This book has a cool premise. The Heir, can not control the family’s magic, but feels like she needs the power to be the leader her country needs. The assassin wants out of his life style, so betrays the order, sells secrets at his chance of freedom. The King wants to protect his kingdom and prevent an inevitable war.
How far are you willing to go to achieve your goals?
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Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own

Fantastic fantasy debut, we got here strong characters facing a great deal of adventures. We got Elena, Leo and Yassen fighting alright! Good cast of characters and fun to follow. It's the first in a trilogy and can't wait to read more of their struggle. Really fun and diverse. Loved the story pace. Thank you Netgalley for the book!

I wanted to enjoy this book more! I found all three perspectives engaging enough but felt like I could've done without Leo's POV (at least I wasn't looking forward to his POV). It was also a little hard to get into this book. There was a lot of terminology thrown around that was tough to follow initially. The book also seemed like it suffered from inconsistent pacing. We went from nothing really happening to have TONS of action which is off-putting. Overall, not a bad read!

This was a fantastic debut - and a treat for fantasy readers of all kinds! Verma did an amazing job crafting an incredible narrative that sucks a reader in from start to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Phoenix King is the definition of sci-fi fantasy. It blends the magic of their history with the technology of their future, creating instability across the land and behind the closed doors of the palace. While that might not necessarily be the focus of the story, it is definitely the lifeblood that flows through it.

We follow three morally grey characters who have intertwining roles but conflicting beliefs. Their character developments were good, but not great. The plot was captivating, but the pacing jumped around a bit. The world-building was beautiful, but with a little nudge, it could have been breathtaking.

Rest of the review contains spoilers, so read it at your own risk!

Let’s talk about characters.

Leo is a king who rules by manipulation through a religion he has no belief in. He is an interesting character who isn’t afraid to be the villain and use people to reach his goal. I knew when his story ended, though, and didn’t let myself get too attached.

Elena’s development was so close to being the insane vengeful woman I love, but was just shy of hitting that mark for me.

Yassen, you say? Aparna got my ass with that plot twist! I did not expect him to still be doin’ what he was doin’! I DID expect him to be the prophet but she said SIKE!!! Unfortunately, he still came off as generic.

The relationship between Elena and Yassen was lukewarm for me. It’s not enemies to lovers. She doesn’t like him from the start but immediately warms to him, and next thing you know they’re getting down and dirty in the middle of figuring out how to blow up a mine. It didn’t feel authentic.

Plot time!

I loved the internal religion vs. politics conflict while dealing with external threats. The issue was that the first 60% or so of the book was pretty slow and uneventful, but then it blows up into an action-packed adventure.

Last but not least: world-building.

The embedded lore and history was vast, but not necessarily intricate. I’m a sucker for fine details, but there weren’t enough to really pull me in. I did still love the intensity of it, though, and the unique mixture of fantasy and science fiction elements.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this arc.

I've seen a lot of this book, but never really paid attention to the marketing, so I was going in pretty blind. This definitely shifted how I approached the novel. For the first 15% or so, I was met with an intriguing premise. The tropes were scratching the correct areas of my brain. They were lighting up appropriately. Unfortunately, the follow-through was not as great as I could've hoped.

The ultimate flaw is how passive the characters are for the vast majority of the novel. Even if they are doing things, it doesn't feel like they're making decisions that affect the outcome of the novel. I know, in a strict sense, this isn't true, but it feels like it. The first 70% is dedicated to setting up the interiority of these characters, the stakes, the conflict, and yet it falls flat. Elena comes across as a one note character. Yassen has an intriguing backstory but we only ever really see him in service of others. Leo is the most interesting character because he's actually doing things, but those things aren't very great, so it isn't like we're rooting for him. Which, we don't have to root for characters necessarily, but it would have been nice if that kind of depth and agency was extended to characters we are meant to empathize with.

