Slow burn? Enemies to lovers? Magic? Found family?! Yes please!!!! This was phenomenal and kept me turning page after page, no breaks. No boredom. Epic fantasy and the magic system? 🤌🏻 well rounded and solid book.

Thank you to NetGalley for proving me with a copy of this book.
This was a bit rough start for me, I’m all for a chunky fantasy, but I felt a little overwhelmed with the world building on this one, I’m sure if you can smoothly go through the first 100 pages or so you’ll end up liking it a lot, especially if you like:
Slow burn, enemies to lovers (and sapphic romances), high stakes and lots of plot twists and TRIALS.
Honestly, this should’ve been right up my alley, however something just didn’t click with me (not to say this was a bad book by any means), I’m just saying that if you are an avid romantasy reader and are not scared of big books, with complex world building and just a LOT going, then this is definitely for you!

I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

This book will be perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, ToG, The Serpent and The Wings of Night, Daughter of No Worlds.

I didn’t expect this book to be exactly what I needed, after my last poor read. This book is missive, but it only took me 1 weekend to read it. It was THAT GOOD.
Atonement of The Spine Cleaver is an adult, high fantasy book with so many amazing tropes that it's hard to highlight all of them, but I will try, if only to convince as many people as I can, to read this book!

Additional info: You may find first chapters of the book a little bit confusing, because we land in the middle of the action, but for me it's definitely a better approach then 200 pages of world building. What was also a great idea for me, is that we have several spicy scenes but the descriptions of it took several pages, not 50% of the book.
//
- morally grey FMC/MC
- enemies to lovers
- orphan hero
- queer normative world
- sapphic POV
- chosen family
- touch her and die
- political plotting
- kingdoms at war
- fantastical creatures and beasts
- hidden identity
- difficult past
- chosen one
- trials
- quest to save the world
- complex world building and unique magic system
- forced proximity
///

Rorax Greywood is 166 years old female, one of the Lowborns with extremely difficult past. As a warrior trained since she was 7, she had done terrible things. It's impossible to tell, how many lives she ended or how many cities she destroyed. What is 100% sure, is that Rorax resent herself and in her eyes, she doesn’t deserve anyone’s forgiveness. When we meet Rorax, her only goal is to save her brother from 100 years of captivity. Unfortunately, Rorax's plan to save her only living family member was interrupted by Gods themselves, who chose Rorax to be one of the 12 Contestars in the new Choosing - the trials to find the new North Guard of the Realm. So now Rorax has to not only save her brother, but also save the twelve houses and the Realm from forthcoming war.

"Twelve Contestars selected by the gods, fight in trials chosen and organized by the Guardian. The last one standing supplants them".

I LOVED this book!! I was thrilled to see the author has plans for a second one!

If you LOVE Bryce from CC then Rorax will be your new favorite FMC!!

Morally grey characters, enemies to lovers, dragons, magic, banter, heartbreak, redemption... READ IT NOW!

I really appreciated the diversity and inclusion in the novel! However, my favorite part was all of the amazing strong female characters. It's not just one BA woman kicking butt all over, it's a unit of them!! Very cool!

Learning a new fantasy world can be overwhelming and this book has 12 houses, which is a LOT to learn at the beginning of a book BUT it felt natural in this world. The POV transitions were really helpful and such a nice introduction to the characters and houses.

The tension and banter in this book is TO DIE FOR!!! The spice is spicy!!

I cannot wait for the next one. Seriously!! I cannot hype this book enough!

🔥🗡️Phenomenally epic fantasy - a sexy Game of Thrones meets The Hunger Games🗡️🔥

WOW. This book is impossible to put down! Incredible debut by F. E. Bryce.

A plethora of violence, sex and banter, this book has everything you could want from the genre. The world building is absolutely fantastic (and queer normative!) and incredibly detailed whilst not being too difficult to follow, and the characters are thoroughly complex whilst lovable.

Bryce absolutely smashed the enemies to lovers trope in this book, creating a violent love interest that even the reader can't be too fond of at first, but grows to thirst over (THOSE SPICY SCENES🌶️🔥). She's also left the door open for other potential relationships to be explored later on (I feel a love triangle coming on).

Although the book is predominantly from the POV of our FMC Rorax, it occasionally switches between a few other characters too which works incredibly well in this book as it offers a fresh perspective and allows the reader to follow other events happening whilst not drawing attention away from main plot.

I just loved this book and I'm so glad that there's so much more of the story left to tell - GIVE US MORE! This is truly going to be the next legendary fantasy series to buy and I'll be snapping up the next one as soon as it comes out.

Thank you to Netgalley and F.E.Bryce and Victory Editing for ARC in return for my honest review.

