'Sun of Blood and Ruin' is the debut novel by Mariely Lares - and what an ambitious and intense story it is!

This book is an anti-colonial fantasy with incredible world building! That was my biggest takeaway from this book. The richness of culture and the exploration of Indigenous mythology and perspectives was excellent and I think readers can learn so much from this book!

However, the romance and the characters themselves fell a little flat for me. I didn't find myself caring much for the characters themselves or the main relationship. The plot takes some time to develop but it works it's way to a pace that feels more natural.

I think Lares has incredible talent and I can't wait to read other stories from this author!

Thank you so much Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review!

My feelings on this book are a little difficult to qualify. My reading experience was stilted. I did not feel that the story flowed naturally.
I enjoyed the immersion into a world that I had not visited before. I am not familiar with the history of Mexico during its colonization by Spain, so I enjoyed my experience with this new-to-me storyline. The Zorro - masked vigilante - retelling with a woman and a fantasy twist was also rather compelling. I would have actually liked to see more action on that front. I felt, at times, that the story was at a bit of a stand still. That being said, the hardest part about story was the lack of defined transitions. There were significant jumps in time from one paragraph to the next. I feel the flow of the story would have felt more seamless had they been chapter breaks instead of paragraph breaks. The writing was good, but was at time difficult to follow. I wish I could have felt more for Leonora, own tough heroine, but I felt myself yearning more for Andrés/Tezca whenever he left the page. The character development was probably one of the weaker points of the book. It was hard to get invested. On another note, the world building was very well done and the action sequences were well written. Overall, this was an average read. for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the digital arc. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

I'm having a hard time rating this book. It was fine, but I struggled through big chunks of it. I loved the premise, the setting was rich and the storyline overall had great potential and some excellent sections. But the pacing was off and I was often confused and frustrated.