Reina’s uncut tail makes it impossible to hide who she is and keeps her firmly at the bottom of society’s pecking order. When she has a chance to find family she crosses the tinieblas infested mountains without hesitation. Unfortunately the tinieblas also have no hesitation in their attack. Left with a lifelong injury, Reina finds herself indebted to a grandmother whose intentions for their reunion may not be as pure as Reina hoped.

Despite hiding her stunted antlers under her hair, Eva’s mixed blood heritage seems to follow her everywhere. When she finally meets someone who sees her mixed blood as a positive rather than a negative, she jumps at the offer to escape her prejudiced family. It’s only when she has passed the point of no return that Eva begins to wonder if she should have asked more questions.

My favourite part of this book is the different species so I was disappointed by how little detail was actually given about them. Instead the focus was on their place in society and the affect that this repression had on them as people. This did make for engaging characters with relatable, but questionable, motives and actions. It was particularly interesting to see how Reina’s background made her easily controllable and the challenges she had to work through to reject this control and take power for herself.

The history and mythology also added a great depth and fascination. Most of the plot was motivated by this history and mythology. I enjoyed the intricacies of this, although I did often feel distanced from the plot where its driving forces focussed on events which took place before the start of the book. This distance was also contributed to by the fact that the main characters were pawns in the plot rather than instigators. Yet their status as pawns allowed for a dramatic contrast as they rose above their manipulators at the end of the book.

I was so excited to read this, but it did fall a little bit flat.
There were so many elements which would have made this a five star read for me, it just went on a little too long. It had so many redeeming features though, so it is definitely worth sticking with it.

The magic system of geomancy was really original, really cleverly done, loved it. I loved the world building, South American style and some beautiful descriptions that made me feel like I was there. The Valcos and the Nozariels were really different, as were the creatures hunting the main characters along their journey. Very refreshing to step outside the usual realm of creatures. The arcs of the two main characters were, on the whole, really good, especially Eva. The theme and the plot itself were really good. Again, fresh and original and the theme of family and belonging were great.

Overall, a refreshing change from the "write by numbers" fantasy reads.

One of the releases that I was most waiting for in 2023.

ɪɴ ᴀ ʟᴜꜱʜ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ɪɴꜱᴘɪʀᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴏʟᴋʟᴏʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴏᴜᴛʜ ᴀᴍᴇʀɪᴄᴀ, ᴀ ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ᴇᴘɪᴄ ꜰᴀɴᴛᴀꜱʏ ᴏꜰ ᴄᴏʟᴏɴɪᴀʟɪꜱᴍ, ᴀɴᴄɪᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴡᴏ ʏᴏᴜɴɢ ᴡᴏᴍᴇɴ'ꜱ Qᴜᴇꜱᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢɪɴɢ ᴜɴꜰᴏʟᴅꜱ.

ʀᴇɪɴᴀ ɪꜱ ᴅᴇꜱᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ.

ꜱᴛᴜᴄᴋ ʟɪᴠɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴅɢᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴏᴄɪᴇᴛʏ, ʜᴇʀ ᴏɴʟʏ ꜱᴀʟᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴀɴ ɪɴᴠɪᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴀ ɢʀᴀɴᴅᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜱʜᴇ’ꜱ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴋɴᴏᴡɴ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴊᴏᴜʀɴᴇʏ ɪꜱ ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴀʏᴇʀ ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴀᴠᴇʀᴛ ᴅɪꜱᴀꜱᴛᴇʀ.

ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴛᴀʟᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇɢɪᴏɴ, ʀᴇɪɴᴀ ɪꜱ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴇʀɢᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ʜᴇʀ ɢʀᴀɴᴅᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ, ᴀ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ꜱᴏʀᴄᴇʀᴇꜱꜱ, ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴠᴇɴᴇꜱ. ɴᴏᴡ ᴅᴇᴘᴇɴᴅᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏÑᴀ’ꜱ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ꜰᴏʀ ʜᴇʀ ʟɪꜰᴇ, ʀᴇɪɴᴀ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴅᴏ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴇᴀʀɴ—ᴀɴᴅ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ—ʜᴇʀ ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀ. ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪᴅᴅɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ᴀɴ ᴀɴᴄɪᴇɴᴛ ɢᴏᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ᴡʜɪꜱᴘᴇʀꜱ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʀ ᴀᴛ ɴɪɢʜᴛ.

ᴇᴠᴀ ᴋᴇꜱᴀʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴜɴᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ.

ɪʟʟᴇɢɪᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴍɪxᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀɪᴛᴀɢᴇ, ᴇᴠᴀ ɪꜱ ʜᴇʀ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ’ꜱ ꜱʜᴀᴍᴇ. ꜱʜᴇ ᴛʀɪᴇꜱ ʜᴇʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜰᴇᴄᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏ ʜɪᴅᴇ ʜᴇʀ ᴏᴅᴅɪᴛɪᴇꜱ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴇᴠᴀ ɪꜱ ʜɪᴅɪɴɢ ᴀ ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ: ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ᴄᴀʟʟꜱ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʀ.

ᴇᴠᴀ ᴋɴᴏᴡꜱ ꜱʜᴇ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ. ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱɪɢɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ɢᴏᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴜꜱɪɴɢ ɪᴛ ɪꜱ ᴘᴜɴɪꜱʜᴀʙʟᴇ ʙʏ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. ʏᴇᴛ, ɪᴛ’ꜱ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇɴʏ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ ʜᴀꜱ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴅᴇɴɪᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ. ᴇᴠᴀ ɪꜱ ᴡᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜꜱ ᴘᴀᴛʜ, ᴏɴᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɢᴇᴛꜱ ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴅᴀʏ. ᴀɴᴅ, ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ, ꜱʜᴇ’ʟʟ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ꜱʜᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇᴅ.

ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴏɪᴅ is the first volume of ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʀʀɪᴏʀ ɢᴏᴅꜱ series, an adult fantasy lgbtq+, born from the incredible hand of Gabriela Romero-Lacruz.

It is an adult fantasy epic inspired by Venezuelan folklore.

(Small tip: before you try your hand at reading this book, pay attention to the TWs. Here is the list:
- alcohol
- assault
- blood
- child death
- death
- demons
- emotional abuse
- gore
- infertility
- kidnapping
- pregnancy
- racism
- religion
- sexually explicit scenes
- mention of slavery
- violence)

Gabriela Romero-Lacruz is undoubtedly an interesting debut with The Sun and The Void, an Adult fantasy epic inspired by Venezuelan mythology and folklore.

Reading The Sun and He Void was a great adventure. And no, I'm being ironic. And yes, I liked it. In fact, I loved it. It was a real challenge to break away from this book, especially towards the second half of the second part, when the events were becoming more and more interesting.

I certainly appreciated the author's writing: dynamic, compelling and terribly smooth. Impossible to detach!
The characterization of the characters and the details about the places and settings are two aspects that I strongly loved about this book.

The progress of the plot from mid-book onwards, alas, I could not appreciate it much. I don't know... I probably would have appreciated it more if there had been more care in combining fantasy and mythological elements. It appeared to me as if one is leaning from the other at some point.

Another aspect that did not go down much was the change of perspective between Reina and Eva. They often appeared disconnected from each other.

Small details appear, I believe that this saga has an absurd potential. I can't wait to read his sequel.

Thanks to Netgalley, Gabriela Romero-Lacruz and the publisher for sending me the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A fantastic lore based magical adventure with a refreshing diverse cast of characters and a sapphic romance.
The duel POVs were well balanced, the writing has you rooting for both characters even after they met and came to heads.
Reina was a strongly independent character despite her reliance on her grandmother to supply her life preserving ore. I loved her first nature and loyalty to the end, even when things didn’t go her way.
Eva was an intriguing character, her desire to be accepted was powerful and also heartbreaking as she put herself in dangerous situations just to be somewhere she would be happy.
The story as a whole is fantastic covering themes of resilience, struggles to be accepted and hope. The world building was engrossing and I loved how the magic system worked, the theme of the magic relating to warring gods was brilliant.
My only quip was that the pacing was slightly slower at times however overall didn’t bother me too much, it’s a solid 4.5/5 star read!

This book is full of fantasy the author is creative and has a talent for world building with amazing character development. The book is very well paced with an intriguing plot. Sentences are very well written with evocative language, I could picture every scene, setting, and character in my mind’s eye. I’m really excited to see where Gabriela Romero Lacruz goes with the trilogy next. An amazing debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I should have loved this book, but instead it sits at a 3,5 stars and I’m sitting here feeling a bit disappointed, since I expected this to be a favorite of the year. Maybe I went into it with my expectations set too high, but I just couldn’t get into it. I think it may have been the writing style that didn’t do it for me, but I’m not sure. Might reread it and some point to see if I enjoy it more, but I’m unsure.