Atonement of the Spine Clever is a high fantasy romance book and has to be hands down one of the best books I have read this year I absolutely bloody loved it,.
F.E.Bryce is unquestionably an author to follow.I knew when I started reading the book it was going to be great but it was more than that it was outstanding.
The world building was really thought out and planned extensively and I was never bored the author also has extras on her web page of the maps of the realms and character guide and glossary which I read before reading the book this again attentively planned I love a good map. This book is almost 800 pages but I never felt this way I really didn't want the book to end and felt like I could continue reading I was so absorbed.
If you like Game of Thrones, Hunger Games, The Maze Runner you'll love this book.
It has
Morally Grey MFC-MMC
Deadly Trials
Multiple POV
Realms
lgbtq+ Rep
Enemies to lovers
Magic
High fantasy
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I'm anticipating the next book in 2024

Atonement of the Spine Cleaver is an excellent epic fantasy novel. It is perfect for people who enjoy stellar world-building and magic systems, multiple POVs, and high-stakes competitions.
It took me a few chapters to get into the book. The first about eight chapters laid the groundwork for the story, but after that point, the plot really picked up, and I didn't want to put the book down.

ARC Review (no spoilers): I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and the following is my honest, unpaid opinion.

It is absolutely mind boggling that Atonement of the Spine Clever is a debut novel. I cannot stress enough how much I fell in love with these characters and this world. For fans seeking a new romantasy author similar to Sarah J Maas (especially Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses) and others (Hunger Games), F.E. Bryce makes an incredible debut – building an intricate world with characters that are complex and imperfect, and who you root for – flaws and all.

In the beginning and in truth, I almost DNF’ed this book. The book starts off with a ton of world building which was making me feel like a lot was happening without anything moving the plot forward.

But around Chapter 21, the book completely shifted and really took off. It is truly impressive seeing all of the work and setup that the author did to then weave the various pieces together in ways that were entertaining, heartbreaking, and spicy AF.

There’s a LOT that I loved about this book, but here are some of my favorite highlights (without giving too much away):
- I love me a morally gray character and this book is filled with them. The lead character is a badass struggling to atone for her past (Think Aelin from TOG). She’s funny and witty but is constantly feeling as though she isn’t enough and hasn’t done enough to make up for her destructive history.
- This book is a fantastic, slow burn, enemies to lover trope that is filled with spice – but in a way that doesn’t feel gratuitous.
- I absolutely loved the diversity and representation in this book. The author points at the very beginning that the world is queer normative and I honestly, loved and appreciated that. I also ADORED that there were characters speaking in sign language which I’ve never seen before. Huge kudos and more of this, please.

The book is long- clocking in over 700 pages, and yet after reading this book, I still wanted more. Not just as a sequel to follow the main cast of characters, but honestly- there are so many substories and secondary characters in this world that I just NEED to know more about. The fact that I even feel this way after 700 pages speaks volumes to F.E. Bryce’s ability to craft characters and relationships that are interesting and entertaining.

My tips for readers:
- Do not let the length of the book deter you from reading it. I can’t believe how fast this book went and when it picked up about 20% through, it PICKED. UP. I couldn’t put it down.
- For my fellow newbie fantasy reading friends, take advantage of the materials and resources that the author provides to help place the worlds, Houses, and characters. It is super helpful!
- Be prepared and patient. Like I said, a lot of early on world building so just keep going and know that it'll all come together sooner rather than later and you won't be sorry.

Easily 5 stars for me. I actually purchased a physical version of this book to have it on my shelf, it was that good.

Book 2- whenever it comes out – will be immediately on my reading list. I need to know what happens to these characters and can’t wait to see more from this world and from this author!

Sincere appreciation and thanks to F.E. Bryce, NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review (and fall in love with) this book.

#AtonementoftheSpineCleaver #NetGalley #ARCreview #FEBryce

"Atonement of the Spine Cleaver" by F.E. Bryce is a gripping and intricately woven fantasy novel that transports readers to a richly imagined world. The story follows the journey of a determined protagonist as they seek redemption and reconciliation with their past, all while navigating a world filled with magic, complex characters, and moral dilemmas. Bryce's masterful storytelling and vivid descriptions create a captivating narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. This book is a must-read for fantasy enthusiasts, offering a unique blend of adventure, emotion, and thought-provoking themes.

The world building and magic system in this book were so well done. At times, some aspects of the book felt slightly disjointed; however, I still felt like I could pick the thread back up with few issues. I am very interested in learning more about Rorax and her mysterious past/brother. The relationships both platonic and romantic were done beautifully. This book definitely had some spice. I’d give it a solid 4/5 chili peppers. 🌶️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This book was close to a 5 star book. There were quite a few typos and, as mentioned previously, sometimes it felt like the story was disjointed. That said, as a whole, I’d give this book a solid 4/5.

