The first half of this book read mostly like a 4 star to me--I was intrigued by the world and mythology, the characters' individual situations and how they intertwined.

The second half fell a little flat, unfortunately, leading to the lower rating. I've seen other reviewers say that the ending was rushed and I have to agree. The resolution felt a little too simplistic and idealistic to me, deflating all of the tension that had been crafted throughout. It felt like the intention was to create a foundation for the rest of the series, which is understandable because I can see the series going in a very interesting direction, But this renders the ending of *this* book lackluster. Something a little more minor that i struggled with is the time-period: the characters wear corsets and gowns, seemingly period-accurate... but they also drive cars and use modern lingo. Of course there's a way that elements from different time periods can be intertwined, but in this instance it felt haphazard.

All in all, I will definitely be continuing the series but I hope the next book goes through more rounds of edits.

I already cannot wait for the second book! This was a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me!

I loved this book, and I’m not typically a historical fantasy reader. This first book was not as complex on the work building which made it easier to read and follow, and I think it (hopefully) sets up the second book to be a little bit more complex on that end.

I love the concept of the magic system and the gods, I wish there was a little bit more to it, but again, hopefully more to come in the second book.

The setting threw me off a little bit, I don’t know what the time frame is supposed to be, but it is historical, but with cars and technology? It didn’t make the most sense, but I vibe with it overall.

I love when people underestimate a character, and that’s Poppy. I very much enjoyed following along with her while she was relearning her culture that tried to be “white” washed away from her.

The Jackal, or Hasan, the criminal, has similar views as Poppy when it comes to fighting the regime, but he is I would say, a little bit more naive and doesn’t understand the complexity of it. But Poppy puts him in his place and its great!

I can’t wait for this book to be published so I can read the final works and then I’ll be not so patiently waiting for book 2! I will be rereading the ARC prior to the final published version just to see how far it’s come from this and I am ready!

Thank you Netgalley, Bindery, and Skiespress for the eARC of this absolutely wonderful book!

I received an early copy of this and I’m so thankful, it was amazing! Poppy and Hasan are wonderful main characters who you route for even when they make you cringe or shake your head with some of their decisions. This story deals with so many difficult larger topics (racism, adoption trauma, classism, sexism, etc) in a great way, both knowledgeable and still intriguing. I also loved the way the book ended. This was a fabulous debut - thank you for the opportunity to read it so soon!

Wow this story was absolutely captivating! The world building made it so I was easily able to immerse myself in the world. I loved the political intrigue and gang wars. There were so many big that were touched on that added to the story such as mental health and bias’. I loved Poppy’s journey and can’t wait to see where she goes in book 2.

3.5 stars I really like this concept and this world. There's definitely a heavy focus on the political dynamics of this world- reflective of our current world. I will probably read book 2. This took me longer to get through because I feel like I had to be in the right mindset. No hard cliffhanger-which I appreciate. I hope the final book copy has a pronunciation guide. Has a very vivid world that was well written. I definitely have passionate feelings toward all of the characters, not all good- Zeyar I'm talking about you. Excited for this to release! Special thanks to Netgalley and Bindery Books for this digital ARC.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books/Skies Press for gifting me access to this E-ARC.

I was so excited for this one but think it just missed for me. The premise was interesting and had a very important underlying message, but the story did just feel like it dragged for a number of reasons.

The time jumps were quite clunky, suddenly weeks into the future with no idea what had been happening between chapters. The dialogue felt stilted and didn’t flow to me, and word repetition did prevent me from being fully immersed. I felt the reader wasn’t allowed to infer meaning or make links in the text and instead they were spoon fed a little which was a shame. The Virian class war between the vasudhakt and daivyakt, whilst such an important narrative and so relevant today, was revisited in what felt like an almost word for word repeat and I wished this felt more fresh when it was.

I absolutely adored the magic system. It felt fresh and I was so invested in the gods and their stories, so hope this is touched on more in the second and final book in this series. The characters were flawed and believable, and whilst some fell a little into pantomime villain territory, the majority felt like real people.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would pick the second once released and would encourage people to read this book for the positives mentioned above!

This was so much fun to read, and I loved the Indian references. I really hope to see more of this author!!

Me waiting this long to read To Bargain with Mortals when I've had it on TBR and readily available is a tragedy because it was phenomenal!

I read this in two days, responsibilities be damned. I loved the premise (magical chosen one, yes please.) I enjoyed the magic system and that it utilized deities to power up the users.

