Enjoyed the story. Took awhile to get into the book, however it could have been the narrators as I wasn’t a fan at first. Once I got half way through the book the narrator grew on me and the plot sped up.

The Land of Rani is ruled by the Ravence Monarchy. At its heart King Leo is a powerful and unforgiving ruler, soon due to step down from the throne and allow his daughter Elena to ascend to Queen, but he refuses to release his grip upon the kingdom.

Yassen Knight, a Sesharian is Half Raveni and Half Jantari, forced to be a deadly assassin for the Arohassin as repayment for the debt of saving his life. Yassen is desperate for freedom and wants to escape the clutches of the Arohassin, when his friend from Sayon, Samson who owes him a childhood debt gives him the opportunity to protect Elena and receive a royal pardon, as long as he helps take down the Arohassin .

I found this a really interesting juxtaposition of South Asian lands and tradition, along with futuristic fantasy, which works together wonderfully well. I thought this was such a smart and fresh idea with a dusting of mythology about it. I however did find it a little hard to keep up with at the start due to the sheer number of characters and concepts introduced, but once I got my head around that I really enjoyed it. I think, as with a lot of books like this I would really appreciate a little glossary of terms and characters. This would make it a lot easier to follow.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be reading the rest of the series, this is definitely a great book for any fantasy lover.

(Please excuse any spelling errors of names/places etc. I was going off the audio so just did my best)

The narrator did an excellent job at characterising each person and did well with a range of accents making it easy to tell the characters apart.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I really liked this on audio. It started off really slow for me, but around the 70% mark it picked up and I enjoyed the last part!

I really enjoyed this South Asian inspired fantasy. The book follows the POV of three characters, Yassen is an assassin hiding from the government and his former employers. He is given the opportunity to protect the kingdom's heir to earn his freedom. Elena is the heir of Ravence. She has been trained her entire life to lead and in the ways of warfare. Her father Leo is supposed to be preparing to turn over the crown to Elena on her birthday but does not seem to be ready to follow through with this.

The politics and world building in this book really hooked me! It also has a really cool magic system. Aside from the three main characters the world is filled with interesting side characters that I also loved. The women in this book are all fierce and formidable. The romance was also top notch. I can't wait to see where the second book goes.

Filled with political tension, a subtle slow-burn romance, and a well rounded magic system, the Phoenix King grabbed my attention from the beginning of chapter one and held on till the very last page.

Aparna Verma weaves a beautiful tale inspired by Indian mythology and politics through the voices of three main characters:
A princess nearing her coronation, searching for the magic that is her birthright. A king desperate to keep his daughter safe and maintain power. An assassin now pledging loyalty to the crown.
Each voice is distinct and powerful. Plot points and proper pacing allowed me to connect with the character as their internal dialogue and resulting actions transformed. And I became so attached to one character that a certain chapter had me absolutely screaming/sobbing. If you’ve read this, you know.

One of the cons for me throughout this book was the world building. Specifically the politics and government conflicts. It seems like a very well thought out system, but it was difficult at times to remember what groups were on whose sides and what was happening politically. There was also the occasional info dump surrounding the politics that could make it a bit dry and confusing in those moments. I would love to see this improve a bit in the next book.

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of the audiobook for review and I will gladly say that I loved this production! The narrators were fantastic and their styles fit the vibe and emotions of the characters perfectly. I especially loved the narrator voicing Elena

Overall, I give this a 4.5 stars!

*Huge thanks to Netgalley, Hachette Audio, Orbit and Aparna Verma for granting me access to the advanced copy of The Phoenix King audiobook for review*

(3/5 stars) I have genuinely tried to get into this book multiple times (both ebook and audiobook) and I am coming to terms with the fact that this book is not for me (with the caveat that if I came back to this when my mood was different or my mental capacity was broader I would probably love it). It has everything I typically love (high fantasy, political intrigue, the slowest of slow burns, intriguing characters, lush setting, etc.) so honestly I'm blaming the inability to finish on myself and not on the book.

I really enjoyed the audiobook aspect of this book and thought the narration was great. I felt that the pacing was off on this story and the first half or more felt very drawn out with not much happening. Even with that, I found the world building lacking and felt that it relied to heavily on loose associations with the worlds of other novels such as Dune and Game of Thrones, which I've heard the author mention on social media many times. I would have liked to hear more detail about Ravens and more detail on the technology present in this world, I often had trouble picturing this setting. I did really enjoy the later part of this novel, probably after about 75% through the novel and wished the whole novel had been more like that. Also, to be fair, I think I would have liked this novel much more when I was younger as it did feel more YA to me.

Thank you Hachette Audio, Orbit, and Netgalley for the gifted audiobook arc.

