This is the first book in an epic series. It as kind of rough at beginning with a GOT level of houses, intrigues & ways. Dealing with a young woman going to the main court of a foreign over king as one of the houses vassals of sorts. Once into it it is both intriguing & soaks you into the story lines & characters.

I loved this book!! I'm so happy that there's a lot more coming to this series. The characters are incredibly diverse and relatable and you bond with them very early on. The story is packed with twists and turns, magic, intrigue, romance, and everything else you could ever want from a rich fantasy world. The world building is utterly superb. I knew I would love it when several authors who I have already read and enjoyed their work were recommending it as an excellent read.

Such a fantastic read!!

Perfect for those who love:
Great world building
Slow burn enemies to lovers
Fantasy
Well written character development

Seriously this book was so much fun and would highly recommend to anyone looking for an escape for a while (the whole one more chapter then its 2am escape!)

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book. It took me a while to get into this book due to the detailed and complex world-building at the start. It ended up being an enjoyable read and I cannot wait to read the next book. Highly recommend this!

This was a strange read for me. The pacing was incredibly slow, which made it very hard to get into the story. There was a ton of workd building which I normally love, but it fwlt overwhelming to me. Between the slow pace, and all the details I was trying to keep straight for the different houses, I had a hard time reading this one. I'm not new to high fantasy, I've read tons, so I'm used to complicated plots and tons of characters, but this one I struggled with. I didn't feel a strong connection to any of the characters, so maybe that was the issue for me. It's the first time Ive finished a book and not been sure about what I just read, and how I felt about it. Give it a go though, this one may just have fallen flat for me.

House of Bastiion was honestly a bit of a letdown for me. My biggest issue was the beginning because it is just so overwhelming. I like big and detailed world-building, but checking the glossary all the time in the beginning got a bit ridiculous after a while. Overall, I just wish that that wasn't necessary for you not to be confused for the first few chapters. But if you are looking for rich worldbuilding and know that reading the glossary at the beginning is helpful, then I could see many fantasy fans thoroughly enjoying this book!

Other readers pointed out the enemies to lovers romance but you really don't get much of that in this book, it is extremely slow burn (not a bad thing, but something to know if you're really in it for the romance). The characters have strengths and also flaws, which I can appreciate the nuance.

If you like in-depth worldbuilding and political intrigue, then you'll likely enjoy this book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you like mysterious women who wear daggers on their thighs, political intrigue and characters who seemingly all hate each other then you really need to read House of Bastiion.

A duel POV epic fantasy set in a period of peace some time after wars have ravaged the country, to bring peace each of the four houses has pledged an al’haidren who form a Quadren of advisor to the Ruler,. But with little trust amongst clans and a string of murders a strained alliance is formed between Luscia Tiergan, al’haidren to the House of Boreal and Zaethan Kasim, al’haidren to the House of Darakai.

I loved this book, the world building was magical and I could really picture Orynthia as I was reading the book, the palace the floating market Kolarich really made the story come to life. #

The characters were well developed, I would have loved to have learned more about Sayuri and Ira although enough was conveyed for me to utterly dislike them.

I will be picking up the physical copies of these books, if you like Misborn , Game of Thrones or just a brilliant fantasy you'll love this book.

When it comes to high fantasy, I find myself attracted to those with oodles and oodles of political intrigue, and that is exactly what House of Bastiion provides.

Here’s where we start. Bastiion is the ruling House in a kingdom recovering from the Forgotten Wars. To ensure peace, the three other Houses — Pilar, Darakai, and Boreal — forged and alliance to provide a single advisor from each House to help the King keep peace.

While there are many points of view in this novel, the one of primary import is that of the Boreal al’haidren: Luscia Tiergan. House Boreal is an outlier compared to the other three houses, and much mistrust abounds surrounding Luscia and her people.

Naturally, all manner of plot and scheme ensues, along with some unexpected alliance building and a lot more mystery.

