Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of The Treasures of Egypt. All opinions of this ARC are honest, unfiltered, and solely my own.

ok, first and foremost, can we talk about the cover? Um, spectacular. This is one of those books I am immediately attracted to for the shelf aesthetic. As a bonus, it also happens to be fabulous to read. Incredibly well-written, intricate yet tangible storylines, great character building, and the romance? Uh, *chef's kiss. This one really had me turning page after page and enjoying every minute of the experience. I felt connected to Riccioni's writing style in a way I truly fell in love with. After this experience, I would read anything she put out. Thank you.

In this world, there are the Branded and the Pure. The Branded are outcasts - smaller, weaker, prone to disease. The Pure are stronger and have immunity to all disease. Nara and her twin sister Osha are orphans raised in the school for Pure girls who are raised to breed with the ruling families of Isfalk. Nara discovers the rulers of Isfalk are lying to the citizens and she and her sister get pulled into a prophecy that says there will be a savior to rebalance the power dynamic between Pure and Branded.

I loved this fantasy adventure. Nara and Osha are strong female characters that fight for what they believe in. And the slow burn of the romance in this book was so good. I will definitely be looking forward to the sequel!

An original, gripping fantasy duology!

The world is divided between two types of people: the pure or Mor they are called, a healthy span of the population unlikely to get any disease and the branded, who are subject to sickness and infection. They have a distinction on their skin, a brand. They are treated differently, the Mor getting respect and worshipped for their breeding abilities while the branded live in poverty and scarcity.

Nara and Osha are orphan sisters, taken to Isfalk since their grandmother died, they grew up among Mor and treated like them. But secrets and lies from the past threatens their peaceful life…

The world building was great in this one, hooking us from page one. We have great banter, enemies to lovers, complex characters and an interesting storyline. The FMC is fierce and hot-tempered, the MMC is really secretive and we never know his motivations for sure and I really want to know what he’s about.
The ending left me intrigued for the next installment to say the least!

Thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A really enjoyable read, full of action and adventure with a twist I did NOT see coming. I'm already looking forward to Book 2!

The Branded unfolds in a fortified settlement where twins Nara and Osha have grown up since childhood. Narrated from Nara's perspective, the story begins when they are 17 and their world suddenly unravels, forcing them on a journey filled with character growth.

Nara is impulsive and headstrong, often speaking without thinking, which shapes her role as the protagonist struggling to navigate trust and conflict. Set against a backdrop of division between the 'pure' and the 'branded' due to an ancient disease, the novel explores themes of sexism, prejudice, and indoctrination, challenging Nara to question her beliefs and fight for independence.

I really enjoyed this book! There were times I was a bit put off by how strong willed the characters could be, but I definitely enjoyed watching their growth. The twists definitely caught me off guard!
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC!

The Branded by Jo Riccioni is an epic speculative fantasy fiction with gender and class discrimination as its core concepts. The book revolves around two sisters, Nara and Osha, who are orphans living as Pure Mors within the citadel of Isfalk, a city divided into two classes – the Branded and the Pure. Where the Branded, presumed to be weak and vulnerable, are left to a life of squalor, poverty and disease, the Pure, with their unbranded skin and stronger immunity, live a privileged life of good health and wealth. Both sisters love each other but are as different as chalk and cheese. Where Osha is gentle and a healer, Nara is a fighter and protector; where Osha wants to seek change while living within the city's walls, Nara itches to leave the citadel and all it means. Whilst the sisters are trying to overcome their dilemma, circumstances take place where they are forced to run from the city, taking the help of a man known as the Wrangler. What follows is a thrilling tale full of twists and turns, including unexpected alliances, betrayals, and revelations, that doesn't fail to disappoint the reader.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was hooked from the first page. The premise of class difference, while not unique, was handled in a way that made for an intriguing and engaging read. The plot moved at a very even pace, making it an easy and interesting read. I couldn't put it down and had to know what happened next. The characters were not just interesting, but also deeply developed, and their backstories were well-written as well. The author has put in a lot of effort in making the characters grow individually whilst also taking care of ensuring that their interpersonal relationships grew organically and weren’t forced.

The writing was simple and fast-paced, making it an easy and enjoyable read. The banter between the two main characters, the Wrangler and Nara, was fun to read and had me smiling and laughing in places. The only problem I had with this book, if I may call it that, was the lack of action or the simplicity of it. However, you may argue that this book is just a prequel to the battles that will follow in the next one. If that is true, I understand the lack of action in this one. However, despite the lack of action, I enjoyed this book and am eagerly looking forward to reading the next one in the series when it is released.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing me with a copy to review.

