Change rests on the decision of thirteen people, healers, slaves, warriors, nobles, and friends. Yet change is coming. this book
I found the concept of the story intriguing but the way it is told difficult to follow, despite that it I did enjoy it and I would consider further work by this author.

i had a very hard time getting into and staying attached to this story
the word i would use to describe this book is chaos- in a good way or a bad way depending on your preference
this book would've been a 2 for me and was almost a DNF but i really enjoyed the additions of the maps, timelines, family trees, etc that helped me try to immerse myself in the story

here's what i enjoyed!
* the map at the beginning!
-i love a map when it comes to fantasy books!
*the post appendixes
-glossary of terms that are unique to this book
-a timeline (sine it's written out of sequence)
-important family trees
* the idea
-a unique story with great races and story lines
* the world building
-the descriptions were great and i felt like i could envision what i was reading

here's what didn't catch my attention
*the characters themselves
-the intro to the first (and i think main) character, and throughout most of the chapters, was that she has PTSD and bipolar and she was "broken"... um? ok?
-i didn't have a connection to a single character
-there were so many characters and it was hard to keep track
*the timeline
-the timeline at the end helped and was a great idea, but due to not being written in order it was very hard to follow
*some of the writing style
-now this is probably just me but there were some word choices that felt so odd and not fitting to the book, time period, or characters

i hope i captured all the triggers since they weren't listed anywhere and that was incredibly surprising to me since i felt like there were some biggies

TWs: mental health stigmas, PTSD, bipolar, mentions of SA, mentions of rape, torture, slavery, sacrifice, racism (fantastical), general abuse, mental abuse, murder, off page SA of underage girls, off page torture of underage girls, and off page rape of underage girls

Omayra Vélez masterfully weaves an intriguing world of fantasy filled with giants, fairies, demons, vampires, witches, zombies and magical humans. Broken into four parts, each one mise en scene the crucial moments of this centuries long war of the Five kingdoms of Quetza.

Part 1 follows June, the first companion and main protagonist as she is first transported to
Lady Starr, the Master Botanist and Master Quartermaster for the castle of the mighty Giants the Athany Judges.

Part 2 introduces the Tolenko family (who Velez provided a family tree) from which the second companion, Kuroi comes. The first couple chapters in this part takes place 33 years before June arrives. They are meant to provide some background into the importance of Kuroi's character. Then, it quickly picks back up after June's arrival with Kuroi as the POV,

Part 3 tells the other events that takes place the year June's arrived, and Part 4 is the Ouroboros to our Epic novel.

Usually books written from multiple POVs and different timelines are hard to follow, Velez provides family trees and a detail timeline to help the reader keep track. Each chapter has a unique story being told about a character, however one you get to the end, you understand that all of the stories are roadmaps. Velez adds a layers of complexity to her characters that one sometimes have to stop and think if these stories really did happen in history. She also includes a brief glossary of terms which I found useful to look over before reading. I will admit, normally giants and fairies are not my interests in reading, and I rolled my eyes when I saw they were included in this world. However, I am happy that I continued on with reading it.

I know some people do not like the POV of this story. However, I believe it allows the reader to have a multifaceted POV themselves of what is going on. Often novels give a one sided "single story" version of events and we as the reader have to rely on the main narrator's version as the truth. However, by Vélez's unique storytelling style, we are not forced to rely on one version but we have the chance to think about the unraveling story as it unfolds.

If you are looking for a novel with a simple plot, then this book is not for you. However, if you enjoy being pulled into another world with mysteries that need to be solved then this book will keep your fire lit on a dull day. I would highly recommend this novel for fantasy enthusiasts. Lastly, I do have to commend Vélez on being able to tell such a profound story in a novel manner.

*I received this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

An empire is in disarray. The emperor has killed off his rivals. Suddenly new rivals appears. Two are found and start preparing to challenge the emperor.