Books like House of Bastiion have to be given some leeway. The first in a planned five book series, House of Bastiion ramps up slowly to ensure that proper due is given to good worldbuilding; and my what worldbuilding it is. It is very obvious that Ms. Kolarich understands the power of building a massive fantasy world. Her attention to detail just in the first few chapters allowed me to realize that, while the pacing started slow, a nice thick foundation was being laid that would allow for some “short-cutting” later in the story when the action really rolls in.

Unlike a lot of fantasy authors, Ms. Kolarich also doesn’t shy away from showing the flaws in all of her characters. There is inner struggle, pain, self-doubt, and odd confidence that comes out of each and every character germane to the plot lines. That is a downright Herculean task to keep organized and running smoothly, but the care and detail definitely show in the ease at which the reader can just fall into the tale.

I cannot wait to tackle book two!

House of Bastiion delivers exactly what it markets and I truly respect that, detailed world building and the dynamic court intrigues were a joy to read.

It’s rare to see an author take the time to create languages , government, and cultures and do it with such attention to detail that you feel yourself truly living it instead of reading.

as always with epic fantasy series in this scale its complicated to discuss the plot without missing something or giving something away so I recommend reading description provided by the author as I can’t describe it better myself.

The pacing felt too slow for my liking but I would say at the end it was a pleasant experience. It leaves you feeling a bit drained so I won’t be starting the second book right away. I will upload the review to my page after I finish the second book around mid-September.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings towards this book. At points I was really into it and at other points I was really bored which I think is due to the pacing and extreme world building. Whenever I enter a fantasy book I always expect there to be a lot of world building but I think there can be fun ways to incorporate that in the book, for this book it sadly felt like I was reading from a textbook which is fine but not very engaging.

I did enjoy Luscia and I think she was the most interesting character in the book by far. I however am easily confused and there were a lot of names, which again is expected in fantasy, but maybe this could have been dealt with by slowly introducing characters rather than me trying to remember around 15 from the get go.

I do definitely think this series has potential to be fantastic with more editing and I do think that the series will get better as it progresses as most of the world building has already been completed.

I would recommend this for people who love high fantasy.

this just became one of my favourite fantasy books! the enemies to lovers was done perfectly, the world building was amazing and the characters were really loveable. i’m so excited to read the next book!

If you like complex fantasy worlds, with new cultures, new languages, and many mysteries, then this book is for you.
For my part, I had a lot of trouble getting into this book, the time to understand the universe, the different characters, and the political plot. This book requires a real concentration, you can not read this book during your journeys to go to work for example.
Here we follow the story of a young prince and his future council of four heirs from four different parts of the country, each with their own rules, their own beliefs. In particular, the point of view of two of the heirs of the future council is followed.
The book takes a long time before the adventure and plot really begin, the first two-thirds of the book is more of an introduction to the universe. I would read volume 2 to see if I am really convinced by the universe and the characters of the author

I really enjoyed this immersive, rich fantasy that was full of political intrigue! The world building was very intricate and interesting..I loved the detail of the different houses and the languages they speak. The pace for this book was great, it always kept my attention and had me interested! Luscia was a great main character who was fearless, strong and always trying to do what she thought was right. She didn’t let the others belittling and simple minded taunts get to her. I really like Zaethan as well, I feel like he grew a little throughout the book and is becoming more excepting of Luscia. I like that he still has a soft side to him despite his fathers cruelty. I really hope they become true friends in the next book. Dmitri is another great character, and I’m sad about his diagnosis. I feel for him after the events at the end of the book, he has a lot on his plate! Alora kind of drove me crazy how she is very demeaning towards Luscia and treats her like a child instead of giving her answers. I really hope she does better in the next book now that Luscia is a Haidren! I’m really looking forward to the next book and what it is to come for these characters!

Talk about a journey! I was intrigued by this book from the get-go. The cover alone was enough to entice me to request an ARC.

This book is a bit of a slowburn in all aspects. The romance, the plot, the world, etc, but it doesn't deter from its intrigue. The author does a really good job capturing the audience. The political aspects of this story had me on the edge of my seat, and the characters grew on me.

Overall, this was a great read. I was hoping to get a bit more information in regards to certain things, but it didn't stop my enjoyment of this book.

I recommend this to fans of slowburn, and careful world building.

