firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

for now, this is a soft dnf @13% in which i will eventually return — i just do not find myself interested in the plot/characters, and i’ve too many other things to read at the moment.

In a world long after the breakup of a huge empire, we meet two young women: Kirby of Wall's End, and Aleya Ana-Ulai of Ash.

The populations of Walls' End is fading, with fewer and fewer births occurring. The Empire had stolen their god years ago, and its this that the people of the town believe contributed to their diminishing birthrate. Kirby's brother, after finding a large sword, decides he's going to travel to Nivela, the prime city of the former Empire and retrieve their god. After he dies, Kirby decides to fulfill his quest, and she sets out, walking to Nivela.

Aleya is a trained warrior, intelligent, and prone to annoying people with her attitude, and the niece of the current Empress. She's sent on a seemingly hopeless quest to Nivela to recover something.

Of course, these two meet along their way, and also encounter Nylophon of Carth, leader of a band of warriors who attack the ship both Aleya and Kirby were on. After losing all of his men to drowning and other dangers, Nylophon continues to pursue Kirby and Aleya; eventually, the trio gradually get to know each other, before they must deal with the strangeness that is Nivela.

Much of this story is actually spent on the journeys of the three, rather than the end point. I love that author Grace Curtis sets this in an analogue of Europe post the fall of the Roman Empire, and considers the way the Romans took all sorts of things from the places they conquered, and in a time when superstitions, legends and myths would have been seen as real, it's not surprising that people would have believed that taking a god from its original place meant that the power associated with the god, and the consequent good things, would have vanished to wherever the oppressors took the god.

Kirby is quite naïve, open and kind when she leaves Wall's End, while Aleya is more worldly, intensely stubborn and arrogant, and the two don't seem to be destined to care about each other, but it's their differences and skills that first ensure they survive their journey, and gradually help them learn from the other. Kirby remains kind by the time they part, while Aleya has grown to accept help from others, and to see others as having value. Nylphon begins as an annoying and dangerous idiot, but becomes more interesting and open over the time he spends with the two women.

This is not a fast-moving book, but I loved the atmosphere, and the worldbuilding is great, with each culture everyone encounters as fascinating, and sometimes dangerous. I really liked the way belief plays such a large part in this story, and how belief is used throughout, whether in those they meet, or within each of the trio.

The ending is fantastic and wonderful, and brought a tear to my eyes.

If you're looking for action and paciness, move on. This isn't going to give you that. Instead, you'll get great characters, and an interesting treatment of how cultures develop after being suppressed by a conqueror for years.

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

I dunno what exactly it was but this tickled the Soulsborne lore part of my brain a bit. "Idolfire" by Grace Curtis is a real rough road trip.

A nation nearly conquered the world. But then they didn't. Their city had been left to rot, filled with the power of stolen gods and forgotten magic. Kirby has no prospects living in the cursed city of Wall's End, so she leaves to find something to help that crumbling community. Aleya Ana-Ulai wants to fix her city, and prove she is more than a mistake, so she leaves when finally given the chance. What will these two find on the road?

Reasons to read:
-Hey, I don't like cult of personality leaders and organized religion
-Character growth
-Sudden and disturbing escalations of violence
-It hits a part of my imagination just right
-Didn't see that ending

Cons:
-Whiplash of my expectations impacted sleep due to not being able to stop on certain chapters

A road trip fantasy with an interesting take on gods & magic that made me cry within the first 10%.

This is a very fun book with an interesting narrative structure, there are 3 main character main character points of view but then also some interjected 2nd person interludes where you aren't totally sure who is talking or who they are talking to. Of the 3 main points of view Kirby was far and away my favorite character, the most engaging parts from the other 2 were their relationships with Kirby.

The best part was definitely Curtis’s writing, I find it very friendly but then there will also be lines & metaphors that jump out at me as being an interesting/unique way to look at look at something. For example this line after Kirby is exhausted from walking all day: "she was more or less ready to unbutton her body and leave it behind.". I also really appreciated the authors note at the end talking about some of the inspiration for this book.

The only downside for me was that there was a bit in the middle with a merchant ship and a warship that took me out of the story a bit, I couldn’t figure out if I was misinterpreting or if it just didn’t make sense, but once we moved on from that I really enjoyed everything else.

This is, I think, my favorite Grace Curtis book so far. All of her books have great character work and so of course I was expecting that. But Idolfire really brought together the storylines of the characters in a way that felt very purposeful. It's a slow moving story inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire, which is an interesting place to start with. A lot of fantasy stories end with finally overthrowing an empire so I always find it interesting to read about the "after" of the typical plotlines.