⭐️⭐️ 2.5 stars
🌶️ 0.5 spice (really nothing graphic)

A big thanks to Angry Robots and NetGalley for providing me the ARC for The Branded!

The story features our FMC, Nara. She is a Mor (a “pure” blooded woman raised to be given to pure men), and has been raised in the citadel with her sister Osha since her Amma died. Here she has been brainwashed to believe what the leaders tell her, until one day everything falls apart for her. She is betrayed by her maid after she is caught smuggling goods out to the Settlement, and she is discovered to have the Brume, and a small brand is on her scalp. She is immediately exiled from the citadel, and goes to live with the maid with the rest of the branded.

Honestly, I forgot she went to live with the maid because it’s almost like she’s forgotten 40% through the book. Nara gets back with Osha during a bathing session gone awry at the Moon Pools, and thus we continue our long, long journey to Olyth(Oryth?).

I just can’t stand Nara unfortunately, and it made this book hard for me to get through. Everything is about her, and she goes back and forth so much on Brim and the Wrangler I just can’t. Her actions really bugged me throughout the book.

I also fully believe she is the Elith and she is too blind to see it, even though it’s very obvious.

I’m not really a fan of a love triangle, so I didn’t enjoy the one with Nara, Brim, and Nixim. Also, why does the love interest always have to be secretly betrothed? I also thought Osha and her love interest (I forgot his name) became too involved too quickly.

The mole on Nixim’s face was brought up so many times it really irked me. I don’t need to know about a mole so much.

I also found incorrect words used at times (home instead of hone, etc) that pulled me out. There was also a long period of the beginning of the book where it felt like the author pulled out a thesaurus and replaced every common word with a synonym, making me confused.

Lastly, the words really bothered me. “What the fec”, “What the pox”, “Holy Mother’s holes” really just ground my gears.

I gave it 2.5 stars because I believe it has potential to have something. Unfortunately it just was not for me, but might be for someone else!

Book rating : 3.5 stars

Genre - Romantasy

"Perhaps we were unafraid because the greatest dread of childhood had already happened to both of us: the loss of our parents.
We were orphans together, egging each other on, making a competition of our recklessness."

I had requested the book for the sole reason of the pretty cover , ain't that all readers want especially when it comes to fantasy genre. Also the premises looked promising.

When a plague wipes out huge population, the world is left with people who have markings known as branded and those who have no residual markings as pure breed. The pure women are mostly looked down (or upto??? But definitely not treated so) as commodities to have more pure breed.


" A man might lose his horse, his blade, even his brotherband, but he should never lose his bloodline."


This is a story of Nara and her sister Osha who both are pure women and live in a privileged place, protected and prevented from doing much. The character development is good but I would have liked to know more about the world setting as we do not really the whole lot about the world this happens.

Nara is not likeable in the start but she improves as the time goes.

“We’d sell our souls for the ones we love, Frida.”

There's a love triangle kind of relationship but it is not annoying or infuriating. Brim takes a backside most of the times but even then Nixim or Wrangler isn't a character I cared for or even liked. To be honest, the love story wasn't even that engaging.

Overall a good book but then it could have been better.

Thank you Netgalley and Bolinda audio for the audiobook ARC and angry robot for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The Branded was a great read, it had it all and it kept me gripped. I did think it started off slow as it was laying out the groundwork for the storyline but half way through it picked up and I was hooked. I really liked the characters and their developments, Nara was a likeable main character and she had an essence around her that makes me think there's more to her than we are seeing. Brim, urgh, towards the end I started to dislike him, Wrangler/Nixim on the other hand I was really drawn to his character.
The writing in this novel was really captivating and it really set out the details of the world building and the characters, I really enjoyed delving further into the story and towards the final chapters I was already wanting book 2, but after reading the ending I definitely need book 2. I have so many questions that needs answering.

!!! Okay !!! I’m so invested in this series now.

I really liked the concept of this book and that it focused on Nara’s flaws. It’s mostly well written, has a really good plot that I could imagine playing out in my mind like a movie.

It started off a bit generic - a girl hunting in the woods (where have we seen that before..) but hear me out .. it’s actually relevant to the FMC 🤐👀 It quickly evolved into a really interesting plot and I began to love (and hate!) certain characters.