I enjoyed the audiobook for the two narrators of Elena and Yassen.

I liked that this was different, culturally, voice, and lore. I want to see more stories told / influenced by other cultures than my own.

Let’s talk world building. It felt like two different worlds mashed together and not in a good way. We would be hearing about this beautiful world and the princess and king and the courts and then suddenly it’s sci-fi. It felt disjointed and not as seamless as it could have been. It just didn’t work.

The plot was really heavy at info dumping at times and then the story would meander away from the plot and I would forget what the story had said and points that furthered the plot were a little lost because of it.

I liked the different POVs but I also got a little bored of them and the common tropes. I wanted to like this book, but I just didn’t.

Solid 4 stars

Very well read by the multiple narrators.

I enjoyed this fantasy so much. Incredibly written. Wonderfully-built world, with ongoing discussion regarding social justice, liberation, poverty, leadership/reign and belonging. Intriguing characters with both depth and moral ambiguity, and a strong, feisty, driven young woman main character. Mystery. Spirituality versus non-belief. Ancient scrolls in the royal library. There is so much packed into this story, that I’m sure that a second listen will reveal even more.

So much of this book is either heart-poundingly exciting, or building into the intrigue and story… except for a whole section just after about halfway. That part definitely felt like it had been set adrift. This is the reason for it not being a 5-star book (for me). Still, mostly amazing.

There is tons of talk of fire and burning, so if that is triggering, avoid this one.

Huge gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher, Hachette Audio, for an AUDIO ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

3.5.

Usually multiple audiobook narrators do not work for me but these narrators worked so well together. I feel that they were able to capture the characters perfectly. I also enjoy that the narrators were really able to pick up the author's words and get them to my ears in a beautiful way.

This novel was very great and my only gripe is that I feel that there were pacing issues. But I do look forward to the next novel in this series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ALC of this book!

Elena’s country is ruled by fire - a fire that needs to be tamed and controlled by the ruling family. Elena’s coronation is approaching and she still cannot wield the flames to claim her birthright. Leo, the King, is balancing the secrets of the fire, paving the way for Elena, and managing the impending war on his borders. Yassen, a former assassin and child of two nations, has been called in to serve as guard to Elena as a favor to Sampson, Yassen’s childhood friend and now Elena’s betrothed. Secrets, forbidden truths, lies, prophecy, love, loyalty, loss all abound for a spectacular first leg of the Ravence Trilogy.

First, the audiobook of this novel is spot on. The narrators captured and brought to life the characters down to their very souls. Blended with the author’s superb writing you are completely immersed in the characters and living the story with them. I was never distracted by any of the narration, just pure artful storytelling.

If you cannot already tell, this novel is pretty awesome. The world and character building is complete and full of real depth - no fluff for the sake of fluff. For a first novel in a trilogy that introduces us to Elena and sets the stage for her story, the world expands way beyond a princess stuck in her castle theme that many first novels get limited to. You can really see that there is so much to the story and that it is only going to get better. Definitely recommend. 5 stars.

Review based on an Advanced Audiobook provided by Hachette Audio and NetGalley. Thank you!

A unique take on sci-fantasy. The world building was well done and intriguing. The only negative thing I have to say about the story was that the multiple narrators lacked a bit of cohesion. Usually multiple narrators don't work well for me so this is definitely a personal preference. Overall I enjoyed the book.

This book is much longer than I anticipated, but the story is so worth it. I loved the completely different world and the characters was amazing.

I listened to this and the narrators were superb. They have Indian accents, which is so fitting for the story, and makes it especially immersive. I love that. They each also sound great at each speed. So if you like it slow, 1x sounds great! But if you want to speed it up, if you can understand it beyond an accent (I know some people have difficulty, though I didn’t) the pronunciation is great for a speed listen.

This is high fantasy, and I loved the court politics, as well as the how the love is slow burn, with tension. I love a good tense love story. 🥰

Absolutely loved the cast of narrators for this novel! They were very engaging and truly brought the novel to life.

Loved the world building, the characters and the unique science fantasy. I was little confused about the science-y aspect of it combined with the fantasy elements, but after a few hours of listening, it started to grow on me. Such a unique take on the genre!

Looking forward to book 2!

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC!

