Overall this was a decent story. It has great detail and delves heavily into world building to fully establish the power struggle of several families vying for the throne and control of a kingdom. It starts out very strong with a fast paced, storyline full of intrigue and mystery, and then slows down a bit to a nice even pace to allow all pieces of the story to develop. All in all, this was an enjoyable story that sets things up for the future books in the series. While I did appreciate the story and the world development, I found it to be a bit slow and the story didn’t always hold my interest as a result. This book was a bit more drama focused and didn’t have any elements which justified the classification of a fantasy novel. Perhaps those events will come into play more in the remainder of the series, but as of this book, this appears to be more of a historical fiction than fantasy. That being said, if you enjoy Asian culture and reading about the various struggles within empires and their noble families, you will love this book! The narration was impeccable and the writing was well done!

Birth of a Dynasty by Chinaza Bado
Narrated by Adenrele Ojo
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I'll begin with the disclaimer that I think this was a case of "I'm the problem".
Birth of a Dynasty had so much consistent action and world building to draw the reader in, but unfortunately I didn't find myself as enraptured as I maybe should have been.

I enjoyed being able to see both M’kuru's/Khalil's story and Zikora's story alongside one another and how they were treated after the Mukundi massacre. I think part of what I disliked was the multiple perspectives the story was told from in addition to being third person. I don't mind third person novels but when there are too many points of view included I feel like it muddies the story a little. I like to be left in the dark sometimes and learn things with my main character(s), so I think it may ave been stronger focusing only on Khalil and Zikora.

Adenrele Ojo's narration was smooth and delivered wonderfully, which added to the immersive experience, even with having multiple characters to juggle.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperAudio, and Chinaza Bado for the ALC.
All opinions expressed in this review are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

Beginning started off kinda slow for me. After about a fourth of the book I finally started getting into it. There’s lots of things to keep up with, people, places, the politics so there a lot of moving parts in this. I really enjoyed Zikora whole personality. I think what I loved most about this book was the multiple points of view so you get a full aspect to what’s happening. Multiple narrators was also nice. I feel like all the characters were well developed, the writing style was on point, and this is absolutely a book you take notes on to refer back to which is something I love doing with books. If you enjoy political fantasy this is right up your alley. I look forward to the rest of the series!

This book is epic both in fantasy and is amazing storylines. The story is unique and provides so much back story, world building, and character development. You wouldn’t think think a fantasy book with child main characters would be this detailed and interesting but it is phenomenal.
The narrator did such an amazing job. Her voice acting was superb and felt like she was bringing you into the story and into another world.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperAudio for the ARC.

This book was very interesting to me right from the beginning!
Tragedy and betrayal are our introduction to young M’Kuru as his family is attacked and massacred. As the sole survivor, he swears he will get revenge one day for the High Noble House Mukundi of Madada. M’Kuru meets a strange old man who tells him from that day on, he will be known as Khalil and live as his grandson working his farm and watching over his “mother” as he gets older and learns more about this world they live in. Until one day, he meets an imposter claiming to be M’Kuru Mukundi of Madada.

Somewhere in another part of the country where giants roam, we are introducedto a young Zikora Nnamani, only daughter of the High Noble Lord Nnamani. Zikora is a free spirit that dreams of being a fierce woman warrior rather than a polished lady like her mother expects. She is a smart and curious little girl, but that curiosity leads her to eavesdropping upon a meeting where she learns her older brother was cast out of the family and then murdered. A prophecy states that a union between the Mukundi and Nnamani would be too powerful and the King orders the massacre of the Mukundi. With that in mind, a messenger arrives with an “invite” for Zikora to stay at the palace that her family can’t refuse. Lord Nnamani gives Zikora, unbeknownst to her, a magical inheritance that should help her weather future storms headed her way.

So now we have M’Kuru aka Khalil, whose childhood and innocence was robbed and then, Zikora whose innocence and honesty is what makes people not see her as a threat. As we get to know our characters and watch them grow, I was drawn in by the politics of this kingdom. This book is quite literally the foundation being laid for what will happen as our characters grow. The first book of the trilogy is filled with world building and understanding the political atmosphere that plays a huge part. I don’t think I’ve read a book that started out like this before so I’m invested! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see where the vengeance will take us!

I will be posting this review on Instagram and Goodreads immediately, but I will make a secondary post on the release date. Thank you!

I cannot wait for future books! Chinaza Bado has me hooked with this brilliant fantasy! The world building is stunning. I am so invested in the story and characters that I was sad when it ended! Also, absolutely obsessed with the narrator!