This is such a compelling and refreshing take on the hero's journey story formula and I really enjoyed it! The writing was so compellingly readable that despite the high page count I found it really hard to put this down. The world building and magic-system were really cool and there was just enough exposition to help the reader understand this fantasy world without it becoming overwhelming. I loved the way that Roman history was used here, and the entire commentary on history, empires, and legacy itself was one of the best parts of the book. The sapphic love story was written really well and I think the slow-burn romance was so natural and organic. The main trio had such amazing chemistry and banter, and seeing them learn to trust and understand each other was amazing. This book balanced wit and heart so well, with as many laugh out loud moments as genuinely heartbreaking ones. Overall just a really great, easy to read sapphic romantasy!

The only reason this doesn't quite get five stars from me is it was a little too simple. While it was very readable and quick to get through, I think that was partly because of how simple the prose and story were. There were so many interesting ideas that were moved over quite quickly that I would have loved to know more about, and the prose definitely did lean a little too YA for my taste, especially in an epic fantasy (I know this is a YA book so if this is preferable to you, I think you'd love it! It just unfortunately doesn't work for my personal taste so prevented me from loving this as much as I might have if it was written for a slightly older audience).

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a sapphic fantasy book, and really enjoyed reading it! If you are not a fan of YA, that might be a point against it, but as someone who generally doesn't love YA, I had a lot of fun with this so would suggest giving it a go anyway!

I had the absolute pleasure of receiving an ARC of this (thank you to the publishers and netgalley, and I also get the absolute honor of telling everyone to GO READ IT!!!

sapphic fantasy roadtrip meets the fall of rome? witty, interesting, and impressive characters and a uniquely cool as hell magic system? this book did not disappoint, i’m so serious. it’s worth a pick up if this sounds like it’ll interest you even a little bit.

you know how sometimes fantasy fights get confusing? or is that just me? either way I felt like I could thoroughly understand where everyone’s limbs were at ALL times during fight scenes, which made me very happy.

and kirby and aleya. my loves. i’m obsessed with them! it’s a slowburn that feels so natural to them and their characters that it had me giggling and kicking my feet the whole time.

Idolfire is emblematic of both Grace Curtis's strengths as a writer: likable, three-dimensional characters, built-out worlds, and vivid descriptions, but also her weaknesses: slow pacing and difficulty maintaining tension. Consequently, as I read, I was constantly caught between the two extremes of 'yeah, this is good, I want to know what happens next,' and not having any real motivation or drive to start the next chapter once I finished the previous. The pacing problems were further exacerbated by the multiple POVs, especially since it takes a surprisingly long time for our two (eventually three) protagonists to even meet up. I honestly felt like the leisurely pace and lush landscape description really wanted this book to be a cozy, but the actual content was much too dark to play into that direction, almost to the point where plot and prose felt at war with one another. That said, there were some moments of real beauty, such as delving into the creation of Ash's goddess, and I liked the odd spark of hopeful ambiguity in the epilogue.

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

A nice journey and travelling can be some of my favorite parts of a fantasy story - I mean LOTR and WOT have so much travelling at their cores but Idolfire is really just journey. It was pitched as a cozy sapphic camping fantasy and I do think it delivered though the romance left a lot to be desired. The connection between them was fine but not sure what made them actually like each other other than the convenience of being the only other person around. There were quite a few structural bugs that I couldn't quite look past - the division of acts was fine but then the title inconsistency was frustrating - we begin with using locations to start the chapters and then switch to the POV characters and the whole second person of 'the city" of Nivela was just not working.

I love to read Roman inspired worlds especially those that look at what the fall did to society around it - the leftover scars of being conquered and dissolved are really interesting threads and the usage of religion in this was some of my favorite worldbuilding. But really putting the fall of a major civilization and empire on one woman felt a little icky. Also the introduction of Nyolophon's POV halfway through the book was a source of potential to discuss the themes of the general's choices and the role of a soldier but then they really didn't do much with him other than serve a plot convenience at the end.

2/5

The premise of this book really excited me: A sapphic slow burn romance on a fantasy filled adventure? I’m hooked! But unfortunately everything just fell a little bit flat for me.

Although I did find reading this book enjoyable, I found myself putting it down often and struggling to pick it back up. The plot just wasn’t as gripping as I was hoping and expecting. It felt a bit like reading a walking-simulator video game.

