The cover of the book was beautiful and the blurb seemed interesting, but the story kind of let me down. I was just bored.

It took me some time to read and review this book, for some reason it got overlooked, but I am very glad I finally read it and I would recommend it to any Sci-Fi lover out there. Good world building, interesting characters and races and a plot that keeps your attention. The only thing that made it a bit difficult in the beginning were all the names and descriptions, but once you get your bearings your flying through a book while being able to imagine it in your minds eye and that is well worth the effort it took me to get through the first couple of chapters!

Solid sci-fi that's interesting and engaging. A few bits that I found infuriating, or unable to engage with as well, but still very enjoyable.
Solid characteristisation, a mostly believeable plot.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the start of the series.

Phoenix was my first real delve into Sci-Fi, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s a first-contact story with an extensive cast of characters, a wonderful magic system and a really believable world.

Though I haven’t read much Sci-Fi, this book felt very unique in the way it was executed. Fast-paced, detailed and overall, a great first book in a series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked from the start!! A new world, a new magic system, page-turning with a great ending.
I am a sucker for anything Phoenix related, so I knew i had to read this! Interesting concepts, plot and characters even if there are a lot of them but it didn't detract from the story. I loved every second of this.

I am a sucker for anything Phoenix related ever since watching the 90's Xmen as a kid. I'm also a fan of the 100 and this blended the two ideas well for me (though obviously this book takes it's own spin on both and drives us down a while different avenue.) I was really excited to get my hands on this and was not disappointed!

Interesting story of first contact. There is a long list of characters, and the book would benefit from a "cast of characters" list up front, as well as a glossary of terms for the Haillar.

This is a very action packed Sci-Fi adventure that I couldn't put down. I stayed up all night to read this and it was definitely worth the sleep deprivation.

Be forewarned this book has a staggering list of characters but give the book a chance it is worth it! I do admit I was a bit lost trying to remember who was who but after a few chapters I settled in and it became easier to keep up with as I engrossed myself in the story. This book hits a home-run with realistic world building and a believable story-line.. I don't want to ruin this for anyone but this story revolves around an alien race that on the surface appears to be very much like the humans but key differences in beliefs and thought processes are in play that cause conflict that could end in disaster if each race can't set aside their differences and trust each other.

I highly recommend this book it was an excellent read!!

I received this book from NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an honest review.
#PHOENIX
#NetGalley

I love a good sci-fi and this book endeavored to take a new approach on space exploration and contacting a superior alien race. I was pleasantly surprised by the concept and the world building.
The premise of the book is alternated into two POVs: Ellandra's the current Queen of Chaos visiting a city on a Dominion planet and the human's of the incoming spaceship as they realize they're about to make contact with an alien species. The Haillar have 'magic' or eka as well as advanced technology, but to the humans they appear primitive and medieval. It's an interesting interaction where the writing portrays the cliche all american trying to stake his claim and the starry eyed scientists excited to learn more.
Among the species getting to know each other a threat looms on the horizon, preparing to attack the city; mind controlling and powerful Scrouge aliens.
I love the idea of avatars and the queens coming back as something different if they die or at the end of a cycle. It had a fresh, new feel to it in this book.
The book is pretty fast paced, delightfully unpredictable in some parts and has a good ending that does set up for a compelling series.
I liked how the humans noted that with the type of technology the aliens possess it lowers the pollution and creates a better quality of life, something Earth desperately needs.
Although I found the feudal system of the alien species confusing at first, the writer did a good job of touching on characters positions throughout the story frequently enough that I felt I could grasp an understanding of the world they're trying to build. I really hope the physical book will include a map of some sort! I think that will enrich the story. However, there was a "Haillar Timeline" and the Current Haillar Queens written into the end of the book and that was both interesting and helpful.
I really liked Ellandra's character, she felt strong and real and you can tell the writer put thought into her. Peter and the other 'humans' fell flat to me.
There was a large information dump at the beginning of the book, both about the alien race and the people on the space shuttle. It is a lot of names to try and remember and connect jobs and positions to. Like I said though, for the most part the writing touches back on the titles and positions of most characters. I encourage readers to take notes while reading this book.
The chapters are literally in different points of view, as in Ellandra's is in first person and then it switches to omniscient third person for 'Peter' even though there are many points of view breaches in Peter's chapters. I've never read a book that's done this before, and I admit it was confusing and awkward at first, but it seemed to work for this book.
Near the end of the book for some reason the dialogue changed and there were next to no descriptions or action tags of who was talking and it was just jumping all over the place from character to character and it felt like the reader had to figure out who was talking. It took away from the story a bit. I also found the writing inconsistent: it felt like the word 'the' was misunderstood. Sometimes it would be 'the visitors' or just 'visitors' and the same for many other words. I found it disconcerting.
I hope by the time this becomes published as a physical book or sold for money that the many grammar, punctuation and spelling errors get resolved. I was disappointed to see so many and the writing became so clunky, it sometimes felt like a different person was writing different chapters. A great story that needs some serious editing done.
I gave it 3 stars on goodread, but truthfully it's more of a 2.5/5 because I wasn't a fan of the writing style and lack of editing, but the story idea and concept is great and I see potential!

A sci- Di with lots of originality- initially bubbling over with characters which become well rounded and believable.
This book also turns on its head the “superior” human race ,(although the reactions of said human race are also believable and a little exasperating).
The plotting is good and the book complete on its own standing. However, I can see a, welcome, sequel coming on!