While there is a touch of romantic content I wouldn't consider this a romance or romantasy by any means. Instead, it's like a slice of an epic fantasy. Just bordering on the edge of cozy, the main quest storyline takes a backseat to character development several times along the way. It's fairly quick and easy to read for most of the book, with minimal stress, until closer to the end.

I wish we had gotten more of the "you" chapters, as that was quite an interesting interlude, and I also wish something more impactful had been done with it.

Idolfire is a sapphic roadtrip fantasy novel, written by Grace Curtis and published by DAW Books. A quest adventure with two characters from really different backgrounds with a slowburn romance that suits perfectly into a vibrant world inspired by the Fall of Rome, with very different cultures and with some bold craft choices, such as the second person used for certain POV.

On the one side of the world, Kirby from Wall's End, is searching for redemption, starting a journey leaving all behind to find what has been of their goddess, trying to fix the curse that tore her life apart; on the other, Aleya, written as a mistake by her family, has been given an opportunity to prove her worth and ascend to the throne. Both are set in the path to Nivela, a city that once had the power of conquering the world; fate has a strange way to act, and for both, the journey will change their lives, even if they initially resist to travel together.

Kirby was probably my favourite character in the book: intelligent, and a bit mad, but also with the determination to learn and persevere; in our pair, she's the golden heart. In comparison, Aleya is colder, really stubborn, but she grows so much across the journey, accepting that sometimes she's not sure of everything, and that asking is not weakness. The sapphic romance between our characters is the classic definition of a slowburn, but in this particular book, it fits super well, as it is so natural, especially with all the edges and small fights between them.
There's a third character that deserves a mention, Nylophon: the prototypical Spartan coded soldier. A character that is always ready for fighting, who doesn't see any other kind of life for him; however, Curtis paints an excellent character arc, even giving him an adequate ending that is also one of the highlights of the book.

The world itself is another aspect I would like to talk a bit: as we are travelling across it, we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves, the richness in the cultures, and how each place has developed in different ways, all coded into their rituals and lifestyle. The magic system is partly a cautionary tale and also a great narrative vehicle, as it points to how dangerous worshiping can become, but it plays well into the story; kudos for the originality.
The pacing lands on the slower side of the coin, but it suits well with the kind of epic roadtrip that our story is; and it allows us to enjoy a bit of the journey.

Idolfire is an excellent fantasy novel, perfect if you are looking for a story that takes its sweet time in favour of working on its characters, with a slowburn sapphic romance in the center of all and an incredible worldbuilding. Can't wait to read the next Grace Curtis' book!

Inspired (sort of) by the fall of Rome, this sapphic road trip is...an interesting story. Kirby is from nowhere, the ruins of an empire that was brought to ruin when its god was stolen by Nivela. But she has a plan to fix her homeland and save it from the curse they're suffering: go off and rescue Iona. Meanwhile, Aleya would struggle to be more different. The outcast of the Ashalite royal family, Aleya wants nothing more than to inherit the throne. And finally, when she's given a Calling, a chance to prove herself, it's a fool's errand: go to Nivela and bring home an old idol. The unlikely pair meet on the road, experience a long series of mishaps, and even adopt a loser of a mercenary. The closer to Nivela they get, the weirder things get.
I liked Kirby and Aleya enough. Counterintuitively, I kind of thought that Nylo was the most interesting, despite occasionally being an ass and completely downplayed on the blurb of the book. The magic system, of Idolfire and using the stored prayers of believers to create miracles was really interesting. The variety of setting were intriguing. However, it was so very slow. It was so much traveling and so little action. It was still okay, though.

There's not even anything wrong with this, but I was never able to get through more than a handful of pages at a time before losing interest.

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.

The Roman Empire is my roman empire, so I was super excited to read this. The world did not disappoint - it was pretty much an exact analog of the former empire around 500 CE, which was not particularly creative but also exactly was I was in the mood for. However, I think other readers might struggle without the many years of reading I've done that have given me a lot of context. I felt like the ending was perfect given the wider context of the world that Kirby and Aleya lived in. The only thing I didn't like was the third main character, Nylophon. I found him unnecessary. Overall, the vibes plus lesbians provided an excellent read.

An excellent fantasy adventure/romantasy about a pair of sapphics and their weird guy friend. Can be a bit slow at times, but the book found its stride around halfway through, and from there until the end, it's just an excellent fantasy story that really balanced the romance and adventure aspects really well. the ending might catch some readers off guard (not necessarily in a good way), but once you think about it more, it might actually grow on you. The prose itself is excellent, full of personality, making the whole reading experience a pleasant one.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

A queer love story. Living cities with their grief and their mistakes and their stolen Idols. Magic seemingly bringing ancient gods to life. A quest, for redemption in their own way. This story is many things and I’m glad I got to get lost in its pages.