There wasn’t really any immediate threat to the characters at all. The low stakes and slow, monotonous pace of the book left it slightly boring. It could be argued that the slow pace was a metaphor itself; replicating the seemingly never ending walk the characters went on.

However I will say that the world building was really beautiful and was my favourite part of the whole book. Because the characters walked so far, we were granted a look at a vast and highly detailed world full of different cultures and cities. I definitely felt immersed in the environment of the journey.

The slow burn was also a bit of a disappointment for me. It seemed to come out of nowhere. I think there was only one or two personal mentions of feelings by each character before they fell in love. With it being a multiple pov read, I was expecting a lot more insight to the personal feelings of each of them. It definitely needed some more yearning and building of emotions and tension.

The magic system was very interesting, and I wish it had been used more by our main character. The final destination of our traveler’s journey was also extremely unique and I finally saw a glimpse of that high stakes fantasy I was hoping for throughout the whole book. If only it had been like this the whole way through!!

Lastly, I think the lyrical and flowery writing negatively affected the story in the same way it did in WTMH. Sometimes it was difficult to truly understand what was going on because everything was trying to be said as a metaphor. I got mixed up a few times with the literal facts and the flouncy analogies, leaving me confused at important parts of the story, thereby losing their critical impact.

Overall, I think this book is a nice little stand alone if you’re looking for an easy, low stakes read and don’t mind a slow pace. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I didn’t go into it with expectations as I did, so, try to keep an open mind!

In the world left behind centuries after the fall of a world-spanning empire, history has fallen into myth and legend on its far-flung fringes. Kirby of Wall’s End and Aleya Ana-Ulai might as well be from entirely separate worlds – because they are.

When the Empire of Nivela fell, or died, or imploded, or all of the above, the places that either resisted them or were conquered by them – or both – were left to struggle on without all the things and people the Empire stole at the height of their reach.

Including, in the case of Wall’s End, their god. And in the case of the Kingdom of Ash, one of their most important relics. Wall’s End NEEDS their god back, because their land is dying without the renewing power of Iona, the Goddess of Spring. And the people are dying with it, withering generation after generation.

Ash just wants their relic back, as they believe that no one should have the power of Idolfire, the power to consume the accumulated worship vested in a deity, except for their own royal house.

Then again, Wall’s End is the last remnant of a kingdom that Nivela thoroughly conquered, while Ash successfully resisted the might of the Nivelan Empire until that Empire fell. Of its own weight – or its own ‘Worldlord’s’ hubris.

Or both.

The story of Idolfire is a quest. It’s two quests. Kirby sets out for the ruins of fabled Nivela to get her village’s god back. Not because she’s a hero – but because she feels guilty that what was left of the god listened when she cursed her brother and not only killed him but blocked the water for the entire village.

Aleya, the reviled, disregarded, bastard princess of Ash, is sent by her Aunt the Queen on an actual, sanctioned quest to the ruins of Nivela to retrieve the other half of their sacred relic. Aleya knows she’s not expected to succeed, that she’s expected to either give up or die trying. But if she does succeed, she’ll be able to follow her Aunt as Queen, and make the reforms needed to save her city from dying from the weight of its own corruption and hubris – much like Nivela did.

The story is their journey, separately and together, over the whole of what was once the great Nivelan Empire. Along the way, they face death and danger and corruption and old gods and new kingdoms and desperate people and deranged leaders. They turn an enemy into a fast friend.

They find redemption for the sins they left behind. And they fall in love, even as they know that, as much as failure will doom them, success can only be bittersweet.

Escape Rating B: If you’re expecting something like the author’s previous work, Floating Hotel, you might want to check out some reviews (obv. Including this one) before continuing. Because Idolfire is not at all like Floating Hotel, and not just because that was SF and this is definitely fantasy.

Because I really did enjoy Idolfire, I’m trying to set expectations a bit better than either a quick reference to Floating Hotel or the bolded opening line of the book’s blurb. OTOH, that description, “Idolfire is an epic sapphic fantasy inspired by the fall of Rome from the author of the Frontier and Floating Hotel.” is 100 percent true.

But the emphasis isn’t quite in the same places in the blurb as they are in the book – leading back around to potentially disappointed expectations.

The emphasis in the story is on the epic fantasy parts of the description. It’s a quest story. Actually, it’s two quest stories combined with two heroines’ journeys that begin at literally opposite ends of the world as they know it. Those two heroines do eventually meet and there is a slowburn sapphic romance but the romance isn’t the driving force in the story.

