The Descent of the Drowned is one of those books that I reallyyy wanted to read as soon as I read the synopsis. It’s intriguing, and inspired by pre-Islamic Arabian mythology and is set in a colonized Indo-Persian world, what more can I ask for?!

Trigger warnings (including but not limited to): rape, physical and emotional abuse, transphobia, prostitution, human trafficking, sexual assault, suicide, and bigotry.

The Descent of the Drowned is Ana Lal Din’s debut novel; it’s well-written, vividly descriptive, and armed with a heart-wrenching and dark storyline.

This was a tough read for me. The corrupt and cruel society it was set, the injustice, deeply-rooted misogyny hits too close to home. Some scenes felt too real that I needed to put the book down because they were horrifying, brutal, and heartbreaking.

The first couple of chapters were a struggle due to its slow pacing, loads of info to digest at once, and a lot of the characters were getting introduced simultaneously. It gets easier as the story progresses. The glossary at the end of the book helped a lot, explaining all the foreign terms although I would suggest putting it at the beginning. However, the story picked up around 40%.

Although a bit rough and info dump from the start, the world-building is impressive. It’s massive and complex. The world was full of culture, beliefs, and history and Ana Lal Din’s writing style painted a world that felt so real and beautiful. Expressive and lyrical without it being over the top.

This is a character-driven book and the first half of it was committed to establishing the background of the characters which is its strongest aspect. The characters were complex and well-fleshed out. Roma, one of the protagonists, is strong-willed and a survivor. I admire her strength and totally understand her anger and thirst for revenge. Our other protagonist, Leviathan, is fearless. His struggle with his inner conflicts and grief was relatable. Both characters struggle to free themselves from the cage that confines them. Also, the Firawn is a captivating villain, and would love to know more.

One thing that surprised me in a good way was the lack of romance. The absence of romance made the story more realistic. And in a world where women were seen as a possession, a thing to be used, it would not sit well if Roma gets a romantic interest.

My only main issue was the magic system. It wasn’t explained clearly and explored. Until now, I’m still wondering how it works. Hopefully, it will get explained better in the next installment.

The ending took me by surprise and left me begging for more. I want that revenge to happen so baaad. Overall, this is an amazing debut novel. It’s hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking. I can’t wait for book 2!

Thank you White Tigress Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Descent of the Drowned.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If anyone wants to read this book be sure to check out the trigger warnings as it covers quite a few dark topics and themes. Overall I enjoyed this book and both the main characters Roma and Leviathan had such good stories. The author did a good job of writing great side characters too which I always appreciate. I also found the world building was easy to understand. I'm excited to see where the second book goes. I would definitely recommend this to friends.

My only criticism with this would be that it shouldn't have been marketed as young adult but apart from that it was a great debut novel!

4.5 stars

ARC provided by Netgallery in exchange for a honest review.

The following triggers are mentioned in the descent of the drowned but is not limited to this review: physical and emotional abuse, mention of rape and sodomisation, sexual assault, suicide, bigotry, drug abuse and human trafficking.

“we were all burning” he whispered. “ we were all burning- except you”

This book was set in a colonised Indo-Persian world and inspired by pre-Islamic Arabian mythology. Which was my main point of interest for this book and the depth it covered did not disappoint. I loved the terminology used and found the story building of the world intriguing but also something I felt I needed to read over to ensure I understood properly.

Reading about the struggles and injustices the disadvantaged faced during that time and some of their stories shared was heartbreaking. Seeing through the perspective of Roma - an sacred postitute herself- opened my eyes to another level of discrimination presented to the people and showed the difficulties in breaking the norms and trying to find your own voice within this society.

Roma is such a beautiful, kind-hearted soul whose journey thus far has been portrayed well, I could feel her pain and sorrow through every decision she made and every abuse that was acted upon her. I could tell there was something more hidden beneath her and I’m so excited to see how she continues on especially with that epilogue ending omg. I wish there was a bit more exploration into her past; both with her previous patron and her relations to the clan like how they got so close etc. But so far no faults to her, I am worried she might side with the wrong “team” in the next book or the firawn will be successful in opening the seal but I’m really looking forward to her getting acquainted with her powers and maybe the White Wolves or someone else can help her control it.