I usually start my reviews with a summary of the book, but this time I will start with a little information about the world-building, as this is a high fantasy that is very complex at first because of all the titles and words coming from invented dialects.

There are four Houses living in Orynthia: Pilar, Boreal, Bastiion, and Darakai. Many centuries ago, the four houses created a political accord with the royal line of Thoarne, ensuring that each house would have one representative in the Quadren that advises the King. Some chapters are from Luscia’s point of view, and others are from Zaethan’s. Luscia is appointed to become the next representative of Boreal in the Quadren, and Zaethan is Darakai’s future representative. Even though Darakai and Boreal have been enemies in the past, and there are still tensions between both Houses, Luscia and Zaethan will have to find a way to work together to stop the person who is killing children and cross-caste all across Orynthia.

While I’m not the biggest fan of high fantasy, I have to admit that the author did a splendid job with the world-building in this book. There are distinct cultures and languages in each Houses, and complex politics and relations between the Houses. It was honestly a little too complex for me at first. I love a book with a well-done and detailed world-building, but I had to check the glossary so many times while reading the first chapters, it was hard to really get into the book because of that. Once you get more familiar with the four Houses and their politics though, it's a really entertaining book.

The pace was a little slow at first, and that combined with the complexity of the world-building and the use of made-up language made it really hard for me to enjoy this book for the first few chapters, and I wondered if this would end up being a DNF. It is worth it though once you push through the first few chapters. Things start to make more sense, and you get used to some of the fictive words the characters are using.

I liked both main characters, and I especially loved that while being young adults (Luscia just turned 18), their dialogues and thoughts do not feel juvenile. We can see that they are biased, and still have room for maturing, but we can also see that some of them seem to be a little less biased than their elders, and it gives us hope for a better Quadren in the future.

Luscia is strong-willed, in control of herself, and very driven. Contrary to what I first thought when I read her chapters though, she is a confidant, but not an arrogant character, even though she clearly has strong magic, and is an exceptional fighter. She makes mistakes and she is mature enough to realize when she makes one and open-minded enough to listen to the advice she receives, even when she disagrees. I admire how she remained strong when faced with so much hate and prejudice.

Zaethian is a character that I didn't like as much as Luscia at first because of all his prejudices, but we can easily understand that it's just the way people have been thinking for generations, and I have to say that I am impressed by the way he realized that he was acting like his father, and tried to change because he didn't want to become his father. He also really tried to be more tolerant with Luscia once he saw that she might be more than a savage and dangerous witch hellbent on causing chaos and destruction.

The hate-to-reluctant allies relationship is very well developed, and it's a real slow burn, and we're not even close to being able to call it "love" yet. Definitely no insta-lust or insta-love. Both characters go from hating each other, to being forced to work together, to slowly trusting each other. It’s a slow and realistic relationship development, and I really like that the author took the time to slowly develop this relationship, and did not rush it just for the sake of having romance in the book.

I would definitely recommend this book to any high fantasy lover, or for anyone looking for a book with complex politics, good character development, and very elaborate world-building. If you are like me and are not exactly big fans of high fantasy, I would still recommend it, but just make sure that you are "in the mood" for a more complex book, with parts that have a slower pace, and dialogues that force us to go back and forth between the story and the glossary at the end.

From the excellent world building to the slow burn romance, House of Bastiion succeeds in engaging it's reader as a gorgeous debut. Really looking forward to the next installment.

Lived for the political intruige, although I really would have liked more of it. Thebkiller thing was a bit out of place, and I would have preferred to it not being there. Overall a really well-put together novel, and I'm looking forward into getting into the rest of the series.

I loved this can't wait to finish the series ordered them as soon as I finished this book and im so excited to finish definitely will recommend to others

This book was pretty standard for the genre, but I am interested in reading the sequel for sure because the characters were interesting and the writing was immersive.

I got this from netgalley and read it on my kindle. I gave it 4 stars. The world building was insane. The characters made you fall in love with them slowly. There’s mystery, murder, love, enemies and magic. Sword fighting and epic chases. What more could you want out of a fantasy book? I’ve already ordered the physical copy as well as the House of Darakai!