This is Epic complex Fantasy.
At times it is a heavy read but I found it to be well worth persevering with.
The characters are engaging and the story certainly sucked me in.

The Purist is about Eridan and Sfassa, wrathful gods, sleeping goddesses, gleaming green eyes in the dark, and ah, so many dangerous secrets.

It was a good read. The world is vast and complex with loads of different species and deliciously tangled up histories.

It was also a really difficult read. The Purist was not an easily accessible book. I found it difficult to imagine what the characters looked like or what was going on. I couldn't keep the characters or their relations straight, and overall I felt like I had to force a lot of mental effort every time I read it.
But the difficulty had a bright side to it, after putting in the effort, I became extremely immersed in the story. I would love for this book to have a sequel so that I could return to its world.

This was so very beautiful. I am not sure what exactly I expected going in but I could not possibly have expected this. I'm hardly sure where to start. There was a lot going on in the story, I am not sure whether I would call it a love story, a political fantasy, a quest, or a space opera, there was a little bit of all of the above.

It took me a few chapters to warm up, not because it didn't immediately grab me or because the writing wasn't gorgeous, but because there just really was a lot to take in. The world is very complex and extremely well-built. Part of my enjoyment came in wanting to see more of it. The descriptions of places, people, and cultures were so interesting and so diverse, not to mention vividly written in a way that drew me in.

But if the word was wonderful the characters were equally so. I absolutely adored Eridan. For all the small mistakes he made and his moments of naivety I never actually felt frustrated with him. I always understood exactly where he was coming from and was rooting for him to overcome his obstacles. His love for Sfassa was beautiful and his complicated relationship with the Northwarden did things to my heart as well.

Sfassa herself was wonderful. Strong and fierce and written so well that I absolutely understood at every moment why Eridan adored her so. I believed the way they loved each other wholeheartedly.

The Northwarden's character was a bit of an enigma throughout and the way the story was written lent itself perfectly to that. I came to love the character too without ever feeling certain I entirely understood them, which felt right.

I could go on, the quest was interesting, and the interspersed chapters of character history were given to me in such a way that the reading still just flowed. They were just the right length so that I was never annoyed at being sidelined into the past or disappointed to return to the current timeline.

In the end I think my only real complaint is that the book ended with a few questions left not entirely answered. There was much left that I would have liked to read expanded upon or see how it would go. But even those unanswered things did not feel like a cliffhanger, but more as though they readily left the world open for a second book which I would absolutely love to read. So I suppose the only complaint really is that there isn't more.

This one was a definite win for me. I will be thinking about parts of it for days to come. And I will, without doubt, be looking for more by this author.

An amazingly detailed and complex world filled with political intrigue. This was a little slow to get going and occasionally the flashbacks were distracting when it came to the main plot, but otherwise this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The set up with the assassination attempt was gripping and Eridan and Sfassa relationship was interesting. I did find Sfassa’s reasons for keeping her secret perhaps a tad contrived but all in all this was a great epic fantasy with elements of sci-fi.

This is an amazing and very good fantasy book.
I loved the world building, so complex and detailed, and I liked the way the character were developed.
It could have been a 5 stars but unfortunately it took a bit too long before the plot started going and it was possible to understand what was going on and why.
I'm curious to read other books set into this world and see what will happen.
Recommended!
Many thanks to NineStar Press and Netgalley for this ARC