I just want to hug Leviathan and protect him from his father, which I believe is a big factor as to why he is the way he is now. I hope he can fight his inner demons and accept that a part of him is the blade but he can perhaps use it for the better. He has so much more potential but a lot of his actions have affected others and there were better ways to go about it. I do hope he’s okay the ending was a shock to me I truly wasn’t expecting that “betrayal” so soon.

Also I loveee the side characters sjjs especially Junho and Ashar, I want more of them in book 2.

Overall, the writing style was beautiful despite times I would need to re-read to understand elements of the world building or just scenes that have taken place such as her brothers death and mentions of rape (but I’m not sure if that was done intentionally because of context).

The pace was a bit slow but I still enjoyed it because of the tales and different locations/problems the scene being described would be in. I can’t wait for book 2 which I feel will include a lot more revelations and action.

(Thank you Ana Lal Din and White Tiger Press for this eARC through Netgalley, all my opinions and review are my own.)

The Descent of the Drowned is a compelling debut novel that explores survival and revenge. The book as a whole has some troubling content and themes, but it doesn't feel forced or jarring. I must say following Roma and Levi's journey are both heartwrenching but beautiful.

I have minor problem reading the first few chapters, there's a lot of information to digest from the get go. Things like worldbuilding and minor characters flew over my head. However, after the 30% mark, the story begins to shine. I can tell Ana Lal Din's strength lies in imagery, it feels fruitful but also eerie at the same time,

Overall, I would recommend this book, rating this 4 out of 5 stars. I cannot wait for the second installment!

This book was a heavy, dark read but with that it was still really good. The author does say there are trigger warnings, which I love. I don’t like going into a book and being blindsided with certain triggers.
I haven’t read any books with Persian world and Arabic mythology. This was different. It was a little slow and hard to understand at the beginning and but the more I read things fell into place!
Both of the characters had such a story. They both went through so many things through their life, dark things but they were strong empowering characters. Watching them move forward and work past the things in their life that has haunted them was so inspiring. I cannot wait to see what the next book brings.

The Descent of the Drowned paints a cruel yet alluring picture of two people trying to survive in this colonised indo-Persian world. Where Roma is a sacred slave meant to serve patrons as a religious act, Leviathan is a bastard son of the Firawn who has earned his reputation as a ruthless killer. They live in this religious society made up of castes named zaat.

The story unfolds rather slowly in the beginning due to the well-researched and rich worldbuilding but surely picks up later on. The writing was enthralling. It's filled with beautiful phrases that confront you with harsh truths. The use of foreign words also made the book feel unique. If you sometimes have a hard time remembering those, do not worry: there is a list with translations included at the ending.

Something I highly appreciated about this book was the moral ambiguity of the characters. Because it doesn't shy away from darker subjects, we explore these characters and their inner demons pretty thoroughly. Roma is an incredibly interesting character who has harmed herself before to delay her inevitable fate as Lamiadasi. Her longing for freedom in this corrupted world and her willingness to protect her sisters both shape her as a person. Her actions towards the ending show she is not one to be messed with and I'm incredibly curious what the author has in store for her. Leviathan was another fascinating character. He isn't just the son of the tyrant that controls this world, he is also the son of a mother from the persecuted clans. In the military academy, he earned his name as the Blade, yet he isn't unmoved by all the horrors around him. In this tale of self-discovery, Levi tries to make a change. The Firawn is another complex character. Ana Lal Din mentioned she based him on a psychological model known as the Dark Triad which contains Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. These traits make him an evil yet captivating villain. The other side characters were also well fleshed-out.

In her debut novel, Ana Lal Din doesn't shy away from the darkest parts of humanity. Themes of human trafficking, transphobia and colonialism are interwoven with the story, yet none of it is done for shock value. The author mentions she wants to shine a light on how these ongoing problems, happening especially in the Middle East and South Asia.

