This is by no means an offensively bad book, but I never found myself immersed in the story.

My main complaint with this book was that I spent most of it bored. I didn't feel as if anything happened. The characters felt passive in their own story. Verma was going for the morally gray, conflicted types, but only one of them even came close.

I believe this author has potential, but her debut did not click with me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for this digital arc! The Phoenix King comes out on August 29, 2023, and it's perfect for fans looking for a diverse twist on Game of Thrones.

To be honest, I went into this book expecting it to lean more towards romantasy. Imagine my surprise when I was immediately hit with complex, war-mongering politics, a sci-fi bent, and POVs outside the two main love interests. This did make it a bit harder to get into the book, as I kept waiting for the love interests to interact and spark a connection. But I can firmly tell you that romance takes a backseat to the court machinations and religious differences highlighted in this book.

Aparna Verma did a phenomenal job fleshing out this world. We understand how multiple nations engage with one another, how different religions were formed, and what that means for our three protagonists. But the book's best moments were by far the vulnerable character-driven scenes. I connected to both Leo and Elena much more when they talked about Aahnah. While I wanted to connect with Yassen, something about him made it more difficult to empathize right away.

While I'm intrigued and want to know more about what happens in Book 2, I really hope we see more connections with and between characters. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the book! The twists were well-done, the action kept me on the edge of my seat, and the court intrigue made me think about the morall-grey decisions our characters had to make.

Make sure you preorder or pick up The Phoenix King on August 29!

The Phoenix King is an action-packed and captivating fantasy debut. Elena is the crown princess in the kingdom of Ravence, whose rulers are legendary for controlling the Eternal Fire- except she can’t wield it yet. If she can’t control her powers on the day of her coronation, she will not be accepted by her subjects. When the former assassin Yassen is added to her guard, Elena is suspicious. To secure an alliance, Elena agrees to marry Yassen’s friend Samson. Elena will have to accept his help and the alliances that come with it in order to survive the war looming on the horizon. Meanwhile, Elena’s father schemes behind the scenes to protect the kingdom. What type of queen will Elena be when she is put to the test?

The Phoenix King is filled with high-stakes politics, dangerous magical powers, and morally gray characters. Yassen and Elena are compelling characters as they fight for their goals. Elena is a fierce and strong character who has had the goal of becoming queen her entire life. Yassen is a morally gray character who has been forced into unthinkable choices. I am so curious to see more of their relationship explored in future books! Elena’s journey to harnessing her powers is long and difficult. I enjoyed learning more about her mother’s journey and what led her to make the choices that she did. I also really liked Ferma’s powers and how she was able to use her hair during a fight. There is an incredibly detailed amount of world-building happening in this book. Readers who enjoyed Kaikeyi (Vaishnavi Patel), The Jasmine Throne (Tasha Suri), and The Jasad Heir (Sara Hashem) will love this book. I’m looking forward to the sequel!

Thank you to Aparna Verma, Orbit Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

It's a time of transition for Ravence. Elena is set to be coronated as the new queen when her father steps down. In the background of preparation for this transition, the country is at war with another as well as there being turmoil within the country as power struggles and corrupt parties come into play.
One of the things that is most special about this book is that there is a creative and yet extremely well-executed combination of futuristic technology as well as a setting that draws heavy inspiration from Ancient India. While these don't necessarily seem like they would go together, it never feels out of place and the way in which these aspects work together is imaginative and helps set the tone for the story.
All of our main characters are extremely multi-dimensional. They are working for what they believe is right, but are also caught up in what is possible at the moment and working with what they have; which sometimes leads to bad decisions that have a domino effect of ramifications. The character growth as our characters work to be the best they can be while fighting the forces that are harming the kingdom is amazing. They learn the hard way that they can't always act in the best interest of individuals as well as the best interest of the kingdom. This is an absolutely amazing debut novel, and I cannot wait to see where the journey continues from here for our characters!

The Phoenix King is a blend of fantasy and sci-fi in a complex, war-torn world. I liked the author’s descriptive writing style and the use of mythology and prophecy. I struggled to get into this book because of the slow pacing, overall it’s uneventful. The characters also fell flat for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

“The Phoenix King” is a previously self-published novel that was picked up by a traditional publisher, and I can see why.

