Ooh, I really loved this! It is a slower paced fantasy, but I loved the level of world building we got for book 1 in a trilogy. Elena is a great main character and I feel that it was really unique to get her dad's perspective, that added a fantastic layer.

NEED book 2!

The Phoenix King is a lush fantasy and science fiction book. Verma’s writing is beautiful, consisting of poetic language that is easy to grasp onto and feel. She describes the world very well. I could see it in my mind, the cityscape, Palace Hill, and the desert beyond.
I really enjoyed the lore rooted in Indian mythology mixed with modern technology and ideals. It was an interesting blend of genres that I hadn’t seen before. The combination added to the realness of the world she created. It allowed for more modern terminology and is an excellent opportunity to welcome readers who may not typically read the fantasy genre.
Verma did an excellent job building the relationship between the FMC, Elena, and her guard, a Yumi named Ferma. You could feel the love between them, like mother and daughter but also friends.
I think my main critique of the book boils down to time. Time spent telling parts of the story, which can be wrapped into one word: pacing. Verma took on a big story, one that I really enjoyed. However, because so much was happening, most things didn’t feel like they got the time they needed to develop. We didn’t get to see the main betrayal until about 70% through the book, and there was really no build up to it. Then (and I’ll stay vague so I don’t spoil things), it didn’t seem like such a big deal a few chapters later. The emotionally impactful moments got lost because we didn’t get to see the buildup or the breakdown as much as I think we needed to. This also led to several of the choices the characters made being difficult to understand. If some of the events from this first book had been moved to a later book, I think it would have helped. They all seem important, and I really wanted to see them unfurl, I think I just needed some more space between them all.
Overall, I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. Verma clearly has a future in writing and I can’t wait to see what she achieves.

Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book had a great start with an attempted assassination that immediately gripped me. The world building was done expertly, with sprinkles of religion and history given to further each moment without any information dumping. It did a great job of adding in a lot of emotion, especially where Elena’s mother was concerned. Unlike a typical fantasy novel, this book has elements of sci-fi that give this world extremely advanced technology like hoverpads that added an interesting component to the fantasy world. I did really enjoy the characters, until later on when I felt some of the character actions didn’t match how they had previously been presented.

At the halfway point the story crumbles a bit. Yassen’s role and secrecy makes much of the story less interesting to me. It didn’t feel believable, especially since we know his thoughts from his POV. While it was shocking, it lessened the romance to a huge degree for me. I didn’t see Elena forgiving him for the role he played so soon in this series. The death of two major characters, while painful for Elena, feel cheapened by her continuing to work with Yassen after everything. I liked that these characters were shown to really struggle through a lot about themselves and their pasts, while also trying to heal. I think Elena’s grief was harder to believe after the betrayal, when before it was so consuming to read about. The end of the book also fell a little flat for me as I didn’t feel as connected to the characters anymore.

Overall, I liked what this book had in concept but think the development of the story was diminished a bit by some of the character arcs.

I knew going into this book that it was the first in a trilogy. I knew there would be some kind of cliff hanger, adorning to leave us readers wanting more. I thought I knew where Aparna was going to leave it off, but then the story kept going, and I was like "Ok,ok,ok,ok... tell me MORE!" I'm not usually a reader who speculates as they read. I usually prefer to just immerse myself in the story and pick up on the story beats just before the characters do. There were a few moments in the back quarter that I thought I had all figured out, but then there were ✨️plot twists✨️, which I am totally here for. Keep me on my toes as a reader and definitely hooked me for quietly anticipating book 2. There was a lot of world building in the first half or so of this book, but none of it felt too heavy handed. We learned things through explaining traditions to the "outsider" characters, discoveries of information previously withheld from characters, and through general context of the characters moving through the world. I always prefer to be dropped into a bookish world and have an author trust me as a reader to figure things out as we go through the story or give me enough clues to do some googling on my own to figure it out.

I absolutely loved every aspect of this book, from the world building to the characters to the development of each character and overall story. I was also absolutely bamboozled by the ending, yet it made perfect sense in the scheme of the story.
I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Aparna Verma tells of a kingdom created by a fire goddess, whose rulers have the ability to manipulate fire. It’s facing an assassin cult, and another kingdom that has already conquered one of its neighbors, and the potential rise fo a seventh prophet. The last prophet, two centuries before, almost destroyed The Ravani kingdom. Elena Aadya is due to take the rule from her father,The Phoenix King (paper from Orbit) on her twenty-fifth birthday. Yassen Knight is an assassin on the run from his guild who is assigned to guard her. This is an exciting beginning to a fun, and unusual trilogy, and I'm eager for part 2.

