This was an epic grimdark fantasy, with an abundance of originality unlike anything I've seen before. 4.5 stars!

Seventeen-year-old Paprick is a Common butcher, cutting the meat off enormous monsters for magical meals only the Rare are allowed to make. Until the day, the monsters are broken free, hellbent on destroying the city. Paprick – determined to stop them – does the unthinkable and creates a new dish no one has ever seen before, granting him the powers to save their home. But at what cost? What happens now that he has been caught breaking the law for all to see?

The food-based magic system really worked so well. It feels super unique and lends a great quality to the magic overall being a special skill that few – the chefs – can access fully, but also still is transferable to anybody.. And while the societal structure makes the abilities much more prominent in Rare circles simply because of the access to education and resources, in reality any one of any background could learn it.

The characters really are the glue that expertly binds this story together. Each their own convincingly well rounded individual, giving space for nuance and moral ambiguity. In that same way Paprick is a fascinating main character. Presented with his hero-narrative – the common boy fighting against systemic oppressors – we are compelled to root for him, but the future timeline we are presented with concurrently tells us that he, at least to some extent, is an unreliable narrator. For whatever reason he is altering the story and it’s unclear exactly how much of what we are told is actually the truth.

I loved how the book has a pretty consistent dark tone but still manages to find moments of humor and levity within it. The laugh-out-loud situations were essential to my experience of this otherwise very brutal and heavy story – they made it all the more appealing to me.

I’m not sure exactly where we’re going next but I cannot wait to delve deeper into this universe.

Thanks so much to Black Crow PR for gifting me a copy of Seven Recipes for Revolution. All opinions are my own!

Paprick works as a common butcher, so he has to carve meat from giant creatures for the elites of society to eat. He wishes to be a chef, but cooking with the special ingredients is forbidden for someone from his background. Later, though, he cooks with a mysterious surprise and the recipe has giant consequences, literally and figuratively.

This concept is incredibly unique! I found the description of the setting really interesting, especially once we saw comparisons of the common and Rare areas. I can definitely say that I’ve never read a book like this before.

The structure of the book was fascinating because of the unreliable narration. The book begins with Paprick imprisoned, telling the story of his life and how he got to this point. There are a lot of twists and turns, so it’s hard to know who to trust throughout.

I will admit that it took me a while to get my head around the worldbuilding. Because of the timeline, the beginning felt very random and I didn’t understand what was going on. I also found it a bit difficult to connect to Paprick at the beginning.

Likewise, some of the side characters and relationships felt believable and developed, while some didn’t. As time went on, it definitely improved, and I was interested to see what would happen by the end.

This is also very graphic. At the beginning, the author mentions the following content warnings. In particular, if you are sensitive towards harm to animals, I wouldn’t recommend this. It was a bit difficult to read at times, although the tone did fit the overall theme of the story.

Overall, I have mixed opinions. I think if you mesh with the idea and execution, you’ll love this, though it’s definitely not for everyone. This was quite a memorable book, although I don’t think it was fully my cup of tea, so I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series.

this didn't quite work for me, although it has a compelling plot and is pretty fast-paced, which made me read it in 2 days without meaning to. another positive is the food-based magic system, which i thought was very unique and fun to explore. its comments on food and its importance to culture, society and identity were great too. it also made me hungry while reading it!

however, everything else fell a bit flat for me. it read more like a YA book (except for maybe the violence and gore?), especially in terms of the characters and dialogue. the tone was confusing to me, since a lot of elements were quirky and silly, but the book also tried to tackle themes of oppression and rebellion, and a lot of the time felt like it was going for a more serious tone. they can definitely work together but here the quirkiness felt like it was dragging down some of those political elements and made it feel more surface level. certain politics and motives weren't very consistent and could've been explored in more depth. some parts of the world-building were unimaginative, with terms slightly tweaked from modern use and using existing slang (like the rare using some british slang - could be commentary but it took me out of the world and the language didn't fit into the class it was trying to portray).

some of this sounds nit-picky but all of it combined made me frustrated with the story. i think a lot of this is from having a different expectation of the book too, so hopefully this helps anyone who might be interested in it to know what they're getting into! it's still worth reading if you like action, an interesting plot, unique magic system and don't take it too seriously.