3.5/5 stars

On one side:
Its SAPPHIC, its LATINA, its FANTASY and all those things come together very well in this book. I really enjoyed reading those part of the story. I loved the folklore side of it as well!

On the other hand:
I feel like this book, for what it should have been, should have been a bit more edited to represent the traditionally published book. I really struggled to get through this book, but it might be just my personal experience.

But it's still worth the read and I suggest to read it anyways and see if you like if for yourself

Thanks to Netgalley for E-arc, this review is my own.

"She had left the comforts of the familiar for the hope that her luck would change. Sadul Fuerte was supposed to be a fresh beginning. The opportunity to have the family her father had denied her."

As always, enormous thanks to Netgalley and the team at Daphne Press for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for a review, which is as unbiased as I can make it despite the fact that they are giving me free books.

There was a lot to like about The Sun and the Void; the magic systems that reminded me a little of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, the fractured family dynamics, the unvarnished colonialist parallels- but nonetheless I really struggled to finish it.
The pacing is bad. It was one of the first things that really struck me while I was reading, and I stand by it. Years go by between paragraphs, important events happen that we do not see, characters change and grow. And what that means is that, as a reader, from one chapter to the next, several characters become strangers all over again. It was jarring and I felt like I was playing catch up as characters left and right suddenly declared all of these things that they had done and schemes that they had started, when I had seen none of it.

A lot of the description is either very repetitive (tamarind eyes) or odd (spicy sunlight?) and despite the lavish descriptions of clothing and food, I never really felt like I could visualise the settings.

When I finished, I was almost a bit frustrated by it all. It felt like there were some great ideas in there, but that they were almost getting lost amongst the rest.

Adult fantasy inspired by South American folklore and political history.
There's magic, old gods, a prophecy, backstabbing family drama. It's a place and time of change, not too many years after a revolution, and I think that does come across in the story.

The two main characters are both virtual outcasts: Eva is part-valco, a cause of disgrace amongst her human family; Reina is part-nozariel (the lowest caste, treated as slaves and servants) and the granddaughter of a powerful woman. Both are desperate find belonging in a world that looks down on them.
Unfortunately, although they come from different places and are different species, their desires and limited knowledge of their own heritage means that they're perspectives feel quite similar and they must both receive info-dump knowledge of their heritage. They both feel fairly passive and naïve for large sections. Reina seems to be the main protagonist but she is constantly manipulated, is angry about her treatment but her willingness to perform horrific tasks, strange sense of superiority and inferiority, and objectification of Celeste and Maior makes her unsympathetic and unlikeable. Eva is a little more proactive and initially likeable but I wasn't sure about her development.
By the end, it wasn't the two POVs I wanted more of, it was supporting characters like Maior, who was the nicest throughout, and Javier who's a shit, but one with several more layers to explore.

I really struggled to sum up my views on this book. It was definitely an interesting idea and world but it was a bit too long - the beginning, especially, drags- and yet I didn't necessarily feel like I had a good understanding of the world. The characters were difficult to connect to or sympathise with and I don't think that was supposed to be the case. A mixed bag.

This book had all the makings of 5 star read but it fell short! I feel like I could have skipped half of what happened and still know what was going on. It felt very drawn out and long winded and at times I did consider not finishing it

A South American folklore inspired fantasy which felt fresh. The ancient magic systems and Gods were intriguing.
The weaving of the story lines for the characters was lovely to read. Although saying that also stressful as events started coming together with deep foreboding.
The start was slower as you learn about the characters and the world is created beautifully. The characters are also naive to the magic systems and we learn about them together. After about 65% the pace really picks up leading to a satisfying ending.
I await the next instalment.
A strong debut.
Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I wish I could rate this book higher than 3 stars, because the setting, culture, religion, and politics was so heavily detailed and unique. Reading about new mythological beings like the valco and the nozariel made the reading experience really enjoyable, despite how dense the world-building was.

I wouldn’t change how dense it was, but the huge amount of attention paid to building this world was not given to the characters. For the first 200 pages, I could barely differentiate the two point of views. They didn’t have defining character traits until their storyline’s intertwined, and even then, it was hard to root for them. They were both stuck in a society that hated them for who they were born as and were trying to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately, they both so passive, lacking the agency to think and make decisions for themselves, constantly being manipulated by those around them. This manipulation was fine, until it started happening again. And again. And again. They didn’t catch on until the final 100 pages, which was frustrating to read.

I am glad I stuck with this book, because the pace picked up halfway through and had some great action scenes. Some of the writing was a bit odd, like the “spicy sunlight” description and some other dialogue inconsistencies that could be solved in editing.

