I struggled to finish this. The author is descriptive and is good at creating a new and believable world, but it’s hard to follow and felt rushed. The story and characters needed a bit more development. Them diving right into a relationship was quick and rushed and also describing the background of the characters and world needed more them because I was left filling in the blanks in history and culture

I received a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is an amazing, fast paced novella that sets the scene for a new series of books and a new fantasy adventure and world to set sail into.
The characters are complex but likeable and I cant wait for book two to find out what will happen next.
The writing is fluent and poetic and the scenes are dark and steam-punky.
An amazing start to a new fantasy series.

This story was basically catnip for me. The universe is well thought out and the emotional heart of the story is deep and painful. But I'm not without hope because Ava has already proven she can survive and thrive. If the second book already existed I would have dived right in immediately after finishing this one.

[I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.]

Plot
This book is about Ava, a woman who helps a wraith (Sariel) escaping. Ava herself was sold to the barracks by her mother. As for wraiths, they are seen as “slaves” rather than creatures and the only way for them to escape is to go to the Northern Dark. Ava is going to need every help she can get to escape with Sariel to a new world.

My opinion
I would like to begin by stating that the good parts of the book are the relationships between the characters and that the book is action-packed. However, I did not like the fact that you start in the middle of a story already. There is no build up, you are thrown into the story immediately. Furthermore I did not really have a connection with any of the characters, they felt a bit flat. As for the world-building, the author gave it her best shot to build a world in 96 pages, however it is rather difficult to establish a detailed world within less than 100 pages. Overall I would say: give it a shot and see if it is a book for you, that should be evident in the first 20% of the book.

I couldn't finish it, I'm sorry, but the story had a lot of potential, but it lacks story building. i feel like I was missing a prequel book. I was confused most of the time, and had a hard time connecting actions. I wish there was an introduction of some kind for the charcaters and the setting.

The characters were diverse and I liked how well the interaction was between them, but then again, not knowing how the characters looks and their environment is clouded the amaziness of their builing

DNF @ 15%. This was just bad all the wary around. There was no point in my continuing reading this soulless book. It made no sense. WAY too much world building that was just boring and useless. The writing style was superficial and I just could not care enough about the characters to continue.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a very unique novella and definitely not what I was expecting at all. I did not realize that this was erotica, so was a bit surprised when that began quite early on in the story. The entire novella sets up some interesting characters and world-building, and I can see the author revisiting it in the future.

Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me; however, I'm sure it would be a fun, short read for people interested in fantasy erotica and fantasy romance books.

Oh boy, this was so hilariously bad. I stopped reading at about 20% because I really couldn't take it anymore.

Writing style: there's nothing good to said about the writing. There are no details. No explanations. No emotions even.

Characters: I couldn't care less about any of them. I kept forgetting the main characters name even if she mentions her own name quite a lot.

Story: there's no build-up to anything. No glimpse into what could come to pass.

God, this was bad. Definitely going into the DNF pile to never be picked up or looked at again.

Uff, I am sorry to say this was a disappointment.

Have you ever been took and thrown in the middle of a tornado? Nope? Well read this book and you will feel just like it.

I want to say this is NOT a bad book. It has a lot of potential, a lot of well done parts ( very interesting characters, relationships. world elements, conflicts, cover). However, it does not build well. I KNOW this is the first book, but usually series follow a logic: you introduce the main characters, you build the world, you set the context... you let the reader know what they are getting into.
This one sadly felt like we were thrown in the middle of everything and left to our own devices. It was so easy to get lost.

Good story but needs more world-building

I enjoyed this book. I found the story interesting and a fun read. The pacing was good and the characters were interesting. On the other hand, the book suffered from some weaknesses. If the characters would have been better developed, they would have been even more interesting. The world-building seemed interesting but there was not enough detail to have a real understanding of it. I think that the story would have been better served if it were a full novel. Nonetheless, I recommend this for fans of the genre.

In a world where religious dogma and generations of entrenched superstitions endorsed (or outlawed) by the House of Tong and the House of Imrakis dictate the rules of daily engagement between humans, knights, wraiths, geomancers, and every other sentient being in their domain, Ava Sandrino has risen from the ashes of multiple betrayals. Her unapologetic determination to thrive and to prosper generates heat in her relationships with friends, foes, and business colleagues. Life moves in somewhat predictable ways for her until she crosses paths with a being named Sariel, who’s on the run from enslavement. This meeting puts him and Ava in danger from Captain Ezra Shaw. Their love triangle includes almost everything except typical outcomes.

Justine Rosenberg’s often lyrical prose conveys the details of hardscrabble circumstances and gritty environments as sociopolitical observations about human trafficking, xenophobia, and dogmatic indoctrination. With conservative nods to steampunk, Brimstone incorporates familiar references to the Americas, and lira currency with SciFi and fantasy elements of other inhabited worlds and magical powers. These strange places, beings, and abilities are essentially recognizable, but fresh spins examine popular tropes from unexpected angles. Ava’s story organically evokes subtle parallels with American slavery, Mengele’s experiments, the Tuskegee syphilis study, and other similar atrocities.

Poetic music and water themes recur and contrast sharply with the characters’ pragmatic focus on survival. Brimstone is a thrilling adventure, a mystery, and an unconventional romance. As the intricately structured first installment of a series that shows substantial promise, it delivers storytelling satisfaction and reader anticipation for the next segment of Ava’s journey.

I received a copy of Brimstone via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book but it suffered from the fact that it was a novella rather than a full book. The pace was fast but I would enjoyed more details about the characters and the world. With novellas, world building can be lacking a bit. That said, the characters are intriguing and I want to see what happens to them. I am interested in continuing with the series.

4 out of 5 Stars

This book description definitely drew me in from the get go. Stories with royalty and magic are my cup of tea! I was kind of disappointed though because I definitely hadn’t anticipated this book being so short when I started it (I guess I should’ve looked up the word count lol) and I had hoped there would be a little more development but I guess there is only so much you can do in less than a 100 pages :/ hopefully the rest of the series will fill in the blanks and give us more details :)

This was a really quick read, a little shorter than I was expecting. However, the writing is well executed and I enjoyed the world building. This was a really enjoyable quick read in between heavier, longer books that I've been reading.