Kirby has lost her brother and she is infected with Wither that plagues her forgotten village town of Wall’s End. A stolen statue of the goddess of spring was taken from Kirby’s land by Nivela. Maybe that’s why her village is deteriorating, including its citizens. Kirby feels in some way responsible and decides to take on her brother’s old dream.

Aleya, a hated warrior who could have the throne if she earns her Calling. Her birth a reminder of Ash’s and Kuba’s never forgotten lovers that defied the lands for their love.

And so their quests begin and that’s how they find each other and much, much more.

I really enjoyed this story. However, it was less about the plot and more about the characters for me. I loved Aleya and Kirby and all the very fascinating people they meet along the way. This story is not boring and I wish I only had more of it!

A Fall of the Roman Empire inspired fantasy travelogue that is more about the slow character development along the journey than the quest at hand, with a sapphic maybe almost just queer platonic? relationship.

Between this and Floating Hotel, Grace Curtis is really good with her character work, particularly subverting classic fantasy tropes in ways that still pay homage to them. It's going to be too slow for some folks, and there is the suggestion of a rich world with history and religion that sometimes feels empty of life outside the pov characters. But otherwise, Curtis looks to be a consistently very strong writer for my tastes.

This was above average across the board, but nothing that quite pushed it into outstanding territory for me. I'm just waiting for Curtis to break through with the one that becomes a favorite, I definitely need to get to her debut, Frontier (queer space western about climate change? yes pls).

DnF at 15%. The writing and storytelling was so simplistic that it was hard to read, and that made the story increasingly hard to get into.

I rate this 4.5 stars. It is a very engaging story with so much going for it. Idolfire is a hero's journey with touches of myth, history, violence, humor, and romance. There is so much walking in this book that your feet will be sore by the end. I loved the world-building. Some reviewers were disappointed by the ending, but I wasn't. I found it to be mature and realistic (in a semi-mystical way, of course). Curtis notes that some of the story is based on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, but don't let that scare you. It's a human story with subtle but powerful emotion. I highly recommend it.
#NetGalley

No review to be sudmitted as I DNF'ed this book at 38%. I didn't feel any empathy for either female lead, or their journeys. The "You" chapters were also very confusing.

Inspired by the fall of Rome, as well as other fallen ancient cities, Idolfire presents the sapphic love story of two women from different parts of the world headed for the same mysteriously shut off city where the treasures they seek lie. Idolfire is a story of love and surprising friendship, of gods and magic, with a bittersweet ending that somehow felt both fitting and not quite enough. But it’s also kind of an oddity to me as it’s told with the same softness and coziness as Floating Hotel despite the often perilous journey these two women make. The edges of the story are blunted, drawing the relationship between Aleya and Kirby to the forefront, which is itself more of a light and sweet story. It sometimes felt like it struggled to tell a slightly more epic story, but was hampered a little by the writing style. But I cannot ignore the fact that Aleya and Kirby, and eventually Nylophon, won my heart.

In Wall’s End, Kirby and her brother Balain spend their free time exploring the ruins of the once great city, Balt, their little village rests against. After tragedy strikes, Kirby sets out for the island Palgaro and the long shut city Nivela, this world’s version of Rome, where she plans to steal back the idol of Iona, the Goddess of Spring once revered in Balt. On the other side of the world in the city of Ash, Aleya is something of a bastard princess waiting for the queen, her aunt, to send her on a Calling, a journey that, if successful, will cement her place in the line of succession. After years of waiting, her aunt sends her to Nivela to retrieve a treasure. Inevitably, these women collide and end up traveling together, where they explore the land, battle monsters and a kind of nutty soldier who insists on following them and fighting Aleya, and find a sort of soft yet doomed love.

I know nothing about the fall of Rome, but am familiar enough with what Rome did on their quest for world domination. Fortunately, anything beyond that wasn’t anything I needed to know. Instead, this was focused on the journey and on the blossoming relationship between Kirby and Aleya and the unexpected friendship between the women and Nylo. Secondary to this was their quest for the treasures in Nivela, which, when I think about it, feels kind of boring and overdone, but, in the moment, felt like a fun adventure. Unfortunately, the same soft storytelling found in Floating Hotel is also attempted in Idolfire, and I don’t think it wasn’t quite as successful, at least for me. The soft, slow storytelling made the relationships sweet, but it prolonged the story and an already tedious journey.

