It was a unique story with similar aspects in other novels I have read. I liked the storyline, the characters had good growth in my opinion and overall the story was good. I love a good story where woman are the ones calling the shots. My books for choice are not the usual ones where they have such a strong political background but I do appreciate it in this story and thought it was well written and relevant.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7817215103Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review (sorry it's a little delayed--but given my rating, probably for the best).

Where to begin with the story? I guess I'll start with the positive: the premise is interesting/fairly unique (or not often done, anyway).

The negatives are...almost everything else. I mean, I didn't hate it (so I'm finding it hard to rate 1 star), but it was just so...batshit insane?

The first couple chapters, multiple phrases were repeated as if they hadn't been said before. This continues throughout the book, sometimes sentence after sentence. Nouns and verbs sometimes are used incorrectly (lay vs "lied," "poised" vs posed, etc). The info dumps go on and on, between Dani's internal monologue to conversations with other people. Everything must be explained at all times.

Literally EVERYTHING is described, but in such a way that is distracting instead of being helpful. I really don't care to know how Everyone is dressed and what Every Room Looks Like.

Dani (FMC) has a seesaw relationship with her mother that imitates one a 15 year old girl would have with her mother and not one a...29 year old woman would have??? And at the end of the novel they completely switch personalities and also their relationship totally changes, on very little new information?

Also Dani apparently "loves" an escaped Breeder (Robbie) but yet they last saw each other as 11 and 12 year olds and barely see each other again in their late 20s before professing love??? Dani is having a romantic, emotional, and sexual relationship with ANOTHER Breeder both before and after Robbie, and yet she jumps from man to man and basically transfers her feelings every time??? Multiple other men try to seduce her and she's somewhat receptive to their overtones??

Dani is the perfect Mary Sue who is perfect at everything, bad at nothing, and constantly flaunts how "good" she is at reading people and doing her job and getting what she wants.

Characters constantly tell stories in such a way that no one IRL ever does--with perfect thorough descriptions and as if they're reading a novel?? One male character describes his love/work affair with blatant sexual verbiage to Dani and Robbie, who are basically strangers to him, and also sexualizes this woman in his story the entire time??

A shit ton of things happen in this novel but nothing causes feelings or feels impossible for the mains because they're constantly escaping and getting their way??? It's basically a novel where they're on the run almost the entire time and yet not much changes about their circumstances. Dani ends up in the same place she started, more or less.

Also, in a novel dozens of years in the future, in a futuristic/apocalyptic society, we have names like Dani, Linda, and Robbie...and nearly everyone else has made-up futuristic names?

At one point a man shoots his daughter and it's not even the most ridiculous thing that happens in this novel.

I started skim/fast-reading this story and I'm not sure I missed much.

Read this only if you want something absolutely bonkers. Istg I came in with good intentions and left utterly perplexed. Do not recommend, will not be reading any sequel(s).

I like the premise of this book: post apocalypse and women now run the government (and men now face the issues that women currently face). The FMC, while the daughter of a high-ranking official, is against the way men are treated and uses her investigative journalism skills to find out what is really happening to the men. While the plot is good, I struggled with parts of the book and almost didn’t finish it. I’m not sure if it was the writing or the characters or both…I’m sad that I didn’t love this book. Thank you NetGalley and Koehler Books for the eARC.

Dominion has an ambitious premise with high-stakes action and an expansive world, but it didn’t fully click for me. The pacing was uneven, and I struggled to connect with the characters at times.

Pros:
•Unique world-building with big potential.
•Plenty of action and tension.

Cons:
•Some characters felt underdeveloped.
•The story moved fast but lacked emotional depth.

A decent sci-fi fantasy opener, but I was hoping for a bit more polish and connection.

I enjoyed the concept of this book. A dystopian flip on a male ran world. What would it be like to reverse that and how would it even work. Murray put some thought into this and it is reflected in the world building that occurs in the beginning chapters. Everything is very descriptive so you can easily follow along with the plot. While it read like a freshman novel, it was interesting and something I'd recommend for a book club bec the discussion would be very interesting.

2.5⭐️
I enjoy dystopian books but this one was just a no. I tried to get into it and enjoy it but something about how the system was made it very hard to get into. I didn’t mind the writing but that was about it for me.

In the remains of a world torn apart by war, Dominion rises, a society where women hold the reins of power and the future is re-invented. Through Dani Matthews’s eyes, we are in a society where men are commodities and freedom is a dream.

This novel confronts themes of gender, autonomy, and rebellion. Dani’s journey, from the heights of Dominion’s ruling class to the uncertainty of Haven, is both harrowing and tender. Her connection with Robbie, a Breeder haunted by his gilded cage, is beautifully drawn, lending a pulse of hope to the dystopian gloom.

Suspenseful and thought provoking, with the strongest question: Who gets to shape the world, and at what cost? “Dominion” stays with you, reflecting the complication of power, love, and the human will to be free.