The action was gripping and the prose was well done. Dialogue I felt was a strong plus on this as well. Some of the themes were a bit heavy handed (someone else mentioned "white=bad!" And I can say that that felt true) but this did not deter me personally. One thing that felt off was the presence of vehicles in the world. What time period are we in? I ended up shrugging this off but the rest of the world building seemed to put the cars in a really weird juxtaposition that didn't feel quite right.

Poppy's journey was interesting, however some of the beats of her journey were a bit....expected? Definitely a set of actions that Ive read before. The side characters really helped with making this feel well rounded and made up for her shortcomings. I really loved Hasan and his brothers! I thought the relationships within the gang were well built and believable. That is something I felt a bit conflicted about: I cared far more for these side characters than our FMC which is probably not the goal.

I loved that the hinted at romance between our two leads was just that: hinted at. Hopefully it will bloom into something really exciting next installment along with a new antagonist. I'll definitely be completing the series!

Thanks to bindery, Skiepress, and netgalley for the Arc!

This was such an addictive read, I was immediately immersed and had the hardest time putting it down. The prose is excellent and the story flows very naturally. I love the complexities involved with this very real world issue of colonialism and its impact on all people. I love when characters have specific biases and prejudices based on the world they live in, and it was so interesting to read Poppy's perspective as a strong lead with deep personal issues to work through. It's easy to see how much work was put in to make all of the characters more than just a typical archetype, and they have a lot of deeply human layers.

I do think some aspects of the story felt a little too simple and easy to predict, but I don't think that's a major deterrent from my enjoyment of the story. The creativity of the world building and characters made for a story I was desperate to consume, and I'm so excited to see where the story goes in the sequel.

Despite the formatting issues, I could not put this book down.
The world building is rich, the culture is both compelling and explained in a very easy to digest way, and the character work is immaculate. I appreciate not ending on a huge cliffhanger, but still setting up the second book beautifully.

This story kept me engaged. It was so well written, i found myself not getting lost with all the events unfolding but getting lost in the world of it. It was entertaining and i love a strong female character. Overall, an amazingly done story.

I loved this book! It's a strong fantasy debut with immersive world-building, a great magic concept and a whole heap of interesting characters! One of the things I particularly liked is that it's a fantasy take on the British colonisation of India and it's nuanced. Not all the Welkish (British) people are bad and not all the Virian (Indian) people are good which is often a tricky balance to get right and one that tends to fall one way or the other. There's issues yet to be resolved in Virian culture between the magic users and non-magic users, rather reflective of the Indian caste system still prevalent today.

The characters are also excellent! Poppy as the main character was refreshing, she's strong and fierce but at the same time filled with her own prejudices despite being Virian by birth. Hasan is reckless and dangerous yet has multiple soft spots. Also, big shout out to Zeyar! He's a great side character, the opposite of Hasan despite being brothers, and I'm honestly intrigued to see where the second novel will go.

The only thing I think that stops this being a five star review for me is that sometimes it's a little bit predictable when it comes to the plot. But, nonetheless, it's an enjoyable and engaging read!

The main characters' journeys are both relatable and richly layered. The book takes the classic “uptown girl meets bad boy from the hood” trope and deepens it with thoughtful explorations of class, race, and magical ability.

I appreciated that the story didn’t reduce the divisive element to just white vs. brown. Instead, it highlighted how division and cruelty existed among the marginalized even before white colonizers arrived—especially around magical ability. That internal conflict weakened the people and made them vulnerable to outside exploitation and oppression.

The magic system was a refreshing surprise. Rooted in sacrifice to gods, it made power feel sacred, rare, and costly. You can’t just magic your way out of everything, which raised the emotional and ethical stakes in a meaningful way.

The book is well-written, with strong pacing and complex, believable relationships. I especially liked how it shows that people can hold harmful beliefs and still be loved. Being wrong doesn’t make someone irredeemable—but refusing to grow when presented with new truth does. The story illustrates that nuance beautifully.

4 Stars - Highly Recommended!

What a dazzling read this book is. I am so glad that I took a chance on To Bargain With Mortals despite the fact that I haven’t read anything about the author and the premise seems like the usual fantasy trope of girl-of-destiny. But as I have mentioned in my previous reviews, I can put up with familiar fantasy tropes as long as executed well and To Bargain With Mortals has just done that. It’s not perfect but every page was perfect for me.

