Thanks, Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.
A novel with good amount of action, mystery, political intrigue and interesting, diverse characters. Some descriptions might've felt a little too descriptive and prolonged and the world-building could've been done better. Sometimes the dialogue feels too ordinary and not deep enough. But the intriguing plot is what keeps the reader invested in the book, so I truly want to know what happens next!

It's not my usual type of fantasy but it's a well written and gripping novel.
The world building is interesting, the characters fleshed out and the plot is well developed.
Liked the storytelling.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

We Come With Vengeance is an upcoming military sci-fi with steampunk elements, following a group of soldiers stationed on one of Kaier’s great airships. Thanks to Hollow City Press, NetGalley and H.G. Muralee for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I liked this book, and would recommend it to sci-fi enjoyers, but there were some things I felt could have been done better.

First, the positives! I really liked the premise of this book, there was plenty of intrigue and political tension, and a good amount of action. The last third of the book in particular was very exciting, and there were some interesting twists and turns. Muralee gives us a trigger warning list, pronunciation guide and some background information at the very beginning, which is always nice.

What fell flat for me was mainly the dialogue between characters - it was often very stilted, and there were a few lines that a real human just would not say. I also felt there was a decent amount of extraneous description, and I would have preferred a shorter and more condensed book.

Also, a bit of a pet peeve, but I was confused by the chain of command - admirals reporting to a captain? I know it’s a fantasy military, but that seems wild to me.

I did have fun with this book despite these points, and I would read more in the series. Check it out after release if you like cool steampunkish airship settings!

The positives first! This has a decent cast of characters with very different styles and personalities. The author included content warnings in the front of the book, which is a thoughtful thing to do. The book has a map. (I am a sucker for maps!)

The Not So Good: Anyone and everyone blushes at the drop of a hat. Admirals all the way down to grunts. I don't think I've ever read a book before where everyone was so darned bashful; I almost forgot that this is supposed to be a military setting 🤔 Infernal blushing occurred all over the place ad nauseam. If cheeks aren't turning pink, red or scarlet, faces are getting warm, hot, tingly or they're burning. I was so irritated about it that I almost went back to the beginning of the book to count the blushing references, but there is really no point. I almost stopped reading at 42% because it was driving me bonkers.

My chief complaint aside, the other negatives in no particular order: The storytelling itself is somewhat uneven. Certain scenes will drag unnecessarily on, and then bam! something is told at the speed of light. The author has tendency to tell and not show. There seems to be a preoccupation with the hair color of the different characters. The military atmosphere portrayed in the book leaves a lot to be desired. A more laid-back military force I have a hard time imagining.

This would probably be better off marketed to a YA audience. They could tolerate all of this blushing nonsense, in particular, much more so than a woman in her fifth decade. I went into this expecting a military tale centered around airships, but that isn't what this turned out to be. Had I expected a YA story I would not have grounds for my irritation. I am not opposed to YA, and have read some that was very well-written. This just didn't work out that great for me at all.

This eARC was provided by Netgalley and Hollow City Press. I wish that things had turned out more favorably.

3.5/5

I would first like to start off by saying thank you to Xpresso Book Tours, Hollow City Press LLC, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would also like to thank H.G. Muralee for writing this book. I honestly don't think I would've come across your book if I hadn't seen it on NetGalley, but I hope that isn't the case for more people as I did genuinely enjoy this story.

First things first, Muralee makes everyones job really easy and starts the book out with Content Warnings. We don't have to hope that someone who has read this book has gone through and found every possible content warning you could possibly think of, because the author does it herself. This extensive list includes content warnings for Military-grade weapons, death, enclosed spaces, heights, bombs, blood, mass death, body checking, weight loss, grief, alcohol, kidnapping, people as collateral damage, forced drugging, authoritarian government, no freedom of speech, anxiety, gore, violence, corpses, death of a loved one, strained familial relationships, starvation, food insecurity, active war zone, rationing, PTSD, trauma responses, controlling mother, gaslighting, emotional abuse, manipulation, hostage negotiations, death by firing squad, active shooter situation, violence against women, misogyny, and torture (mentioned). I feel like Muralee really went above and beyond with this list, because I wouldn't have even thought to mention half of the things that she takes the time to mention here.

I also love that Muralee goes ahead and gives us a pronunciation guide and some background information about the world in the very beginning of the book. I've read too many books personally where glossaries and other guides will be located at the very end of the book and I wont notice or find them until I'm over halfway through the book.

While Muralee does give us some background information in the beginning, that is all the buildup we're going to get before we get thrown right into the world. While this does do a great job of pulling the reader into an action filled world, I found myself wanting some more depth as I was around halfway through the book. Personally, I'm a huge fan of epic stories, it is very rare where I find an author giving me too much background information or lore on a world. While The book wasn't lacking on this, I feel like the story could've greatly benefited from more depth in the world.

Along the same lines, I didn't really find myself caring about the characters until about the last 1/3 of the book. For the first 2/3 or so, I wasn't really invested in them, but as things started to really get intense in the last parts of the book and the plot really came together, I did start to form some emotional attachments.

This book is filled with action throughout, some of the action scenes I wish had been longer though and had more detail. The plot of this book did keep me hooked though. The elements of espionage and betrayal where done in a way that felt very natural and kept me hooked. There were also a few points that I really was caught off guard by what happened next. As the book does have a label saying Kaier Chronicles, I hope there are more in this series. I feel like a lot of the complaints that I have with this book would be solved if this was merely an intro into a universe that was built upon with sequels. Looking forward to seeing future works by H. G. Muralee, hopefully in the same world.

I have posted this review to goodreads and storygraph immediately. I will post to instagram at a future date and will update with a link for the post when I do so.

The war has stretched on for twenty years, and the soldiers, civilians, and nobles are exhausted. Towns grow more desolate while war technology continues to advance, leaving the rest of Kaier behind.

Felix—heir to House Leigh-Van—harbors resentment for the war that has claimed his sister’s life and his father’s ethics. Regardless, he follows his orders and is content to remain equal among his fellow soldiers.

When a routine stop for repairs puts Felix at the epicenter of a brutal attack impacting civilians rather than soldiers, he struggles to continue separating his ethics from his duty. He’s privately ambivalent but publicly supportive of his uncle—the king—when whispers of an underground rebellion start to circulate. The rebellion is gaining traction and could soon make a serious play at ending the war.

But when even the tactics of the resistance begin claiming lives as quickly as the war itself, Felix starts to wonder who will survive to see the peace they’re fighting for.