I will be thinking about this book for the foreseeable future and will 100% be reading the next one.

This book was fantastic! One of my favorite reads this year. I loved the premise of the book. The plot was better than I could have imagined. It had aspects of the hunger games with the trials and their protectorates aka “mentors”. It also had aspects that reminded me of throne of glass book 1. With the trials to become an assassin. It also had aspects of game of thrones. The fighting to be one of the guardians of the realms. With added dragons. It was filled with faerie creatures and lots of fantasy aspects and magic. I loved it so much. I really also enjoyed the multiple POV’s. I appreciated getting to see different storylines mature all within the same timeframe. The world building for me was so easy to follow. At first I was a little worried it would be to much but it was done very well.

There was tragedy, love, heartbreak and death. With slow burn enemies to lovers, sapphic romances, and a slight love triangle. And I love me a morally grey character with a redemption arc.

My highest criticism however is the time frame issue. Multiple times the author would state a time frame for something to happen, say 2 weeks. And then it would be almost a month later when that thing would occur. This happened on more than on occasion. A big one is the plot point of the Guardian and what happens to them with the transfer of power ending within 6 weeks max. And then the plot continuing as though it won’t end for another 8+ weeks. Like the time that they went to get a book and said they had a week before the next trial. Yet on the way back from getting a book they said it would take 6 days to get back to the castle. That’s 12 days there and back not including the time they had already been traveling. That’s almost double the time of when the next trail would be. Just a lot of time issues that didn’t add up. This was more of an issue towards the end of the book.

My other main issue was towards the end of the book around 65% I noticed sloppier writing. Spaces missing between words, wrong words placed in a sentence. Misspelled words. It got pretty bad in the last 20% of the book to where it was happening in every single chapter. I know this is an arc. And the book is already out. So I’m hoping these changes have already been made or fixed.

Despite these major issues with the writing I’m giving it 5 stars for how absolutely banging the plot and characters were! I cannot wait for the next book. Ughhh I need the next book now!!

At over 700 pages long, this was an epic fantasy romance with everything I could ask for.

In what I would call a true enemies-to-lovers story, Rorax is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people, with a truly gruesome moniker - "The Spine Cleaver."

Forced by the gods in a do-or-die contest to choose the next Guardian of the North, she comes under the protection of a man with more reason to destroy her than anyone else as she battles to find a way out.

This was a fantastic read, especially from a debut author, and I can only wait eagerly for the next book to be complete to further feed my newfound obsession with Rorax's, and her found family's, fates.

First off, this is a loooong book... but it's totally worth it! The set up takes a bit, but that's my only complaint. Once the plot is set up, the story just keeps moving. There's more depth to the characters than you think, and there's twists around every corner. Rorax is a beautifully determined character, and her arc is very well-written. Ayres is the perfect counterpart. Their interactions are filled with such emotion that you cannot help but get caught up in it all. I will definitely be getting a hard copy for my personal library!

This was a great book with complex characters, good banter, high stakes, and incredible uniqueness. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience and getting to know all these different characters. There were really only three things that I wished were different. One is the world building – it took a long time for me to understand everything going on because it felt like a lot of world-specific concepts were kicked out and used as if they were everyday things and then only later would you get an explanation of what the concept really was. I would have appreciated some quicker explanations so that I didn’t have to remove myself from the story too much in order to keep track of things. The second thing was the ending. It felt rushed in comparison to the pacing of the rest of the book and I understand that this is the first in the series, but I left unsatisfactorily because it felt like we were on the edge of a really good place to tie everything up, but we didn’t fully cross the finish line. The final thing that I wished was different was Rorax coming to decisions (especially the big one at the end) differently. She’s a very strong FMC, but it felt like all it took was a look or a few words from Ayres to change her mind about something. I would have liked to see her struggle with her decisions more and come to answers independently of Ayres’ sway, especially given her history with blind allegiance to The Wolf. Hopefully there is more of that in the next book, which I’m looking forward to!

Atonement of the Spine Cleaver by F.E. Bryce - 4.5/5

This is an ARC reader's review.

Atonement of the Spine Cleaver is a fantastic fantasy book.
Rorax lives in the Realms and was trained early on to fight and kill for the special forces unit. When Rorax is called to compete in The Choosing, a deadly competition she must find a house that is strong enough to protect her.
The author took special care to give us world-building details that make you feel transported into the book, which is hands down the best of reading. This is a multi-point-of-view story, that was done in a way that compliments the storyline. The different characters all come together and have this pull on you, from the main characters to the side characters, you find yourself rooting for them. I love this book and will be one I can go back and reread over and over.

