I absolutely loved this book!! I love that it’s a dual POV book from the beginning. The banter is also brilliant. I cannot wait for book two!

DNF at 20%

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book due to the level of similarity between the story so far and the plot of Fourth Wing. I understand that a lot of stories in this genre take inspiration from others, but the similarities here made it difficult to enjoy the story in its own right. I tried to push through as I assumed the plot would eventually diverge away from the Fourth Wing inspiration but the parallels between Ara’s conversation with Joel after her assessment and the conversation Violet has with Dain after she crosses the parapet were just too much for me.

I think the author had some really interesting ideas here. Both the magical creatures and the Roman Empire inspired setting really drew me to want to pick up this book, but the plot didn’t feel unique enough to set it apart from other books in the genre.