I did love Kirby and Aleya, though. Kirby has no idea what she’s doing. She’s just a grieving peasant girl with no future in Wall’s End because she was the Wither, which causes infertility, which is a huge deal for her because she loves children more than anything. Her intentions are noble as she seeks to bring back the stolen idol of Iona and restore her part of the world, and the people, but she’s definitely no swordswoman despite the hefty sword she carries. But she has a good head on her shoulders and can survive in the wilderness. Aleya turns out to be the other half of her whole, and vice versa. She’s the niece of Ash’s queen and has a place in succession, if only she can successfully carry out her Calling and return with a treasure taken long ago. She’s feisty, because she’s had to be just to survive considering the sad, tragic love story her parents lived and the hatred her people now hold for her because of it. She has no clue how to survive in the wild, but she’s a trained warrior and will do anything to make her people’s lives better.

Their relationship got off to a rocky start, and I was absolutely tickled when Aleya kept wanting Kirby to stop following her, but there’s only one main road and they both have to travel on it. I loved the thorns of their early relationship, and I loved watching it bud and bloom. They were lovely together. I also loved that this romance was softly and deftly woven in so it felt like it was at the forefront while also managing to not detract from the greater story. It was perfectly tucked in and meticulously cared for, making the ending excruciatingly bittersweet. I loved this love story, and kind of wish it hadn’t bloomed so late in the story. I could have done with a little less background on Kirby and Aleya just to give these women more time to fall in love.

Then there’s Nylo. He’s a soldier, and accidental hero, from Carthe, whose soldiers sound like they’re little more than hired swords. He has his pride, but not as much skill as he’s trying desperately to show off. He’s kind of a sad character, but definitely persistent. He grew on me, and his ending was just as bittersweet, yet so fitting. He’s so reluctant to take any help from Kirby no matter how much she offers it, and she’s just so sweet about it. He and Aleya have a thornier relationship, which was a lot of fun. But I loved watching them form a friendship, one where they cared about each other so much more than either Nylo or Aleya would admit. It was fantastic to see Nylo transform, and I kind of loved how his story broke my heart.

But the overarching story of Idolfire is that of a journey. Aleya and Kirby have their own quests, and they just happen to be headed in the same direction. There’s some light court politics and some warring, but it’s all really just in the background. Aleya and Kirby relentlessly pursue their goal, plodding almost unceasingly on the road. While reading, I had a lot of fun with them as the tedious journey gave them space to learn about each other. But, when I wasn’t reading, I would realize just how little progress had been made and just how much time and detail had been given over to world building places we never see again. I was charmed, but also felt like this was far too long.

Idolfire manages to be both sweet and tedious. The storytelling style didn’t feel like a perfect fit, but I adored Kirby, Aleya, and Nylo. There are certainly a lot of interesting things towards the end that I wish had been better and more fully explored, but so much of the story was given over to the journey. It was fun traveling the world with these three, but it sometimes felt like the slog it probably was for them. The softness was perfect for their developing relationships, but it left me dissatisfied when it came to the main story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 rounded up

The premise immediately gripped me: epic sapphic fantasy inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire where two women are traveling alone, find each on the road, go on adventures together, and fall in love. I had read somewhere that it had a slightly Xena-coded story, and I could see how parts of it reminded me of Xena.

The book is a very character-driven, slow-paced, slow burn romance. While I enjoyed reading the banter and the small bits of sexual tension, I felt the romance was a little too slow burn for me though I think the ending is a large reason why I felt this way.

Thank you to Grace Curtis, DAW, and to NetGalley for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I desperately tried to get into this book, but the slow pacing at the beginning just refused to draw me in. Unfortunately this was a very early DNF for me at about 15%, I don't think the writing was bad, but the pacing was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

I didn't realise how much I had been craving a good old-fashioned fantasy roadtrip until I read this!

The first part of the book shows us where our protagonists start out and how they get to deciding to embark on their journeys. While I did like getting to know Aleya and Kirby, I think the story really takes off when they meet for the first time. Everything—their initial impressions of each other, their (this makes me cringe but IDK how else to say this) grumpy/sunshine dynamic, the development of their relationship— is just chef's kiss.

I love character driven stories, so this book was right up my alley, but if you prefer plot, I cannot emphasise enough how slow the plot is. Majority of this book is spent travelling, and the main plot stuff only really happens in the last 90%. Of course, this isn't a bad thing, but just so you know. You know?

This book is equal parts dark and humorous. Objectively, this book is pretty heavy as many terrible things happen, but the happier, lighthearted moments of friendship and banter left more of an impression on me. Honestly, I would personally categorise this book as a cozy fantasy. (What I mean is that I felt cozy reading this. The characters are definitely not feeling cozy.)

We only really get to see a few gods, but I adored the concept behind it: gods being created by worship, and existing in physical objects that can be stolen. Pretty cool!