I enjoyed the variety of relationships between women in this story, especially the platonic and the familial. The romance was less engaging, because I wasn’t sure who to root for when the emotional connections weren’t set up well enough for me to get behind the relationship. Physically, the main character felt a lot for the love interests, but there wasn’t enough relationship development for me to get behind it.

I will post a TikTok review on @bookswithellak closer to the publishing date.

4⭐

The story of The Sun and the Void is set in a colourful and vibrant world. Romero-Lacruz really makes it come to life with vivid descriptions that make you feel like you're wandering in the lush landscapes of Venazia yourself. It is clear the world lies close the the author's heart because that love seeps through in every sentence. To immerse yourself even more in the world and the story as it develops, I'd recommend investing some time in consulting the glossary of terms as you start reading.

I enjoyed the story, though I found the middle part dragging on a tad too long and sometimes didn't know where the story was heading exactly. I saw some reviews mentioning they found the beginning too long and slow, but I thought that space was necessary to set the story and the relationships between the characters. For me personally, it could even have been a bit longer. I don't want to spoil anything, but I think Doña Laurel's goodness and its impact on Reina's life would have benefitted the motivation of the events that were to come.

I really admire how Romero-Lacruz succeeded in making me simultaneously root for and yell at almost every single character: they all had their flaws and redeemable qualities. The dynamics between the characters were very intruiguing and complex and I can't wait to see how their relationships develop in the future. I found the f/f romance wonderful - and even surprising but in the most pleasant of ways!

What I missed a little was a clear explanation of the magic system, but in the end - and with the help of the short overview at the end of the book - it became more or less clear to me. I absolutely loved the lore and mythology, though, and I was blown away by various plot twists and revelations that suddenly put previous events or conversations in a whole new light.

In short, a very powerful and admirable debut novel that is clearly written with a lot of passion. I eagerly look forward to the rest of the series and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who loves some mythology-heavy fantasy!

I really, really wanted to love this sapphic fantasy and it has incredible world-building and a fascinating magic system. However, I found it confusing to follow and difficult to connect with the characters.

Auch a good fantasy with romance perfect for pride month. I loved the concept of the plot and characters that kept me interested throughout and I will definitely read more from the author

I put this down at 25% just too convoluted and confusing. And that 25% was a hard slog unfortunately.

dnfed @ 16%

It's been a while since I struggled so much with a book. I'm having a lot of trouble with the prose. The dialogues are pretty bad, and the descriptions are overdone. It seems as if the author was more concerned about using lots of rhetorical figures rather than conveying useful information about the story.

Also, I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way, but what's with all the books being labeled as adult fantasy but turning out to have a very notorious YA tone?

DNFing this book is probably one of my biggest disappointments of the year, and I'm not proud of it. However, my TBR is huge, and there are many other books I want to read instead of continuing with a book I'm not enjoying even minimally.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Unfortunately this is put me in the worst reading slump.
The pacing is slow and the prose is really overwritten and littered with anachronisms - I feel like it was missing another round of editing to cut out all the parts that were unnecessary.
The main characters are also both pretty infantile for being protagonists in an adult book (?) - tbh they’re just both doormats which is a choice but it makes it hard to be interested in them.
It’s a shame because the worldbuilding is really interesting but every time I picked up I would just hate my life. :(

It has two narrators
Reina, a Nozariel, human with a beast like tail. She is summoned by her grandmother Dona Ursulina.
She lives in Don Enriques palace who is the leader over that region.
Second narrator is vera who is a valco, humans with antlers and special powers like fighting extremely fast and well.
The pacing is so slow and the book is so sad, it’s hard to keep reading which is why I DNFed it at 33%.

It is disappointing that in a book with magic, there is still a lot of heteronormative, misogyny, sexism and patriarchy. Not to mention the church still having more sway, and the geomancia and their own god/demon being restricted and frown upon.

3.5*

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an arc.

The Sun and the Void follows Reina and Eva, two girls who are both thrust into entirely new lives. I didn't particularly like either girl, though Eva grew on me more than Reina did. I found Reina to be quite childish and also selfish, though I knew it was more out of desperation than anything and her wanting approval from her grandmother, a woman who would do anything to get what she wants.

I preferred Eva's chapters and seeing her go through her adventure with Javier who harbors a deep secret of his own. I didn't particularly like him either, although events towards the end of the book made my feelings change somewhat.

My favorite characters were Celeste and Maior. I feel like if they weren't there I wouldn't have enjoyed the book half as much.