Their separate quests drive the story, quests that begin as far apart as possible – as Kirby and Aleya themselves do – but have the same center point in more ways than one.

Which is where that reference to the fall of Rome comes in. The fall, the reasons for that fall, and what the world looks like at the fringes of what was once the empire so long after that fall that history has fallen into myth and legend.

The historical underpinnings of this story may remind readers of the way that Guy Gavriel Kay works history into fantasy. Because yes, Nivela is Rome – more or less – but it is also biblical Nineveh. Ash is Assyria and Wall’s End is post-Roman-occupation Britain. But their enemy-turned-companion Nylo is from someplace like the ancient Greek city-states, and these places did not all exist at the same time.

The romance between Kirby and Aleya is VERY slow burn. They do come to love each other, but it takes them a lot of time – and miles, definitely miles! – to get there. They are both aware that the BEST ending they can possibly get is that they each return to their opposite ends of the world. It’s realistic but it’s ultimately sad. The reader wants them to have an HEA and they both want it and KNOW they can’t have it.

As much as I loved their journey and enjoyed their long and winding tour of this quasi-ancient, slightly magical, somewhat historical world, theirs is not the only perspective on their quests. Someone is moving events behind the scenes, looking on from above – or underneath – or both, watching as history unfolds. And it has shades of the secret at the heart of the city of Kithamar in Daniel Abraham’s Age of Ash series. It’s something I’m not sure worked in either epic, but it’s left me thinking I’ll go back to Age of Ash and see.

Nevertheless, that extra perspective is one that kinda works and kinda doesn’t and your reading mileage may definitely vary. My enjoyment of and fascination with Aleya’s and Kirby’s world, their epic journey through it and their relationship within it was MORE than enough to carry me through this fascinating tale.

3.75 🌟

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the arc!

I had a pretty good time with Idolfire, I think some aspects were done really well while there were others that didn't work quite as well.

The strongest parts for me were the world and magic system, and I kind of wish the book had leaned into these elements even more. Idolfire is set in a world after the fall of an empire that many years ago conquered the known world and stole the gods of other cities to harness their magic, before mysteriously sealing themselves off from the world. One of our POV characters grows up next to what remains of a destroyed city, and the characters' quests take them through magical ruins to the city at heart of the empire.

The flipside is that I did find the plot a little weak. As others have noted it’s very much a quest book, a lot of getting from point A to point B, made even longer by accidentally going to point C instead. The result was that the middle of the story felt a bit too drawn out, although at times it gave an almost cozy fantasy feel to the story. The weeks of walking and camping did provide time for our two main POV characters to get to know each other (and one questionable side POV). While I liked the characters, it didn’t really feel like their relationship and mild chemistry were enough to hold up the slower parts of the story. At the same time, as someone who generally does not enjoy romance in books, it also wasn’t too annoying and I did enjoy how their relationship played out at the end. And that questionable side POV being Nylophon who maybe either needed to be removed or given more of his own story.

There are some interludes with a second person narration which I enjoyed, I could have even gone for more of it. Second person is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it’s used sparingly enough in this book that it wouldn’t be an issue for those readers.

Overall, maybe could have been shortened but still an interesting fantasy world.

The conquering city state of Nivela has closed its gates after subjugating most of the known world and stealing their gods. Decades have passed without any whisper of life behind its walls. In the small town of Wall's End, Kirby sets out on a journey to Nivela in order to recover the stolen spring goddess and save her people. On the other side of the world, in the cosmopolitan and wise city of Ash, Ayela sets out to recover a lost artifact from Nivela and prove herself to her family. Against all odds, they will cross paths and join forces in order to get to Nivela unscathed, but what will they find there?

Truly this was such a fantastic premise, and I applaud Curtis for her creativity. As per her author's note in the end, Nivela and its empire are based on the Roman Empire but with the twist of the magic of stolen gods powering the Empire's war machine. The concept is so cool that part of me wishes it had happened in real life!
I very much liked this book, but I do feel it could have been truly great with some minor (or major?). Our two main POV characters, Ayela and Kirby were both compelling and loveable. I appreciated that they were polar opposites in personality and brought out the best in each other. I'm not sure I would classify this as a slow burn, but the romance was perfectly paced. Honestly, the whole journey was perfectly paced and felt like a true journey that you were going on with the characters. You truly get to know the world along with Kirby and Ayela as they travel through so many different destinations.
At various intervals, there are 2nd person POV sections from the point of view of Nivela and its last leader. At first, I wasn't sure how to feel about this as I'm not a fan of 2nd person POV. However, it does become an excellent and unique framing device for giving us the history of Nivela and its fall.

