There is a lot of description included on the places and buildings within the story which make it easier to build the image of what the settings would look like which is great. . I really wanted to enjoy this book but overall I found it difficult to get attached to the characters and felt the main storyline was lost within lots of smaller sub stories and events.

DNF at 44%. Here's what happened: I forgot my Kindle at home, so I wasn't able to read this book for a day or so... and when it came time to pick it back up, I literally groaned at the idea of having to do so. That's when I knew this was a DNF.

It's very slow, there's almost no action, and I can't make myself care about the characters. No bueno.

I truly wanted to like this book. I had the pleasure of meeting Mitchell Hogan at an event years ago, and he was a lovely person. However this book just didn't do it for me. I felt that the pacing was off, and that things happened just for the sake of the story, and not in a natural way. There are some good chunks of action and a few twists that I didn't see coming, but sadly I wasn't invested enough in the characters to really care one way or another. Maybe I'm biased because I love the Johannes Cabal Necromancer books, and Gideon the Ninth of course. Maybe there's only room in my heart for a few necromancers? No that's not it.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of the trilogy. I really liked the premise of the book and the magic system that is introduced in the book. The characters were interesting and i am interested in what happens to them. The plot twist was amazing and I look forward to seeing it play out.

This book was a pleasant surprise for me. I love another series written by this author, the Sorcery Ascendant trilogy.. I was engrossed from start to finish.. Mitchell Hogan did a fantastic job with character and world building which left me wanting to read the next book in the series immediately.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At first, this book seemed like it has the standard plot of a fantasy novel. I seem to be able to enjoy it more as I delved into the story. It's a dark blend of adventure, magic, and political intrigue and it's very interesting. I also love the characters and their development and dynamics. It's safe to say that I'm looking forward to the next book!

This book had so much potential, unfortunately it did not come to fruition. DNF at 25%.

I was expecting there to actually be necromancy in the book, maybe it came later? I could not get myself to care about the main character.

I just went in with too high of expectations, I will try to reread in a month or so.