The Series

House of Bastiion is the first installment in the award-winning epic fantasy series, The Haidren Legacy. An immersive adventure armed with dark politics, sharp objects, and bickering characters, this treacherous saga packs a legendary punch for adult and NA readers alike. Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, George R.R. Martin, and Sabaa Tahir, these brutal books are not for the faint of heart.

This story is so magical. Amazingly written. The whole, so to say, behind the scenes stuff on the books website made this book much more enjoyable. The playlist made out of songs for each chapter, the artwork of the charaters etc. everything really.

This book was such an amazing experience. Can't wait to read the next one.

Page 1. A MAP!
I love books that the first page is a map! Doesn’t matter if it’s a map of the inside of a city, or a whole world. This always immediately draws me in.

Also: A GLOSSARY! with pronunciations!

I loved this book! The world-building was incredible. The characters all felt very real and very believable. Luscia makes mistakes, and feels bad about them. She feels like a real, complicated person.
The author does a very good job showing a political fantasy with loads of court intrigue and drama.
The different viewpoints were so well done! The reader knows a little more than either narrator at any given time, since we see the other narrator’s view. However, nothing is out-and-out told to the reader. There are little bits and pieces that don’t quite make up the whole picture.

Can’t wait for the second book!!

To say I am already needing the next book of this series would be an understatement. House of Bastiion is a well-written high fantasy intrigue novel that I devoured. It starts just a little slow as it sets up the vast world, but once the pace gets moving it does not stop. I found myself wanting to know more about every single character that came alive on the page. And the twists in the plot kept me on my toes. I already have the next book on my want-to-read list and I will be keeping an eye out for it.

I love love loved this book! i'll absolutely be buying a hard copy when it comes out. the world building was great, we saw a diverse cast and i was hooked from the beginning. thank you!

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley. I requested it because I loved the sound of the plot, and overall, I was drawn in. It's an intricate world and yes, a bit slow at first, but that does happen often in first books of a multi-part series.

I found Luscia more sympathetic than Zaethan, but I appreciated getting both points of view, and seeing why Zaethan is the aggressive bully he appears to be. I'm anticipating a lot of character development on both parts as the series progresses.

The serial killer part of the plot seemed a bit distracting though, to be honest. I found myself wanting to focus more on the politics (and now that I'm reading the 2nd book in the series, I wish even more the first book had set up the political world a little more thoroughly.)

My biggest complaint is that the writing is over the top sometimes. While some complained of the foreign phrases, they didn't bother me and I quite liked the authenticity they brought to the book. But there were some jarring sentences and adjectives used in ways I don't think they were meant to be used, and that pulled me out of the story. Please don't give your hero chartreuse eyes unless he is radioactive.

4 stars, do recommend if you like intricate worlds and a good dose of politics with your fantasy, and have the patience to commit to a series that's not yet finished.

I struggled to get through the first quarter of the book. I’m not sure why, the writing is great but once I got past the first quarter I wanted to keep reading! I just bought the second book because I feel like there are so many ways this can play out and I NEED to know what happens. Very excited to continue on!

I was granted complimentary access to House of Bastiion by K.L. Kolarich via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

I first became aware of House of Bastiion during a trailer reveal event with YA Bound Book Tours back in 2020 and I've been longing to read whatever text is wrapped in this beautiful cover ever since, but tour dates with review opportunities never really jived with my schedule. So naturally, when I found House of Bastiion available on NetGalley, I absolutely had to hit request!

I typically don't make formatting comments in my reviews because I'm usually reviewing ARCs or the author's PDF copy, but in this case this is a book that has now already been published and out there in the world for a while, and I was sent an ePub. This should be reflective of what's available for purchase. No matter how I converted this to Mobi (by emailing it to my account with "convert" in the subject line, by running it through conversion software, etc.) I could not get a file that permitted screenreading in Kindle. Not only was this inconvenient for me, as someone who prefers to listen to books while doing idle chores and such, but it's an accessibility issue for readers with vision or learning disabilities.

Now, on with the review!

The world, characters, and lore in this book are just as beautifully detailed and mysterious as the cover art promised! I'm pleased to say that I really did enjoy this book from cover to cover. I highly recommend it to other fans of YA Fantasy, especially if you love books full of political intrigue and powerful feuding families.

We do get into multiple characters' heads during this book, and I must applaud the author for how well-executed all of this was. Each character has a distinct voice and I had no trouble at all keeping track of whose head I was in.

I'm really excited to hear that this is only the first book in The Haidren Legacy series, as there's clearly so much more story to be told, and this book was so well done.

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

The House of Bastiion is a high fantasy first novel in a series of books, based in the world of Orynthia, and its four ruling houses.
“Centuries after the Forgotten Wars ravaged the world and turned it to ash, the Houses of Pilar, Darakai, Boreal, and Bastiion forged an accord with the royal line of Thoarne, founding a quadren of advisory to the throne of Orynthia. Every generation, a single haidren from each of the four houses is appointed to this coveted chair.”
It is written from three POVs, Luscia, the next in succession for the Haidren or advisor to the crown from the ruling house of Boreal. Zaethan, the next in succession for the advisor from the ruling house of Darakai, and the unknown watchman that answers to Luscias aunt. When Luscia ascends into adulthood and makes her journey to the capital in Bastiion to join with the newly created al’Haidren for the crown prince, she discovers a series of child murders, and she feels forced to expose the killer.