This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. It was the first thing that came out of my mouth upon finishing.

Straight from the start you are thrown into action. At no point will you find yourself bored during it. Found family, Spice, disability representation, MAGIC, etc. all of my favorite things wrapped up into one amazing novel. The FMC is not only bad 🍑 but seems like a genuinely amazing character whose growth is beautiful to read about. I cannot wait for the second book to come out.

Definitely will be buying the physical copies :)

Thank you so much NetGalley and publishers for the arc!

Book review 📚
Atonement of The Spine Cleaver by F.E Bryce - 4.5/5 ⭐

I'm not sure I have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how absolutely phenomenal Atonement of The Spine Cleaver was. For a debut, I can't believe how exceptional it is. Bryce has created a truly fantastic piece of work and I know it is going to be huge. It's a must read.

I didn't read the description or blurb, I based my decision to read solely off the cover and title. It sounds and looks like my type of book. Visually stunning and a catchy title. I was not disappointed. I cannot wrap my head around how impressed I was with this read. As I said above, there are not enough words.

Let's talk tropes - I didn't think it was possible for there to be so many tropes and it not be to much? It all fits together perfectly and made the story pretty awesome. And spice? Well. There is no shortage of spice! The characters are definitely not shy in coming forward, that's for sure. The multiple POVs definitely made a difference to the entire story and, somehow, made it even better.

I am going to be thinking about this book for a long time! I don't know where Bryce has been hiding, but I'm glad they've made a leap into the world of books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dialogue Books for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

So this will be the first slightly negative review I will have given. This book I did enjoy however I found elements of it very complicated to get to grips with particularly the world building. If I am honest it nearly made me give up. Once I had got my head rounds this I did enjoy the book.

Would I recommend it, yes but with the warning about the world building element

As soon as I read the plot, I knew I would love this book, but I didn't expect it to exceed my expectations so much.
"Atonement of the Spine Cleaver" is a long epic fantasy with a strong romance component. At first, I admit that I had a bit of trouble with the world-building, in fact we are immediately catapulted into this world and in the midst of action, and of course it takes some time before we can get settled, but later we get the right explanations. After finishing the book, I can say that the world-building is one of its strengths.
It was a quick and flowing reading, and after you get through the first hundred pages, it becomes difficult to put the book aside.
"Atonement of the Spine Cleaver" is a volume of more than eight hundred pages, and yet at the end I wanted more of this universe. The plot is full of twists, political intrigue, action scenes and it's impossible not to love the characters.
Rorax is a fantastic protagonist. She is conscious of her strength, but she considers herself a monster since she was raised to kill. Yet she’s not afraid to show her feelings.
Ayres is the usual male character who seems detached, but who actually has a great heart. And his body is covered in tattoos.
Even the secondary characters are well characterized and I loved the bond between all of them.
Obviously the thing I liked the most was the main ship. This is an enemies to lovers with all the trimmings! And there are also spicy scenes.
I think this book is one of those that could satisfy readers who have very different tastes and I’m pretty sure It will have the success it deserves.
For me it was one of the best readings of the year.

WOW! This book as AH-MAZING! I cannot believe this is Bryce’s debut, I’m sure I’m the 100th person saying this, but this story was everything I needed and more.

I hate to spoil books for others so I won’t be sharing much, but this is a MUST READ if you like fantasy! Go and start it now, don’t let the almost 900 pages intimidate you. It is so well written that the story just flows and keeps you wanting more and more without stopping. I loved The multiple character’s POV. At first I felt a little overwhelmed, but that’s just me with every fantasy book’s world building, there are 12 Houses, different types of magic, types of creatures, many important characters, I had to go back and re-read or highlight who was who, from which house, so I would suggest you make some notes at the begging to make it easier. I received this as an ARC (thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing) when I downloaded it, I didn’t see a map. It is now out and in the released edition I noticed the Maps! I am excited to re-read it and use them as reference. I will also be purchasing a printed copy, I enjoyed this book so much. AOTSC will be VERY BIG, I can already see it, Congratulations F. E. Bryce!

I loved Rorax (…and other characters) and I cannot wait for the next book. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! When the author says Book 2 will be coming out “early 2024” I really hope she means January 2024

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

4.5 stars. I breezed through the first half before thinking, huh, wonder how long this is and was shocked to see how many pages were in this book lol. At nearly 900 pages I'm impressed it never dragged for me. The character and world building were great. Unsure if this is a standalone or not but would love to see more from these characters!