Since I've joined this site, my sleep schedule has been effed up because I am already way too addicted to it.

I HAD to stay up late to finish this book. It was a ferocious need. I couldn't put it down in spite of my eyes demanding I closed them for the day. It was too good and it required I knee how it ended.

I simply adored it.

This book's perspective was so unique, and I felt that contributed to how heart wrenching and emotional this was. You get to see characters manipulated into horrible things and you understand where nearly everyone is coming from so when characters come into conflict you really feel it. The anti colonial messaging of the book is strong and it's themes of revenge, loss, and fear are deeply explored. The magic and world building were so interesting, too!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book.
I found a great fantasy book after a long time spent reading same old same old.
The characters in Cry, Voidbringer are multifaceted, constantly evolving, and it’s a real pleasure reading of their endeavors, cheering for them or hating them (tsk, royals, amirite?).
The story in itself is not the most original I’ve ever read, but after so many fantasy books that have been published I’ve come to appreciate the writing way more than the plot itself. And it was superb, well paced, descriptive enough, with the POVs all having their own distinct voice.
The whole book unravels a feral criticism of empires and the people who hold power, and it displays different truths of those who are hammered by powerful people in charge - I’ll never have enough of fantasy books portraying reality through inventive worldbuilding that mirror our world, sometimes from a scarily close perspective.

This is a wonderfully unique and stand out debut novel, and I was so impressed by the scale of everything it accomplished. The world building is a major stand out, it's beautifully written and deeply immersive. I love the rich fantasy system and the influence from southeast Asia that added those extra layers of depth and culture.

I think some of the grandness of the story leaves smaller details to feel unfinished, and the pacing takes a heavy hit because so much focus is directed at the world building. I can appreciate going as big as possible and trying to crank the story to amazing heights but it does feel like some beats are missed and it takes away some significant impact. It leaves me a bit off kilter with being truly satisfied with the book as a whole, but overall I'm impressed and interested in seeing where this author goes next.

Thankyou NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This cover is spectacular and can’t wait to see it go to print!

Early reviews left me feeling VERY excited at the prospect of this book but unfortunately I think this may have tarnished my ability to really enjoy it for myself as much as others as expectations were sky high.

The world building is unique and very strong - I found the south East Asian influences of the world building to be a real strong point of this book - however really struggled to keep track at the beginning and a map and character list would have gone a long way.

I found the writing beautifully descriptive and very enjoyable - although I do think at times it really slowed down the pacing where I wanted it to pick up. It took me forever to finish this book. I felt like every time I picked it up I was confused and nothing was progressing until it was all happening at once. Court politics unfortunately almost put me to sleep.

Despite my issues I still had a good time with this book and look forward to seeing what Elaine Ho releases in the future!

4.5 stars for Cry, Voidbringer. This is a uniquely made, debut fantasy and I was impressed with it. Was it literal perfection? I wouldn’t say that, but hey, the majority of books aren’t. Some key elements that kept me enthralled were the political machinations, exciting battle action sequences, godchildren concepts, found family theme, and intriguing prose.

The narrative style was complex - alternating between 3 main POVs primarily in the 3rd person, but sometimes slipping into the 2nd or 1st for a few chapters, which was significant to the story. I personally love when authors do this - I think it had a really impactful effect and was well timed.


This book explores some devastating concepts: power, tyranny, love, hope, despair, and rage. The characters were well fleshed out and their motivations made sense (whether I agreed with them or not). The plot twists were brutal and caught me by surprise - thanks for crushing my heart Elaine Ho! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I plan to read any additional books if there are plans for a series.

Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for this eARC.

This book was incredible! The world building and characters had so much depth. It had everything a fantasy novel should have: tension, love, heartbreak, deception, intrigue... and my favorites: FEMALE RAGE and FOUND FAMILY!

There were times in this book I had to turn to my kid (who often reads or watches tv next to me) to passionately describe what I was reading in this book. I NEEDED to share it with someone, anyone. There were times my heart was so full and times my jaw was on the floor!

