First of all I feel that the writing in this book is excellent. What a great debut novel and can't wait to see what this author does next!

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me at 24% in and I will explain why. I don't think it is a flaw of the book, I am just not the reader for it. Rating 3 stars because I do feel that it is very well done and the level of story telling I've experienced in this first 24% does not warrant less stars, however I am not engaged enough to keep reading.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the unique aspect of getting the MMC's POV with the FMC being the "enemy" (let her be the villain for once, as a treat!!). However the book was a too sci/fi for me and a lot of the world building was going over my head. I craved more dual POV from the start. I know there will be a romance subplot but as a reader I really thrive off getting tension/banter as soon as possible in the story as it makes me invested and needing to know will they/won't they/how will they. I was shocked to learn how young Jesse was (14) as I envisioned him a lot older and this kind of shifted the story for me. I can stretch to relating to a male POV's but stretching to then relating to someone so young was tough.

I do feel like there are many readers out there who would LOVE this book. I feel like this could be a good read for those who typically read dystopian lit to dip their toes into fantasy.

3.5*

This was a beautiful debut by Sill Bihagia. The writing in this was absolutely beautiful. This book has so much slow burn in terms of character development and plot - which I loved and felt that it gave the book so much heart.

The worldbuilding was admittedly a bit confusing and overwhelming at times but the pacing was perfect for me and there was so much nuance and care given to each character. However, the first half of the book was much stronger than the latter in my opinion and left me feeling like I wanted more from the ending. It felt a bit rushed considering the careful pacing of the rest of the book though this may be cleared up in the following books in the series.

The heart of this story lies in Jesse's journey, his resilience and his found family.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Victory Editing and Oria Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Extremely ambitious world-building in this sci fi fantasy debut.
Jesse’s entire village (and family) mysteriously drops dead and any survivors killed by the Red Demon. Jesse escapes, determined to discover the truth and kill the Red Demon.

<b>Step one: survive the night. Step one thousand: kill the Red Demon. Somewhere in between, I’d do what Iden suggested: find other Chaeten, avoid Asri, get help from the empire.
</b>
In this world, there are two human lines who nearly wiped each other out rather than acknowledge their shared humanity. The Chaeten fled the death of their planet, coming as refugees. The Asri - the native humans, couldn’t agree if the Chaeten were coded human enough. Through the last few generations, the Chaeten changed their genetic code to belong.

I do wish this was explained more as things that seem too complicated are explained away by latent genes and Asri ‘magic’ - tech that no one really understands.

Jesse is a bi disaster. An honourable loyal friend, and unwilling to bend on his principles.
He discovers and cultivates a found family and the relationship between Jesse and his new ‘Brother’ is the epitome of heartfelt bromance.

The tumultuous feelings of Jesse is increased by the first person narration, however I have to admit to thinking of Jesse as a girl until 20%. Whoops.

I did find the ending too easy and slightly unsatisfying. This is a book one, so I am hopeful the world and lore will expand and deliver a satisfying story!

All in all, this is an impressive debut with a few teething problems.

Arc gifted by author.