Thank you for the arc!

DNF
Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get into this due to the writing style and characters. The,

What must one do to achieve justice? How can one determine good from evil? Can something/someone be both good and evil? All of these questions and more came to My mind as I was reading “Her Soul for a Crown” by Alysha Rameera. Follow the main character, Anula, as she works through the various challenges in her life. They start with the destruction of her village and her family and continues through what should be the best, and maybe the hardest, choices for her country. There are many unexpected twists and turns that happen in this book!

This was a hard book for me To get into and finish; though by the end of the book I didn’t want to put it down. I think that one of the biggest challenges for me is my lack of knowledge of the Buddhist and Hindu religions and the ancient history of Sri Lanka. At the end of the book there is a Glossary and Name Pronunciation Guide. I wish that these sections would have been placed at the beginning of the book. I feel I would have been able to follow the storyline better. A brief description of the characters in the Name Pronunciation Guide would have helped as well.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me a copy of this book and selecting me to review it on NetGalley. All opinions stated are my own.

#hersoulforacrown
#sourcebookscasablanca
#netgalley

DNF @ 45%
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I was so excited about this book. Especially after reading the author's note at the end (yes, I read it before finishing the book). This book is based off of the first queen of Sri Lanka who had six husbands, that she supposedly poisoned. (I'm definitely going to go down a rabbit hole reading about this woman).

Unfortunately, the story wasn't engaging for me. Often times, big events would happen that should have affected everybody outside of the main cast of characters, but we never hear about the court's reactions to these events. I also felt like the romance was weird and awkward. I also had a hard time keeping everybody straight.

I think some people will enjoy this book, but it was a miss for me.

Review goes live August 28

A story of revenge and betrayal with unmatched levels of yearning. The book did start a little slowly, but by god did it pick up pace, so many plot points meant I was never bored when reading. Anula and Reeri matched each other so well and it was so lovely to read as they slowly learnt more about each other and as they connected.

Every time I had to put this book down I really didn’t want too. I can’t wait to read more of Alyssa Rameera’s work. This book will resonate with romantasy fans that love emotional turmoil, enemies to lovers and high stakes.

Slowing down and letting me savor this would have allowed me to enjoy this book more. We start off strong, as the world building is lush, and I found myself in a vibrant world that felt like the first Assassin's Creed game mashed with a Bollywood set. But quickly this world fell into trope city, where characters became archetypes of their romantacy predecessors, and the revenge plot devolved into every other underwhelming quest for vengeance. There didn't seem to be anything new here, which I expected more from the blurb and atmosphere. This reminded me a lot of "For She is Wrath", but a little more unique.

I didn't like that we didn't see the consequences of the Rajas being overthrown. How were there no revolts, or coups, or court gossip revolving around this? Everyone just continued on with their day?

There is also insta-lust in this. Romantacy is allergic to slow burn and tension and angst at this point. I think because of the way the blurb for this book read, I'm more disappointed than I would have been if I just picked this up blind. The characters didn't do much for me, the world didn't remain as lush as it started, the plot was predictable, and the romance was lack luster.

Thank you Net Galley , the publisher, and author for providing me with this arc!

This book has ruined me for every other romantasy to come :')

- slow burn desi enemies to lovers with a dual POV
- poisons, revenge, feminine rage & political intrigue
- power dynamics b/w well-developed deities
- sapphic side characters & beautiful, beautiful prose
- Sri Lankan mythology inspired adult fantasy
- fast-paced, puzzles, artifacts and plot twists

I am a simple reader, if I see fantasy in the wild inspired by South Asian mythology and imbued with feminine rage, I will be slamming that add to TBR button. Her Soul for a Crown delivers more than what it promised, I was all for the fast pace and the beautiful prose. Love seeing a true enemies to lovers with the slowest of slowburns and chemistry so fiery the only thing hotter than it is the feminine rage that burns through those pages. The worldbuilding is intricate perfection and the political drama keeps you on your toes -- so much fastpaced suspense?? i was screaming at the plot twist after plot twist towards the end, that climax made me feel SO much rage and despair and just bookish gremlin screeching in general -- all I am saying is this was an EXPERIENCE and I have a new favourite autobuy author :d If you loved The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri & The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala, this should be the next on your TBR.

Reeri is the sweetest little MMC who deserves so much, and Anula is a deserving fierce queen, heck, I would bargain MY soul for her to have and keep the crown.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advance review copy. All opinions are honest :)

"There were so many ways to stop a heart"
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book.

This book started off slow and confusing, but I've noticed the good ones always do. Anula is the embodiment of a badass FMC who learns and grows with the story. She starts her journey with a fixed plan for justice and somewhere along the way the plot develops into something otherworldly!
Mixed plans of betrayal, slow burn, faith, and a brawl of the divinities later, Anula is a new person entirely. I highly recommend this book to any who value fantasy with a romance subplot.