This author's prose is good and the world has a very strong visual construction, but I just was left wishing for more. The book needed heft. It did shock me a few times, and I did find myself intrigued and interested in certain scenes, but anytime there needed to be a legitimate payoff, it didn't quite hit its mark. Honestly, maybe what this needed was nuance? It's difficult to explain, but while the characters were "morally gray", it came across as disjointed or as if they swung between two extremes. What they needed was to operate in two opposite spheres concurrently. That would've made for a much more interesting novel, especially if they were active participants following the first act.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

The Phoenix King is part of a fantasy trilogy.
Where do I start with this book? There are very clear touches of trauma and history, mythology and the like. The genre feels unique, or at least unique to me.
The author did an amazing job at making the readers feel the emotions the characters were going through / feeing. And to me, that's talent.
I love that the book was told in multi-pov. and honestly, i can't wait to read the rest of the series!

“𝓘𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓮𝓷𝓭, 𝔀𝓮 𝓶𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓾𝓻𝓷”

⚠️TRIGGER WARNING⚠️
Fire wounds, battle violence, murder

Aparna Verma’s debut novel, The Phoenix King, is a South Asian Si-Fi Fantasy, inspired by Indian mythology. The story follows the journey of three main characters.

Elena Ravence, the distressed heir to the throne who cannot yet control fire

Leo Ravence, the king who must retain power and control, especially with the threats of war, and a dangerous prophecy

Yassen Knight, injured and on the run from the Arohassin, the former assassin seeks aid from an old friend and hopes to earn the very freedom he has longs for

My favourite thing about this novel is how beautifully detailed it is. It takes you on this amazing journey. You can actually envision yourself in the book, feeling the heat from the desert sand, recognizing the scent of every spice, the adrenaline from all the action. While this book does have some action to it, you discover that each of the characters have an amazing complexity to them as you dive deep into the love, loss, sacrifice and bravery crafted in their storylines.

This book is very slow paced as the world building is very detailed and essentially sets the scene for the next novel in the series. Originally, when the book was first published I rated it 5/5⭐️. However, after giving myself the opportunity to read this a second time, I will be changing my reading due to the fact that I felt it was just too slow for me. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with slow-paced books, I just personally prefer fast-paced books

Overall, it is a beautifully written book that I still consider one of my all-time favorites, and would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a Desi fantasy novel with badass female characters, morally grey characters, slowburn enemies-to-lovers romance, and multiple POVs. 4/5⭐

This was a wonderful young adult fantasy book! The author did a great job with world building in this one! I loved all the characters in this book as well. The Phoenix King immediately grabbed my attention and kept me invested until the very end and has some great twists and turns. This action-packed epic fantasy is sure to keep your attention and will leave you wanting more.

Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC of this book.


I can honestly say that I am extremely impressed with the universe that Aparna Verma has created, and I am excited to see what else is in store with this series. As a longtime fan of ATLA, the firebending element definitely piqued my interest initially, and the strong, well-written female lead held it for the entirety of the book. A woman with astounding fighting prowess channeling her inner rage to accomplish her goals and garner respect? I'll have seconds, thirds, and fourths, please. Elena has quickly risen the ranks of my favorite female main characters, alongside Aelin (ToG) and Talyien (The Wolf of Oren-Yaro). I was also very excited to see a fantasy book representing Indian culture and Hindu mythology as it was a nice change of pace from many Greek or Norse mythology titles that are prevalent in today's market.


While I loved the worldbuilding, I will say that there were times when the pace dragged a bit, particularly during the first half or so of the book. I had moments where I would be heavily captured by a scene and then a large amount of exposition would appear and interrupt my flow. The information is interesting and helps me flesh out the world in my mind, I just think it could be incorporated a little smoother. That being said, I do look forward to finding out more about the world and the people who inhabit it as the series progresses.


All in all, the book was enjoyable and one that I will definitely recommend to other fantasy readers, especially those interested in powerful women, morally grey characters, and slow burn romances.

The Phoenix King is one of my anticipated releases this year and it did not disappoint!

The world building was incredibly immersive - I could imagine the food, the vibrant locations, and beautiful outfits. I so badly wished I could be there in person.

The book is written in 3 POVs and as far as multiple POVs go, I'm glad I found myself enjoying each one. These characters are definitely on the morally grey side of things and I think their POVs helped add depth to how the others viewed them.

It's a good mix of Dune (desert, tech) and Avatar: The Last Airbender (magic system) and I'm so intrigued about where the series is gonna go! This book was a slow burn in the best way and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you Orbit for sending me a copy to review! All opinions my own

The Phoenix King is a multi-POV book following Elena, who is the princess of Ravence about to take the throne, Leo, her father and the current king, and Yassen, a former-assassin trying to prove his loyalty to Ravence.