Brim is such a gaslighter! I need him eradicated in the most satisfying way possible for the next book pls 😅

I grew to love Osha’s character, especially that she’s presented as strong in a different way to Nara. Hopefully she’ll get the life she deserves in the next book 🥲

I’m obsessed with the couples we’ve seen so far and the spice was entertaining. The book left off in a way that is really enticing for the reader to come back to it and its successors.

I like when fantasy books have little unique tidbits to the world building that will actually be relevant later on. (E.g the snake poison to induce visions). The witch was a nice addition without making the story too superficial (aka using ‘suriel-like’ characters to advance the plot).

I’m not a fan of using made up words as an alternative to swear words, especially when the book isn’t YA but I could look past this quite easily as the plot did a good job of diverting my attention and it was a unique way of doing it too. I’ll definitely be recommending this!

I was not initially feeling excited about reading The Branded as I have found myself not in the mood for much fantasy reading lately. This book, however, reignited my love for the genre, giving me the same feeling I had when I started reading again after a long break.

The branded feels like a blend of the handmaids tale, shadow and bone, and the hunger games, taking some of the better elements of each to create a unique story that kept me hooked the whole way through.

While I loved the story, a map could have really enhanced the reading experience as location was an important aspect of the narrative and having no visual guidance was a tad disorientating at times.
I also would have really loved some multiple pov (a rare request from me). It would have been great to see some alternative perspectives particularly when characters were separated, and I think it could have added some real depth and nuance.

Overall a fantastc read and I can't wait to read the sequel

It’s a classic rich vs poor trope and I really enjoyed it. It gave me almost hunger games vibes in the rich vs poor divide. The characters quite well written, however, I found that the end was quite abrupt but overall very good read I will probably buy the physical copy and definitely recommend it to my friends

I loved this story! It's a rich fantasy with a touch of romance—not quite a fantasy romance. dynamic between the branded and the pures was very interesting, and as described gave me very much hand maids tale vibes which i loved! I Can't wait for the next book, especially for the unhinged female main character—I'm hooked!

The Branded by Jo Riccioni is a dystopian novel where centuries ago, a Great Malady happened, and the brume virus spread, decimating most of the population. It resulted in most of the population becoming more physically weaker and vulnerable to disease and infection. The virus left a blue mark on their skin like a brand, and they became known as the Branded. A smaller part of the population became physically bigger, and stronger, and were immune to disease and infection. They became known as the Pure.

As a result of these changes, the Pure became the dominant class in society in some parts of the Continent and the role of Pure women changed, with an emphasis on their ability to breed. They have become a commodity, and in Isfalk they are kept hidden away in a citadel under the guise of it being for their protection.

Meanwhile, the Branded live in squalor in the surrounding village. They are told that they must keep the Pure wardens fed as the wardens keep everyone safe, including them, so they must give their harvests to the Pure. In actuality, it’s so that the Pure can live in luxury and have an overabundance of food. The Branded who have less visible brands are allowed to serve in the citadel. It is a crime for the Branded and the Pure to have relationships in Isfalk as the Branded have a chance to pass on their physical weaknesses to their offspring, however, that does not stop Pure males from spending time in brothels in the Branded village.

The Branded tells the story of twins Nara and Osha, two young women who grew up with their grandmother in the forests before losing her in a vicious attack. With no details about their parents, the children fled to the citadel. Once it was established that they were both Pure, they were integrated into the restrictive and religious society of the citadel. While her sister seems to fit right in, Nara hates everything the citadel stands for, especially the expectation that young women will meekly accept being paired to a male Pure and give birth to a child every year for the rest of their lives.

She longs for the freedom she and her sister had before they came to the citadel, the freedom to choose her future. Nara doesn’t want to sit at home in luxury as someone’s wife, she wants to become a warden. But Pure women, Mor, are not even allowed outside the citadel without a cadre of wardens to protect them. They’re certainly not allowed to fight.

When Nara is unexpectedly thrown out of the citadel, she gets her wish but for the first time, the sisters are separated. Alone and in danger, she has to rely on the mysterious Wrangler, a Branded that seems to know more about Nara and Osha and their past than they do. As she tries to find a way back to her sister, Nara begins to learn things about herself and revelations that will change everything they know.