This is epic, Desi-inspired space fantasy a little heavy on the worldbuilding for my preferences but I stayed for the characters. Elena is a queen in waiting of a kingdom in which the people worship the Eternal Fire, but she is unable to wield the deadly fire magic that is her family’s divine right.

At first I thought Elena was going to turn into a trope I find tiresome, the naive, idealistic female ruler manipulated by those around her who finds her power, but Elena was different and complex, even though there were whispers of that. Elena was also a fighter, trained to be ruthless, her father’s daughter.

Before her coronation, she is betrothed to a mercenary whose army her father wants to start distracting wars with the neighboring Jantari, but the political intrigues go deeper than any of them realize. The mercenary, Samson, brings his brother in arms, Yassen, an assassin and hired gun full of shifting allegiances and a tragic past. A love triangle ensues, Yassen falling for Elena in a sweet slow-burn romance, and Samson still in love with Yassen.

Amid this, Elena’s father begins a bloodthirsty search for a Prophet that will burn them all.

I loved the long arc of the romance between Yassen and Elena, and the sad, broken boys that were Yassen and Samson. Even the villain of the story, Elena’s father, was complex in his love for Elena’s late mother and their daughter.

This is a story of love, the responsibility and sacrifice of leadership, power and betrayal, and the writing style was vivid and engaging throughout. Together with a thrilling, well-crafted story, the characters made this book sing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was an interesting read. I definitely liked it a lot but I don't know if I loved it. Yassen and Elena were really well-written characters - morally grey with multiple shades and layers
SciFi world with Fantasy elements

I'm waiting for book 2 now

Okay, I'm just going to call it with this one--I have picked it up at least half a dozen times and just haven't been able to stick with it, so at about a third of the way through I'm going to put it aside. However, I think it must be a "it's not you it's me" problem, because I can't put my finger on what's not hooking me--and there's actually a lot of really cool stuff about this book.

This reads like a science fantasy, with a secondary world where tech and magic intertwine. The cast of characters is great, and the stakes are high. If you like a diverse world with a desert setting, a heavy dash of politics, and what seems to be shaping up to be a love triangle, I'm hoping to come back to this one because I really do like it and would definitely recommend it--I guess I'm just not in the right mood!

"Oh my god, that was so good!" was the first thing I said upon finishing this book. What an exciting and original debut!

"The Phoenix King" by Aparna Verma features three different points of view: Elena's, Leo's, and Yassen's. Elena is the heir to the kingdom of Ravence, a kingdom divided among itself and on the brink of war. However, to inherit the throne on her 25th birthday, she must be able to hold fire, a feat that each reigning royal needs to accomplish. Her father, Leo, seems neither inclined to listen to her nor teach her to hold fire, denying her of her birthright to rule. However, Elena is determined to learn, no matter the cost.

Leo, the current Phoenix King, will do anything to preserve his kingdom and protect Elena. As Ravence teeters on the brink of war with Jantar, he must rule with a heavy and ruthless hand. However, as he tries to balance his duty to his kingdom with his duty as a father, his secrets begin to pile up, threatening everything he holds dear.

Yassen, an assassin on the run, finds refuge in Ravence, working as Elena's bodyguard. Injured in his last mission, he was declared useless as an assassin, and a kill order was placed on him. As an orphan of a Jantari father and a Ravi mother, he has nowhere he belongs and nowhere he can be free. Still, he tries to make a new life for himself as he protects Elena from Jantar and the assassin network he hides from, attempting to outrun the ghosts of his past. But can he be trusted?

This is a richly woven story with an intriguing and well-executed exploration of how far we are willing to go to protect and fight for our beliefs and what we love. Verma delves headfirst into her examination of the meaning of sacrifice, the dynamics of family, and the desire for power. She explores themes of identity, resilience, love, dedication, and violence. There is a wealth of diversity, including disability representation. The world-building is politically rich, yet I rarely felt lost in it, and the story was easy to follow. The pacing is fantastic, and the characters are complex, displaying a depth rarely found in debut works. There were twists and betrayals I didn't see coming, making for an addictive story. I cannot recommend "The Phoenix King" highly enough. It was a phenomenal read, and I can't wait to continue the series.

This review will be posted to retail sites closer to the release date.

<i>Received for free as an EARC from the publishers.</i>

The Phoenix King is a book about the heir to a kingdom who is unable to wield the fire that should show her legitimacy, her father — the king — who wishes to protect her at any cost, and an assassin who wants to find stability in his life.

