this was a good read, the premise was interesting and I liked the characters. Overall I enjoyed the writing of the authors and am glad I read this.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is available now.

Epic in scale, this was a slow read for me. It took me a very long time to get all the way through. However, once I did, I ended up really enjoying it.

With this book, what stood out to me was the world-building. It was so incredibly creative! The setup of the geography was pretty cool. There were several islands within relatively close proximity, which made the timing more believable. I am a big fan of fantasy books that feature a journey of some sort because it allows for so many different kinds of encounters, so that was a win for me.

Climber’s buddy Jern was probably my favorite character. The relationship between the two was fun to read. I know I’ve mentioned in other posts that I don’t always like the main character, but I did enjoy Climber. It was good to read a main character that wasn’t a giant ball of angst.

The author was very judicious with his fight scenes. They were well-written, but they weren’t the crux of the story. I liked that he understood the fine balance between action and story. Many authors rely too much on one or the other.

I recommend this one to fantasy readers who don’t mind some slow set-up.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

I tried to like this book because it looked so interesting, but I struggled to really get into it.
The first chapters were really hard to get into because of the characters 'voices', it was just so long winded.
And while the story seemed to pick up as Chimber's chapters started, I still felt detached. Both Chimber and his friend felt a bit more fleshed out but there was still a spark missing that would make me really care.

So sadly, I did not finish this book as it could not keep my attention and I had no real desire to continue reading whenever I took a break.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

SPOILERS
I really wasn't sure about this book when I started reading. I struggled through the first two chapters but once the story-line reached the grave diggers I started to warm up.

I loved the relationship between Chimber and Jern, I enjoyed their banter. I liked to see how protective Jern was of a woman he only just met and even put his life on the line to help protect her.
Saffral is a sweet character with a lot of troubles, forced to be wed to a horrible man so she could protect her parents. She cares enough to give up a special necklace, the tear of life, to save Jern's life after he tried to protect her.

I didn't enjoy Brechlin's storyline at first. I liked that she is a strong female character willing to climb the ranks and assert her opinion on things that mattered to her.

I found myself struggling to continue this book. There didn't seem like there was much going on. The characters had flat personalities and you didn't really get to see what was going on in their heads.

The book has an interesting premise but it's not really for me. I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
DNF at 50%