As for the tweaks I mentioned. There is a 3rd POV character not mentioned in the synopsis called Nypho who hails from this book's version of Sparta. However, he isn't introduced until about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through the book and gets much less page time as compared to the two female leads. With how the book was structure, I'm not sure why he was included as the story could have progressed just fine without him and he left very little emotional impact. If Curtis wanted him to be a fully fleshed out character, Nypho should have been introduced in the very beginning with the other two and gone on a similar journey of growth as they did.
In addition, Ayela's uncle had changing motivations and characterization that I felt wasn't adequately explained. Again, there should have been more of him prior to Ayela starting her journey hinting at his quiet support of her. Honestly, this is just an example of this book needing a bit more breathing room for its story and characters. ( I definitely found the climax in Nivela to be rushed). It's odd to think that with the book almost being 500 pages but I'm almost wondering if it should've been a duology.?
And lastly, the epilogue was completely unnecessary and kind of ruined the ending of the book for me. It should have ended with the final 2nd person POV chapter as that was the perfect ending.

Despite all these tweaks, the world, the magic system and the two female leads were very strong, and I really did enjoy my reading experience.

Reviews going live on Goodreads, Storygraph and Fable on 3/7/25 and Tiktok on 3/8/25

Idolfire is the sapphic fantasy road trip story of my dream. Both MCs are complicated, a little tragic, and easy to root for. I know a lot of people want a HEA ending, but personally, I love it when an author is willing to take a risk with a more realistic ending. Not that the end was UN-happy.... Grace Curtis is on my radars now and I'm excited to see what they write next.

Sooo, it took me a while.
This is one of the books where the journey is much more important than the destination itself. I can see that.
The two protagonists (later three) come from very different backgrounds and want to travel together to a very famous city. They are driven by different motivations. The two characters are great and nicely built up, especially at the beginning. I got a bit confused at times because there was a lot of switching back and forth between their adult lives and their childhoods. but I actually quite liked them.
The journey itself is linear, so they get to know different places and people along the way, but I had the feeling that somehow they weren't making any progress. The journey makes no forward motion and some of the encounters seem pretty random. The chemistry between the two protagonists didn't quite click for me either.
The intermittent second person POV also caught me a bit off guard. I've read in this narrative style before and it can (!) add a lot of value. But I didn't find it here - it seemed as if the POV was only chosen because the author wanted it that way. Which isn't bad per se, but just a bit random.
I did really like some aspects of the world building though: I really liked the idea of idols and enjoyed the description of the cities. Idolfire itself sounds pretty cool too.

Overall, the book was okay/good-ish. Not bad - not by any means - but not satisfying in my eyes either.
If you like vibes, traveling and a bit of floating in books, you should definitely give it a try though!

3.5 / 5 stars
Idolfire follows two young women, Kirby and Aleya, on their (mis)adventures around ‘the walking world’, with the ultimate goal of reclaiming a stolen artifact of their respective homes. As such, much of the novel is spent travelling. I have often been disappointed by stories that spend much of their time travelling between places, as most of them - for some reason - feel the need to portray each town the story visits as its own caricature that has something quirky that sets it apart from all other towns. For example; a town whose only distinguishing characteristic is that it worships a war god, which then obviously means that every single person in that town is the most aggressive person to ever grace the face of the earth, and the only accepted currency is teeth that you just punched out of someone's skull, and every other week they sacrifice five virgins to the god by having teenagers kick them off a cliff as a coming-of-age ritual, etc. Anyway, my point is that Idolfire does not do this. It doesn't feel the need to make every single town Kirby and Aleya come across the most distinct place ever, which makes the world feel so much more real. In general, the world just feels like it makes sense, which really helps the story be more immersive. As a linguist, one of my (admittedly very niche) pet peeves is when there is a lingua franca (a common tongue) that makes no sense, because there is absolutely 0 reason why all those different places would be speaking the same language. The lingua franca in Idolfire, aka the Traveler's tongue, has a clear backstory for why it exists as a lingua franca.
So, I quite liked the world-building, both the concepts introduced, and the way they were conveyed in a low-key way that did not scream at the reader "Hey pay attention to this bit of world-building right here". What I enjoyed a bit less was the story, especially the ending. The premise that the Nivelans took away the goddess of Balt to crush their spirits and prevent them from ever rising up again, which also may have cursed Kirby's village is great. The personification of the city-empire of Nivela is fantastic. The way Aleya slowly grows fond of Kirby because she refuses to leave is marvellous. But the short glimpses we get of Nivela and Palgaro and its ruler throughout the story made me expect an island and city that are much more eerie and uncanny than it ended up being. While the intent is obviously there, the execution just left a little to be desired, and as such the city of these final few chapters never went beyond feeling just odd.
So overall, a good book and certainly an enjoyable read, but with room for improvement.