This book has an incredibly unique magic system involving foods, spices, ideas about whether cooking is more about technique, intent or a combination of both. The details of each dish, location, person were vivid and made the book very easy to picture in my head. I did enjoy the format of this book, told retroactively, and it has opened me up to trying other books in this style, like Empire of the Vampire. It is very dense in that typical epic fantasy way. The romance is very much a tiny portion of this book with greater importance, character wise, being placed on the friends and mentors in Paprick's life. I'm very much committed to reading the sequel to this book because I want to know more of what happened between the events of the prologue and the ending of this book. It is also interesting because we have an archivist in the room with Paprick who is fact checking his tale of events... which causes us as the reader to wonder "how much do we believe Paprick's tales?" I love that sort of confusion where we have cause to doubt our protagonist, but he's also the only way we have of learning the story and we want to support him.

While I did find the pacing of this book a little slow, I did enjoy it and fully recommend this for people who enjoy epic fantasy, those who want a unique magic system, and for people who like stories that mess with your brain.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I had such high hopes for this book but ended up with quite mixed feelings.

Touches on many things, cooking, butchery, classism, politics, and revolution!

First of all I would like to thank Ryan Rose, Daphne Press and Netgalley for access to this wonderful ARC (which is also out now!)
If anyone likes the passion for food and cooking in Delicious in Dungeon anime and loves the titans in Attack on Titan you’ll have a great time with this book.

We have our MC, Paprick, who begins as a butcher of ginormous creatures for the wealthy whose true desire is to be a chef. Things take a turn when he discovers a ‘greater’ (magic giving) recipe and he is thrown into a world of politics and is at the head of a rich vs poor revolution.

Highlights include:
- Food magic
- Mouthwatering recipes
- LGBTQIA+ representation (including people introducing themselves with preferred pronouns) - which was awesome to see!
- Giant fights
- Sprinkle of academy vibes
- Cute romance (more of a subplot)
- Fun characters (I think my favourite was Cutler)

This is definitely not a book to read hungry as I wanted to drool at some of the tempting descriptions of what was about to be cooked up. The magic system was super fresh in the world of fantasy (I certainly haven’t read anything like this). If only you could obtain powers from food in real life.

My only recommendation is to find yourself some amazing Mexican food while reading this (which I assume is the inspiration for some of the recipes). I did this myself and it amplified my reading experience!

A very unique and interesting read! Loved the magic system and cooking element.

Sometimes it felt like the plot was a bit disorganised and I struggled to keep track of the story.

However it was still a very enjoyable read and I'm excited for part two!

Thanks to NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing me with this arc

I have very mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand, it has so much going for it. Food-based magic? Magical culinary school? A book about an uprising that actually feels like it has a message? Yes, yes, yes!

On the other hand, I felt that it didn't quite live up to its potential. The world building felt like it needed more detail and the characters were a little one-dimensional for my taste. It felt more like watching an anime than reading a fantasy novel.

I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens next and watching the author develop!

This book was a breath of fresh air, not really like any book I’ve read before in the fantasy genre.

This book had it all, including monster sized creature butchery (this gave me some horror vibes too for some reason, in the best way!) politics, classism, and revolution!

I could not predict this book, which I loved! Will definitely be getting a physical copy and definitely reading the next books in the series!

I’m gonna need to take awhile to full process this book, which is my ultimate kind of book!

Loved it. Can't wait for the second one. Really unique world building and magic system. It was sold as being like anime and it didn't dissapoint I can definitely see this working as an anime. The framing device was also interesting but I want to know the rest!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Daphne Press and Ryan Rose for the opportunity to listen to an ARC of What We Eat - Seven Recipes for Revolution in exchange for an honest review.

I had incredibly high hopes for What We Eat, so much so that I pre-ordered a physical copy as soon as I heard about it. So when I got the chance to read an ARC before my copy arrived, I was beyond excited. I’m happy to report: this book did not disappoint.

