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MY ⭐️ RATING: 4/5
Format: Advanced Reader Copy
🚨 I received an advanced reader copy, provided by the author for an honest review. 🚨
This did not impact my rating in any way.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Spirits haunt the realm of Zekiaz. Flee them, fight them, or wield them. But they bow to no master.
The upstart matriarch of a fallen house, Kasia Niezik has sworn to destroy the elusive Crimson Court who assassinated her father. They are near immortal, wielding the spirits that once ended civilization a millennium ago, but she is a Reacher of the realm of Death. Their worst fear.
But to kill her deceitful foes, first she must find them.
Kasia travels to the capital, seeking allies either brave or foolish enough to help her infiltrate the Crimson elites. Whether spirit hunter, princess, or thief, though, everyone has a hidden agenda. And those with the widest smiles hold daggers behind their backs.
Step into a new world of fantasy intrigue where flintlock guns, epic magic, gaslamp technology, and spirits clash amid shadowy bids for power. Revenge is sweet, but at what cost?
MY REVIEW
When I first saw the cover by Kateryna Vitkovska, I was instantaneously, all in, it’s wonderful and it has a very Game of Thrones feel to it. That got me interested to see if the story had that same type of feel to it as well. I say GoT because I’m basing it off of the show rather than A Song of Ice and Fire by GRRM, that I have yet to read. I would say that this is GoT-lite, it’s not near as dark, edgy or morally grey, but it still makes you feel like you are in a world similar to that. The Interior art by Joni Matoz is quite terrific and did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life so we can know exactly what they look like. The inspiration for this can definitely be attributed to Eastern Europe, and you can definitely tell by the names and locations, there’s lots of z’s, y’s, aa’s, and ii’s that i found to be a bit difficult to read at first (could definitely use a pronunciation key), but once I was used to it, they got a lot easier.
The story is compelling and tense, that can be both charming and intoxicating because of the characters, and with this being a multi POV story, there’s always a risk of a character that you don’t like as much and want to move on to the next POV, but I didn’t run into that issue, I thought all the characters were all pretty terrific, and found myself liking Nex the most, there’s always something about the outlaw type that always gets me the most. Kasia who is out for revenge is the main POV, but there’s also Radais, a glass made warrior who rides an Ibex, Princess Nikoza and two characters that show representation, Nex is a non-binary outlaw, and Zinarus is handicapped, but doesn’t let that stop him.
“My father once taught me that a strong leader need not reflect upon his decisions, as his actions defended themselves. To him, each moment spent focused on the past was one turned away from a better future.”
The writing was great, and there were many passages that I saved throughout the book that just stuck with me. The magic system (called reaching) is something that really stood out to me and I thought was pretty cool. I liked that it wasn’t limited to people that were born with it, such as the scions, but could also be used by people that had artifacts that could help them wield the magic. The different types that could be used made the characters a lot more intriguing, and on top that, using too much can taint the user and have ill effects on them. With Magic being such a focus of the world and the story, I love when there are limits to magic, especially when it can be harmful, it makes it a bit more realistic and adds an extra layer to fights, knowing when and when not to use it.
The Crimson Court is a strong start that I enjoyed quite a bit, but I feel like the second half of this was the shining star, especially the final quarter. That final bit was, eyeballs locked in, excited to see what happened next. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good build up of putting the wheels of the story into motion and meeting the characters, but during the first half of The Crimson Court, there were times I was excited to get to the next page to see what happens next, and times that I was ready to get to the next page just to get to something else. This is not a slight to say that the first half was bad, I just enjoyed the second half more, and I will definitely say this. I truly expect the rest of the series to be something very exciting and I’m definitely going to be along for the ride to see how things play out.
Wolfmantula.com 