I had read both of Grace Curtis’s previous novels and while they both had faults, they were still original and interesting enough with a lot of potential that intrigued me enough to be excited for this third upcoming novel.

To say I was disappointed would be a severe understatement.

Initially it was compelling enough, especially Kirby’s (hate that name in this kind of fantasy setting but that’s the least of the book’s problems) part, and Aleya’s beginning story also had just enough mystery to have kept me reading. The “You” chapters in second person were irritating and ultimately completely unnecessary to the plot but they were few and far between enough that I could ignore them. And then halfway through the story we get the Nylophon POV, which had potential that was squandered for a convenient plot resolution.

I cannot stress just how exhausting Idolfire was to read all the way through. At a certain point, the only thing that kept me going was pure rage at the audacity that a fantasy book can be this unoriginal and just simply <i>bad.</i>

The worldbuilding had great building blocks but they were just left there without being built into anything. The magic that’s apparently so important in this world was brought up like twice, also only as convenient plot point resolutions.

The two main characters were fine at the beginning, as I mentioned earlier. Interesting even, especially with the anticipation of their character development. To my utter dismay, however, there was exactly zero character development or growth of any kind. Kirby remained simple and naively kind with exactly two personality traits throughout the entire story, rendering her flatter than an ironing board. Aleya wasn’t any better. She started out as an arrogant privileged selfish bully and stayed that way until the very last page.

With this unfortunate combo, the “romance” was incredibly lifeless and felt like someone mashing two cardboard cutouts together to make them kiss. Zero chemistry, yes, but at some points it even started to feel a bit icky with the way Aleya was treating Kirby and Kirby letting her because she didn’t know any better. And it was clearly intended to be seen as “banter” and “romantic.” The way their relationship anticlimactically ended after their adventure was also such an annoying attempt at being edgy, and even though I didn’t want them together at any point in the first place, it still felt like the author put me through all that for no payoff of any kind.

I’m not even going to start on the whole Scoria part of the plot because it’s simply not worth it.

Overall this just felt like a collection of all the things this author can’t do well without any of the things she has done well in the past. Incredibly disappointing but it is what it is, I guess.

Thank you to Netgalley and DAW for the eARC.

I read The Floating Hotel last year and thought it was great, so I jumped on the chance to read Idolfire, Curtis' first fantasy novel, early.

I'm sad to say it didn't really work for me. It's an interesting story, based on the fall of Rome, but I found it a bit slow and difficult to follow at times. It's told from 4 different perspectives. One seemed like an unnecessary character and one seemed to reference the reader...who apparently is only revealed near the end.

The magic system wasn't that clear, the belief system around the gods kind of all over the place. There is a sapphic romance, which felt under-developed.

Not to say that there weren't any interesting elements. There were, but they just didn't take the premise of the book far enough in my opinion.

Unfortunately I do agree with a lot of other readers that this book has more of the traveling and not a lot of stakes. I found myself struggling to pick this back up to get engrossed in it. It is not cozy yet there’s not quite a lot of action either. I was also confused by the main plot, as to what was actively happening. I wanted my hand held more and things explained more and a bit more action. That being said, I did still enjoy this, but I didn’t finish it. I am prioritizing other reads so I am soft DNFing this one and will likely either buy it in stores when I see it or finish the ebook at my own pace later when I am in the mood. I am excited to read the author’s other space book! I have been wanting to read it for quite some time so I was excited when I saw this book pop up. It’s not a bad book, I am just not the right reader I don’t think. Thank you so much for the eARC! I am leaving this feedback voluntarily.

Apparently, the third time really is the charm because while I enjoyed Grace’s Frontier and The Floating Hotel, I absolutely adored Idolfire. I loved it!