- I really enjoyed this one, and I thought it was especially great as an audiobook. There's a lot going on with worldbuilding, and it was easy not to get too lost with how well the narrators did.
- I liked how this incorporated a lot of popular tropes (assassin turned body guard protecting princess), but still had enough behind it to support those tropes!
- I love fantasy that involves a lot of worldbuilding and intricate court politics, and this had both! It's definitely not a lighter read, and I'd rec for people who enjoy a denser fantasy book.
- The worldbuilding at times was a little confusing, but the central plot was easy to follow.
- I loved the choice of the three POVs! Usually it would be the main character and her love interest, but the addition of the King's POV added so much to the story. Seeing all three keeping secrets from each other created some incredible tension for the reader.
- I loved the science fantasy, with the fire bending but also hovercars and pulse guns! It almost reminded me of Star Wars where you have the epic fantasy world while also having spectacular technology.
- I'm curious to see how the series continues. There's some stuff that happened right at the end that I was a little thrown off by, but I'm suspending judgement to see how that plays out. This book is between a 4 and a 5 for me, and that really will depend on what the next book does with the ending.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review The Phoenix King audiobook.

The Phoenix King was a stunning debut fantasy novel. This story is Indian-inspired and has some lush world building and characters. The female protagonist Elena is the heir to the Ravani throne, but is unable to wield her family's control over fire. Her coronation day is fast approaching and she is desperate to learn the secrets even if it means finding them in other ways. Her father, King Leo, is coming to the end of his reign, but in doing handing over power to his daughter, he fears that he may cause her to lose even more. Yassen Knight, infamous assassin, has changed his allegiance and now swears loyalty to the Ravani throne. He is appointed as one of the guards to Elena. As her coronation approaches, tensions between the Ravani kingdom and the neighboring kingdom are escalating.

The story was an interesting mix of heavy fantasy world building with sci-fi elements. I enjoyed the melding of these two throughout the story. The story itself was slow paced, but not boring. There was a lot of background to the world and the character development. It was full of political intrigue, betrayal, strong female representation, and morally grey characters.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and there were 3 separate narrators for Elena, Yassen, and King Leo. Each narrator brought more depth and emotion from the characters. The narrator's voices brought to life the characters and their motivations.

There is a slow burn enemies to lovers romance in this story, but it is definitely a sub plot. The story is much more heavily plot based than romance. I was pleasantly surprised by this story and cannot wait to read more by this author in the future!

The narration and the story were good for every second of the 20 hours I listened. The story did evolve from good to great to amazing by the end! I don’t know what to do with myself now. I need time to process and I hope we get the sequel soon! That ending has me craving for more!

This book has multiple POV’s. Never confusing because every character is very different. We get to read from the point of view of a princess soon to be queen, a horrible king, an assassin who wants to be free, a soon to be King and a female guard. All incredibly interesting characters. And it’s not only the characters who are interesting, the land is too and don’t get me started on the eternal fire! It’s almost a character too!

This starts with Yassen, an orphan who became an assassin against his will, trying to kill a king. It goes very wrong and he runs. He wants to be free but did he really succeed in getting away from it all?

He is recruited by Samson to protect the future queen. He used to be his friend but he betrayed him. He had no choice.

Elena will soon become queen but she doesn’t like what her father is doing to the Kingdom and she tries to secretly undo some of his let’s say plans for their country. A Kingdom that is constantly threatened by wars, coups, fanatical anarchists and greedy neighbors. O and there’s a so called prophet coming who can destroy it all with his powers so the King is constantly worrying and trying to find the prophet to destroy him/her.

On her coronation day Elena will have to control the eternal fire but she just can’t, no matter how hard she tries. Her father refuses to teach her and he has a good reason why but the miscommunication makes her think he doesn’t want her to be the queen. That he wants to keep the power and use her as a puppet.

And when he chooses someone for her to marry, they have no idea who they brought into the palace…

Thank you Hachette Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to and review this incredible fantasy audiobook.

This was a really good story. But it didn't keep my attention. There wasn't anything specifically wrong with it though.

In an ideal world, I'd be thanking netgalley for giving me early access to the audiobook for this book. This is not an ideal world; this is a world where I am a little ball of RAGE because this was one of the best openings to a series i've read and i have to wait HOW LONG for a sequel? not only that, I HAVE TO WAIT FOR EVERYONE ELSE TO READ IT BEFORE TALKING TO THEM ABOUT IT? About the masterful plotting, the in depth and nuanced, complicated characters and their backstories? I have to wait to talk to about the expert use of literary devices I will refrain from naming for spoiler reasons, the emotional TURMOIL this put me through, and the gorgeous writing? YOURE TELLING ME I NEED PATIENCE? in this economy? The audacity. I need everyone and their mother's uncle's cousin to read this book, and I need them all to live text me their reactions. I expect a daily check in from every human on this planet on their progress in this book because of how good it was.

Also screw you for that bonus chapter. That shit was MEAN!!!!

In short, I loved it, I'd like 12 more tyvm.

rep: Desi cast, disability rep

spice: there's a sex scene but it's short and not graphic

tw: death of a parent, murder, torture, cops being cops