This book was very fun, and I give it a solid 3.5 stars, rounded up. I found it interesting that Verma chose to include Elena's father as a POV, and we got to see their conflicting views on how to rule a country. Elena was very naive, but idealistic, whereas Leo was more concerned in maintaining power and keeping those he loves safe. Yassen's POVs did not seem to follow the same narrative, but he brought an outsider point of view that I very much enjoyed.

This book is a blend of stereotypical sci fi and fantasy, and I enjoyed it. It felt like a great change of pace in a world of many books that follow particular genre tropes. It was very refreshing.

And let me just say - that epilogue? I was BAMBOOZLED.

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Phoenix King is a snappy sci-fantasy debut with themes of love, loss, resilience, sacrifice, and the importance of balance in power. There's political scheming, morally grey characters, and a kingdom just ready to fall to shambles. A highly recommended read.

Full review to come on the blog.

Oh. My. Gosh. I don’t even know how to react right now 🙈 This book was amazing and I’m obsessed. The romance was so slow burn it was amazingly executed! I loved all the characters even the evil ones 😂 Everyone was so well developed and the culture was so rich and beautiful. I felt immersed in it and it made me wish I knew more about Indian culture! The way dance made it’s way into the story was so unique! Elena is a baddie and I love her. Yassen has such layers to his character and is also a baddie 😂 Leo is chaotic and makes bad decisions but we love him anyway. All I can say is I can’t wait for the next book and I want everyone to read this.

I’m honestly speechless. I did not think this book could get better and it did. Aparna did such an amazing job of forming this world and her characters. I will write a much longer and detailed review for TPK. But if you don’t take any other recommendation from me take this one!!

The characters are just so amazing. The plot is everything I want. There are twists. And the characters just keep you guessing. I love it so much!!

Elena's story line was amazing. She is much a good character.

All of the Main Characters have so many layers to them, and it's amazing to read.

Thank you to Aparna, Orbit, and NetGalley for allowing me to be an arc reader for this story again!!


Previous Review for The Boy with Fire:

A king whose reign is coming to an end.
An heir who can’t hold the power of the rulers.
An ex-assassin who wants to return home.
A prophecy that threatens them all.

<i>The Boy with Fire is being traditionally published by Orbit as The Phoenix King!!!! </i>

I don’t know how to put into words how much I loved this book. It was amazing. It’s my new favorite book. If I could give it more starts I would. It has everything that I love in it. The plot is so interesting, and I love the characters.

It has badass women. Morally grey characters. It’s a fantasy world with sci-fi elements. It’s got political plotting and enemies to lovers and slow burn romance. The magic system in this book is also so interesting. It’s also inspired by Indian Mythology which is so cool, and this world is so interesting.

The characters are all amazing. There are so many sides of them that you get to see, and it’s done on such an amazing way. They’re all so interesting. They have their own stories and character arcs. None of them are simple either. They all have different layers and parts of their characters. I love them all so much. And even when you’re like “what the heck are you doing?”, you can see what makes them who they are. Like you find yourself sympathizing even they’re doing the worst things.

I especially can't wait to see Elena's development through the series. I think that she has so much room for growth. There is just so much potential in her. I also think her ending in book one leaves so much to explore in book two. I think all the characters have so much potential but especially Elena.

<b>“If there was one thing he could claim, it was this: that even in the darkness of death, he would know her.” </b>

There is romance, but it definitely is not the main focus of the story. That is exactly how like my books. Especially one like this that explored so much with the politics and magic of the world. I loved how the romance was just woven into the story.

The world building is fantastic. I loved that it’s kind of entwined throughout the entire story. You don’t get an overwhelming amount of information all at once. Some of it comes from dialogue, some is just woven into the plot. I really liked that it wasn’t just thrown at us.

There are also little excerpts at the top of each chapter from different documents and books that exists in the world. That's something I loved so much while reading. Some of my favorite quotes are from those little excerpts. I would love to have actual full length copies of this historical texts. I think it would be so cool.