I so desperately hope there will be more from this world and this author!

Thank you very much to NetGalley, Left Unread, and Bindery Books for an eARC, I have so many thoughts on this book. First, I want to praise what I think is a fascinating debut from Elaine Ho. I was hoping this book would take some big swings, and it absolutely does. For me, they weren’t all home runs, but there is so much to admire and appreciate about “Cry, Voidbringer”. The story is told through several POVs as a ruler of a failing kingdom attempts to reclaim her father’s former glory, despite being caged in by far more powerful imperialist forces.

The found family dynamic between Elera, Rafeis, and Viri was the emotional driving force of the story for me, but I wasn’t as fully sold on the romance between Elera and Rafeis, to be honest. I was much more interested in Elera’s relationship with Naias romantically than her relationship with Rafeis. Particularly with how Naias’s feelings toward Elera are described in the book’s final act, without giving any specific spoilers, I wished more of their previous history had been on the page. Elera’s relationship with Viri and the way it evolves was my favorite arc, particularly because of the richness and emotional complexity that the author allows to develop.

The political storyline was the least interesting element to me, and it never felt like it fully took off. The court politics and the side characters didn’t grab me enough to have me dying to read more about their individual maneuvering and machinations. The narrative does well at illustrating the flaws in various systems and painting factions in shades of gray, but it is less clear on what it seeks to replace those systems with. There is a lot of rage, but as the characters discover, righteous anger won’t repair your ports.

On a prose level, I was impressed with the writing. Elaine Ho uses unique imagery and has a talent for describing battles that made the action scenes extremely enjoyable to read. She makes the battles jump off the page and you could really feel the harrowing brutality of especially the violence in the final pages. I’m assuming the author intends to continue writing within this world, since the ending was quite open and left a lot of pieces on the board, so to speak. Although the book wasn’t perfect, I would definitely read a follow-up or a future book from Elaine Ho.

Rating: 3.25/5 stars.

Listen...this book had some solid bones to it. It just needed to be workshopped/edited in crucial ways.

I enjoyed the moral dilemma characters faced when presented with two options of ruling and neither are safe. I loved the complexity of two rulers fighting to conquer, both of them doing awful things to come out on top, and the people under their ruling torn between which evil to suffer beneath. The presence of injustices that mirror issues in our own world was also a nice edition. Sadly, the execution just did not fully hit the mark.

Having the lesbian couple's relationship be fake and full of manipulation sucked (this is made known very early on in the book so the reader is in on it while one half of the couple is in the dark). Certain events had turns that were way too convenient (I'm sorry, how are you moving around so easily hours after 100 lashes? How did you seamlessly use your power seconds after it first made itself know? Why did that kiss feel so abrupt and out of the blue?) Too many things felt rushed while the story itself leisurely strolled along.

Another thing I did enjoy, though, was how close three of our characters got. Seeing Rafaeis and Elera grow close to Viri and want to take care of that poor child; protect her and bring her as much safety and happiness as possible, was probably the highlight of the book for me.

An absolute jaw-dropping debut dark fantasy about a “godchild” who discovers her powers with help from two deadly assassins/soldiers trained to protect a falling, corrupt kingdom

One of the most intriguing, unique, complex, enthralling, yet horrifyingly familiar words I’ve read before - an anarchist, postcolonial society where power is wielded in unsightly ways.

There is no hand-holding here - readers are thrown straight into action and world, left to piece together the magic system and characters as the story unfolds quickly before us. Although this sounds alarming, it did not feel confusing or disorienting. I appreciated the confidence the author has in her audience to grasps the ideas and themes on their own, not over-explaining or oversimplifying anything, letting us drawn our own conclusions.

Besides being one of the most unique, enthralling, and page-turning dark fantasy books I’ve had the pleasure of reading, the commentary on present day society, the power struggles and political unrest mirroring our own felt so poignant. Fantasy that touches on important and current topics is seemingly more rare yet the most impactful of stories - this novel executed it perfectly.

