Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Arrah is born into a family of powerful witchdoctors and yearns for magic of her own however each year she fails to call on her powers while her mother grows disappointed. There is only one thing Arrah hasn’t tried and that’s to trade years of her own life for scraps of magic.
When the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear and a young boy Arrah swore to look after is one of them she finds herself desperate to find the culprit, unravelling the news that the long-imprisoned Demon King is stirring and his hunger for souls will bring the world to its knees. Arrah finds herself struggling with the decision of paying the price of magic knowing she may be the only person who can stop him.
Rena Barron has created a rich and magical story that I found incredibly hard to put down. It was easy for me to imagine this world that she had made and found myself so immersed that I was sad when I reached the end. I did find it hard to get into at the beginning but honestly, I think that was my fault as I was struggling to fight a book slump, however the more I read the more I found myself not wanting to stop.
I love Arrah, I think she is such a tough, independent character who went through so much in this book but still managed to come out even stronger. She made a lot of decisions in this book, some which I didn’t agree with but that made her more diverse and not your average protagonist. She had a lot of flaws but that just made her a more realistic character. I really found myself liking the friends she surrounded herself with and even found myself enjoying the villian's in this book for how sinister and selfish they really were.
One of my favourite things about his book was the mechanics of the magic system and that those who are not born with it can pay for it at a high cost. I also like that it wasn’t just limited to one or two types, there were so many! I was also a big fan of the mythology used throughout this book!
The reason I’m not giving it a five-star review is that I just felt at times like the story was just a bit too slow and that I always found myself confused when Arrah would be in one place and wake up in another with no explanation. I also feel like for the first book in a series, this was a lot to take in and that might be scary for first time YA readers.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book and I’m so glad that NetGalley and HarperCollins granted my wish to read this. I really do recommend giving it a go when it’s out! I have a feeling that this book is going to be one of the most talked about books this year!
Rating: 4/5 stars
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