I'd like to thank White Tigress Press for providing this copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a very powerful book and I don't think that a review can suffice the content or message the author wants the world to know, because this is a book for the world and what happens in a lot of parts of the world and many people don't know about it. This is a book that you need to read, it's dark, it puts reality in your face and makes you face it.
I am glad the author put out the trigger warnings for her history: rape, self-harm, suicide, death of a parent, explicit violence, gore, forced drug addiction, child sexual assault and human trafficking, transphobia, and religious prostitution. Her dedication to raising awareness of these problems is commendable and inspiring.
This was a super heavy YA. It is not a fast read. Ana Lal Din's writing skills are amazing but I struggled with the pacing and a lot of the terms since I was not familiarized with the history. The characters were interesting, flawed, and real above all. The plot became more interesting in part two since it was easier to assimilate the unfamiliar words and there was not so much information about the world and focused on the characters and the plot.
I want to see this series to the end to know how the story is going to unfold.

To begin with, I’d like to thank NetGalley for giving me the chance to read an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Descent of the Drowned by Ana Lal Din follows the story of Roma, a Dēvadasi with a mysterious past that only wants to be free and protect those she loves, and Leviathan, called the Blade of Firawn and someone who’s looking for revenge and the bastard son of Firawn.

I’d like to put emphasis on the fact that the story is set in a colonised Indo-Persian world and inspired by pre-Islamic Arabian mythology.

So, with no further ado, let’s dig in to my thoughts.

DISCLAIMER: this review contains spoilers so if you haven’t had the chance of reading this yet, do not continue.

Firstly, I’d like to think this is the setting to future events that I’m most excited to read about. The writing style is amazing and the way the author beautifully writes the interactions, the feelings, descriptions... all Ana Lal Din does is enthral my attention and it just left me speechless. It’s the way the author puts so many information in such a enthralling way... in short, the writing style is superb.

Although it took me quite the time to find myself hooked on the book, once I did, I just couldn’t put the book down. I had to keep reading and I’m so glad I could.

Roma is such an intriguing character, so full of strength and with so much willpower. Her mysterious past involving a patron whom took a part of her and left her a shell... that part of the story hooked me in so much I couldn’t cease turning over new pages to see if we’d finally get to know what happened. I find Roma one strong female character that although at first she strikes as someone who hates the world, and lemme say she’s got a big reason and I do understand it, she’s got the biggest heart out of the whole temple. Not only she basically mothered and took care and looked after the youngest, but even when *SPOILER ALERT* Firawn told her she could make everyone pay for all they did and said to her, she chose to protect and hand immunity to her so considered sisters.

And not only for this I admire her so much.

And regarding Leviathan... I loved him just as much as I loved reading about Roma. His pain, his hunger for revenge and the wanting to do good in the world to make up for not being there for his mother... I just want to say I can’t wait to read more about him. The way Ana Lal Din described all his emotions and what he did... I loved getting the chance to read things from his perspective, how he perceived what happened and what he thought about everything that went down.

The thing that I kind of knew would happen was Roma being some kind of special woman, but I have to admit I actually thought she’d be a reincarnated goddess or I don’t really know... I expected everything but her being a “female serpent”. But reading about her power and how she wanted to get revenge at those who wronged her... It was all astonishing, in a whole new other level. And I wish everyone had gotten a bigger taste of what she could do.

Aside from that, the plot is marvellous. The events, the characters, the plot twists and basically everything is just mesmerising. It felt like the author casted a spell on me and I could only think about reading it nonstop. I very much enjoyed Leviathan’s POV’s, specially when reading about his hunger to make Cecilia pay for what she did. And how he struggled to hold on to his humanity, and do everything he could so he wouldn’t become a younger version of his father. Moreover, I also loved the interactions with Malev and Junho. And I really can’t wait to read more about them in the following book (if there’s one of course I’ll be praying there is one).

PLUS! I need more of Leviathan and his friends well, I actually consider them brothers but whatever they call themselves, I need more of them interacting because... just because. I loved their relationship.

Please, I’d also like to apologise for the bad review because I’m honestly still processing the book and I can’t seem to find a way to express and convey all my emotions, what I’m feeling and felt while reading due to my mind being a mess right now.

