This was a very good magical fantasy novel! I was very interested in the plot and the Characters were described so well and clearly I was able enjoy them without a problem! The worldbuilding was rich and well explained and I was swept away page after page! Lots of action and no unnecessary fill in to deal with made this book a must read for me!

Not enough world building for the first novel in a series! Also.....I think maybe I've graduated from YA for the most part....Not all YA, but a lot of YA.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! Unfortunately, since this book has already been published, I will not be sharing my review on Netgalley.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

So much world-building needs to be packed into a first book of a fantasy series and I don't think enough was done in this. The Prologue had nothing to do with the book. Maybe a miniscule bit but completely unnecessary information and could've done without. I liked Mars, Katrin, and Fura but just liking them wasn't quite enough for me. May or may not read book 2.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.75 out of 5 stars

I know I am late reviewing this, but wow. This was an incredible journey with an assassin and a rich heiress, both of whom have secrets about the magic system that they want hidden. Despite their commonality, Mars has a secret much, much worse that Fura can never find out about.

I found the magic system fascinating and intriguing. The politics, I mean. While I normally hate politics, it was such an integral part of the story that I was kind of swept along. As Katrin said (Katrin? or was it Fura?) "You'll find yourself wishing for this political intrigue." I won't, but it was a fantastic book. I found that I was in that sweet spot where you kind of cease to exist in reality because you're lost in the pages...

I found the beginning to be a little slow going, but I did end up feeling for the characters, and while the world building may not be on the scale of say... The Malazan Book of the Fallen, it was pretty impressive and substantial. I can't wait to read more.

Riven by Mindee Arnett
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Mars is a mercenary with a secret, he is a magic user. He cannot risk anyone knowing or he will be enslaved for his power. He is trying to leave the city of Riven behind but gets pulled into one last job, protecting Fura, a young noblewomen with secrets of her own.
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What I liked:
-I love a good “secret magic user” plotline.
-Mars was a mercenary you could root for, with his own honor code and morals. I loved following his struggle of how to complete the job while being able to respect himself afterwards.
-There was great danger throughout the book that kept me hooked.
-I loved the last few chapters of this team of three banding together.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I thought this was a promising start to a YA fantasy series.

Who doesn't love a good assassin, but wants to get out of the game story? This book was fun and I would recommend it to anyone that likes a good ya fantasy.

Thank you Netgalley.

As intriguing as the summary sounded, it didn't quite live up to the expectations I had.

I didn't finish this book, unfortunately. I stopped at 25%.

I wanted to like this one - but it was hard to get into it. It sounded very intriguing, but the writing and execution didn't pull me in enough to thoroughly enjoy it.

Mars has spent the last several months trying hard to get away from his life as a mercenary after his last job went wrong and resulted in him needing to do something terrible to keep his secret. He can use magic, and if anyone ever finds out, he will be enslaved to do the bidding of whoever owns him. But when Una, the leader of the mercenaries he reports to, calls him back with riches beyond his wildest dreams, it might be the opportunity he's looked for to get out of Riven. The job isn't simple: pose as the devoted boyfriend of an heiress to keep her alive but also to find out the secrets that she and no one else knows. The closer he gets to Fura and her secrets, the more clear it gets that the secret she is hiding is one that has the power to change the world forever--which means a lot of people will stop at nothing to get it.

A major draw to this book is going to be the magic system. Blood magic, and the forced use of magic, create a high-stakes situation for Mars as the main character. The slow knowledge of the history of magic and attempts to control or change it makes for interesting world-building and makes the book feel unique. The scientific approach to solving questions is a nice touch. The magic also causes some intriguing court politics that further add to the book feeling fresh.

The world-building overall is nice. The differences between social classes, the poor and the privileged are well-developed. The mythology system helps ground other aspects, and the variety of motivating factors add to the world feeling real and rich.

The romance doesn't develop in a satisfying way. It starts with clear indicators that it's going to be an enemies-to-lovers situation, but the relationship doesn't transition that way. It goes from her despising him to tolerating to... whatever it was when the book ended. We're told Mars cares about her based on his actions, but the relationship between them doesn't have chemistry or warmth. It feels more like he's come to admire her resolve and she's realized he could be a potential ally instead of it feeling like love. The romance seemed like an afterthought with a kiss here and there but no real feeling behind it. The book would have been stronger if they had been presented as friendships instead of trying to force a romance.

Similarly, the character of Mars was unconvincing. He is supposed to be one of the best of the best, and even though it's established in the beginning that he's a little rusty, he doesn't feel like he's as good as he's supposed to be. When he does things to protect Fura, it's always an afterthought or a close call, so it never seems like he's that good at his job. The politics, too, were lackluster. The general ideas were as interesting as the basic ideas of Mars and the magic, but it bogged down the general story until the book moved away from those things and back to the adventure.

