Rating: 4 out of 5.

This was a fast-paced, action packed romantasy that kept my attention. The world is complicated and although there is some worldbuilding at the beginning, I found myself still confused about the structure of the society and the magic system. Hopefully things will become clearer in the next book.

In this world, noble houses vie for power and a Prime rules them all. Powerful god shards are divine fragments that grant extraordinary abilities to those who possess them and are aggressively sought out. Our FMC Revel’s brother died trying to get one and Revel, her sister, and mother were captured and imprisoned. She is then forced to compete in the Call – a bloody contest of heirs vying for the throne and told to kill the realms best alchemist, the Warbringer. If she does this, her family goes free. If not, she dies.

I listened to the book and the narrators did a fantastic job. The narrators brought the story to life and were able to skillfully depict the fear, mistrust, determination, and anxiety the characters felt during the story. I found myself tensing up when Revel was in danger and holding my breath until she came out the other end.

All of the contestants have their own reasons for entering the contest and they don’t care who they have to kill, or what they have to do, to win. Revel can’t trust any of them, and even though they occasionally form a temporary truce to achieve certain goals, there is no trust beyond that.

The Warbringer (Axus) is not what Revel thought he’d be and although he’s got secrets he won’t share, they become close during the contest. He helps her when he doesn’t need to but Revel has too many conflicting thoughts in her head to truly trust him. Revel’s inner dialogue and paranoia become frustrating after awhile, even though she really did have reasons to be paranoid. I am also not a huge fan of insta-love and their relationship went from hatred to love almost instantly. Her feelings about Axus regularly flickered back and forth between hatred, lust, mistrust, and love and I had whiplash trying to keep up.

I liked Revel’s determination and bravery, even when she didn’t believe in herself. She knew what her goal was and wasn’t going to let anyone or anything get in her way. Was this the most intriguing, original, and creative fantasy every written? No. But, it was entertaining and fun to read. I went into this book to be entertained and suspend disbelief for awhile and I got just that. The cliffhanger is killing me and I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a complimentary audiobook from Macmillan Audio and a complimentary e-book from St. Martin’s Press, Saturday Books, and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.