This novel should have had everything for me, I love high magic, and while this had no romantic element, it did provide enough intrigue and world-building to keep me turning the pages, however, I just felt that it fell short.

Luscia the female protagonist, infuriated me. While she clearly knows how to fight, emotional she is a complete wreak, she goes from impulsive and childish to cold indifferent to everyone around her. She finds it difficult to communicate with her own men, and she is always abused by those around her mentally, and sexually but she never stands up for herself, preferring to ignore or run from situations.

Zaethan the male protagonist, is a bully with some serious rage issues, he is driven by the need to prove himself to his uncaring father. He is unrelenting in his hatred and racism towards Luscia and her brethren, and while he seems to genuinely care about the murdered children, and his loyalty towards his pride and the prince, his constant inner monologue about murdering Luscia, puts me off liking his character.

All in all, I did enjoy the book, however, I don’t think I will continue the series.

Four and a half for this first in series
Welcome to Orynthia and its four ruling Houses which are all so very different. Peace may reign as they each send a representative known as their Haidren to serve under the King but it's a Court of political intrigue, treachery and even murder ! We meet Luscia who is to become her country's next Haidren as she goes to Court to follow in her Aunts footsteps. Luscia has an ethereal appearance, magic in her blood and sadly is looked upon as little more than a pawn. Yet she's front and centre a force for good as she learns of atrocities and rushes in where perhaps even Angels would fear to tread !
I very much enjoyed this as we learn how these young advisors to the Crown Prince struggle not only with their own prejudices but a biting jealousy that divides them. As much as I easily got behind Luscia I also enjoyed the chapters from the point of view of Zaethan, a brutal yet strangely compelling character who definately evolves as this story progresses. The world building is exceptional with languages and magic to pull the reader in. This instalment certainly held no romantic elements but I can easily imagine that changing as dirty truths unravel and trust is earned leading to respect no matter how grudgingly given. This had me eagerly turning the pages and I'm very excited for what is to come next .
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from NetGalley and my comments and opinions are honest and I believe fair

This book was amazing! I enjoyed every single chapter, and it kept me hooked the entire time, which I loved!

Ratings 4 Stars

The House of Bastiion takes place in the Realm of Orynthia. To bring peace to their territories, the Houses of Pilar, Darakai, and Boreal forged an accord with Bastiion, founding a Quadren of advisory to the throne. Each generation, a single haidren is appointed to this coveted chair. But in a land of war and deceit, peace should never be trusted. Luscia Tiergan, the al’haidren to the Boreal, having reached the age of Ascension joins the royal court as last of her quadren to serve under Prince Dimitri. Once there she is faced with hatred from the other members of the quadren due to age-old rivalries and stories of sorcery and witchcraft. This hate is strongest from Zaethen Kasim - the al’haidren to Darakai. However Luscia soons finds herself with common goals as Zaethen as children are being slaughtered across Bastiion and it seems only these two care to find the murderer.

The first few chapters are very heavy with detail from world building, to characters and to political turmoil. I have to admit without the detailed website Kolarich set up I probably would have been lost. But then again it may be because I only read at night in bed after dealing with a toddler all day lol. Once I got past that though and into the meat of the story I loved it. The characters are rich and complex and the world is beautiful. The House of Bastiion is a wonderful first book of the Haidren Legacy, Book 2 just came out so I'm off to read that. But please read this book. You’ll be hooked.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for giving me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really hoping to be fully immersed and enjoy this book, however that was not the case. I just could not find myself connecting with the characters early on in the book as well as even enjoy the story line. The details and descriptions were very thorough in this book. I just found myself skimming the book early on and did not finish the book.

Thanks, Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
The book totally deserves the 5-star rating! The narrative is magically descriptive in a way that allures you to read more and more. The world-building is imaginative, very creative and the characters so very intriguing. Every chapter gradually expands the image we begin building around these characters and every new revelation is sweet and makes you crave to find out more! AMAZING READ!

⭐️⭐️ EXPLOSIVE, MAGICAL, INTRICATE WORLD BUILDING ⭐️⭐️

It’s so hard to stand out in fantasy - but House of Bastiion has totally succeeded in creating an original and highly engrossing story that features distinctive, well rounded characters and compelling storylines.

Everything was so wonderfully described! The architecture, the botany, the weaponry, the magic, the politics, the geography and the history of the world. The integration of local dialects and phrases was natural and seamless, and I truly enjoyed learning each new word and phrase.

Luscia - I loved every single one of her chapters! Her character was filled with strength, and her relationship with her pet wolx was so endearing. I enjoyed the suspense as we discovered her weaknesses and the extent of her powers. I also really liked how she was despised by the other Houses, but strived to stand above this.

Words cannot convey how good this book is! The amount of work and detail that has been put into this makes the world seem utterly real.

Tadöm K. L. Kolarich for this incredible story!

I have found my new favourite!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my first book by this author and it definitely won't be my last I am already wanting to get my hand on the next book after this. It was wellw ritten with an enchanting storyline, well developed characters and world building that is out of this world incredible. I couldn't put it down I was completely gripped.

I just could not put it down until the end and then bought the next book in the series which I'm reading now. Highly recommended. Excellent writing. This was my first book from this author and will add her now to my list of favorites.

A fantastic fantasy read!

The characters and the world were so immersive, really pulling you in and refusing to let go.

A really well thought out plot and I can’t wait to find out what happens next!