So… can the rest of this series be published IMMEDIATELY?? I’m genuinely not ok knowing that there’s no release dates on Goodreads for the next 2 books. What you MEAN books take time to write? I’m in MISERY!!!! Especially with the way this book ended. 😭

Some of you may know this book as The Boy With Fire (that’s how I knew this book) but now that it’s being traditionally published, the name was changed to The Phoenix King. Either way, it’s a fantastic book with a great title and I’m so happy to have gotten a chance to read it early!

All the characters were really intriguing and realistic and there wasn’t a single character who I felt was a straight-up villain. They all had good reasons the act the way they did and I really loved the multiple POVs. The quality of the writing and the beautiful world building really help cement Verma as an author to watch out for!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

When I first requested this book, I had really high hopes for it. Fantasy morally grey characters with revenge? Of course I was immediately sucked into this.

However, everything was underwhelming and was very uneventful until the end of the book. The things that happened in this book were not memorable enough for me to be able to keep hooked. The story is told from 3 perspectives: an heir, a king, and an ex-assassin. There was romance but it was not the main focus point, but the plot was not able to compensate for it. This book does get pretty dark and gory, and I suppose those were the only parts where I actually felt had action and something happening.

3.5. The fantasy aspect in the book was done so well. I enjoyed it from start to finish. What I enjoyed the most had to be the characters though. Leo Elena and Yassen were so flushed out you could tell the author took their time in getting to know these character, and what connects and separates these characters from each other. It’s very rare to find a book that has multiple povs where you enjoy each pov equally.

The romance aspect could have been flushed out more. I feel like they moved on from what transpired between them and from one characters decisions way too quick. It definitely could be flushed out and I would say that then getting kinda together (?) didn’t need to happen until book 2.

At the request of the publisher, this review will not be shared on other platforms until two weeks prior to the date of publication.

The Phoenix King is a stunning entry to the fantasy genre; it may not revolutionize it, but it's an exciting contribution nonetheless. The world building is impeccable, the lore tantalizing and intriguing, the mythology dark and beautifully haunting. The characters are memorable, vibrant, alive; Elena is an immediate favorite and promising new protagonist in the genre. Relationships between characters are dynamic, complex, and heartrending. The premise is, thus far, not a story that has not been seen before in various iterations, but is a delightful romp that heralds a richly imagined and gorgeously depicted fantasy trilogy.

To be clear, this very, very easily could have been a 4 or 4.5 star read. And then the novel reaches its climax, breathtaking and expertly pulled off. And then it plateaus, for approximately 20% of the novel's total length. I was in genuine disbelief that the entirety of the remainder of the novel, save the epilogue, was not moved to the second installment. There is nothing wrong with what is written. It would be an excellent beginning. It is an absolutely horrendous pacing choice to place at the end of the first novel, which had already reached a natural conclusion that would leave readers thrilled and aghast. As it is, finishing this book, which I flew through up to this point, became an actual chore to read. It's made all the more stunning by the fact that this is otherwise an impeccably paced novel. I'm still left reeling, but from sheer disbelief that it stumbled quite so badly. Again, there is nothing wrong with the actual content of the last handful of chapters. They're well-written. They simply have absolutely no business being placed were they are and dragging what started and might have ended with a bang to a limp to the finish line.

This is still an exciting start to the series, and I'm certainly looking forward to future installments. It could have been even more than it was with a simple editing choice.

The book was fine, just not my favorite

~This book was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I have to say, there were many things that kept tugging my opinion back and forth while reading this book so let's start with the good. The mythology was rich and original, and the writing was very nice. The worldbuilding was also definitely a highlight which was a nice surprise as that was one of my main criticisms from her last work. The story is straight forward and fast paced. This was very solid for a debut novel, and I am truly excited to see this author's writing continue to evolve, as it was by far what made this book the most enjoyable. I love how detailed he world and the lore surrounding it are. It can be tricky to have such strong worldbuilding without making the reader feel overwhelmed with knowledge and this book did a great job.
Unfortunately there are some issues that I can't ignore with this book. For one was the under-developed romance that really was not as big of a role as was promised. I am not someone who relies on romance to get through a story, but I was disappointed at how much more we could've gotten if the romance had have gotten a little more development. I also feel a distinct lack of connection to most of the characters in the story and wish they had been a bit less of a cliche or archetype.
Regardless of some things that fell short, it was an impressive debut and leaves me excited to read the rest of the trilogy and see how these characters and story can grow from here, especially with such impressive writing straight out of the gate.