Inspired by colonial India, R.A. Basu’s To Bargain With Mortals follows the story of Poppy Sutherland, an orphaned Viryani who was adopted by a childless Duke and a Viceroy at that; and a Viryani criminal, Hasan a.ka. The Jackal, who despite being a criminal and being unrepentant about killing people still has morals to save the innocents. I know it’s crazy but he is just what he is. Heh. Know that these characters are already adults which made the story more novel in the sense that both protagonists seemed innocent about a lot of ways of the world. Poppy, having raised by the nobility, was sheltered and has this great tendency to act like the world owes her a lot for taking a lot from her. And Hasan for only seeing things the violent way. It’s almost always a black and white for him. If he wants to get something, he always faces it head on, with violence, without even thinking about the repercussions of his actions. Sounds irritating but Hasan is such an adorable guy despite the flaws. I may not relate with his logic but I can understand where he is coming from. He is jus a product of oppression who wants to do good but and make a better world for his fellow Viryans and at the same time, protect and provide for his family. Only that he still needs a lot of growing up to realize that fists are not the only way to do things.

I cannot say the same thing for Poppy though. She’s prolly the only reason why I did not give To Bargain With Mortals a perfect 5 star review because she really grated on my nerves. She’s a self-centered brat and is basically someone who had gotten everything that she wanted because she threw a tantrum or had coerced people to do her bidding. I did not feel that she worked hard enough to deserve her achievements at the end. She did not experience sufficient suffering for me to give her a pat in the back and tell her, “You did well, Young Padawan.” I did not see her displaying acts of remarkable brilliance or intelligence or cunning that made me “Oh, wow.” Yes, I know how miserable her life is and that she really has the right to feel hurt but it does not give her the right to invalidate the hurt of others when comparatively speaking, she had it better compared with the other Viryanis who did not even got a chance for any thing better. Le sigh.

Anyway, enough with Poppy lest I spoil the whole book for you with all my rant. Setting my dislike for Poppy, I am happy to tell you that I like all the characters in the book even the villains and the not-so villains. They’re well developed and has their certain depth that it’s difficult to not relate with them at some point. The way R.A. Basu made them was definitely not just your bad-bad kind of villain or good-good kind of protagonists. They have their admirable traits despite having both acceptable and non-acceptable flaws.

On top of the remarkable character development, I also enjoyed the author’s manner of writing. It’s poignant without being flowery. It really set the tone of the book which is inspired by colonial India. And yes, the way the author the built the story around the gods and goddesses of India made it so much more vibrant. I am only familiar with India’s history and mythology on the surface level but this book made me delve deeper into the intricacies of the Indians’ plight regarding their colonization. I also love the magic system created by the Author because there’s a balance. You cannot just use something so powerful without paying for it.

But most important of all, what I truly admired about To Bargain With Mortals was its heavy focus on family. It was just so heartbreaking to witness how the events of the book led to some heartwrenching scenes. Clarence Sutherland was a despicable man through and through but I could not find fault on how he tried, in his own perspective and views of the world, to be a good father to Poppy. How he tried his very best to protect Poppy is his own misguided ways. And then there’s The Jackal’s family whose filial bonds are so strong that they’d rather see the world in chaos than surrender one of their own. Truly, family is complicated but as this book has conveyed, it’s worth fighting for.

Summing it all up, To Bargain With Mortals had been a perfect companion these past days where the mundaneness of life has tried to swallow me whole. It’s surely a series that I’m looking forward to. Another gem in the Bindery books line up that I would not hesitate shoving down anyone’s throat. I pray to the gods of Virian that Poppy would at least grow up in the second and last installment of the series because she’s the only underachiever among the lineup of amazing characters in the book.

Addicting, politically poignant, gangs, and power loosely inspired by colonial India.

Poppy is the adopted daughter of the Duke of Cloudcliff, the viceroy of Viryana. She is Virian - dark-haired and brown-skinned, backward. She had to be the perfect Welkish daughter, or she would be no one at all.

Hasan is an oddly idealistic leader of a a gang, alongside his brothers, a daivyakt able to control fire due to divine power counted as heresy by the Welkish.

<b>He reminded her of the tigers that noblemen were fond of hunting: handsome at a distance, but lethal in close quarters.
</b>
This tackles prejudice and self-hatred - the feeling of being an imposter everywhere. How we define being civilised. How to tackle ingrained bias and perceptions.

The over-simplified moral convictions did grate on me at times as it felt like a mouthpiece to get across an agenda. However, knowing this is probably the purpose of the book, I accepted this angle.

My main issue was our heroine, Poppy. She was very wishy-washy and she was not a character I found myself automatically rooting for.

The world-building was immense but also light in the sense that not much was explained. This made it easy to fly through, but the more I think on it, the more I realise there was so much potential - from the elemental magic, to the gods, to the technology.