I do know for sure that I enjoyed the Descent of the Drowned and I am very much excited hoping the author releases the sequel soon... Because I don’t know what I’d do without another book to continue the finale, the cliffhanger this book had. I’m seriously losing my mind. SOS.

All in all, because of the plot, the beautiful writing style and the way Ana Lal Din has with expressing her thoughts and pouring all her work and imagination into this, and also because of the characters, I give the Descent of the Drowned a solid 4 star rating. I truly can’t wait for the next one and read what happens to our main characters whose fate is intertwined and whom we left in a rather strange scene in the last chapter of the book.

Thank you again, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The two main characters, Roma and Levi, are very unique and I can't wait to see how they will develop in the second instalment. I also enjoyed reading about the secondary characters such as Ashar, Junho and Malev. The writing was great and one of the things that kept me hooked to this book.
For me it wasn't too difficult to get into the book but I have to say that the first 30-40% of it left me a little bit confused about what was going on. In the second part though, everything started to connect and to make more sense.
I will be thinking about this book a lot and I am excited for the sequel.

This novel is an Indo-Persian Own Voices novel inspired by Pre-Islamic Arabian mythology. The Descent of The Drowned is a story of identity redemption. Fans of dark fantasy will enjoy this amazing debut novel by Ana Lal Din.

I absolutely loved this book. The story is so rich and filled with a great cast of characters.

Roma is such an amazing character. I so admired her strength and vulnerabilities simultaneously and I think the author did an amazing job creating her.

Leviathan is equally amazing and his struggles go deep. While he is trying to find inner peace, Roma is trying to break the chains that bind her physically.

The writing of this debut is strikingly stark and beautiful. What an amazing book. If there is one little part that I wished for, it would have been that the solution at the end should have been more clear instead of being left to interpretation. However, I know many readers enjoy that.

Do not miss this debut novel. I highly recommend it if you are a fan of strong female protagonists. Roma will not disappoint!

The Descent of the Drowned is one of the most well written, alluring fantasy debuts I’ve ever read. I was drawn to this book because of its beautiful cover and its distinctive description of being a YA/new adult fantasy “set in a colonized Indo-Persian world and inspired by Pre-Islamic Arabian mythology.”
The book follows two points of view. Roma is a lamiadasi, who along with her siblings, serve the Goddess Lamia by birthing children. The other follows Leviathan, a casteless soldier and bastard son of the king. Roma and Leviathan have very different positions in their caste divided society, but both question and start to rebel against the rigid structure they were born to and the people it’s shaped them to be. As they do so, their paths start to intertwine.
I think it’s important to start this review off by saying that this book is extremely dark. It is hard to read at times. I had to take my time with it. The author provides a list of triggers in the front of the book. I will list them at the very end of this review for those who would like to be aware of some of the more intense topics and depictions this book contains. From my limited perspective, the author handled all of the topics well. The violence and dark themes are engaged in ways that explore humans and the societies we create. I felt that everything in this book had meaning and wasn’t included just to shock the reader. Instead, Ana Lal Din is commenting on history and real life issues that exist in our world today. I highlighted so many passages that left me thinking well after I finished this story. Some of the many themes discussed include power, religion, war, and gender. I left this book wanting to get a better understanding of Ana Lal Din’s inspirations and the history she drew from to write this story. This is definitely a story that has depths and I’m looking forward to re-reading it, which is not something I do often.
This book is intricate and complex. It can be a little challenging at first, especially if you are unfamiliar with the culture and history of Din’s inspirations, but like most fantasy, it only takes a few chapters before you are fully immersed in the world. Din’s writing is excellent. Rich description and the intriguing, almost mysterious world Din introduces had me losing sleep as I read late into the night. A lot goes on and the plot gets quite expansive. One thing to note is that the story is constantly moving forward, but the book doesn't necessarily have a larger plot that gets resolved by the end of the book.This story does feel like a book that is setting up for a series. There are so many questions that go unanswered and the magic is only lightly explored.
Instead, the larger plot is being set up as Roma and Leviathan learn more about the way their society functions and what part they play in all of it. If you are a character driven reader, this book is perfect for you. Roma and Leviathan are such complicated characters who you get to know well, but they still surprise you as the book goes on. Morally grey characters populate fantasy stories, but I’ve never seen one written as well as Leviathan.
The Descent of the Drowned is a stunning debut. It’s smart and compelling. If you are a character driven reader, or if you love complex fantasy stories, pick this book up immediately. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy and I cannot wait to see how this story continues!

