Doesn't end on an exciting cliffhanger, but more of a "to be continued." it's like pausing the Mulan movie right before her personal-growth/training montage I really, REALLY liked this! I loved Lyr so much, and she reminded me of Feyre and Jude a little (high praise from me). I loved her relationship with her sisters and how protective she is of them—that was the bit that reminded me of Feyre the most. year-old mage Lady Lyriana Batavia is third in line to the Seat of Power in Bamaria: a position of wealth and privilege, but not safety. Bamaria falls under the rule of the Lumerian Empire, survivors of a celestial war whose island sank in the Drowning. Now all Lumerians submit to the Emperor and his strict laws about magic. He decides what magic can be practiced and what powers remain forbidden. He decides who will die for possession of forbidden magic.

I strangled rumours, covered missteps, and danced day and night to keep everyone’s eyes on me and not my sisters.” I want to start this with I had the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review and I am so thankful because this book is life changing. I love the ideas of the vorakh, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series to give us more insight! I have a feeling that they are going to come into play more in the future and her sisters are going to find a way to control their powers/discover that what happened with Ka Azria and the outlawing of the vorakh was a way to weaken a certain people... I just found myself constantly wanting MORE… more grit from the FMC, more tension from the love interest dynamic & more action in the plot.We follow Lady Lyriana, of Ka Bamaria / Heir to Arksava, on her journey of self-discovery and protection of those she loves. As a lady, she enjoys all of the perks and fluff of a noble born heir, until her world is turned upside down amidst political turmoil and unforeseen magical happenstances. She is determined to come out the other side stronger, and we love a powerful leading lady!!!! I love some good world building but there's a lot to take in. A dozen different kingdoms, ruling families, counsel members, imperators, magical races, animal species... and of course there's a made-up language with honorifics, titles, and full-blown sentences in the made-up language. I found myself glazing over whenever they would get into origin myths. I wouldn't say the lore is boring, but the book can seriously infodump at times. No better place to begin than pointing out that this book was downright fantastic. I consumed it. Or, rather, it consumed me. Faced with death in exile, and leaving her sisters behind, Lyr has no choice but to accept a deadly contract. She has seven months to train as a warrior and pass the Emperor’s brutal test of strength, without magic. First of all, I would like to say that Lord Rhyan Hart is mine. All mine. (Sorry Lyr, Koisty, Lila, and Lia)

You choose. You can let what the others think about you be right, you can let your guilt and shame hold you down, or you can decide your fate, assert the strength you do have, become stronger than ever before. But you have to claim it. And when you do, you can be freer than a seraphim. Stronger than a gryphon. No ropes can hold you. No cage can trap you." GR book blurb describes this as Cleopatra meets Throne of Glass which makes me feel better about the Roman vibes this was giving me with all the talk of sandals even if I was obvs a little off base with historical context 🫣I was not ready for this to make such an impact and my God am I glad that this book came onto my radar and I had the opportunity to read it because I am hooked…and I cannot wait to get into book 2. vorakh are not as dangerous as believed! I think that they were outlawed by the "bad guys" as a way to weaken the "good guys." I think that part of the binding is what is causing 5he ill side effects of those with a vorakh and this will all be discovered later! Or at least I hope so. 😅 I want Meera and Morgana to find a way to control their gifts and be able to help Lyr in her coming fight. Rhyan: stop I love him so much. Caring and protective, he hides his kind side under a cold exterior. but honestly I love him so much ahhhhhhh But when she’s forced to train with Lord Rhyan Hart, the man she’s secretly loved since she was a girl—a feared warrior in exile himself, forbidden to her in every way—she’s in danger of losing far more than her family, life, and country.

I still felt like the world building was easy to read - except for my pet peeve of fantasy words that are too similar - & the world created was interesting.I'm prob being harsh, but considering the double life we're told she's been leading she's rather naive and it lowkey irked me to no end that she doesn't really take agency for herself for so long 🙈 I was not ready for this masterpiece! This book needs all the hype!!! Like shout it from the rooftops, display a full on bat signal. The world needs to know about this book!!! This story is about Lyriana who is an Heir to the Arkasva and third in line in the Ruling Ka (yes it’s confusing just bear with me…). Two years prior, on her birthday and her cousin’s Revelation Ceremony; her cousin is arrested and killed for being in possession of one of the three Vorakh, taboo powers after the Drowning of the empire - visions, mind-reading and teleportation. Lyr’s father protects her eldest sister from discovery as she is also in possession of one of these forbidden powers (Visions). A year later Lyr’s middle sister also has to be protected as she possesses Mind Reading. Lyr does everything for her sisters as it’s a death sentence for the whole family if their secret is ever discovered. On Lyr’s Revelation Ceremony she is sure that she is going to be revealed as Vorakh. However events transpire and to stop herself from being banished from the Empire she has seven months to train as a brutal warrior and pass a test of strength. Did I mention that her main trainer is Lord Rhyan Hart, the man she has been in love with since she was seven… There's a super cool magic system, Lyr's sisters who I need to know more about, and a setting that I can't wait to delve into in the sequel. But most of all...there's Rhyan. I found the Lyriana/Tristan relationship completely pointless. I could’ve gotten behind the idea if it was only for political protection, but the incessant internal monologue trying to convince us that she actually liked him was a completely unnecessary attempt to create a love triangle, which only really work when we are not sure who the MC is going to end up with (and sometimes not even then), and it’s obvious who it’s going to be here. There is literally no end to her “I have so many responsibilities that I need to fulfill for my family” spiel, so she would’ve been a much more consistent character (and the story would’ve been much stronger) had she actually stopped liking Tristan after the first chapter and only stayed with him to allay any suspicions about her sisters. (Also any sexual scenes between them were super awkward—very weird to read.)