This felt like a Dickinson-type setting, yet there are instances where there is a modern technology which throws the reading experience off.

The ending felt very rushed, as well as the setting up for the next book. The prose was simple and easy to tear through.

I think I have guessed the reveal of the series - I clocked it at 57%. I look forward to seeing if I am right in latter books.

Arc gifted by Bindery Books.

Wow!! Took me a day after finishing to even start this review! The author did an incredible job with this story. I love a strong FMC and this one is top tier! There is a lot going on, but the author was able to write it in a way that I didn’t get lost or overwhelmed. I will be patiently counting down the days till book two is released.

It was interesting enough to keep me going into the book because of the commentary it makes about colonialism. The impact that has to someone whose a BIPOC that assimilates to white culture. But like make it fantastical, interesting and full of intrigue. I actually really liked it!!!

And my man, Hasan... he's so cute to me but he'll probably hate being described that!! I adoreeeee the relationship he has with his brothers, it's really sweet and strong. It's refreshing.

Another thing though, the quiet moments where we're learning more about the characters, the plot, and the society they live in felt boring SOMETIMES. Because with the idea being colonialism, I felt like I knew how things were going to go so it felt quiet predictable.

Would still recommend this book if the ideas it explores intrigues you. It's a great read!!

I stumbled across this book on TikTok because I follow Emma Skies, who acquired this book through Bindery. The cover is GORGEOUS, and as an international adoptee I was wary of but intrigued by the premise.

I needn’t have worried. I don't even fully know where to begin, but I thought this book -- once I got over the first 26% or so -- was brilliant. I only really got pulled in once our main characters' goals came together, but after that it simply flew by.

I loved all of the characters in this. The main characters, Poppy and Hasan, have a kind of naivety to their worldviews, and they both come to understandings, by the end of the book, that left me feeling relieved. There's a lot that happens towards the end of the book, and I think all of it is earned... and therefore extremely satisfying to see. The side characters are numerous, and I enjoyed what all of them brought to the narrative. Our main characters are often challenged for their words/decisions, and I loved how characters are not easily let off the hook for their choices.

Poppy, especially, was such a wonderful character. Without giving too much away, I think her growth over the course of the book was such a joy to witness. Underlying all of her actions is this desperate longing to belong somewhere, and that’s a feeling that resonated with me so deeply, as an asian adoptee raised by white people. I just loved her.

I have so many thoughts about this book, and not all of them are super coherent at the moment, but I am looking forward to this book's release and cannot wait for the sequel.

Thank you to Bindery & NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have to say, this story… it’s a pretty engaging read. The story follows Poppy Sutherland, who’s been away for seven years and is now trying to find her place in Welkish society. Along the way, she meets Hasan Devar, a notorious gang leader, and together they get tangled up in some serious political intrigue. 

Poppy’s struggles a lot with her identity through this story, which I found added a lot of richness to the plot. The world-building was amazing too, with a unique magic system that adds to the story.

The pacing (for me) was absolutely perfect! It had me hooked from page 1 and I really, really loved that the book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. It wraps up nicely while leaving just enough to make you want more. Overall, it’s a thought-provoking debut that blends political intrigue, magic, and complex characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books

Thank you Bindery Books, Skies Press, and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I overall rated this a 4 star out of 5.

The character’s depth felt rigid. While we learn their inner thoughts and workings via the shifting POVs and through their words and actions, I feel like I was told more than shown. The relationship between Poppy and Hasan felt like it solidified too fast while the story itself felt too slow.

There was a lot that felt like fluff that could have been removed and would have made the book a bit faster paced and less full of info dumping. It could be 50-75 pages shorter and still pack a powerful punch with the themes presented. It felt like maybe book one’s main goal was to give a deeper understanding of the lore, political structure, and magical system, and then possibly more intricacies to the magic system and character depth will be introduced in the next book? I definitely hope the magic system comes more into play in the next book.

Having said that, I did enjoy the story as a whole. I think the themes are strong pillars throughout the book and incredibly necessary for people to read. The politics are eerily similar to our current climate, and I felt those similarities are so important to be shared.

I enjoyed watching Poppy learn and fall in love with her culture after so many years being forced into a box that didn’t fit her. The fights against systemic racism and sexism are also relevant and powerfully written and presented. This was the strongest part of the book and rightfully should be.

The author’s voice is so strong. She writes with a beautiful cadence that’s easy to follow. I highlighted so many one liners that were so powerful and made me incredibly emotional. Overall this is an incredible freshman novel.

I enjoyed this a lot and love the themes.