This is a fantasy inspired by the Fall of Rome, but you don't need to know that going in and, quite frankly, the story stands well on its own without knowing any of that. It was fun to try and decipher what was loosely based on reality and what was entirely fictional, but it also wasn’t distracting in any way. And if you aren’t a fan of Rome, if I had to choose a culture that this book was focused on, it’s not Rome at all, but the outlying civilizations that survived after it. In fact, Rome is sort of made fun of in this book a bit, which I thought was refreshing.

My favourite aspect of the book is tied to the world-building, as it’s a quest narrative, and my favourite kind of quest: where the characters aren’t in a super rush to get home. They have a mission and a goal but it’s not a three-day adventure; it’s months. And they go to so many cool and interesting places, both in the cultures and odd magic they encounter. The different countries/places are described really well, with lush descriptions that aren’t afraid to take their time unfolding. I found it really immersive.

And the magic system is subtle to being almost rare, but when it does come up, it’s so fascinating. The book also has ancient ruins, a trope I love.

The book follows two main perspectives with a third coming in later. The two women, Aleya and Kirby are vastly different in temperament, skill, knowledge, and social position. They are pretty much as opposite as they could be, but they work well together and you get to witness their reluctant alliance and then relationship blossom over time. I will say, the only critique I have of the novel is that the “yearning” aspects of the slow-burn romance weren’t very intense. I know there’s a whole subset of readers who don’t want sex in their fantasy, thinking it should be reserved for romantasy, but as someone who can’t stand most romantasy tropes, I like romance and sex in my regular fantasy, because I’m not going to read a romantasy. I’m not even asking for a sex scene, just, in the case of this book, a bit more sexual tension would have worked nicely for me.

That being said, Curtis’ skill at characterization really shines in this novel because she’s able to make you care about the most officious little prick of a character, one that you really wish would get a comeuppance ... but then she humanizes them, and you like, "damn you made me like this person." That was fun. It also showed how most of the time, we’re assholes because of how we’re raised or where we live, which felt relevant to today in a lot of ways.

The action scenes are terse, exciting, and very fun. Kirby can’t fight, but Aleya definitely can, though she’s not infallible. She has had years of training, but she also is quick-witted. Kirby helps as best she can, and while she does come off as a bit “country bumpkin” at times, she’s endearing and cute. It is very much a grumpy sunshine story. And then a third chaos element to mix things up the last third.

The ending is one of the most interesting ones I’ve read and it was bittersweet and realistic. It’s also not a “save the world” story - it’s about two women doing what they need to do both for themselves and their communities. There’s a wider world that exists around them, and the book is great at showing how the world doesn’t revolve around them as main characters. I might be reading into it a bit much, but the book also seems to include the physical manifestations of the effects of colonialism or, perhaps the theft of cultural artifacts.

Overall, I loved this one. The length was perfect, the story didn’t follow a straight trajectory but also wasn’t meandering, the characters were excellent, and the worldbuilding and action scenes were top-notch. Highly recommended.

*Full review to be posted closer to publication!*

I'm not sure this ended up being the fun 'roadtrip' that the premise posits it as, but it's still certainly an entertaining adventure full of an eclectic cast of characters! I'll admit that I'm a big sucker for traveling in fantasy books, no matter really the size of the journey--although the bigger the better--so I really enjoyed that aspect of this one. I do feel that the pacing suffered a little along the way, but I didn't always mind spending time with the characters as they moved along their trip. What didn't work as much for was unfortunately the characters themselves, as I found myself struggling to connect with any of them and therefore feel overly invested in their personal journeys. I really wanted to love the worldbuilding and think that it had a lot of promise, but I think it lacked a bit of cohesion at times and could have been better executed. Overall, I think this is a fun travel fantasy that heavily focuses on the journey!