The Phoenix King is a politcal fantasy novel with South Asian main characters. Aparna Verma's writing style is an absolute delight to read! I thoroughly enjoyed the political aspects of the novel — how far would you go to protect the throne? How long can you sustain a regime based on blind faith and fear? The chapters featuring the morally gray king of Ravence, Leo were the most fascinating! The romance track was a bit of a disappointment as it felt a bit clichéd. Elena definitely grew as a character over the course of the book but Yaseen as the troubled man stayed one-dimensional...

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I'm excited to read the sequel!
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC

If you’re looking for an immersive, intricate, and tightly plotted Indian-based fantasy, look no further than THE PHOENIX KING. This is my second time reading this beauty — the first time was way back in 2021 when it was published under The Boy with Fire, and I picked this one up not knowing that info. What I do know is that it was fantastic the first time, and it was even more so this time around. ⁣
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Told between the points of view of the 3 primary characters, I adored getting inside each of their heads as they’re forced to make decisions that will have huge impacts. The world they inhabit is on the brink of war, and every single decision that these characters make have ties to that. This book gets dark, as one would expect from a story about war, and it’s certainly not one for the faint of heart. ⁣
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This is the first book in a planned trilogy, and I will be waiting with bated breath for book 2. If you’re a lover of intricate worlds, court politics, scheming characters, and dark and brutal worlds, I absolutely recommend this one. There’s also a bit of romance and some strong friendships, so it does have a few bright spots thrown in. 5 stars.

A wonderful fantasy debut, that's great for both YA and adult fantasy fans.

This book has so many of my favourite tropes:
-enemies to lovers
-slow burn
- morally gray characters
-multi pov

I loved the world building, and the futuristic sci-fi elements made for a really interesting read.
I did find it a bit slow paced and I would have liked to see more character development. Fingers crossed we get more in the upcoming books.

Overall, this is a great first book in a new trilogy and I can't wait to read the next two books!

I'm really torn on how to rate this - there are parts of this that are wonderfully done and parts of this that I struggled with... so I feel like a 3 is fair. I think the comps I've seen (the Poppy War and Dune) do this book a disservice, because I went in expecting one thing and got something completely different. If I could rate this in sections, I'd give it a 3.5 star beginning, 2 star middle, 4.5 star ending!

The beginning started strong, but then my attention waned between the 10-60% mark. I struggled to keep myself interested in the middle because of the slower pacing. I understand the world was being built, but some sections felt draggy. This is an interesting world - there's a blend of tech and magic that I found interesting.

I think bits of this spoonfeed the reader. Characters have conversations about information they both already know as a convenient way to catch the reader up to speed, and it felt a little... clunky? The characters in general fell short for me as I just couldn't really connect to any of them. The relationships between characters didn't compel me (I wish we had seen more Elena and Ferma or Yassen and Samson!)

Personally, I don't think romance was needed in this. I would much rather have seen more moments between Elena and Leo - objectively the most interesting dynamic in the book.

The worldbuilding and magic were absolutely fascinating and my favorite part of this. The prophecy/gods/religion parts were interesting and that's what kept me reading. Until the ~60% mark, I struggled to stay interested - but the ending section (particularly the last 15-20%) was miles above the middle... that's what makes this so hard to rate!

I'll definitely give book two a shot because I am intrigued by the world and plot, and the end of this book made me super curious about the sequel. I hope in future books the characters are easier to connect with!

Thank you to Orbit Books US for my advanced digital review copy!

Let me just get this out of the way: My review is 3.5/5 stars (rounding up).

I'm going to alternate my bads with my goods here.

This book was slow. So, so slow. Not much happened until just after 40% in. Then it was slightly more stuff happening, but still not a lot. Around 75% of the way in, things happened. BIG THINGS. Then it meandered between that climax and the end. The end was strong, however. The epilogue? Astounding. There was a master class in red herrings throughout The Phoenix King.

The Phoenix King is told from three PoVs: Yassen (an assassin), Elena (the princess and heir of Ravence), and Leo (the king of Ravence and Elena's father). I personally found Leo's PoV to be the strongest of the three. I originally thought it was an odd inclusion, but it was my favourite, and I was always excited when it alternated back to him. Yassen and Elena's PoVs were fine, but then did read a bit younger than they were (at least 25 years old). However, the balance of all three provided different perspectives of the same events, so that was good.

Part of the social media advertising of The Phoenix King was Yassen and Elena's relationship. I'm going to be honest, most of the time I didn't buy it. I think the idea was good, but it felt very rushed to me. Whenever is escalated I was just kind of staring at my phone and going, "Huh? That came out of nowhere." It was much less show and much more tell. They forgave each other for a lot of very bad things far too easily.

A great thing about The Phoenix King was the world-building. The digital ARC didn't have the map, which is a shame, because that would've been super useful. I loved the blend of sci-fi and fantasy in the aesthetics. I loved the real world influences, how the Kingdom of Ravence was a blend of Indian culture and myth and classic sci-fi elements. The technology aspect was amazing. I specifically loved the design of the Kingdom of Jantar. I thought that King Farin (The Jantari's king) had a really really interesting design, and I wish we had seen more of him. I know we will in future books, but that was so cool.