Triggers : Physical and emotion abuse, mention of rape and sodomization, sexual assault, suicide, bigotry, drug abuse, and human trafficking.

*Thank you to White Tigress Press for providing this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was a very intense book to read and it dealt with very heavy topics, so I really, really suggest that you first check the trigger warnings before getting into this.

First of all, I loved the writing in this book. Admittedly, it started out very slow as the first part was more on world building, but it didn't really get boring because of the writing. I also appreciated how heavily researched this was and everything was very fleshed out. For the main characters, I liked Roma best. I just admire her strength and heart so much and I just want to wrap her in a big hug and never let go. I wanna punch men. Levi did some shitty stuff that didn't really endear him to me but I am interested to see where his arc will go. Some of the secondary characters still felt a little vague though. I think my biggest problem here was the pacing of the book because the author spent more time setting up the world and introducing characters in the first half, but it picked up in the second half very very quickly and so much shit was going down.

Overall, four stars. I can't say that I enjoyed this book because it was very dark and made my heart hurt, but I am very invested in Roma and this world and I want her to kill men so I will definitely pick up the next one in the series.

The Descent of the Drowned (The Descent of the Drowned, #1) by Ana Lal Din
Publisher: White Tigress Press
Genre: New Adult | Sci Fi & Fantasy | Teens & YA
Release Date: March 15, 2021

The Descent of the Drowned is the first book in a new series by Ana Lal Din and I am here for it!

Wow! When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it and I am so glad I did! This book has everything I could ask for! Fascinating characters, a rich storyline, and so much heart!

This book is captivating and so powerful! I highly recommend it! I look forward to reading the next book. By reading this book, I feel like my eyes have been opened to a whole new genre of book! Loved it!

I'm so grateful to Ana Lal Din, White Tigress Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I decided to give this book a try after being pulled in by the exciting synopsis. I did end up enjoying it, but there were a few aspects that just made it so I wasn't quite getting deep into the story.

I found that the book started out really slow. There was a ton of information being thrown at the reader very quickly, and that mixed with all of the unfamiliar words being used (in another language) just made it so that it was difficult to get through. I found out when I finished that there was a glossary for all of these words, but it was placed at the end of the book where it was kinda "too little too late" s I would suggest having that at the beginning. Now the last half of the book got quite a bit more exciting and is the reason I will continue reading this series if the author puts more books out. I just wish it hadn't taken so long for the story to pick up.

The characters were interesting.. but there were a lot of side characters. With all of the unfamiliar terms being used, I found it hard to distinguish who was being referred to at times which took away from my reading experience a bit. I liked the two main characters though, which is important! Leviathan was an intimidating character at war with himself, mainly between who he wants to be and who he thinks he is. His struggle felt real and really drew me in and had me rooting for the good to win over the bad. Roma was a fighter, always looking out for those she cared about and questioning everything rather than swallowing whatever she is told to believe.

I think this was a well-written book for the most part, but extremely detailed. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, there were times when entire paragraphs and even pages were dedicated to describing what someone was wearing and while I appreciate the intent behind this, I think it was a bit unnecessary at times. I think this was a bit part of the dragging feeling of the first half of the book. That being said, I think this series has a lot of potential (based on the ending, I am assuming this will become a series). There are a lot of different avenues this story can take, and a lot of aspects to consider so I am excited to see what Ana Lal Din does with her story. She touches on a lot of deep, disturbing topics but does so unaggressively. I think she wrote about these topics very well.

Overall, I think this was a good debut and I am looking forward to seeing what else this author will come out with.