Overall, this is an incredible debut novel set in a fascinating world occupied by a cast of diverse characters so cleverly crafted. I would absolutely encourage everyone to pick this one up, you wont be able to put it down.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for early access to the e-ARC!

Yet again I have succumbed to the Bindery siren call and yet again I have found that I'm not particularly interested in their titles. This one was better than others I have read, but I'm not sure that I can get behind a book that has been curated and edited by an untrained individual. I know that book influencers are plugged into the zeitgeist and know what is popular at the moment, but that doesn't mean that they should suddenly be editors of books. I think a lot of the hype around Bindery books is due, in large part, to the massive social following these influencers have.

As such, I will no longer be requesting or reading Bindery books going forward. All the best to the influencers and the authors, but these are not for me.

MIND BLOWN.

Multiple POV Fantasy. Badass women taking control best they can of the completely out of control political system.

The gods used to rule. Their love and love lost resulted in the ending and rebuilding of a scorched, dead earth. The ruling Kings and Queens have quarreled ever since, using the conquered as their armies in constant battles of power.

Hammer and Crescent are part of the Faceless Army that support the Khall's takeover efforts. Fate intervenes as they come across Viri, a "godschild" possessing some serious power that she has yet to come into. Little do they know that Viri's love and devastation brings them together just as strongly as it tears empires apart.

Oh my lord was this book good. This world that Eliane Ho has built is flawless. There are so many facets to the characters, the empires, and the gods but you never feel like you're being lectured in history or flashbacks. And the ending. FUCK ME THE ENDING! I did NOT see that coming! I did not see ANY OF IT COMING!

6/5 stars. This book makes me want to re-think how I've rated all my books that have come before it.

It took me forever to finish this one. it felt like everytime I was picking it up I was barely making a dent and the story was developing at a snail's pace. It frustrated me to no end and probably soured my opinion of the book (as did making the lesbians the bad guys and the m/f couple the good ones in stereotypical terms, sometimes it feels like people haven't heard of the hays code but anyway). I assume this book has a sequel even if no one mentioned it, because why would you spend the last pages setting up your characters (and showing us who's alive) for the most open ending of all time.

I think that this book wants to be a lot more than what it ends up being. I really wanted to have the same feeling other early reviewers had but while complex it didn't feel revolutionary or mind-blowing in any way. I know Hammer is meant to be the main protagonist but she ended up getting sidelined halfway in and her plotline didn't pick up until the end. Naiais is probably the most interesting character because of her on-going moral dilemma and sunk cost fallacy situation. Khall's descending arc is probably one of the topic and theme of the book that the author seem to want to highlight so it's surprising to me that people disliked the politics side of the book or just call Khall annoying like it's one of the main thesis of the book. But I guess if you show a man and a woman in love people forget how to think through.

I am confused when people say the last third is incredible because it was the standard confrontation I expected with losses and then the sequel set up, do people just not read fantasy.

Cry, Voidbringer is a brutal tragedy wrapped in divine power struggles and political deceit. It explores a world where the line between victim and villain is heartbreakingly thin. Viri’s journey from godchild to destroyer is as devastating as it is inevitable. Her love for Rafaeis, her bond with Elara, and her clash with Queen Khall’s cruel regime all culminate in a gut-punch of an ending. .
The worldbuilding is not too deep but the emotional weight lands: love costs, kindness becomes a crime, and sometimes, survival means becoming the very thing you swore to fight.

It’s not a happy story. But it’s a powerful one. If you like your fantasy dark, tragic, and morally tangled, this one’s worth your time.

This was such an incredibly heart wrenching book with deeply complex characters. I don't often feel what characters are feeling as deeply as what I felt with these characters. I'm counting down the days for this release so I can put this book on my shelf and force all my friends to read it as well

This book absolutely blew me away. I can not stop thinking about the intricacies of this story, the way everything plays out and how well planned and thought out the storylines are.