This book was out of the ordinary as a read for me but I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from D.A.Murray.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Dominion Ascension by D.A. Murray is a dark, gripping sci-fi fantasy that blends high-stakes action with an undercurrent of mystery and intrigue.
Murray crafts a vivid, unsettling world where survival depends on power plays, fragile alliances, and difficult choices.
The pacing keeps tension simmering, balancing explosive confrontations with quieter moments that deepen character connections.
Plot twists land hard, shifting the ground beneath readers and raising the stakes with every chapter.
It’s an intense, cinematic start to what promises to be a thrilling series.

This book was interesting, with a wonderful world! I loved the characters, and the world building was masterful and unique! I was interested from beginning to end! I would recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately DNFed this book within the first chapter. I tried to stick around till the end of chapter 1 at minimum, but couldn’t even make it that far.

This writing is just incredibly poorly done. All telling, no showing, and basically any and all world building and backstory is dumped on the reader within the first seven pages. There’s no nuance or mystery, it’s all just shoved at you.

The premise of this book seemed so interesting but unfortunately the writing is so unreadable it’s impossible to get interested.

Dominion by D. A. Murray is a phenomenal dystopian fiction.
A thought- provoking debut that kept me glued to the pages.
I was swept into the story from the very first page. I immediately loved the story, the world-building, and the characters.

A fresh dystopian spin that flips the usual power structure—women lead and men are strictly controlled—this book definitely has an interesting idea at its core. Dani, a driven reporter from a powerful family, and Robbie, a designated “Breeder,” team up to escape the oppressive Dominion and find a refuge called Haven. Their journey and eventual trials in “The Becoming” raise big questions about identity, autonomy, and who’s really in charge.

The world-building is creative and strong; the societal setup made me think. But to be honest, I found myself more intrigued by the concept than immersed in the story. Some parts felt slow, and the emotional stakes didn’t always land for me. The characters sometimes read more like idea vessels than people I connected with.

If you’re into feminist dystopias or enjoy contemplating systems of control and resistance, this book could really resonate. But if you’re looking for punchy pacing or deep emotional hooks, it might feel more like a solid thought experiment than an addictive page‑turner.

3.5 stars rounded up. A different type of dystopian story. there is a little smut but only a scene or two. I really like the concept for this book, and I hope that as the series continues, the story will be more captivating. As it is the first book of the series, there is a lot of setting up the story and plot lines. There is some action, but the fmc was boring at times, in my opinion.

This book asks what it means to be a human and makes you question everything! Following the journey with the protagonist through this dystopia takes you away with the author's descriptive writing. You are absolutely transported to this new world. This book makes you ask so many questions, many of which we all face today. Whether it be about relationships, equality, and basic human rights. I highly recommend this book.

I was really excited to read this book about a world where women are in control of society and men are forced into assigned roles. I did sometimes feel as if I were reading a nonfiction book learning about the happenings of an unknown civilization instead of being entirely immersed in a work of fiction. Despite that, I wanted to know how the story would unfold. I'll probably give this a reread at some point.

LI was very intrigued by the premise of this story and felt that the first chapter was compelling enough to make me want to know more. But I felt like the more I read this story the more the writing began to fall apart. The relationships did not have anything compelling holding them together and felt too sudden and the dialogue seemed very transactional and did not flow.

Thank you so much for a gifted copy of this in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I just could not get into it at all

Overall this was an interesting read. The premise is a post-apocalyptic world run entirely by woman. It's giving Handmaids Tale, but with the genders swapped. Men have suffered with infertility and have become mentally impaired, leading to women taking on the leadership roles and the men being put into lesser roles. Our main protagonist is Dani, who is an investigative journalist and daughter of one such leader. With that being said, the execution could have been a lot better. I did find myself skimming a lot of it.

Special thanks to Koehler Books and NetGalley for my eArc in exchange for my honest review.

New to me author. Thank you to Netgalley for the introduction. Women are in power and rule the Country - this premise made me want to read the book. However, that same premise didn't make me enjoy the book the way I wanted. Another part that made want to read the book was sharing names with the MMC. However, that's kind of where the thrill ended. The book gained my attention again at the end, but not enough to make me want to know what happens in the next book.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and D.A Murrary for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book would be good for people that enjoyed The Power by Naomi Alderman and/or the Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This book had a very intriguing premise that pulled me in. I loved The Power and I felt like this could almost serve as an expansion on that concept while also showing the mirror to the world of the Handmaid's Tale. There were high stakes and complex characters, where good and bad were not easy to identify. Nothing was black and white, everything was grey. Even the concepts and world had complexity and layers. I think that the dialogue often did more telling than showing. The men are described as being abused but it's never really shown. What I mean is, let an interaction play out and let the reader infer "oh, they are being mistreated." It was mostly just our MC telling us "this is what is happening, which is mistreatment'. The MC also should not have massive monologues about the Caste system and the world to help set the scene. This should have been introduced organically as we come into contact with these people and how the Caste worked. At points., I just wanted more descriptions, but it was blunt and to the point too quickly, like it was rushing to the next scene without finishing the previous. Overall, I gave this a 3/5 stars. Thank you again for the ARC!