in The Cruel Prince, you’ll be sure to like Teia. As the traditional hero, we have starry-eyed, idealistic Kyra, a pleasant opposite to Teia. I was also fond of the other side characters, particularly Enna and Alara. And if you’re wondering if there’s a romance, you’ll be pleased to know our main character and one of the rebels engange in lots of banter and longing glances.

The one character I found lacking was the main villain, Jura. To put it simply, he’s horrid. A text-book example of a psychopath. Most of the time it felt like he was there just to be hated, with no other depth in his vileness than that he can be evil and that fear is a form of subjugation. I don’t mind not empathising with the villain, but I do wish that, in terms of his motivations, we could have seen more.

I’ve seen Inferno’s Heir compared to Six of Crows , and while it does feature some key elements like heists and found family, I felt like it was closer to The Cruel Prince for its political intrigue and to An Ember in the Ashes for its rebel group. Still, if you liked Six of Crows , Inferno’s Heir will be a welcome read.

All in all, Inferno’s Heir is a very bingeable fantasy. I look forward to reading the second book in this series.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the eARC**

@librisinetenebris on Instagram

Thank you Bindery Books for an early copy!!
Inferno's Heir is teeming with polotical intrigue, but at the same time it's a fun, easy to read fantasy novel. Every character is unique, they certainly have ambiguous morals, and they manipulate the plot according to their motives. The elemental magic was handled nicely, but the cast of complex characters is what remained with me after I finished the book. Over all: sibling rivalry, political intrigue, a HEIST!!!, compelling plot twists, and banter - it all adds up to an enjoyable read!

i definitely had a lot of expectations with this book and i’m glad to say that it did meet with my expectations ! inferno’s heir is a fantasy novel that is centered on revenge and rebellion and somewhat kind of felt like a heist story to me.

i think what made it so thrilling and interesting is because of the various tropes that i personally really do enjoyed 🙈 just like sibling-rivalry (help i love stories with this dynamic), some banter here and there, and other things ! you might want to try reading this if you love/like political fantasy novels.

teia, the main protagonist, is an anti-hero who joins the rebellion against her own family and kingdom and oH MY !! 😭 it was well written !! i love the vibes this book gave me it’s really worth the hype for me 🫶🏻 it also has romance if you guys are interested in that as well !

overall, a very nice read and you know what? i’ll bump my rating to a 5 star ⭐️ because i realized that this might be one of my favorites now 🫣 thank you so much to NetGalley and for Tiffany Wang for letting have this ARC 👏🏻

Fans of The Cruel Prince and Six of Crows will love this character-driven political fantasy from new voice Tiffany Wang! One of the major highlights of this book was the cast of characters. Teia is a genuinely morally gray character driven by her own desires, and she doesn't shy away from this as the book continues. I loved her development throughout the book as Teia came into her power and decided to act upon her ambitions, even if it meant hurting the people around her. The other main characters - Kyra, Alana, Enna and Tobias - were so unique and had their own individual voices and personalities. It's not often that an author is able to flesh out such a range of characters, but Wang did an excellent job creating such a dazzling cast.
The plot was never slow or difficult to understand - it's easy to read, it's fast paced, and it's full of action and suspense. The story really reminded me of Six of Crows with the heists and prison breaks, but the political machinations reminded me of Jude from the Folk of the Air series. The myths and magic system of the world were fleshed out nicely, and I can't wait to see more of this new world in the sequel!
Overall, this book is perfect for fans of political fantasy. There is some light romance, but the real heart of the book lies in Teia's ambition and desire for power. I cannot wait to see what Tiffany Wang writes next! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the eARC !

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this book so much. It was refreshing to finally read a young adult fantasy with my some fresh characters and a storyline that is not the same thing I have read in every other YA fantasy. This was funny and very easy to get through for a fantasy novel that has political intrigue without making it info dumpy and boring. The pacing was also good.

The best part of the book is definetly its characters and in the action parts. I especially loved the main character, Teia. She embodies the type of characters I always enjoy reading, the morally grey ones. I would love to read more books by Tiffany Wang in the future.

Teia Carthan is the half-sister of Jura Carthan, a despot and soon-to-be ruler of Erisia. She has survived numerous assassination attempts orchestrated by Jura but if he ascends the throne, there is no place in the Five Kingdoms where she will be safe. However, an uprising against the monarchy by a rebel group called the Dawnbreakers presents Teia a slim chance to secure her future. Will she seize it? Read Inferno’s Heir by Tiffany Wang to find out.