I enjoyed The Branded, it has an interesting story with good pacing, well-written characters and solid world-building. Unfortunately, there are some issues with this book that I can’t overlook. As a disabled reader, I’m interested in speculative fiction that has themes of illness. While this is a main theme in The Branded, I was disappointed to learn that it isn’t mentioned as one of the book’s main themes. Instead, it is being promoted as a “speculative novel with explosive ideas around gender and class“. Additionally, Riccioni’s author bio states that this series is inspired by her desire to “see women and women’s issues at the heart of the epic fantasy canon”.

The problem is that The Branded is not a book about gender and class; it’s a book about how a pandemic caused humanity to split into two groups. The resulting society that is created is founded on eugenicist beliefs, leading to a rigid class system with strict gender roles.

Although Riccioni has written a speculative fiction novel that mirrors our society and the divide between healthy people and the disabled and neurodivergent community, I do not think this was her intention. The Branded are subject to social barriers that negatively impact their lives, something that is very similar to the social model of disability.

Rather than bringing women’s issues into epic fantasy canon, I fear that this book represents the book world’s dismissive attitude towards the inclusion of disability-related topics in the genre. Riccioni has ample opportunity to include disabled characters, instead choosing to change her narrative to avoid them. When Nara journeys outside Isfalk she meets more Branded and learns that they aren’t as weak as the Isfalki have been told. It’s not unbelievable, as it’s one of many lies she learns that the Pure have been told. This doesn’t change the fact that it’s a very convenient way to avoid having to include disabled characters.

The Branded reminded me of Burrowed by Mary Baader Kaley, another dystopian book where society is split into two groups after a worldwide pandemic; one physically strong, and one weak and vulnerable to infection. Riccioni makes the same mistake that Kaley did by not considering the long-term effects of a low immune system. Both authors make multiple references to the weaker group being more prone to infection and illness, but there is no mention of chronic illnesses developing as a result. This oversight is not surprising since like Kaley, Riccioni appears to be non-disabled.

Ironically, there is one chronic illness represented in The Branded and that is arthritis – in a Pure man. Riccioni makes the point that despite living longer and being physically stronger, the Pure have some physical limitations. While they appear to live for much longer, they still have to deal with the effects of old age, including wear and tear. I think it says a lot that the only disability representation in this book is in association with ageing.

Disabled representation is not the only representation missing in The Branded. There is hardly any diversity in the entire book. Nixim, aka, ‘the Wrangler’ is the only BIPOC character for the majority of the book, with others only appearing very briefly. His people, the Reis, are called barbarians who spin fantastical stories and exploit people with their “dark arts”. I felt like these descriptions embodied quite a few racist beliefs, including the ‘good’ white people with their acceptable religious beliefs (Isfalk) and the ‘bad’ black people with their ‘hooky’ spiritual beliefs (Reis). While it does become evident that the Isfalk are not necessarily ‘good’, an anti-racism narrative would have felt more believable if there was more than one Reis character present.

Similar to race, there is only the briefest of mentions of LGBTQIA+ representation. One of the young Mor women is accused of “unnatural liaisons” with a Branded maid that goes against the “First Mother’s Natural Order”. As mentioned relationships between the Branded and the Pure are considered abhorrent, a crime that goes against the Isfalki religious beliefs. While the rhetoric used in the accusation is from the Isfalki’s religious doctrine, it uncomfortably echoes the views held by many anti-LGBTQIA+ campaigners. If there was any genuine LGBTQIA+ representation in the book I could believe that was meant to highlight prejudice, but since there is none, it feels uncomfortably deliberate.

This book had so much potential, and instead of utilising a great setting to discuss disability issues, Riccioni has actively removed any diversity from The Branded. She wanted to write a book that brought women’s issues into fantasy, and apparently, that meant white heterosexual women. While the world she has created includes a large group of physically vulnerable people, the only health issues featured are those that would concern mothers; pregnancy issues, fertility issues, infections (especially for children), and old age.

While we do need more books in fantasy that focus on women and family, I don’t believe that The Branded did that successfully. Although the characters fight against a restrictive society where women are forced into the role of motherhood, I like the book was predominantly shaped by ideas of motherhood. As a chronically ill queer woman who is not a mother, I felt like this book was written with people like me not in mind.

Although I have added the second book in the duology to my TBR, I do not hold out much hope for any improvement when it comes to the representation in it.

Nara and Osha are sisters born as Fornwood solitaries, living outside of any settlement, in a world where plague has devastated everyone and divided them into two categories— the Branded and the Pure. The sisters are Mors, female Pures, who now live in the Isfalki settlement in the school for Mors before their pairings.