The prose was also largely great. It flowed well. There was a good use of metaphors and similes that added to the descriptions without passing into an overdone level of purple prose (and I love purple prose).

I'll definitely read the second book when it's out, because the set up was great. I can clearly see where we're heading with this. I also believe that with the feedback received on The Phoenix King, Verma will be able to craft a very strong sequel.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This is a good start to a new epic fantasy/soft sci-fi series!

I won't lie, I love the potential and foreshadowing for the FMC, Elena, to become a ruthless future queen. Ymmv, but I'm totally here for an FMC breaking bad to get what she wants. If you're not a fan of that trope, then this novel might not be for you.

The Phoenix King had a very slow start. The setup takes about the first 40% of the novel. There's an event around the 43% mark that really set everything off like a domino effect. By then, I couldn't stop reading.

We're introduced to the three POV characters: Elena (the Ravence princess), Yassen (the bodyguard/former assassin), and Leo (the Ravence king). I think Leo was the most interesting POV out of the three, since it's essentially the POV of an absolute ruler. I might even suggest that he's a dictator.

Through both Leo and Elena's POVs, it was pretty interesting (and cool in a f'ed up way) to see how deep the seeds of corruption were in Ravence. The push and pull between father and daughter was slightly tropey, but there was nuance to it in this novel. Elena rebels indirectly, unlike in a stereotypical YA fantasy where the princess acts out in a spoiled and immature fashion.

I didn't particularly care for Yassen's POV, but I'm glad at least there were some plot twists with his story and he provided a different viewpoint than the two royals.

I really liked the religion/magic system that dealt with fire and the Phoenix as a vengeful god figure. Both Elena and Leo have really nuanced views on their beliefs that feel realistic (if you compare it to how irl people feel about a religion that they follow because of culture, but don't truly believe in). The Phoenix is always there, interwoven in everyday life in Ravence. It felt really believable if you're from a religious background and can understand the importance of religion to a culture.

There were a few things I didn't really like:

The fact that Leo easily accepted a former assassin, Yassen, as his daughter's bodyguard didn't seem believable. Sure, both Yassen and his friend/princess consort/future king, Samson, both officially defected from the Arohassin, it still feels like such a huge risk to have Yassen so close to Elena.

The romance between Yassen and Elena didn't feel believable in the beginning. She just ends up trusting him with valuable info?? Just because they spent a night in a cave in a sandstorm (like platonic almost strangers, nothing sexual lmao)?

The combination of the above and Elena making simple mistakes playing political games with her father's gold caps (who are everyday citizens trying to cozy up with the crown by spying on other citizens) makes Elena seem really immature. I'm not sure if that was intentional? She's still young, so it could be. Who knows?

I would've liked a POV that was more grounded (like an everyday Ravence citizen or someone who doesn't have 24/7 access to the royals).

This is extremely nitpicky, but I still can't get over how a cabin in the middle of bumf*ck nowhere has power for a front door with access control??? Was there a generator on the property somewhere?? Yassen didn't mention a security system that he had to disable?? Also, the front door still worked after over a decade of neglect???

That's the kind of soft sci-fi that's in this series. Just don't think about it and you'll be fine.

Anyway, I'd recommend this book for someone who's dipping their feet in epic fantasy with a good dose of South Asian influences.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Aparna Verma's The Phoenix King was one of my highly anticipated books of this month. Alas, it did not serve the excitement and adventure I expected.

To start with the positives, the book is well-written, with complicated characters that didn't match my expectations of them; has great, contrasting settings, from the desert to the mountains; and the concept of wielding fire is cool enough to warrant interest.

What was disappointing is that the premise was one thing and the plot was another. This book felt like a prequel to a novel and not like the first in a series. There is a prophecy mentioned throughout the novel but nothing of it comes to fruition. The king commits horrible crimes to make sure the prophecy is not fulfilled. And still, nothing really of the prophecy.

Possible spoilers ahead--

Our main characters, Elena and Yassen, changed from the beginning to the end but it wasn't a very drastic change, which was also quite disappointing. What was the point of Elena's earlier actions if she was only going to eventually fit into the mold she was 'born for'? Why did Yassen go back to something he didn't want to be a part of?