Teia, the central character and the female protagonist, is a cunning, wily creature. She lost her mother at a young age. Her father, unable to cope with the loss of his beloved wife, takes to drinking and follows in her dead mother’s footsteps soon.

“The downside of true love was it really could last forever⁠— and the ones left behind always suffered.”

Forced to endure her despicable half-brother’s cruelty, Teia matures well before her seventeen years of age. She treads the secret passageways of her castle, eavesdrops on conversations, and tucks away little bits of information in her smart brain to be utilized later. Oh, and she has rare control over two elements, which makes her a formidable opponent to Jura.

Her treasure trove of little secrets about the Council members and her powers have helped her to survive the court politics and Jura till now, but if he becomes the king, Teia will no longer be safe.

Amidst all this comes an uprising by the Dawnbreakers. True to their name, they also bring dawn in Teia’s life. She plans to infiltrate the group and hand them over to Jura in exchange for her freedom.

But when she meets them, for the first time in her life, she experiences friendship and genuine connection. She understands what it means to care for another person. The Dawnbreakers make Teia a confident and self-assured person. Even though her control over two elements made her a powerful person, she never imagined fighting against Jura. However, the Dawnbreakers ignite this hope within her.

“And as Teia looked at the people before her⁠—the Poisons Master, the thief, the champion, the rebel⁠— something tugged at her heart. An invisible string, a weeping warmth. A sensation she’d never experienced before, even when her parents were alive. This felt like she had finally come home.”

Each of the motley crew of characters comprising the Dawnbreakers is essential in moving the plot forward.

In addition to three-dimensional characters, Wang has crafted a richly imagined world, and her vividly descriptive writing immersed me in the world of Five Kingdoms. I could clearly visualize the opulent castle, the bustling market, and the heavily guarded, soul-crushing Blackgate prison.

Is a fantasy novel really a fantasy novel without magical creatures? Lo and behold, the Serkawr, which is a fearsome magical sea beast. However, Wang shrouds its origin in mystery and, like any expert storyteller, will likely unravel it in the sequel. But she sprinkled enough breadcrumbs about the Serkawr’s lore to keep me invested throughout the story.

The book isn’t consistently fast-paced, but that didn’t retract from my reading experience. While the unexpected twists and the daring trip(s) to the prison are the highlights of the novel, the lush descriptions put me right next to Teia as she manoeuvered her way through the treacherous world. However, in my humble opinion, the book could have been shorter and could have done away with some of the descriptions.
Inferno’s Heir has left its mark on me. Days after finishing the novel, I am still thinking about the action scenes and the ending. I was hoping what happened at the climax should not come to pass, but well, if it weren’t so, Teia wouldn’t have been true to herself. Moreover, the climax paves the way forward for another action-packed, intriguing sequel. With Inferno’s Heir, I feel Tiffany has barely scratched the surface. There’s so much to know about – a detailed history of the Five Kingdoms, Serkawr’s capabilities, Erisia’s founder etc.

Overall it’s a brilliantly written novel with a captivating world-building and three-dimensional characters, albeit it could have been a tad shorter. Recommended to fellow young adult, fantasy readers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5 stars

Summary of the plot:
Teia Carthan is the princess of Erisia and half-sister to soon-to-be-king Jura. Jura rules the country with an iron fist, often resorting to violent and cruel ways. When Jura announces he's arranging a marriage for her to another man, one who is known to be abusive towards his wives, Teia realizes this marriage will trap her forever in a life she does not want. So she turns to the rebels known as the Dawnbreakers. Her initial intentions was to infiltrate the Dawnbreakers so that she can end up blackmailing them to force them to help her get out of her marriage. However, as she continues to work for them, she realizes that her path forward may to overthrow Jura himself.

Thoughts on the plot:
Overall, I thought this was a well written book. Was it perfect? No. But did I enjoy it? Yes. Considering that this is the author's debut novel, I'm willing to be a little more lenient on my review, though I still have my critiques, which I will talk about in the following paragraphs.

Starting off with the writing/plot: I thought the writing itself was fine. It did not give me "this is my first book!!" vibes, which was great. I will say though that some scenes and problems were too convenient. Aka, things seemed to fall in place pretty easily (which this gave me "this is my first book!!" vibes). I could have used a little bit more conflict, but that's my personal preference.

The world itself could have used a bit more building. There are five elemental magics that people can have. The Carthans (and only the Cathans) have fire. This is important because to determine whether or not someone can take the throne in Erisia, they have to be a Carthan (which is determined by the fire-wielding power). Jura and Teia are the only ones who are supposed to have this power, but they discover someone else who has this power as well (who also happens to be the "champion" of the rebels), so it becomes a political issue.