But as the two get closer to the time for their Pairings, Nara grows increasingly concerned and frustrated with the limiting nature of Isfalki society. When the worst happens, can the sisters figure out a way to stay together? And what is life really like outside of Isfalki prejudices?

The Branded is an amazing introductory novel to the world of Jo Riccioni. It certainly gets off to a slow start, but the second half of the book makes up for it. The Branded is great for folks who enjoy the premise of the Handmaids Tale and feudal-fantasy books. It does contain graphic violence, substance abuse, semi-graphic sexual assault, racism, and death.

The Branded
by Jo Riccioni
The Branded Season #1
Fantasy New Adult
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
Angry Robot
Ages: 17+

Nara and Osha are Pure, citizens of Isfalk who are healthy and live sheltered lives as they wait to mature and be paired with a Pure man so to produce healthy children.

Beyond those walls are the Branded, weaker, lower-class people who are marked for all to know they are vulnerable to any and all diseases.

But even though Nara dreams of escaping the safety of the walls, she is forced out, leaving her sister behind, and puts her trust in a Branded man called the Wrangler, (who I do not care for at all) and she discovers that maybe there is more to her hunting ability than she thought.


Riding on the tropes of disease wiping out most of the human race, rich vs poor, and women are broodmares, The Branded is still a unique story.

The world does need a bit more history to allow the reader to really immerse and relate to it. Knowing more history would give the reader something to grab onto. Though I have many ideas of where this series is going, and while I can't wait to find out, I'm also fearful that some of my lamer ideas will come to pass.

This book stayed at a good pace and I have already added the next book of the series to my TBR.

3 Stars

Thanks to NetGalley & Angry Robot for providing an eARC of The Branded in exchange for this honest review.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
Published Date: June 11 2024
Vibes:
- plagues
- women as property
- caste system
- you can feel the Australian accent
- love triangle-ish situations

Quick Synopsis:
After the Brume plague swept the continent, people have been marked by the disease at birth with a blue-black smattering of pox on their skin. Those without any marks are considered Pure and live stronger, healthier lives than the Branded.
Nara lives in the citadel with her sister, Osha, protected as Pure girls with the title of Mor. They are approaching their Pairing with a Pure man to breed strong and healthy children for the citadel.
She is, however, not really good at being what the citadel wants. Growing up in a cabin with just her sister and grandmother before a raider attack led to the death of their grandmother, Nara was forced to flee to the citadel with Osha for safety. Since then, she has struggled to fit into the prim & proper role of being Mor; Nara loves to hunt and be out in nature.

Review:
This was absolutely excellent up until that last chapter. The cliffhanger of Nara's relationship and Nixim's reveal is unforgivable, an absolute crime by both Nixim and the author.
BESIDES that, I fell quickly in love with the world here. We get to experience a couple different societies and how they treat people of Branded/Pure status. There's also just a ton of interesting magical aspects going on with the Sway that bring the political intrigue of Iness into play. I kept trying to figure Nixim out early on without enough information, which was fun since it always kept me guessing.
When I saw that Jo Riccioni lives in Australia, I could not stop hearing Nara's voice with that accent!! The banter is delightful, but I will warn people there is a love triangle situation (and then some?) going on so... be prepared if that isn't your vibe.
I hope im the next book we get a true reveal that Branded/Pure literally has no impact on the health of a child, but that it is all environmental/situational due to Pure people being given more space, food, and resources.

Thank you for letting me ARC read this wonderful book.

While it started off slow and took me a little bit to get into - once it got going, boy did it get going!

I loved seeing the characters develop throughout, particularly Nara, her behavior changed the most throughout the story, and I wonder how it will continue to change in further books.

I liked the premise of how such a simple thing as a mark on your skin can completely change your life and the meaning that others give it.

The enemies-to-lovers aspect of the story was a slow burn, however, it felt like a natural progression for the characters rather than forced which was really nicely done.

The Branded by Jo Riccioni
4/5 stars!

I struggled to get into this at the beginning, however stick with it! It definitely gets better as the story unfolds, it is a slow burn romance, enemies to lovers fantasy! It alludes to themes which we face in general day to day life and it was interesting to see how Nara's behaviours change throughout the duration of the book. I cannot wait to see where the story will take us in the next book!

Thank you Netgalley, the Publisher and Jo for this arc!