I was so excited to read this book. The synopsis sounded great. There was so much potential for this to be right up my alley, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.
I found it slow to start and very wordy. The writing style just wasn’t for me. There was a lot of information. So many descriptions, names, positions and statuses thrown in with random words in a different language. It was incredibly hard to keep them straight and it took away from the world building for me. It got to the point where I just didn’t care to imagine any of the physical descriptions or care about who the people actually were because it was so overwhelming.
From the blurb, I expected this to be more of an adventure with the two characters finding hope and fighting tyranny in desolate times, but this was more just a lot of heavy, heavy triggers and basically just surviving through them. A very character driven book.
The magic system wasn’t explained well. I was hoping for more of it.
I enjoyed the inner turmoil that the characters were experiencing, but again, there was just just too much of it and I found myself bored after a while. I wanted to move on in the story line.
The last 30% of this book finally picked up, but at that point I found it all rushed. I wanted a more balanced story.
It was way more of a complex and dark read than what I was expecting and I was a little disappointed.
I loved the different mythology. It was definitely unique to this genre. I just wish it was presented a little better. Definitely due to my own preference.

If you’re a fan of the darker reads with heavy triggers mixed with a lot of really neat mythology than this is the book for you. Maybe fans of the poppy war would enjoy this or if I was a little more prepared for said darkness.

Thank you NetGalley, White Tiger Press and Ana Lal Din for a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

Disclaimer: I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley, thank you to Ana Lal Din and White Tiger Press, all thoughts and opinions here are my own.

Author does include triggers at the beginning of the book which is always important but especially in regards to the heavy realities addressed in this book and story, please be aware of them before choosing to read it.

TW/CW: rape, self-harm, death, violence, suicide, murder, castration, drug addiction, human trafficking, transphobia, guns, sexual assault, prostitution, physical and emotional abuse

This is author Ana Lal Din's debut novel and what a way to kick off a series. This is not an easy book to read, it deals with all the content mentioned above and brings awareness to several issues, if you read the acknowledgments you'll understand this is not just a fantasy story, these are the very real issues that people deal with in regards to prostitution and the caste system, the ethnic cleansing and war crimes as well as the human trafficking in South Asia and the Middle East. Please be aware of that when reviewing the book.

The author says this book is "far from perfect", and while I will say it definitely felt like a debut novel, I think a lot of it was really well done and I am curious to what book 2 will bring us. The author even includes a glossary so that readers can learn and better understand the words and expressions used throughout the book, which I found extremely helpful especially in regards to linguistic expressions.

Now onto the actual review of the story itself. The first 75% of this story was great, yes we are introduced to a lot of characters, and names and places but it's actually not that hard to keep track of and you quickly get the hang of it after the first couple of chapters. You follow both Roma and Levi in their journey to survival, to grasping at staying human, feeling anything but pain and overwhelmed. This story is full of raw human emotions and I saved several quotes from the book that I felt had amazing impact, I'll leave them at the end.

The dual POV and two story lines that keep coming together and back apart again and again made this story that much more interesting. The parts of the story involving younger children were hard to get past but unfortunately sometimes we have to face the harsh realities of this world because:

"Maybe being human makes us all responsible,"



I didn't mind the slower pace of the first half of the book because we get to know Roma and Levi in depth, truly understand how deep their fears go, and what they are capable of in order to survive. But that's where the last 25% of this story comes into play - the magic system is something that I felt like was never truly explained and therefore left me wanting, and didn't really impact the story at all for me, even now I only truly recall the snakes, nothing besides that stands out. And I felt like this last part of the book was slightly rushed and ended abruptly with the Epilogue. It did leave me wanting book 2 though because I feel like we spend the whole book wanting Roma to just explode instead of implode that when we finally get some anger out of her it just ends and leaves us hanging. But because I think the potential is there and that book two might turn out even better I definitely rounded up the rating because I think it's worth the read!

Now some quotes to pull you into trying out the book:

The privileged slept like kings and queens on the ashes of the slaves.


"You're eyes could ruin a man"

has to be the most swoonworthy quote in the whole book (I want more of them interacting badly in book two....)

There was no peace in understanding certain incidents in her life hadn't been within her power to change, but within the power of others, because she was still the one to bear the consequences.

