Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for this ARC Copy!

I really enjoyed this book. The balance of court politics and a heist along with an interesting magic system I had a really good time. I wish there had been more details about how the different magics in the world work, but I understand why the author didn't go into detail in this story. I feel like this was left open for another book and I am hoping that this is going to be a series, because that ending just blew me away.

TL;DR Review: A morally gray heroine, a psychopathic King-to-be, and a twisty-turny rebellion story with a lovely heist flavor.

Full Review:
Inferno’s Heir starts out strong and just keeps going!
From the first page, we’re given a very clear view of just what kind of badass we’re dealing with. Teia Carthan, daughter of a dead Emperor and his foreigner wife, may never sit the throne, but she’s willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto any power that will keep her safe from her psychopathic and sadistic older brother.
She doesn’t shy away from violence or the use of her magical abilities—both manipulating fire to torture the man who betrayed her, and using her water magic to drown him in his own blood. Not a kind soul, but living in her brother’s shadow, we can see why. There’s no doubt that when Jura Carthan takes the throne, Teia will find nothing but suffering and misery at his hands.
So when she stumbles across the leader of the rebellion that is causing her brother so much grief, she seizes the opportunity to join them—all so she can bring them down from the inside and use that triumph to gain leverage over her brother.
Inferno’s Heir follows her efforts to gain the rebellion’s trust, to implant herself as one of them, but over the course of the book, we see her coming to understand them, connect with them, empathize with them, perhaps even fall in love with one of them? And we find ourselves asking: is Teia capable of setting aside her desire for power in order to actually change her city for the better, even at the cost of her own throne?
The author does an amazing job of walking the insanely razor-thin line between unlikeable antagonist and troubled anti-hero. Teia is cold, hard, and manipulative in the beginning, but when we get to see her opening up and being vulnerable with the rebels, we can’t help but fall in love with her. There’s a really lovely brittleness and fragility to her strength that makes her so human.
There’s a nice little romantic story woven into all the action, the heisting, the treachery and manipulation, and this helps to make Teia a wonderfully relatable character. We even get the feeling that there’s a happy ending ahead, one where everyone gets what they want and the world is a better, brighter place.
But is that the ending you’ll actually get, or just another of the many twists the book will throw at you? Read the book and find out!
Inferno’s Heir was an absolutely engaging, compelling read, one I enjoyed from start to finish. Though it’s got a YA character, hard circumstances has matured Teia, so it reads like a classic adult fantasy, with some pretty brutally dark twists and situations.
Fans of Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone will love this book!

An fantastic debut!

The political intrigue and court politics of The Cruel Prince meets the action, adventure, and found family of Six of Crows.

The beginning was a bit slow, but once this book hit its stride I breezed right through.

Teia is about as morally gray as they come, and I love that about her. She isn’t overly self-sacrificing. She isn’t delusional in her optimism. She jaded. She’s critical. But she isn’t downright heartless. Which makes her an interesting, multi-faceted character, I genuinely enjoyed reading about.

There’s a romantic subplot that hasn’t been fully explored and I’m hoping we’ll get more of that in later books.

The main plot itself is a bit predictable at times. But it still had some tricks up its sleeve at the end. The book also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Nothing too crazy, but enough to keep a reader on the hook for the next book 👀

Honestly, I’m excited to see how the rest of this story unfolds.

Inferno's Heir by Tiffany Wang is an enchanting tale filled with detailed world-building, in-depth characters, and an interesting and complex plot. The characters are the best part of the book in my opinion, they are very well developed and each have their own depth which makes them easy to love and relate to. There is also political intrigue, alliances, betrayals, and plenty of action scenes woven into the story. There was only one thing that I didn't enjoy and that was how rushed the end of the book was but it didn't outweigh how much I loved the rest of the book. Overall, Inferno's Heir is a well paced novel that will completely engross you and make you want to continue reading, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys morally grey characters, elemental magics, dealings, and found family.