The book hurt me in so many ways, but it is so worth it in the end. The twist and turned and surprises are so good. It keeps you guessing the entire time. And the ending is just… I can’t even explain. It’s just amazing. I can’t wait for book two!

<b>TW’s: Violence, torture, grief, death, fire/fire injury</b>

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Aparna Verma for this arc in return for an honest review. All of the thoughts in this review are my own!*

Review copy (eARC) provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“The Phoenix King” is the traditional publisher renaming and re-publishing the initially self-published debut fantasy novel from the author's "The Ravence Trilogy" series (which was initially called The Boy with Fire). There are three POV characters: (1) Leo, a king; (2) Elena, his daughter and next-in-line to the throne; and (3) Yassen, an assassin who, oversimplified, is struggling with his identity.
Without spoiling the story, Leo is working to maintain his/his family’s power and his relationship with Elena. Elena is pushing back against certain values she feels are unjust. Yassen is unsure of his place in the world and who to trust.
While I enjoyed the book, and it’s clearly well-written, my two main problems with it are:
(1) I wasn’t that interested in the main romance. It felt a little too YA and plain, which led me to feel less engaged with the overall story. I enjoy YA, to be clear, but when I was expecting something different, it just did not fit with my reading mood at the time.

(2) The pacing was a little too slow for my tastes, such that it seems like not a lot happens until the end, and by that point, I was not as invested.

That said, I think my reasons for not connecting as much with the story are personal to me and not flaws with the novel. If the book looks appealing to you, I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

3/5 stars.

This was a super cool fantasy, sci-fi novel! This south Asian inspired world of Ravence and Indian rep throughout the book added a lot to the world-building. While I was impressed by the detail spent to the country of Ravence, its people, and religion, I wanted more about the general world outside of this country. Readers get a few looks at the neighboring, warring country, and a few mentions of peaceful/ non important nations, but I just wanted a bit more.

However, I can't stress enough, how cool Ravence was. Like the attention spent on this place and the inner workings of the royal family make readers become invested in the outcome of the country. The main characters, all three, are tired to Ravence in different ways, and that plays into their end goals. Each has something they owe the desert, something they want from the desert.

Talk about morally gray characters! I didn't feel any of them could be placed into the "good" category, at least not by past book/reading standards. Leo, the Phoenix King himself, was one of my favorite characters. Yes, he was the "bad guy" but there were reasons!! And they weren't entirely terrible reasons!! His love for his daughter Elena and his departed wife was so strong, it really shined in his character arc.

The plot was pretty slow going, in my opinion. The very beginning was suspenseful and got me hooked, but up until maybe the last 6 chapters of the book I felt like it dragged. While I thought the world and plot were rich and diverse, I struggled to maintain interest. I think that maybe if I go back and reread, ar a less busy time in my life, I would find it more fast paced. I really think that this is just me, personally.

The romance of the book left a little to be desired. While this is sort of an enemies-to-lovers like romance, I found the relationship between Elena and Yassen lacking. They had no trust at the beginning snd I feel like they built some resemblance of a friendship. But the romantic notions seemed out of place to me, I felt like it could have been built up more. When they finally kissed, I felt like they had reached friend levels with hints of maybe more, not to the point where they built romantic interest.

"The Phoenix King" was a diverse, rich, world to dive into, thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc. While there are things I wanted more of, the ending plot twists have me hooked for the entire trilogy.

This story was sooooooo good. I didnt know what to expect with this since I went in blind, but I am blown away. The events that occur in this book will without a doubt hurt your heart. I was gasping and tearing up through the entirety of the last 30%.

This is such a refreshing unique fantasy romance book with high stakes, political warfare, love, loss, betrayal and so much more. The ending perfectly sets up for book two but does leave on a really severe cliffhanger.

I cannot wait to own a physical copy of this book for my favorites shelf and will be patiently waiting to devour book 2 to see what happens next!!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am not finishing this book. DNF at 13%. This book is just so slow and I like my fantasy to be action packed and to feel emotionally attached to the characters. I usually don’t rate and review books that I don’t read, but I don’t want to hurt my feedback ratio and this makes me put a star rating in order to post it.

This is a great debut novel. Once you get into the characters the story is gripping. I would have liked more explanation on the world at times but I will 100% be reading the next in the series.
3.75