Honestly, a lot of the twists at the end, or the reveals that come by then, felt like they were there for more of a shock value than anything else. They didn't fit the narrative of the book. If there were even some slight indications, I would have leaned into them more, accepted them more easily. But the way the book was building, the way things were going, the reveals didn't feel natural to the storyline. Also, it has me questioning why Yassen is a part of the storyline at all. :/

Rate: ⭐⭐⭐💫/5

I really wish I'd liked this book more than I did. I thought the storytelling and writing style were amazing and I really loved Elena and Leo's storylines and how they worked with and against each other. The story really lost me at the climax and the last fourth basically scrapped the storylines that I had been most invested in. And the ones that I liked that remained took a severe back seat to this romance that I was not interested in enough for it to be such a focal point of the finale. I also didn't love how the author described Farin, referring to the aspect of him having a body that has machinery in it as monstrous and inhuman. It's reminiscent of how some will write villains and their fatness will be a part of what makes them evil but in this case the party impacted is people that use medical tech. I didn't love it.

I really want to try another story by this author, but I don't think I'll be picking up this series any time soon.

First I have to give praise for such an intense debut novel! Verma has such dynamic characters and a rich plot!

Elena is set to be crowned the new Queen of Ravani, but as part of her lineage she is expected to hold fire. She cannot and she doesn’t know why.. her father, the King is protective and won’t share the secret which causes great strife between them.
Her father Leo wants a strong kingdom for her daughter and makes alliances with unlikely partners- Samson and Yassen. Unfortunately for Leo, the prophet is here and if the profit is allowed to come into their power it could mean trouble for Elena.. or at least that is what Leo believes,

Can Elena have it all? The crown, the ability to hold fire and peace in her kingdom?

This was a roller coaster ride! Elena as a character was fantastic, but I’ll say my favorite was Ferma. I enjoyed the book very much although the tech did take me out of the story a few times. All in all I’m excited to continue one with the series!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the eARC of The Phoenix King in exchange for my honest review!

I think this is a solid start to a rich fantasy trilogy (as far as I’m aware it’ll be 3 books). While I do wish there was some more depth of themes as this is an adult fantasy, I can appreciate how the author wove together the story. I’m looking forward to seeing how the next book continues!

This fantasy set in a desert country is full of fascinating characters with conflicting loyalties. As the soon-to-be crowned heir of her home, Elena fights against the demands of her position and the loneliness of her life. Yassen is an orphan assassin who longs for freedom. Leo is the outgoing king that longs to save his daughter from her legacy and keep their kingdom free from invaders. As politics and prophecies collide, their lives become more and more complicated.

The setting, clothing, and food descriptions all made the story feel close and real. At times, I struggled to keep up with the changing positions of the characters' loyalties, but the story kept me reading to see what would happen next. I appreciated Elena's struggles and enjoyed the push-pull between her betrothed and her bodyguard. The twists surprised me and I look forward to seeing where the rest of the trilogy goes and who survives.

The Phoenix King is the first book in a trilogy set in a sci-fi fantasy world full of desert storms, political unrest, merciless fire, and people willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their desires. The setting was captivating, the plot was compelling, and the heat of the flames rose from within the story.

The action begins on the very first page with Yassen, an assassin, on what he hopes will be his last mission. Next, we get Elena who is preparing for her ascension to the throne and longs to finally achieve her birthright: the ability to control fire. And then there’s Leo, the Ravence king, desperate to protect his daughter and his kingdom. But, Yassen, Elena, and Leo are at the mercy of an angry god whose mysterious prophet threatens to destroy everything.

I loved how Verma wove the world-building into the story. I loved how the strong female characters were kicking ass while the men were busy plotting and scheming. I also enjoyed the slow burn romance. The most interesting part of the story was the history of the Phoenix mythology and the powers of the fire. I did think the book could have benefited from a bit more political intrigue, maybe even some other characters’ perspectives. Overall, however, I thought this was a great introduction to a fascinating world, and I’m eager to read the next book.

The Phoenix King is an India-inspired science fantasy filled with morally complex characters, ancient magic, political unrest, and a prophecy that could destroy the world. It’s told through three POVs: Leo, the king of Ravence; Elena, his daughter and heir; and Yassen, a former assassin.

I was honestly SO impressed with this debut. The writing was excellent and the world-building was so rich. The characters are multilayered with nuanced relationships, and the story has plenty of plotting, intrigue, and a nice slow-burn romance. I particularly liked how information and background was gradually revealed without info-dumping, both through the actual story and through the chapter headers, which were “excerpts” from in-world texts.

My only complaint is that this felt a tad overlong. There’s a pretty significant event that occurs at about the 80% mark which felt like a natural ending to this part of the story. But instead of a conclusion, we have a few more chapters that felt like they should’ve been the beginning of the next book rather than the ending of this one. And then the epilogue sort of "flashes" back to that event, which felt a bit confusing to me (but it does have one whopper of a reveal, let me tell you).

Regardless, this is a great new entry into the fantasy space and I can’t wait to see where this story goes.

A delightful South Asian fantasy with a bad-ass FMC. The romance is enemies-to-lovers at its finest. This is perfect for fans of Trial of the Sun Queen, ACOTAR, and The Bridge Kingdom.