I was initially very intrigued by the description and cover of this book. I thought the writing was very well done but the story itself just did not hold my interest. At no point did i find myself craving another page, another chapter. Despite starting over multiple times, I could not get past the first few chapters. I feel the story dove right in without any chance to set up the scene properly to understand what was happening. I thought there was not enough world building overall and what we did get felt skimmed through so it made it very difficult for me to really grasp and understand what was going on the entire time. I also had a hard time connecting with any of the characters. I did not find any of them stood out enough to make an impact on me. In a last ditch effort to give it fair a chance ater not being able to make it past the first few chapters, I finally decided to skim through the chapters by going for mainly dialogue but ultimately found this just was not the book for me. I appreciate the approval regardless and I apologize that I could not provide more positive feedback.

Trigger warnings for Inferno's Heir include: racism, dehumanising language, sexual assault, physical abuse, violence, weapons, death and abuse of power.
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I'll be transparent, I did end up DNFing the book about halfway through. Not because I wasn't enjoying it but because I just didn't have the energy to continue with it.
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I really liked what I read. I liked the writing style and the characters. It was a fun read.
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It gave me Six of Crows vibes. It was a fun time, though I'm not sure if I'd pick up other books by the author.
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Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

Out of the 4 books from Bindery Books that I've read, this was the best. I think this is the best writing and pacing of the four. I don't read much Young Adult fantasy, usually because the age of the characters lends them to making decisions that are very frustrating to read.

Our main character is Teia, young (half) sister to the soon-to-be-king. She has the power over two elements: fire and water. It is very interesting following Teia because she's not exactly the hero you would think of. I think you could actually categorize her as morally gray. I didn't expect the story to go the way that it did or for Teia to do what she did and I enjoyed the story's deviation from the norm. I don't know if I liked Teia or really any of the characters. I think all of them needed fleshing out. I will say this also made the stakes of the story not as serious to me because I didn't care enough for the characters to worry about what would happen to them.

You still have some typical YA fantasy tropes: a love interest, although he was standard as they come. The rebellion, and our heroine getting close to members of the rebellion, wanting to take down the monarchy and a heist plot. The writing is pretty good and the story reads very quickly. I was hoping this was a standalone because there could've been an awesome way to end this story. However, it seems as if it is the start of at least a duology if not a series. I am not that interested to continue reading.

I'd recommend this for fans of YA fantasy, revolution/rebellion stories, and a morally gray main character.

Inferno’s Heir offers an intriguing premise, but it took a while for me to really get into it. The story follows Teia Carthan, who has cast aside her morals to survive in a world where her half-brother Jura is about to become king. Teia’s unique ability to control two elements makes her both an outsider and a formidable player, but the slow buildup had me feeling a bit detached at first.

While the initial chapters dragged, I found myself more invested around the 70% mark. That’s when the stakes really ramped up, and Teia’s dilemma about betraying the rebels for her safety became gripping. The themes of loyalty and the struggle for power added depth, and once I connected with the characters, I was rooting for Teia to make the right choice.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the Arc.

Inferno´s Heir by Tiffany Wang is a YA Fantasy book that focus on Teia, who us an outcast princess who is trying to join a rebel alliance called the Dawnbreakers. Her brother, Jura is about to be crowned prince and since their relationship is not the best Teia sees her only option for freedom to infiltrate the Dawnbreakers as a way to bargain for her freedom.

Let me just start by saying I truly liked this book, I found Teia refreshing, as it was my first time where the main character is morally grey. I would describe Teia as an anti-hero and she never tries to pretend to actually be a hero, at the end of the day she will choose what is best for herself.

This book had really great female side characters my favorites were Alara (poison expert) and Enna (master thief), I loved every interaction between Teia and Enna, they were always very amusing.

For me this was a very fast read, I kept wanting to know what would happen in this book. Although, I thought this was a stand alone book, with how the book ended I can definitely tell that there is an idea for a sequel, as the ending left the door open for one.

Overall, this book was a 4.5 stars read for me, I rounded to 5 stars as there are no half stars here and it is definitely closer to a 5 star read then a 4 star one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Teia has zero faith in humanity and despises the monarchy. Her parents’ death means her half brother Jura rules Erisia. And he is ruthless. When ruthless leaders rule, rebellions form. A rebellion tries to overthrow Jura and his cronies to create a democracy in Erisia. Teia befriends the rebels and helps them overthrow the monarchy, and her powers are in full swing. But what if Teia wants the throne? Will greed take over?

Omg I can’t say enough good things about this book! I loved it. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait for the sequel!