This definitely could have been a 5 star read, but it started off slow and I had some trouble getting into it at first, though the middle and ending are worth it.

I just had the hardest time getting into this story, maybe because I went from one of my favorite reads of the year to this, but it just was not my cup of tea.

Throughout it was a realy good story but in some places I got out of it.
It enjoyed it but not as much as I wanted.

Her Soul for a Crown is told in third-person POV.
This is my first introduction to Alysha Rameera, and I ate it up!

The vibes for this are immaculate: enemies to lovers, feminine rage, forced proximity, he falls first, one bed, revenge plots, and a slow burn.

HSfaC is inspired by Sri Lankan mythology and it was such a beautiful new world for me to experience. I loved the world building and the magic infused into these pages. Anula was an orphan, but she never was going to let that stop her and the dreams she had for her position in her life. Reeri has kept an eye, waiting. So when Anula offers her soul in exchange for the crown, he is all too happy to accept the deal. They will achieve success, or they will die.

This kept my heart racing and was such an amazing book!

"You are my echo. The one with whom my soul communes." **melting**

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The story was interesting and had good tension between the FMC and the MMC. The way the author describes the world and what is happening in the story is very good. I love how at the end of the book, the author says she was inspired by a real people from history. Anula was real but of course the author took some liberties with her story to make it her own. Now on the downside, I would say that sometimes I got bored reading. Some things would get confusing and then I feel like some big things were kind of just skipped over. I still liked this book very much.

I’m such a sucker for a good slowburn romantasy! I really enjoyed this book. I had some issues with the pacing at times. I think I would’ve enjoyed this way more if I listened to it rather than read it on my kindle.

I love fantasy with a touch of romance, therefore I tried to love this too but it didn’t meet my expectation. The premise is good. It just probably lacked in execution. It has a huge potential so I was rooting for it.

I was sat within the first few chapters. Everything about this book was amazing!! I absolutely cannot wait for this book to release so that I have more people to talk about it with!!

This book started out very confusing. I didn’t get who was who and what was what until quite a ways in- I was still struggling with it in chapter 4. And I definitely didn’t want to like the story but I was glad I kept pushing. Eventually I really got into this book and enjoyed the story. Even though it was dark and the idea of selling your soul for power is disturbing, I couldn’t help but root for Anula. But let’s just say I’m glad I don’t have an Auntie Nirma. That woman is unforgettable. It took some work but I did end up enjoying the book

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book will be a DNF for me at 27%. I could see how this may be popular for some upon release. However, it is just falling quite flat for me. There are two main characters, and it does switch between them, but it almost seems like a hodge-podge of scenes slapped together for the sake of fast pacing and to try to form some kind of cohesive story. The very beginning of the book was a little off-putting because you're thrown into a situation with very little context and then just bland descriptions afterward. Readers need more context on things that are supposed to be happening in a story, not just reading through a story to read through it.

Give this a try as you may like it. I may come back to it once edited, published, and a possible audiobook released, but I will have to put it down for now.

Anula, una joven marcada por la tragedia y la pérdida, que ha sido entrenada por su tía para convertirse en algo más que una concubina del raja: una herramienta de venganza, una futura reina y, sobre todo, la mano justiciera que podría cambiar el rumbo de un reino corrompido por la ambición y la traición.

Cuando Anula entra al palacio como una de las tantas candidatas del harén, no es el amor lo que busca, sino poder. Pero su objetivo se complica con la presencia de Reeri, un antiguo espíritu Yakka condenado al limbo por desafiar al Señor del Segundo Cielo. La historia alterna entre el pasado doloroso de Anula y la redención que Reeri desesperadamente busca, hasta que sus destinos se entrelazan en un juego de política, magia divina y pasiones prohibidas.




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.

Loved this as it is a romatacy book that was easy to follow without the nonsense fluff that's in a lot of them. Another great thing about this book is it steeps in Sri Lankan mythology which is something I didn't know much about before reading this and started a newfound interest. Thanks NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this ARC read

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I’m giving it 3.5 ⭐️. The mythology was fascinating, and definitely a highlight of the book. I loved Reeri, and Anula grew on me through the book. I feel like some of the plot points could have been fleshed out a bit more. Additionally - this might just be a me thing - the words mayhap and betwixt were used so often that I started to make note of it. Overall I think it has some solid elements, and will recommend it to others!

Reeri and Anula are incredible characters who jump off the page in Her Soul for a Crown. I always love reading a revenge tale and this one did not disappoint. I love how Rameera highlighted the consequences that come with governing and the weight of those in power and the powerless.

I loved all the mythical elements in this book. They really highlighted the story for me. The fantasy and world building was beautiful for me and I loved how the world building was woven into the narrative.