3.5 ⭐️

Idolfire is in essence a sapphic camping, road trip until the final act. It is very much about the journey and learning about the different countries, cities. and cultures along the way. These civilizations each have their own ruling structure. Some have women rulers and others create male mercenaries as their ultimate purpose. It is all very low stakes until the final act. Because of this, I had difficulty connecting with the characters. The book has a unique magic system called idolfire, where certain people, including one of the main characters, can draw limited power from idols and other objects people pray to. I loved the last act and how grounded in reality the ending was. I enjoyed how the final conflict was a bit ethereal, but I do think it left some of what happened ambiguous. Overall, the book was slow, but I think the payoff was worth it.

An engaging and entertaining novel that does most, but not quite everything, that it says on the tin



In a world of fallen empires, lost gods and the power to channel divinity, Kirby, a young woman from a dying village, sets off on a quest to find the stolen icon of goddess Iona. Kirby is convinced, with some solid evidence, that Iona’s absence is the reason why the community suffers under a curse that is slowly and steadily strangling it. Meantime, Aleya, the overachieving daughter of the current ruler of the powerful city of Ash, is finally given a quest (a Calling) to prove her worth, which sets her off on the road as well, to the same destination as Kirby: to a city that once ruled the vast and now fallen empire of Nivela.

This is the story of Grace Curtis’s Idolfire, a resolutely standalone fantasy novel.

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A book in which the real story is in the journey, not the destination. Curtis put their own spin on the fantasy genre by taking seemingly standard tropes and combining them to craft something new and exciting.

Idolfire follows Kirby and Aleya, two very different characters who end up on the same path to the city of Nivela. The world Curtis creates is an interesting and unique take on the fall of Rome, the characters are well developed. However, I did find many parts of this story boring and found it hard to want to continue. I always appreciate Curtis's unique approach to storytelling; this story mixes in 2nd person narrative.

I think some readers will not enjoy the ending. While I didn't mind it, it was somewhat sad to have it end as it did.

Overall, there were things I enjoyed about this book, and some parts I didn't. I still look forward to any furture books the author will release.

I unfortunately DNF'd this book at 35%. I think it had a lot of potential and it was well written but I couldn't seem to really connect with the characters and the slower pacing was just not for me.

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.
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