Read from October 8th, 2024 to October 14th, 2024. Written on October 15th, 2024.

~3.5~

Happy release day!

Looking for a fantasy book with a rebel group trying to overthrow a monarchy? Royal families from different kingdoms with powers? A heartless Crown Prince? And a princess with a difficult decision? Well you've got it all and more in this book.

I genuinely had a great time reading this story. The world-building wasn't overbearing, and yet I am craving more about each kingdom and how the powers came to be. The characters are intriguing, the situations are nerve-wrecking, there is so much going on pretty much at all times.

Now, I do have to say that I felt like I could read 100 more pages of this, mainly because the ending felt rushed. Personally, I think that the build-up for the ending is so big throughout the book (which I love) but in the end it gets settled in, what felt like, less than 10 pages. I wanted the drag, the emotion, the big showdown(?) and it was sort of just thrown in there just because. I don't think I would mind reading that moment in a second book, especially since the actual ending already creates a bridge for a continuation of the first book. In general, I felt like most of the real action happened in the last 100-150 pages, and somehow it still felt like it could have had more time to digest everything and work it all out more smoothly.

I am very happy I got to read this book and I am excited for (hopefully) a second story. There is still so much that could be told and explored by the author and it deserves to be shown.

Thank you for the opportunity!

Signing off,
B.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Bindery Books that I chose to review after reading - Cross-posted on Goodreads on October 15th, 2024)

This book was so good. I loved to read Teia's story. She is feisty, a bit egoistic and just not your typical heroine. But I kind of loved her. The story ist amazing, there were just a few inconsistencies in my opinion (mostly concerning her plan involving Jura and the dawnbreakers). But what I loved most was the writing! It was just so good!
Would have preferred to get a bit more romance involved because the possibilities were there.
But all in all really enjoyed this one.

An absolutely riveting debut from author Tiffany Wang.

Despite being a princess, Teia has been doing whatever it takes to survive for years. Her parents are dead and her half brother, Jura, is set to ascend to her father's throne. But Jura's cruelty knows no bounds so Teia has learned to cope the best way that she can. As his coronation nears, Jura seeks to destroy any and all resistance to his rule, including the rebellious movement known as the Dawnbreakers.

But, thus far, the Dawnbreakers have proven illusive. He sets a reward for information on the rebels and their champion that is so tempting even Teia takes notice. Perhaps if she can weasel out the location of these rebels and earn that reward for herself she will finally be safe. But as she infiltrates their ranks, second thoughts begin to surface. Teia suddenly finds herself becoming friends with these rebels and they leave her questioning her plan. Maybe, just maybe, there is another way for her to proceed?

This. Book. Was. EVERYTHING.

Words cannot describe how brilliant this debut is. The world that Wang has created is rich and colorful, full of magic and political intrigue. We see a blending of fantasy and real world elements in the creation of this setting from the ability to wield the elements to firearms, trains, and indoor plumbing. Wang paints such a vivid picture of the city of Bahnot that it was almost like I was walking the streets myself.

Teia was such a strong and compelling character. Torn between two worlds in more ways than one, it was so interesting to see the way Teia grew and changed throughout the course of the novel. Constantly reminding everyone that Jura is only her half brother, I think Teia fails to realize that she might be a little like him after all. The events of the ending definitely came as a bit of a surprise. However, things have been left incredibly open ended and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see another novel and continued growth for our heroine.

The rest of the cast of characters were equally as compelling. The way they talked and related to each other kept me fully engaged the whole time I was reading. I love good witty banter and this novel was rife with it. Wang balance a lot of complex motivations and emotions and it will be interesting to see how these continue to coalesce and develop should we get another installment in this tale. And the action! Don't even get me started on the way the events of this book kept me on the edge of my seat!

I already want to read this story again and I am praying for more. Please don't leave me hanging!

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the characters were compelling and the story had me hooked from start to finish. Although I managed to anticipate a few plot points, the unexpected conclusion took me by surprise. I'm very excited for the next book!

Thank you, Bindery Books, NetGalley, and Tiffany Wang for allowing me the opportunity to review this book!

"Teia would survive this, just as she had everything else. She would take her fear and wield it as a weapon."