To begin with, I wanted to love this book. I initially heard of it from the author, and as someone who loves complex political fantasy books with godly machinations and women committing war crimes (remember, support women’s wrongs!) this seemed up my alley. However I found myself more disappointed than anything else. While still a fantastic book, what I expected, and what I got, didn’t align in the least.

To get the most egregious of the sins out of the way, a) yes, there’s a 3rd POV not mentioned in the description, I too was surprised, and b) the characters are almost entirely passive in their own story. Even if they had done nothing, the book likely would’ve ended the same. I was promised morally grey characters who make hard choices, and in reality I got one morally grey character, and two who didn’t do enough to be considered morally <i>anything</i>.

Like if you ask me to name any actions that the king — Leo — or the princess — Elena — did, I would only be able to name three actual things they did. Two for Elena and one for Leo. For the assassin — Yassen — while he <i>apparently</i> does some very important things to the plot, in reality none of this is depicted or even truly hinted at in his own POV. Instead we’re simply told he did these things at the end of the book. Presumably while we weren’t looking.

And if you’re looking to this book for the supposed romance between Yassen and Elena, since apparently this book has one, don’t read it. There is a romance, but it lasts for about 5 pages, feels like it comes out of nowhere, and then ends. There is no real chemistry between them at all. There are comments made by Elena that Yassen is attractive and she enjoys looking at him, and that’s it.

Yassen is also useless as a character. I can’t actually think of anything he thought of in his POV’s, which were all incredibly boring. Because Yassen as a character is incredibly boring, while he’s apparently one of the best assassins, he only does a small bit of fighting, he’s give no real defining besides being happy to be back in his homeland.

What I’m saying is that Yassen has been lampshaded. Which, honestly, I’m impressed about, because normally women get lampshaded, so yay for progress, now men can be lampshades too! /s

But in all honesty, it’s not great when one of your main POV, in the description of the book characters is so unremarkable and does so little, that he’s outpaced by a number of side characters who didn’t even <i>get</i> a POV. Because he was, often and frequently.

The book’s pacing is also just weird. While the beginning is incredibly interesting with the worldbuilding and set up, and the end of the book has so much going on that it keeps you reading, there’s an entire middle section of machinations that occur that could’ve and really should’ve been condensed. We spent so much of the book on a number of goals that proved to be irrelevant in the end. And while showing who the characters are and what they believe in is important, it’s incredibly misleading to give us things that seem important and then just shrug your shoulders at the end and go ‘eh, it’s all irrelevant anyways.’ Like I invested time and thought into those plots, and now they don’t matter? Why? I honestly had to go read another book at the 50% mark because I was so bored, and that’s really not a good thing.

That being said, the parts of this novel I liked, I did <i>really</i> like. For one the worldbuilding and religions are confusing, but fascinating. I wish we’d gotten more about them, but for a first book it makes sense to not show the whole hand. The gods of the world are fascinating and threatening, and the prophecy which looms casting it shadow really makes you question what you’re being told at every point. Verma truly knows how to make the world ever present in your mind as you read, even when she isn’t explaining it. Everyone in the world felt like they were truly living in that world, and I really enjoyed that.

While the other kingdoms felt lackluster due to not having enough information, Ravence was lively, and I really enjoyed the setting and how it felt lived in. I can’t wait to see more of the world in the next book.

Likewise, the characters for whom their personality was given, were incredibly written. From Elena’s stubbornness, to Leo’s clear love for his daughter, to Elena’s Spear’s obvious guilt over her mother’s death, to even the fucking fruit seller. The characters were awesome. I really enjoyed them and think Verma did a fantastic job of making them apart of the world and distinctive in your mind.

Verma’s style is also lovely. She has a way of writing that really does attract attention when she isn’t wasting it, and I loved the parts of the book where things happened. The syntax isn’t overcomplicated in that way some people think they need to craft beautiful sentences. Verma understands how to write beautifully and to communicate the information she wants to well and in a way that’ll make you marvel at her description.

In all, while a fun read, The Phoenix King was ultimately boring

2.5, rounded down

rtc, but the long and short of it is: criminally slow paced, which made for a boring as hell read. by the time stuff kicked into gear, I didn't care an iota. forced romance between pair with zero romantic chemistry (i can and will talk about the exact moment author flipped switch and showed her hand to guide the "romance"). major abuse of 'as if' comparisons, i'm surprised an editor didn't catch it. huge disappointment, but give me book two for one of the only characters i cared about.

