This is a hard one for me to review because on one hand I found the world building, magic system, political intrigue and different religions really interesting. Add on the sapphic yearning and the fact that it’s set in a version of India, this book should have been 5 stars.

Unfortunately, it just didn’t hit the spot as much as I wanted it to. I found myself really slogging through the first 200 pages before I really felt invested in the story. And even though I really appreciated all of the world building for the later aspects of the book it definitely felt more like homework than reading a fantasy book (this coming from someone who loves high fantasy and complex world building). This might be due to the fact that maybe I wasn’t in the mood but it also felt like there was just something missing from the writing to hook me.

Overall, it’s a very interesting story of colonization, religious trauma, political intrigue, sapphic yearning and secret magic. So if those interest you then you might enjoy this. I certainly did one I got past halfway and I definitely want to read the next two books to see how it ends.