There is a lot that is bogged down, unpredictable, or not given enough attention to stand well on its own, It seems to be drawing on a lot of tropes (chosen one, enemies to lovers, found family, etc.) but the tropes are not either turned on their heads or embraced. They're just hinted at.

That being said, I generally found this to be a quick and interesting read. It's a decent fantasy story that has enough to keep many readers entertained for a few hours, but unfortunately, it is likely to be forgotten once the next fantasy story with more solid hooks and memorable characters comes along.


Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me a copy to review.

This one was just not for me. I put it down at around 25 percent. Writing is great, good intro to high fantasy for younger readers

I didn't enjoy this. The plot was really predictable, but still somehow was a slog to get through. I just wanted more from every aspect, from the characters, the settings, the story. All of it.

The marketing led me to believe the romance would be more prominent, when in reality, the two main characters had very little chemistry. The worldbuilding was interesting, but the plot ended up falling flat for me.

This was a really fun read! The prologue literally grabs you at attention to start off. Some things felt a little rushed, but overall it was a quick story that kept me engaged.

An epic fantasy set in a world full of blood magic and political intrigue. The prologue sets this story off with a bang: in trying to save their way of life, Riven's adepts destroy themselves and change the course of magic for years to come. Then we jump to the "present". Mars is prepared to escape from his life as the Shadow Fox, one of the best mercenaries in Riven, when he is dragged back in for one more assignment. He is tasked with protecting Fura, the daughter of one of the powerful kith families. Mars' true assignment however is to locate a special formula (the primer) that Fura is in possession of, by any means necessary. To keep his magic secret, and to have the chance to get out from under Una's (the mercenary master's) thumb, he is willing to do anything. Adepts, like Mars, are usually enslaved by the wealthy families, and forced to use their magic solely for their masters' wishes. He has managed to keep his ability secret so far, but not without personal costs. Fura seems like a classic naive rich girl at first, but as Mars gets to know her, he begins to see her true depths. She's idealistic, but with the Primer, she may just be able to change the world.
The worldbuilding in Riven is great. Both the magic and the political system are well defined, adding depth to the story. This isn't a pretty world, but there is beauty to be found in certain places. The romance element is fine, though it really felt doomed from the start. I definitely see the Grishaverse comparison, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of this story. This works well as a standalone novel, but I would also be interested in seeing more in the future, whether it's a prequel set before the Cataclysm, or picks up where this story left off.

The beginning of this felt a bit slow to me, but I did also enjoy the initial banter and antagonism between the characters. I also thought the romance was a bit lacking, I’m sure others will enjoy and I have enjoyed Mindee’s books before, I think this one just wasn’t for me

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

3.5 stars
This was a pretty good fantasy with interesting magic and world-building. The characters were complex, with competing agendas, and the plot contained plenty of action and twists. What decreased my enjoyment of it, though, was one of the main characters, Mars. He's supposed to be the best, most badass, assassin, yet he repeatedly behaved like a total neophyte. I guess love is supposed to turn you into such a pile of mush that you totally forget all of your training and skills? Frustrating.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

What I liked:
-Mar’s growth
-the friendship between Fura and Katrin
-a lot of the characters live in the gray between good and bad
-the backstory
-I enjoyed Mars’s interaction with Fura and Katrin

What I didn’t like:
-Mars and Fura as possible love interest
-I didn’t love the ending, it wasn’t bad it just wasn’t how I wanted it to end.

Overall I thought this was good. It will be interesting to see where the author takes the characters in the next book.

Soft DNF AT 23% for now. I have about a week left on my NetGalley loan, maybe I'll be in the mood to hop back in and try again before it runs out.

I'm really struggling to get into this one, which makes me sad. I'm not able to connect with the MC and so far this book is struggling to figure out it's tone. The prologue especially was very confusing in that regard; descriptions seeming to suggest happy characters in love but then we learn they're dismayed and terrified. Jarring was an understatement and pulled me straight out of the story. The exact opposite of what you want a prologue to do.
But I continued. Prologues only hold so much weight after all.

My enjoyment of a story relies heavily on characters and if the characters don't pull me in, I really struggle. While I know I should sympathize with the MC, I can't seem to bring myself to care too much. He's in a tight bind and while it's clear he doesn't really have much of a choice in what happens to him, I don't feel the level of tension I think the author wants me to feel. We haven't been shown, only told, reasons why he feels the way he does. He's portrayed through the narrative as someone who's somewhat desperate, but his own personal narrative comes across as somewhat cocky and unlikeable. It was hard to root for him when I couldn't really feel bad for him. Had there been other characters introduced that I could care about I may have had more inclination to continue. Unfortunately, they're all pretty bland.

Aside from my initial thoughts, I don't have much else to say as I'm really not very far into this book. Maybe I'll try to finish it before my loan is up, maybe I won't. If I don't I honestly wont feel too bad about it.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me an early look into this book in exchange for an honest review.