TW : Death, violence, rape, drug abuse, self harm, suicide, sexual assault, transphobia, human trafficking, sodomisation, bigotry.

How do you review a book that surprised you beyond your imagination ,and left you in awe of it and of course the author? I don't know. Obviously I'm not over emphasising or anything like that , but literally the concept of the book, the issues it dealt with in merely 360 pages is no doubt commendable. But let's give me a chance to review The Descent Of The Drowned by Ana Lal Din.

The Descent Of The Drowned, a fierce and captivating story of Roma-a young girl among many dedicated to sacred prostitution, the devadasis and Leviathan, son of an immortal tyrant -Firawn, who has been given military training to kill for the emperor. These two, belonging to two totally different environments of the same world are meant to go through a journey of grief, overcoming their fears and finding their self worth while getting entwined by their fates in an Indo-Persian world inspired by Pre-Islamic Arabian mythology .

TDOTD is a dark and grim story, do not expect anything pleasant from it because there isn't any. Everything is ghastly and can rise bile to your throats. Writing style of this book is like a bead of flowers, embedded with emotions, events and sensation throughout. During the first hundred pages the book is a bit slower than the rest but you know while reading that something big is coming and you're being prepared for it, ‘it’ surely comes with a bang later. Ana has set the pace of the books very calmly, and shares tiny details of the world, which a lot of people will have a tough time figuring out because of not being familiar with the culture and traditions she has set the book in [ luckily I didn't had to :p ] but you don't get tired of neither the details nor the writing style. Although, the world building and the magic system were not that strong, clear and defined in this book. Reason can be the fact that the author’s focus felt to be more on the characters , and honestly the characters didn't disappoint. The main characters as well as the side ones, there are many yet i was so much immersed in their world that i wanted more of them, their world and everything. TDOTD is a character driven story and Ana has done justice with all the characters with their depths, complexity and darkness.

Ana has touched a lot of themes in this book , but the main focus was the sacred prostitution , which sadly continues in certain regions specially in India. The female lead ,Roma who is a part of the group of Devadasis, makes us understand a lot of things through the struggles inside her and the battles she fights for her sanity . Apart from it, the persecution of minorities, oppression of women, social justice, human trafficking , Caste system and violation of human rights are the other important topics discussed in the book. Regarding what Ana wanted to tell us through this book , what she says ,simply clears all the whys and hows that may arise in your mind ;

" What I wanted was to spread awareness about the sacred prostitution , caste system, and half-creature perception and abuse of transgenders in South Asia; the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people ;the exploitation of once resourceful places like the Middle East and Afghanistan ; the occupation of and war crimes against Palestine ; and the human trafficking of adults and children around the globe."

A solid 4.5 stars to this book for surprising me, giving me what I didn't expect I'll get while picking this book in my wildest imagination, making my heart race at most of the time and stopping a few times. You may or may not like this book as much as i did , but one thing for sure is , you won't be able to forget it easily.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review .

So this book is very clearly written to set up the second book, but I can't ~really complain because the worldbuilding was sooo good. The entire fantasy world built with the religious zealots and glorified prostitution created a really fascinating setting for the entire book to take place. Roma the MC, is one of the glorified prostitute / temple dancer, and her dark background and angst made her a really interesting narrator that had such a unique perspective on the messed-up society she lived in. Not to mention Leviathan (the prince) is such a swoon-worthy bad-guy-that-wants-to-be-good who I will continually stan because of his dedication to be 'better.'

My only qualm with this entire book is the pacing. While the beginning was a collection of interesting events that really helped set up the world they were in, the real plot didn't start picking up until the second half of the book. In fact, the situation described in the blurb (where Roma's younger brother is condemned setting to her Big Decision) only occurs 3/4 of the way in. Although I enjoyed reading all of the beginning where you got to understand the characters and the way they think better, I would have much appreciated starting the actual plot earlier. This book ends on a MAJOR c l i f f h a n g e r, and I'm kinda angry because if the meat of the plot started earlier the last few chapters wouldn't have to be as rushed and end here? I get the author wants us to come back for the second book, which I definitely think I will, but I am a slut for instant gratification and I DON'T WANT TO WAIT THAT LONG 😭😭😭

The Descent of the Drowned is Ana Lal Din's debut novel, and it is an absolute must-read book! It blends young adult fantasy, mythology, and the pain and dangers of the real world in one beautiful, harrowing, and moving read.