Going by her previous two books, which were science fiction of very different stripes, Grace Curtis’s Idolfire is unsurprisingly darkly delightful. Frontier was a sapphic, post-apocalyptic road trip with Western styling while Floating Hotel was a found family story set on an interstellar luxury cruise liner that got progressively darker as it went. Idolfire shares some of the DNA of these stories but is very different again. Curtis has built what appears to be a fantasy road trip through a richly imagined world, using historical models for its various extant and former civilisations. She anchors the whole endeavour around three complex, slightly damaged characters who find strength in their mutual support.
Idolfire opens in two very different parts of Curtis’s world. Kirby lives a hardscrabble life in a small village called Walls End, nestled up against the ruins of a once great city. The god of that city was taken when it fell and that loss has left a blight which continues to affect the village. Following yet more tragedy Kirby sets off to retrieve that god from the former great city of Nivela and break the curse. On the other side of the world, Aleya is kind-of heir to the throne of the city of Ash but has her own baggage. Rulers of Ash claim their birthright by going out and returning successfully from quests. Ayela is given a seemingly impossible task that also involves going to Nivela but she has hardly started before she is waylaid and encounters Kirby.
As noted, the world of Idolfire, though fantasy-based, is built on real historical precedents. The city and people of Nivela are based on the Roman Empire, who blazed through the world, building straight roads and destroying other Empires before itself disappearing. The inspiration for Walls End were villages in Europe built in and around Roman remains, with little memory of the original. But Curtis has also drawn on Assyrian, Babylonian and other ancient empires to build her world. She builds a god-driven magic system on top of all of this which underpins and drives some of the wilder action scenes, particularly towards the end.
Curtis once again leans on a bit of a found family approach as the two travellers learn to live with each other, and more, and then the group becomes three, though not without some trauma. Similar to authors like Becky Chambers, there is a humanity to Curtis’s approach, which softens some of the darker, more dangerous parts of the story. Because there is plenty of danger, conflict, desperation and death. But much like her previous two books, it feels like a steel hand within a silk glove.
Idolfire is fantasy in a richly imagined world, built around real world analogues but powered by a fascinating magical system and peopled by engaging characters on a seemingly impossible quest which, of course, changes them. In doing so, Curtis demonstrates an ability to deliver her engaging form of narrative, characters and concerns in a different setting and different register.

Thank you to Net Galley and DAW for the ARC. I really enjoyed Floating Hotel so I was looking forward to reading another book by Grace Curtis. The beginning started strong, I liked the characters, and even the road trip was not so bad at the beginning, but as the story went on, the travelling was endless, and there seemed to be no purpose or direction beyond reaching the destination. The characters visited a lot of places, the prose used to describe these places was pretty, but I can't say I remember anything about the world. The ending was also super anticlimactic, and made me wonder what the point of reading this book was.

IDOLFIRE - GRACE CURTIS

Have you ever had that moment of realisation when you are reading a book and you feel almost like it's been written FOR you? That's what reading Idolfire felt like to me.

This book feels like an ode to travel, history and the fantasy genre all at once - and these happen to be some of my favourite things. Since Idolfire was inspired by the fall of Ancient Rome and other civilisations, you can expect that this book is truly epic in scale. The two FMCs, Aleya and Kirby, are part of communities who are living amongst ruins and the aftereffects of such a powerful colonising force. One that was a ruling menace until it suddenly snuffed out.

The first part of Idolfire sets the context and purpose of their respective journeys, and what a journey it is. You'll follow along as they each encounter new lands, with different people and belief systems, with many perils and mysteries to overcome as they go on their way.

If that sounds heavy, it doesn't actually feel this way as you read. Instead, this book has many cosy elements, with funny banter between characters and an eventual feeling of found family. And the magic is some of the best and most unique I've ever read. Imaginative and memorable, I genuinely never knew what to expect and I loved the magical powers and places that the characters encounter.

While their journeys and the world they're in feel truly epic in scale, other aspects like the romance and character development feel more subtle. This made it all the more believable, and I went through every emotion because of these incredible characters; I laughed, I felt fear for them and I cried.

I believe that Grace Curtis will be writing another standalone book set in this world, occurring many years after the events in Idolfire, and I know that I'll be reading it as soon as it's released. In fact, I'll read anything by Grace Curtis and if I could give this book more than five stars, believe me that I would!

Thank you to Grace Curtis, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Release date: 11 March 2025

Review score: 5/5

Trigger warnings: Violence, injury detail, war

Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for the preview. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars?

Journey before destination. Never have words applied to a book more. This is a slow paced, character driven quest story, with all the focus on the journey. Two characters find themselves on the same road to the same destination and pair up (initially much to Aleya’s chagrin). Later, a third character joins them. They all experience much character growth along the way, along with their at times harrowing journey.

The world was interesting, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end explaining her inspiration. But I just never connected with our characters. I didn’t FEEL things. And the end is an absolute fever dream, with a bittersweet epilogue. But I just feel kind of cold about it all.