✨𝔸ℝℂ ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨✨

📕 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓱𝓸𝓮𝓷𝓲𝔁 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰
✍️ 𝓑𝔂 𝓐𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓪 𝓥𝓮𝓻𝓶𝓪

🔥 Yassen Knight is a trained assassin trying to find freedom from his past. Elena Aadya is the Ravani princess seeking to hone the ability to command the Eternal Fire and prove herself worthy of the crown. Their fates are irreversibly entwined when Yassen takes the role of Elena’s personal guard. As Elena’s coronation approaches, she and Yassen are caught in a web of political uprising, betrayal, and war that threaten to overthrow the kingdom of Ravence in this character driven epic fantasy.

First, let me say that the writing was first-rate and the world building was admirable, however, despite how much I wanted to love this book, I didn’t. The first two thirds of the book were largely character driven and frankly, repetitive and boring. For example, the reader is repeatedly reminded of Elena’s inability to manipulate fire and taken through the steps of the fire dance. The lengthy passages about the angst over the secrets that the characters are keeping is entirely unnecessary. The description of the characters’ emotional responses to trauma is excessive. Readers get it, we don’t need something drilled into our heads ad nauseam. If this had not been an ARC, I likely would have DNFed.

The final third of the book, however, is action packed, intriguing, and captivating. I found myself pulled into how Elena and Yassen were going to handle their predicament and survive until their objectives had been accomplished. The cliffhanger conclusion and stunning final reveal almost make me want to read the second book, but not quite.

Ultimately, better editing could have saved this book for me. Removing some of the pedantic fluff from the first two thirds of the novel would have made it easier to delve into the world that Verma built and want to stay there. I am giving the book a slightly higher rating that I might have otherwise based on the third act alone. I’m sure this is the exact type of introspective fantasy someone is looking for, just not myself. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 @netgalley 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣.

The Phoenix King
By Aparna Verma

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Reasons why I believe everyone should read give this book a try:

⚔️ debut book
🔥 desi-inspired fantasy / Indian-inspired mythology
⚔️ enemies-to-lovers
🔥 female rage
⚔️ morally gray characters
🔥 multi pov
⚔️ slowburn
🔥 high stakes
⚔️ court politics / political drama
🔥 awesome world-building
⚔️ brilliant magic system
🔥 it is DUNE meets THE POPPY WAR meets ATLA — reason enough to pick it up 🫶🏻

The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma was a wonderful read! From the moment I opened the book, I was captivated by Verma's vivid imagination and skillful storytelling. This epic fantasy adventure takes readers on a breathtaking journey through a world brimming with magic, danger, and unforgettable characters. The characters each have their own voice and arc, they are so complex and evolve as you progress with the story. They are all enthralling and well-developed, I loved them so much.

Verma's writing style is enchanting, seamlessly weaving together intricate details, rich descriptions, and compelling dialogue. Her ability to create a fully immersive world is remarkable. The plot is meticulously crafted, with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire journey. I appreciated that the romance was woven into the story but wasn’t the main plot of it; this is more fantasy with romance subplot. Its focus is primarily on the characters, politics, and magic of this world. I’m very excited for the remainder of the series to see where it goes from here!!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of the book for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Thank you to Aparna Verma and Netgalley for providing me with the ARC of “The Phoenix King.” I’ve been following Verma for some time now and I’m very excited for her, and to finally get my hands on the story and to finally read some more South Asian representation in fantasy books!
•
Right off the bat, the writing and description of color made me think of Sabaa Tahir’s “All My Rage” which is a beautifully written book. The world in “The Phoenix King” was a mixture of sci-fi/dystopia with the inclusion of hoverboards and technology like Apple watches and I was not expecting that. It was cool to see a world that was similar to a traditional epic fantasy with modernized tech. I will share that I was confused at times with the various types of people as there were different references to ethnicities and cultures. I think that’s the struggle with digital reading as you can’t flip back and forth to a map. I’m glad we had a glossary thought I do wish that as placed at the front of the book. Overall, I could not put my iPad down - I had to keep reading because this book was EVERYTHING!
•
I’m going to hold off on disclosing some details as I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but I do want to share some parts that were just *chef’s kiss*. First of all, this is a great set-up for an enemies to lovers situation though I may be projecting a bit here 😂. Yassen is assigned to be Elena’s guard and I honestly squealed reading that. The next layer that got me was when Yassen stepped in to dance with Elena during her dance practice while Samson wasn’t there and boy…was I fangirling! The icing on the cake was when Elena’s dupatta got caught in his sleeve button and my emotions simply could not handle this scene. I quite literally squealed and kicked my feet reading this as I pictured a full-on Bollywood montage in my head.
•
If anyone else has read “The Phoenix King,” would love to chat with you to discuss some of that content 😉. Overall, I’m just not eagerly counting down to the day that I can get my hands on my pre-ordered copy of the physical book!