Roma was given to the service of the goddess at a very young age. It made her of a lower caste, and forced her to serve to the whims of gods and men. This is not the life she would have chosen for herself. Or anyone, for that matter. There is fire in Roma's soul, and she's willing to fight for her freedom.

Leviathan is also willing to fight, but he comes from a very different background. His father is a tyrant, and his mother from a clan everyone else looks down upon. The end result is a man with torn loyalties, and a fierce understanding of the need to protect.

The Descent of the Drowned is very much a fantasy novel, yet it has real-world foundations. It is set in a colonized Indo-Persian world, and tries so hard to make the horrible actions of humans feel both real and approachable.

“She wanted too shout at him to spring the ashes and allow the tempestuous winds to snatch them – anything but the impending doom.”

The Descent of the Drowned is a thrilling yet heartbreaking tale, one that makes brilliant use of mythology to bring some very important – and real – concerns to light. In that way, it was incredibly powerful and human – both the good, and the bad.

The novel is told through the use of two different perspectives, as you might have guessed. First, there's Roma. I loved her fiery spirit, and my heart was absolutely broken at the idea of everything that she's been through. She felt so painfully and delightfully human, and it made her struggles feel all the more real.

Then there's Leviathan. Everything about him felt larger than life, even his name. Yet he was also the ideal balance to Roma's story, providing a different sort of insight, all of which helped to show this world, and everything it had to offer (again, both the good and the bad).

There's no doubting that The Descent of the Drowned is a debut novel. You can tell in the way Ana Lal Din writes – yet you can also see how much potential is wrapped up in her words. She took something that felt so big and raw, and managed to infuse her entire novel with it.

I do want to mention that there's an extensive trigger warning list for The Descent of the Drowned. This is by no means a complete list, but inside this novel you're going to find examples of misogyny, assault and gore, sexual assault and rape, transphobia, self-harm (set in the past), and sex trafficking. All of these elements tie directly into the main plotline, and can't really be skipped over.

By that I mean, there's no way that Ana Lal Din could have written this novel and not included those parts. I could go on and on about all of the importance of what she wrote here, but honestly, I think Ana Lal Din said it best: “What I wanted was to spread awareness about the sacred prostitution, caste system, and half-creature perception and abuse of transgenders in South Asia; the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya People; the exploitation of once-resourceful places like the Middle East and Afghanistan; the occupation of and war crimes against Palestine; and the human trafficking of adults and children across the globe.”

As a South Asian woman, brought up with the culture, values, traditions and society that is so amazingly well described by the author in this book, this book completely resonates with me. The themes and social conflicts that the book touches upon are so much a picture of the world we live in, issues that we as well our ancestors have been surrounded by… but they are not only limited to the South Asian world but just as much and equally have relevans for the Western world (genocide, human trafficking, prostitution just to mention a few). Yes, the themes are dark, triggering (there are clear warnings in the beginning of the book) and both social and political but this is an author who dares to show us our world through YA Fantasy – who made me reflect over human nature, humanity (or the lack of it) and the world even after I had finished reading the book. Some readers might not find this book to be YA because of the themes… but I think youngsters today see much more visual violence in movies rated 12 years than this book actually describes. The author has really managed to create a beautiful balance between the themes and the way the reader is told about them.

Everything about this book is so amazing, magical yet so relatable. The complexity of the main leads is so much human. They are not stereotypical YA male and female leads. I want to thank the author for showing us such a beautiful – and different – world that in many ways is an eye opener and encourages people to reflect over humanity.

I loved the characters, I loved their struggles, their grief, their inner demons…it all resonated with me. I can only agree with all those readers who have praised it (I don’t want to repeat their reviews). Like them I was left heart-broken but reflecting…and wanting more. I can’t wait for the sequel. I really wish the author all the best with her book.