The characters in the book are amazing. I absolutely adore Hammer and Crescent, and how different they are despite being dealt the same circumstances. I love how the author depicted hope in these characters, and showed how painful hope and love can be to those who have none. Naias is also an extremely complex character and I love that I’m not exactly sure how I feel about her. I want to like her, because she has good intentions, but I also feel so angry with her because of her choices. I can’t stop thinking about how every little decision that she made had such a huge impact in the end, and how there were no real plot twists or major reveals, it all just climaxes into this huge explosion of an ending and it’s all because of each individual choice that was made throughout the book. And Khall, oh my gosh. What an incredible depiction of what it must be like for those in power to let fear rule them and the ultimate consequences of that fear. I can’t get over how complex and intricate each character is, and how none of them are inherently bad, yet you can’t help but not like some of them. This was just an amazing work of character development.

The world building also felt so absolutely complete and real, I can totally imagine this world that these characters are in, and the relationships between all of the different lands and rulers and Gods was so well thought out and easy to keep up with, while still maintaining complexity. I never once felt like I couldn’t keep up with what was going on or who was where, and I loved all of the lore behind the different Gods and Godchildren.

I also loved the narrative style of this, we go from 3rd person to 1st person and even 2nd person in a few cases, breaking the fourth wall at one of the most impactful points of the book. And it all flowed so seamlessly and had such a huge effect on how I viewed these characters. And it made the conclusion so much more devastating. I just can’t stop thinking about that ending!

I truly enjoyed every moment of reading this book, I will absolutely be purchasing a copy when it becomes available and I’ll definitely be reading this one again. I don’t see myself forgetting these characters or this story for a long time.

I adore this book! It had a bit of a slow beginning but the build up of the story from all the characters points of view was so worth it at the end. It's not often I read of the realities of what life is like in a broken society but Cry, Voidbringer embodied what I would expect and more.

This book had me hooked from the very first page! What an instantly captivating start! The cast of characters is phenomenal; I couldn’t get enough of them and wanted to know more about every single one. The bond between Rafeis and Hammer absolutely wrecked me in the best way, it was so well written, emotional, and intense.

The worldbuilding is strong, though I did find the geography and political climate a bit vague at first, which made it hard to orient myself. A map and character list would’ve gone a long way in helping keep everything straight. That said, the creativity behind the weapon-based names and their significance was incredibly well done and added a unique layer to the story.

I was completely immersed, even though the characters occasionally felt emotionally distant. When Elera and Viri were apart, the pacing slowed and felt a little too predictable.
Until the narrative literally called me out for it, and I was shocked. That moment was brilliant, and showed amazing insight in pacing from the author.

The religious aspects of the world were intriguing as well, but I wish they had been explored with a bit more depth to fully grasp their impact.

Favorite quote: *“The white sun dissolved behind a blurry cloud of ash.”*

All in all, this is a standout fantasy read, and I’m absolutely committed to reading anything this author writes next.

My heart is already in pain thinking about how long I will have to wait to read the sequel on this.

A sparkling tale filled to the brim with political intrigue and fascinating world building you’re thrust into from the very start. I must say, the political aspects weren’t as captivating to me as the character dynamics and grey area they operate in, in terms of morality. I’m a sucker for a story that gives us makeshift families forged out of loneliness, and Elera, Rafeis, and Viri kept me reading on when other perspectives didn’t have the same draw. The last hundred pages of this book will leave you wanting more of this vivid and invigorating world before you’re forced to contend with the fact that you’ve finished. Cry, Voidbringer is one of the books you finish and have to really sit with for a while in marveling at how the writer accomplished what they did. This is a stellar debut on Ho’s part and I can only hope we get to see more of her work in the future.

The found family themes send this novel over the top! When the world around you is crumbling and you have to fight to survive, its the people around you that make the fight worth it. The romance wasn't always believable but I appreciated the LGBT inclusion. Also the politics were very well done, albeit slow at times. gah such a good book with epic scope that I'll surely think about for some time to come.