a stunning new voice in fantasy comes an Indian-inspired, action-packed debut of fire magic and ancient prophecy, in which the fate of a kingdom rests in the hands of a princess desperate for power and an assassin with a dark secret."A CAPTIVATING ADVENTURE."

This was the PERFECT fantasy book for this summer! The new and improved Phoenix King is amazing! The pacing was so much better than in the original and gives information throughout the book without taking too much away from the flow of the plot and characters. The book builds such an intriguing background for all that happens. I'm so excited to read more from this author!

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Phoenix King was such a fantastic read and can I say when this book hits the shelves, everyone will be picking it up! I was immediately hooked when I first came across this book through a TikTok posted by the author. Anything with a strong female lead excites me to read it; I knew this would be no different.

Ready for the review? POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

I felt as though this book could be set up in the sense of a before and after. The world-building was interesting but sometimes hard to imagine. The first half of the book was a little harder to get into but after the shooting in the market, it became much more interesting. The writing was easy to read and flowed beautifully.

All of the characters were expertly written and I hope to see more of Leo's point of view in the next book because his chapters were always interesting. He was a morally grey character in my opinion as I didn't see him as much of an evil king. I did feel as though Elena and Yassen's romance lacked and they definitely have the potential to be written with more chemistry which I hope to see in the next book. Most of the marketing I saw for this book included them and when I read the book, I saw how their relationship lacked.

With that being said, this author has so much potential to grow and for a debut novel, it was a pretty great read. I will definitely be picking up the second book which I'm excited about and can't wait to see where the story takes us in the future!

Pacing felt a little off - meandering through a lot of info-dumps as we learn about the world, rather than see it more naturally through our characters eyes (Elena, Yassen). We follow Elena learn to follow in her father's footsteps to claim her title, but the specific sacrifices and steps to get there were laid out for us well in advance, leaving us to wait until Elena completes the function as if ghostwalking.

Wow what a debut novel! I heard first about The Phoenix King through BookTok and the descriptions and the overall vibe of the book sold me! As a Desi gal myself, it was unbelievably cool to see so much cultural representation not only with the main FMC, but also with the setting descriptions!

TLDR: 3.5/5

I really enjoyed the character development through the course of the book. While I’m not a usually a fan of multiple POVs I thought the use of them to tell all different sides of the plot was really well done here. I will say the first portion of the book is very heavy on the world-building (which I understand with it being the first of a trilogy) and so it takes a little bit to full grasp everything. That being said the world-building was incredibly done and I’m particularly interested in seeing how little details play a role in future installments. The pacing of the book was another thing I found to be a little wonky toward the end of the novel — there were parts where so much was happening and then suddenly it would jump to a waiting period. But the plot twists!! Very well done and I was shocked! Overall I really did enjoy this book and would recommend to adult fantasy lovers!

This was a very strong debut novel and a great read. I immediately fell in love with Elena. She is such a strong main character. She is kind, clever, and determined. I admired her so much. I loved her relationship with her kingdom and the desert. And she underwent amazing character development as she prepared for her coronation and her rightful role as ruler. I also enjoyed the other points of view, especially her father's. I wish we got a bit more of Yassen's childhood, but I am sure there is much more to come. My one other critique was while I got a great understanding of all the characters, I never fully grasped the setting. I felt there could have been a lot more world building to explain the technology and politics. I liked the physical setting of the desert kingdom and the mythology, but struggled with the other context of the plot. The plot itself was complex yet clear, with the goals of the characters guiding the story and conflicts. I did not see the final twist coming and cannot wait for the next book to see where the story and characters go.