It won’t be to everyone’s taste (pun intended!), but it was exactly my kind of read. As a fan of dark, gritty anime like Attack on Titan and Berserk, as well as food-based series like Food Wars, this story hit all the right notes.

In a world where the oppressed ‘Common’ people live to serve the elite ‘Rare’, food is far more than sustenance, it's power. Chefs craft magical recipes that grant physical enhancements known as ‘Endurance’, but these are strictly reserved for the Rare. When Paprick, a Commoner with dreams of becoming a chef, creates a powerful ‘Greater Recipe’, he’s suddenly thrust into the world of the Rare and into the crosshairs of the King himself.

What follows is a gripping tale of revolution, power, and political intrigue. The world-building is rich and immersive, the plot is packed with twists I didn’t see coming, and the character development is both thoughtful and rich.

One standout element for me was the LGBT+ representation woven naturally into the story. As a member of the community, it was incredibly meaningful to feel genuinely seen and represented.

In short, What We Eat was a five-star feast of a book and I absolutely cannot wait for the next installment.

Thank you Daphne Press for sending me an arc copy of Seven Recipes For Revolution in explain for an honest review

This unique and enjoyable story started with us meeting our main character Paprick. Paprick is a common butcher, carving slabs of meat from gargantuan monsters so elite chefs can prepare magic-granting meals for the rich. But Paprick’s true passion is cooking, and if he can learn the secret art, his dreams of liberating his people and sharing the monsters’ magic with the world could come true. He steals the precious ingredients needed to practise recipes at home, but if he’s caught, he’ll be executed.

Then the adventure begins and we witness Paprick telling his story from a prison cell years and years later.

The magical system in this story was amazing to read and discover and I think the bulk of my enjoyment came from the magic system being around food 😂 if this sounds good to you, you know what todo!

I also loved how I felt like I was reading a manga. Similar vibes to attack on titan and one piece with its over the top fantasy and fun magic system.

Few reasons I didn’t give it 5 stars was that I found that a few times the writing just kinda ran away with itself and I lost focus. And I also was a bit disappointed by the ending, I expected more but it just didn’t have a POW 💥 I wanted unfortunately

If you liked The Will of the Many, but felt like it could have been just a bit weirder, just a bit more violent, this is the book for you!
We meet Paprick as an indentured slave, slowly butchering a monstrous creature whose meat grants those who eat it Endurance. The butchering sets the tone for the rest of the story - it is slow, agonising, and calculated. The creature, who Paprick has affectionately named Bessa, suffers weeks of slow cuts, and if she doesn't die, they'll send her out for a break, and then bring her back for more.
This is the life of the Common of Ranch. Each day is another cut.
When a freak accident elevates Paprick to a member of the ruling class - Rare - and enters him into the prestigious Academy to learn the chef craft, Paprick finds himself wrapped up in a dangerous conspiracy.
Told by Paprick after what looks to have been a year-long fight against tyranny, Paprick, the Butcher, tells the story of how he came to be the man he is to an archivist.
Rose has crafted a truly unique world, combining anime-esque battle scenes with twisty political intrigue and a recurring motif around food. The narrative explores cooking as an act of love and as an art form, and food as a lynchpin of community and as a tool for oppression.
The world is made especially real through the supporting characters, each of whom feels distinct and perfectly at home in Rose's creation. There is intrigue, romance, betrayal, and stacks of violence. What more could you want?
The pacing dragged a tiny bit in the middle, but overall, this is a cracking new series and I can't wait to hear the rest of Paprick's story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher of the arc!

Thank you to Daphne Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

When a book's pitch mentions Pierce Brown, Jay Kristoff, and Attack on Titan in the same sentence, it's like calling my name three times: I am summoned to read it. I was immediately intrigued, and with the addition of a food-themed story, I knew I had to see what this was about.

After reading it, I agree with most of what the pitch said. I have not seen The Bear yet, but if I were to refine the comparison for you it would go like this: "If you are a fan of Ratatouille, Attack on Titan, and Empire of the Vampire, then you have found this book, and it has found you, and you might become really good friends."

The story follows Paprick, a teenager from the lower class who is forced to work as a butcher carving up gigantic mythical monster meat in order to pay his debts. Against all odds though, he dreams of following his passion for food and one day become a chef.

The food-centric society was fascinating to explore. The author details how everything from common greetings and curses to beliefs and religion would be shaped by a culture centered around food. It’s the kind of world-building that makes you wonder what your own life would be like if your favorite dish was your god. It was captivating to see how a simple change in mindset could alter society so profoundly. The discussions on food, what it means, how it's prepared, and how different people perceive it were fascinating to explore.
At times, the story did feel slow and it lost my interest a bit. I wish it would’ve kept me more on the edge of my seat making me want to continue reading.
Similar to Empire of the Vampire, the narrative follows two timelines: the past, as told by Paprick, and the present, in which he tells the story to the Archivist. This structure means you have the unfortunate luck of dealing with an unreliable narrator for most of the story.

I would also like to add that if the sight of carving up creatures makes you queasy or is triggering, this book might not be for you. There is a lot of blood. I had my doubts when I started it because I felt bad for the creatures, but the story moves on from the butcher part to the chef part after a few chapters.

Overall, this novel touches on topics like family, rebellion, community, and, most importantly, food, all while being respectful of queer standards.

I struggled to get past the horror of flaying an animal alive for food, but after that the writing is good, characters are enjoyable and the world building made the whole thing feel very immersive.

(4/5⭐️)📚 Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the eArc of ‘Seven Recipes for Revolution’. I really had no expectations of this book and was thoroughly surprised. It is quite dense and at moments a lot to read in long sittings; it’s one of those books best to read in bits and digest! It really did remind me of ‘Empire of the Vampire’ with the timeline changing between present day where Paprika is being ‘interviewed’ for his version of events, and the past where we get to see Paprika’s POV of events play out. I do think the book could have been shortened as it did see longer than necessary (I felt that it was dragging on a little towards the half way mark), but the last 20% makes up for that! Definitely surprised by this book and really enjoyed it.

ARC review - Seven Recipes for Revolution by Ryan Rose

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️
4.5 stars

"The Bear meets Attack on Titan in this exhilarating, food-based epic fantasy filled with high stakes and monster steaks, perfect for fans of Pierce Brown and Jay Kristoff."

Convinced already?? Well, I for sure was! This book was everything I had expected it to be based on its marketing, and more; one hell of a debut novel!

It's basically an anime in book form with video game dynamics, in the best possible way. And it starts out so well!! The prologue and the first chapter alone made me preorder a special edition and the rest of the book only reassured me in this decision.

7RFR offers:
🥩 Unique magic system where certain foods/recipes provide magical abilities
⚖️ Culinary academy setting with a lot of political intrigue
🪚 Flawed but relatable protagonist with special skills
🌈 Diverse cast of likeable side characters (queer reps, disability reps, POC reps)
❤️‍🔥 Romance subplot, very interested to see where this goes
⚔️ As the title suggests, a revolution ~ Eat The Rich
🎯 Twists and turns
🌶 Food related puns and names

Publication date: 22 July 2025

A massive thank you to Daphne Press, Netgalley and Ryan Rose for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Don’t you love the cover? This was amazingly unique and I can really get behind the idea that food is power!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publishers for access to this ARC 📚.

🔥Quick Fire Review🔥

Genre/Themes: 🌮🥩🧑🏾‍🍳🔪👑⚔️🔮🪄
Tropes: Dystopian Societies, Cooking Themes, Unreliable Narrator, Training Academy, Ragtag Team of Heroes, Eccentric Characters, Magical Realism, Mythical Creatures, Conspiracy, Corrupt Officials, Vigilante Justice, Coming of Age, Friends-to-Lovers, Hidden Truth, Betrayal, Hidden Identities, Lost Heir, Murder, Heist, Supernatural Abilities, Ritualistic Killing, Raising the Dead, Grand Battles and Sieges
Positives: very unique fantasy concept entwined with social and cultural commentary
Room for Improvement 🔎 : forgettable characters, rushed action scenes and inconsistent pacing, lore difficult to follow at times
Rating: 🌕🌕🌖

✍🏻 Full Review - RISK OF SPOILERS 🛑

I knew this book would be a little bit out of my comfort zone but I was hoping I would enjoy it regardless. Unfortunately, even though I thought certain aspects were done very well, this book ended up completely destroying my reading streak - procrastination city - because I couldn’t get myself engaged with it.

🧍‍♀️Characterisation:🧍‍♂️
Paprick was the protagonist, and the story was told through him in the present timeline (the book is an embedded narrative) where he now had the name “The Butcher”. He had been arrested and imprisoned and was telling his side of the story to an archivist, to try and escape capital punishment through a law called The Rite. Past tense Paprick just wasn’t very interesting to me. He was loyal to his moms, ambitious to become a Chef and passionate about the culture and community surrounding food. Passionate about injustice, especially the class system and systemic oppression, too. He was just… okay. I didn’t feel particularly attached to him at all. He didn’t make me laugh or pull at my heartstrings or anything. Also, he was supposed to be 17 years old? No way on God’s Green Earth was that dude 17. Now PRESENT Paprick, and we’re talking a couple of a hundred years old, sounds far more interesting. I will say the author clearly took inspiration from Name of the Wind’s Kvothe, both with the embedded narrative style and the blend of arrogance and self-deprecating humour about his younger self. It’s a shame the book has put me off reading a sequel because present day Paprick sounds so much more fun.
Cori, later to be revealed as the Princess Chicori Herden, was again… fine. Her nickname for Paprick, ‘Killer’, got grating and their romance was easily the least convincing pairing I think I’ve ever read. There was no chemistry whatsoever. But she was clever and a tough cookie. It was a shame the ‘reveal’ wasn’t interesting in the slightest and the lineage of it all was confusing. Just very forgettable, so much so I’ve already pretty much forgotten what she was like and I only finished reading it a couple of days ago.
Laven was the most likeable character in the book. He gave big Golden Retriever energy; eager to please, hopeful and just wanted to have friends. He had a difficult position of being Rare - the son of a high ranking Rare, to boot - but being sympathetic to the Common cause. He wanted to be trusted as readily as he trusted others, so always went above and beyond to prove himself. He was unfailingly kind, level-headed and honest. A scholarly nerd. I would say he was shockingly unaffected by the trauma of being hung up like an animal carcass on hooks through his hands, with his teacher semi-decapitated next to him, though. Like, you’d think it never happened.
The book’s villain is The King. I’ve kind of already forgotten his motive, but he was basically hell-bent on stopping the revolutionists from interfering with his plans which mostly seemed to involve the culling or capture of emphons while abusing and oppressing the Common. He wiped out entire Common communities and secretly ordered the murder of any who exiled themselves from their state-enforced indentures. He always seemed one step ahead of the revolutionists, and wanted all of the Greater recipes to himself. Again, I have to admit I barely remember him as a character. I think we met him twice?
Supporting characters included Paprick’s moms, Chef Ilantra, Crooked Rish, Cutler, Vanil, and Yenne. Chef Ilantra was cool and Paprick really looked up to her. She was ambitious with a stiff upper lip, but seemed to have a soft spot where she genuinely just wanted to see her students succeed. But, as with all the characters, I felt nothing when she died. Shocked, sure. But sad? Nope. And I still didn’t really understand why she was killed. Same with his moms. They were nice, wholesome, but we spent so little time with them I just didn’t feel anything about them. Cutler was great. Weird, blunt, self-interested and totally chaotic. He genuinely didn’t care about politics or power even though it’s revealed he’s extremely talented himself, he just cared about his community. I think that’s why he became a paternal figure for Paprick. Crooked Rish was confusing to me. I don’t know whose side he was on, but not in a non-committal way like Cutler, in a ‘I don’t understand his story arc’ way. Vanil was the leader of the revolution but I felt like we barely interacted with him. Whenever we did I just didn’t understand why everybody followed the guy. He seemed totally apathetic and obsessive to me, not caring what happened to people as long as it was for the ‘greater good’. His use of propaganda, word-of-mouth and embellishment to elevate Paprick to a figurehead of the revolution was interesting. Yenne was a pointless character to reveal as the Archivist, because I barely noticed her as a character in the first place. She was adopted by Dyl so was helpful in obtaining certain ingredients and was involved in schemes, but then turned out to be double-crossing. But like Crooked Rish, she seemed to double-cross absolutely everyone? So when it turned out she was the archivist I couldn’t have cared less. Why everyone was so shocked that she betrayed them I don’t know because I thought she was suspicious the whole time because she was so underwritten. It’s like the author was intentionally trying to deflect from her. Overall, the characterisation is what made this book such a dud for me.

🗺️World-Building:🗺️
The world-building is what this book focused on the most. In this story’s universe, the people were split in a class divide of Rare versus Common. The Common people far outnumbered the Rare (the 1%, anyone?) and lived in numbered regions, Common-1 or Common-2 and so on, and when they reached adulthood were committed to an indenture by the government. The indenture, in Paprick’s case, was paid (but not really) by butchering Emphon. Emphon were huge, 20-metre tall Demigod creatures (a fact I couldn’t get my head around, I will add. How can a 20-metre tall beast attack specific people when they were probably dots to them? My brain physically couldn’t comprehend their placement or proportion in any of their scenes) whose meat generated supernatural powers. The meat created a sixth taste profile in humans, called Emphonic. I did find this dystopian, and far too real, depiction of exploiting the lower classes for the gain of the higher classes to be very effective. Use of Emphon meat among the common was illegal, so they were forced to harvest it for the Rare but would be punished for utilising it themselves. The most basic power was called Endurance, named after the element in the meat called Endurium, which temporarily granted enhanced strength or speed or alertness. This was only done by using the Emphon meat in recipes, according to the government. (Paprick later learned of another, much more potent source called Skyroot powder, revealing that butchering didn’t need to be happening at all. A commentary on veganism, perhaps? Which would make sense with Paprick’s empathy towards the Carnephon he butchered). Lesser recipes generated Endurance only but more complicated recipes, believed to only be a product of the Rare, were called Greater Recipes and those granted specific powers on top of Endurance. The only way a Common could elevate to a Rare, instead of being born one, was if they were able to create a Greater Recipe and therefore be put in the Culinary Academy. Another great commentary on nepotism, class disparity and opportunity. I do wish more time had been spent in the actual Academy’s lessons, as it felt quite glossed over. We only learnt one or two recipes and others were only mentioned, like Rare wielding lightning or jumping high enough to mount Emphon during battles. Paprick accidentally created one called Emphon Rub, which granted the ability to grow to the same height as the Emphon. The King utilised one called Chili Control, which enabled him to mind control anyone or anything containing Endurium. The King was using common who ‘exiled themselves’ (everyone believed that meant being transferred to a refugee camp) to create Chili Control by murdering them and using their blood. Paprick later learned how to Enhance Greater recipes, essentially making the unique abilities even stronger. It was really unclear what made a Greater recipe okay to share with everyone and why others were kept secret. Which ones were taught at the Academy and which were top secret? Overconsumption of Endurium led to poisoning and eventual death, known as Gorging. Gorging was super confusing in this book. Paprick would try and find loopholes around it all the time or try and work out in his head what combination of recipes would cause gorging and sometimes it just seemed to conveniently be avoided. The symbolism of food and cooking in this book was so poignant. It was used to represent racism, imperialism, eurocentrism and classism, with foods heavily associated with Paprick’s culture like Tacos looked down upon while ones like lobster bisque (which Paprick had never heard of) were seem as high brow. Even names were categorised into Common or Rare, with common people often named after spices or foods and often not legally given surnames. I did laugh at the mention of the ‘Missoloan-Starred’ restaurants, although it did waver my immersion a bit as it seemed odd to have modern references in such a heavily fictional world. Most importantly though, food was used to represent community. Paprick discovered that most recipes didn’t need fancy or expensive ingredients to become Greater, they just needed intention. Intention to represent a community or a culture through techniques passed down by generations, that added a genuine representation and passion to them. I thought that was beautiful, honestly, knowing how much food can bring family and a sense of identity together. I did get lost with it sometimes though, especially with the chapter epigraphs that gave specific recipes and then it seemingly being discovered you didn’t really have to follow a recipe at all? There are mentions throughout the book of an Empheron, and a Source. I believe the Empheron was supposed to be the common ancestor or leading Emphon, and the Source was a rumoured well of unlimited power which Yenne tried to get Paprick to reveal the location of. I don’t think it was revealed at all, just hints for book two. The King pushed a religion (poorly veiled as modern-day Consumerism - I mean the priestess was literally called the High Consumer. Probably another tie-in representation of battery farming for meat and dairy), which was monotheistic versus the old polytheistic religion of Emphonists who did not believe in the slaughtering of the Emphon and worshipped them instead. That was a not-so-subtle nod to colonisation. The Herd were the group of revolutionists trying to dethrone the King and overthrow the Rare, while the Seekers were a cult endorsed by the King who adorned masks of the 12 breeds of Emphon while assassinating anybody committing treason. These breeds were never truly described, either. The Carnephon was a bull-like thing with feathers? You can guess partially, like Wolphon and Drakephon sort of speak for themselves, but what sort of hybrids are they? What do they look like, just giant wolves or drakes or dolphins or badger/boar hybrids? Overall the world-building had exceptional social commentary and attention to detail in the human aspects, even down to insults and swear words being ‘go starve’. But some parts were a tad over-convoluted or confusing.

📝Prose/Plot:📝
Prose-wise, I found the dialogue too stilted and unnatural the majority of the time. This ARC was littered with typos which I hope was resolved before publication. The distinction between past and present timelines could have done with being clearer, too. I’ve already mentioned that action scenes were really difficult to follow with the size of the Emphon. People were jumping on to it? With powers, sure, but I think 20 metres is a bit more than a quick jump. How was anything that large possibly killable by a group of humans? How did they do targeted attacks on tiny humans? It was all written so unclearly I had no idea what I was supposed to be envisioning in my head. The pacing was way off at times, with huge action scenes being mega rushed and other scenes that added nothing to the plot being dragged out.
Plot-wise I have to confess I was lost. The schemes and the plotting and the back-stabbing left me totally clueless as to who was actually working together and who wasn’t. What the King’s ultimate goal was. In the end The Herd and the revolution seemed to be a lie too, because originally they seemed to push the dream of a democratic government, rejecting imperialism or monarchy. But then it was revealed to actually be a ploy to get Cori on the throne; she wasn’t actually common, she was rare-born of a royal family thought long gone from the old religion and state, and they were still trying to get a royal to act as sovereign the whole time. So it wasn’t really a revolution at all? It was a usurpation or a deposition? But apparently they’re all just going to trust that this new monarch will treat everyone better? I couldn’t tell if Vanil was a good guy or not because he seemed totally fine with sacrificing people to get another bloody Queen on the throne. I don’t get what The Seekers were about, either. Why was Chef Ilantra murdered? I’m still not 100% sure. What exactly did the King want from Paprick? Just the Rub recipe? What did he need that for if he had chili control? Didn’t it turn out the King knew everything he was up to the whole time because of a mind reading recipe? I still don’t really get it. Maybe I’m too dense to follow intricate political plots. As I said earlier I wish we had more time at the Culinary school watching Paprick hone his craft and work with Chef Ilantra, and uncovering of the political plots in the school itself. The scene of Paprick’s anaphylactic shock was great, for example. The final scene where his enhanced power grants the ability to resurrect a Drakephon skeleton and ride it? WHY LEAVE THE COOL STUFF TO THE END? Also, the whole thing with his Uncle. He wasn’t really dead, and I think it was passively mentioned he was leading the front of the revolution? That’s important to Yenne, apparently? Not a clue if I’m honest.
Overall I found it very difficult to get engaged and immersed in this book, but I think if you are less bothered about characterisation and enjoy plots full of political intrigue and social commentary combined with unique lore you’d enjoy it. I have a feeling book two will be far better but this book hasn’t excited me enough to motivate me to carry on.

Enjoy high stakes and monster steaks in the first in a striking new series high fantasy series from Ryan Rose. Fantastic world-building, extensive diversity, an unreliable narrator and clever magic systems – overall fun and fast-paced but quite repetitive and refers a lot to things that will feature in future novels.