After Teia is told that the champion may be a spy within the palace, she happens to discover this person very quickly (too quickly IMO) because she notices a servant who is afraid of water. I felt like this was extremely convenient and totally unrealistic. Also, are we to believe that in this world, whatever your magic is, your fear is the opposite of that magic (e.g., your magic is fire, so you're naturally afraid of water)? What happens if you're a fire and water wielding person like Teia?

Also, we don't really get to see any of the elemental magics play out. There are literally 3 magic users in this book and all of them have fire magic. Teia technically has water magic from her mom's side (and we get a quick scene of her mom using magic in a flashback), but she hardly uses it. This is likely to be explored more in book 2, so I'm not too too worried about this. There is also some lore around the 5 elemental magics, which will (again) likely be expanded on in the next book.

In terms of the characters, I didn't feel strongly towards any of them (which isn't necessarily bad). Teia was cunning and quite evil in her own ways (not like Jura though). I didn't really like the champion and thought she would have served a greater purpose. The thief was kind of comedic, so I didn't mind her. Jura was interesting because you got to see how cruel he was. I wish we did get a bit of background on why he is the way that he is. It seems like he was born that way, but who knows? Everyone else, I felt indifferent about.

To talk quickly about romance, there is some romance there. It's a little bit of a slow burn, so no "I love you"s by the end of the book! It took me a while to catch onto the romance though because I thought Teia was LGBTQ+ for no reason.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend people to read it. Again, my standards are a little low since it is a debut novel and because it is the first book in a series, so take that with a grain of salt.

There is a lot to like about this book, especially if you like complex characters who are willing to do what it takes to accomplish their goals, be that lie, cheat, steal, torture, and kill. Teira, at 17, is a cold blooded girl who has no qualms with using people. Growing up with a half brother who enjoys torturing small animals and small sisters, he’s adept at reading emotions and emotional cues, to know when it’s time to fade into the background, time to fawn and flatter, or when she’s run out of time and must fight back.

As a character I enjoyed Teia. She really is a well done morally grey character with clear motivations, a distinct personality, and a strong voice. Her brother, Juran, is a classic “monster” of a brother, and while I found him to be somewhat cartoonish, it wasn’t a game breaker. The side characters aren’t as distinct in their personalities or voices, and the world building is lackluster and vague, but my biggest problem with this book — and why it’s 3 stars and not higher — is the plot.

The initial setup of the story doesn’t work for me. Teia is a princess; she knows how her kingdom works, how her government works, and how her brother works. She thinks that someone who hates her, who wants her dead, will suddenly turn and embrace her, declare her free to make her own decisions, to not marry and just live her life unbothered by things she doesn’t want to deal with … just because she hands over the rebellion? She thinks this will convince not only her brother, but the council that their halfling princess — one they do not like, whose blood they see as impure, who they feel does not represent the best of their kingdom, of their magic — doesn’t have to have a political marriage just because she hands over a the rebellion? It’s silly, it’s nonsensical.

The rebellion itself requires a strong suspension of disbelief. Random people are allowed to know that the princess is working for the Dawnbreakers — as well as knowing that their champion (who can also use fire; something restricted to the royal line) is working as a servant in the palace — and they are all allowed to know their faces. And once it’s revealed that Kyra’s position is compromised, that Teia discovered her within days, no one thinks to withdraw her or protect her. Instead, they still send her back to work with the princess who might betray her all because Teia says she wants to join the rebellion.

Because everyone believes everything anyone else says. After all, who would lie about wanting to join a rebellion? The one person who thinks to question her on her motives tells her his backstory; she’s sympathetic and now he trusts her. No one really bothers to hide who they are. The moves and shakers of this rebellion are free with tossing around titles, names, talking about the rebellion and plans — and while it could be they’re confident no one will overhear them, there’s no mention of the made in the book. So I’m just assuming … they either don’t care if they’re caught, or it doesn’t matter if they’re overheard. It’s small moments like this that make this rebellion feel goofy and unreal; that make the whole situation feel unreal.

That said, I did enjoy Teia. The writing is good, the pace is quick and the book is very easy to read. It’s just that, with the lack of world building and my issues with the plot, Teia herself just wasn’t quite enough. The book ends well enough, and while there’s a clear setup for a second book, there’s no cliffhanger. I enjoyed the book enough that I’d be willing to pick up the next book in the series.

I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy