Thank you NetGalley and SparkPress for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm sad to say I decided to DNF this book. I really like the concept, setting and use of Peruvian culture and myths, that being said, I struggled a lot to get through the first chapter with all these new terms and names and the story was moving a bit too slow for me.
To be fair I think this may be a case of "right story, wrong time" I might check the book out in the future, as of right now, I don't think I'm the target audience for this.
I do wish for it to succeed because I see the potential in it and I believe that there's an audience for it out there.

Thank you SparkPress for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I want to be transparent and start by saying that I decided to DNF this book at 25%. I will definitely talk about what I liked and what didn’t work for me, but just know that I only read up to that point.

What I liked:

I really do love the concept. The premise was interesting enough to make me want to request the ARC, after all. I especially love that Call of the Owl Woman is set in a country that is hardly given enough representation in mainstream fantasy, so I was incredibly excited to learn about a culture that was so new to me.
I think the time period the author chose to explore was also an incredibly unique choice. Everything about this offered something different from the standard fantasy formula, which I’ve honestly been so tired of, lately. It’s clear the author did the research necessary to take on a story like this.

What didn’t work for me:

Thoughts and ideas felt incredibly disjointed. There were a lot of concepts mentioned with no context, as if the reader is fully aware of the setting and culture in the way that the author is.
There was a lot of dialogue that felt awkward and stilted, as well as abrupt starts and stops of various scenes. It was bad enough for me that I was having a really difficult time following the plot.
There were many places in the story where I was thinking, “Wait when did that happen?” or “Oh, THAT’S what we’re doing here??”


I do like the idea of it all. The idea is there, but it needs honing, and the flow of the plot needs a lot of cleaning up.

Patya is a member of the Nasca people in ancient Peru. Her people have been devastated by a terrible drought and it seems as if the gods are not pleased with them. On top of this, Patya is also coming to terms with the death of her beloved grandmother, a powerful healer. Patya is expected to follow in the tradition of her family and become a healer as well, but Patya would rather dance. When a powerful earthquake devastates her people, she must do all she can to help and she starts to see how she can use her healing talents and her love of dance to save her people. A beautiful story, but I would have liked a map to better understand the distances between the various locations in the story.

Having lived in Peru myself and actually in part of this region, I was worried when I saw that a North American had written a fantasy booked based on the ancient Nascan culture. I was even more worried when I realised that it was full of Quechua words, which was an Incan language and post-dated the period.

However, my fears were allayed significantly as I read the story, and I saw the sheer amount of research that had gone into the book. It is clear that the author had spent a lot of time to try to get right as much as she could with as little information that is actually available on the Nascan civilisation and has left the rest up to interpretation, which was done respectfully. Knowing as well that she lived in Peru and is married to a Peruano means that she will have wanted to get it right.

The story itself is a lovely coming of age story of a young girl who wants to follow her own path and not that of her mother. She honours her ancestors and the spirits and is very reverent of the cultural practices and rituals of her people. She sees the evil that surrounds her in greedy priests and other men who work for their own gain, and she works against them on her own journey to save her little brother from becoming a sacrifice.

It's a story of love, overall. Love of family, love of the ancestors, love the land, love of the culture. It's beautifully written.

I love Patya and Tachico and their parents. They are fantastic characters.

At times, the pacing could be a bit slow, but it really is an enjoyable read.

Set in ancient Peru, Call of the Owl Woman follows Patya on her journey from girl to woman while in a harsh and violent political and climate environment. Think expansive magical elements in a well-researched Peruvian Nasca culture set amongst a mountainous and desert landscape. Men with too much power, a climate with terrifying earthquakes and drought, and a young woman who isn't afraid to question those superior to her.

I enjoyed this novel so much! This is perfect for those who love well-researched ancient historical fiction with some fantasy elements.

When I first started reading this book, I was kind of worried that I wasn't going to be into it because its so clearly for younger teens and really not one of those. Very happy to report that I was proved very wrong in that regard and quickly too! I ended up being incredibly invested in the narrative and had no idea what was going to happen next, which is exactly what I like in a book. I found myself very quickly doing internet searches to look at what the region looks like now and some of the ancient artifacts that have been found. While it looks like not actually much is known about the Nasca people, It's clear from both the writing and the author afterword that a lot of care went into being accurate where possible and flexible when clear information was lacking. While I may not find 15-year-old girls that relatable anymore, the themes of sticking together and overcoming hate and looking after the Earth were really special. I'm sure that readers of all ages can enjoy this, but I think it will be particularly good for the age group that it's meant for.

The Nasca Lines being used as chapter images and ending up being part of the story was also an excellent touch! I'm really glad I looked up the Nasca people early into my reading so I could fully enjoy those efforts. Thanks a lot!

Patya, the fifteen-year-old daughter and granddaughter of healers, is devastated when Kuyllay, her beloved grandmother, dies unexpectedly. She leaves Patya a special robe of white feathers, a silver mask with the face of an owl, and a heritage of sacred dance passed down through the women of her family. Patya’s mother, Keyka, hands her the gift but also tells her to set it aside until the time is right for the Owl Woman to return.

Patya’s grief escalates when the local religious leader Achiq insists on taking Kuyllay’s head as a sacred umanqa, intended to channel power to himself, rather than leaving the body with her family. But life is difficult on the western coast of sixth-century Peru. The water channels that have sustained the Nasca community to which Patya belongs are drying up, and Achiq has a certain level of support among desperate farmers watching their livelihoods disappear. One of his supporters is Patya’s uncle. The community also faces attacks and incursions by neighboring groups who also suffer from the drought perceived as evidence of divine displeasure.

Amid this social and familial conflict, Patya undertakes a solitary pilgrimage to the sacred mountain Yuraq Orqo, the White Mountain, the Giver of Waters—a coming-of-age ritual delayed by her grandmother’s death. The vision she experiences there sends her off on a far more dangerous mission, one that will test both her strengths and her loyalties.

Patya is an appealing heroine—an artist and a dancer as well as a healer—but what really sets this novel apart is the rich imagining of a long-ago society, its worldview and mythology, which draws the reader into a little-known past.

I plan to interview this author on my blog (link below) in May 2025.

Thank you K. M. Huber, SparkPress and Netgalley for this free ARC in exchange for a review.

This was a fairly good spiritual novel, but it moved along too slowly.

This book! Omg?!?!?! This book was so good I couldn't put it down for a bit. I rated it 5 stars because it's that good. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.