Actual Rating: 4.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Tiffany Wang, and Blindery Books for the E-ARC!

If you liked The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller you need to pick up this book! A book filled with politics, heists, unlikely allies, and a morally grey FMC, this is a must-read.

Teia is a Princess without any of the bonuses, with assassination attempts done to her by her own half-brother, Jura. She's tired of living in his shadow, her hand promised in marriage by Jura to a man who's known to have killed his previous wives. That's why when Teia hears that Jura will give a favour to any person who brings him a key member of a rebel group called the Dawnbreakers, she knows what she has to do. When she finally finds this group though, her plans go out the window and she's forced to enact a heist she thinks is almost impossible to succeed.

This book was a bit slow going for me at the start (the fact I've been in a reading slump didn't help), but when it picks up, it's impossible to put down. I went from being only 17% in to finishing the rest in one sitting. Safe to say, I think it's gotten me out of the slump I was in. As you get into the book, there are so many things going on, mountains of schemes and alliances, new enemies and allies, and Teia is at the center of everything.

Speaking of Teia, I absolutely adored her as the protagonist. A morally grey character who just wants what's best for her. She doesn't care for the needs of other's and isn't afraid to use or even blackmail them if it helps her with her personal causes. She's intelligent, brutal and doesn't waiver from what she wants. I loved experiencing her journey throughout the story as she meets new people and takes on challenge after challenge.

I really hope there'll be a second book to this, because I really want to read more from these characters and the universe! I highly recommend picking this up if you enjoy fantasy, adventure, heists and plots upon plots.

If you enjoy found family, heists, and some spiteful forced proximity to something more, this is the perfect book for you! With incredibly detailed world-building world-building that adds to the fantastical nature of the book, Inferno’s Heir transports you directly into the world of Erisia. It is truly the perfect balance between a complex, scheming heist and magnificent and breathtaking magic. Teia, a fiery princess who feels like a black sheep in her own kingdom, discovers a rebel group has infiltrated the castle. Her half-brother Jura, the future king who is bound to be a cruel ruthless ruler is about to take the throne. And Teia is not exactly thrilled. Instead of turning them in or banishing their presence, she joins forces with them. But someone will be betrayed in the end… Teia just has to decide who.

This was a really excellent Fantasy debut! I loved the world, the creation myth, the elemental magic. I also really love reading a main female character that is flawed and knows it. Teia is a woman who isn't going to let anything keep her from getting what she wants. She lives a double life, living in the palace and attending court, and sneaking out at night to aid her side business: blackmail. She sees an opportunity arise to get out from under her sadistic brother's thumb, and stumbles across a group of rebels that quickly become friends. We see plans that go awry, people lost, and backs stabbed. For me personally, I LOVED that this was not romantasy, as the pace of the story was nearly perfect and any side romances would have ruined it. Highly recommend!

First of all, I wanna thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. Sorry I couldn't manage to read it earlier but I just read it and it's so good!
First of all, our main character Teia... She has to endure so much from her scum of a brother. I love the dynamic of her friendship with Enna from the start. Next enters Kyra and she's absolutely adorable, she passed me little sister vibes.
I was skeptical at the Dawnbreakers at first and I had the feeling at least one of them would be revealed to be a traitor. As she got closer to them, I LOVED the found family in them: Teia, Kyra, Tobias, Alara and Enna. They made me smile so much when they were together, either scheming or just in each other's company.
The last 50 pages left me jawdropped with the twists and what Teia found out and all she did until the end of the book.
I started this book with no expectations and without knowing if it was a standalone or not. With this ending of course there'll be at least another book and I can't wait for it. This was such a great surprise 👌🏻

Teia is an outcast in her own kingdom but after her parents’ death she sees a great threat from her remaining brother who is in line for the throne. So she decides to join the rebellion in order to secure her own safety. But when she gets to know the rebels, she gets more than she bargained for - friendships and doubt about all she ever knows. This was an enjoyable fantasy to read. Thank you Bindery Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Teia has inherited both fire and water magic from her parents and has to use her powers as well as her wits to stay two steps ahead of her sadistic half brother, Crown Prince Jura. When Jura puts a price on the head of a local rebel leader, Teia decides to infiltrate the rebel cause in order to ensure herself safety from her half-brother's whims. As she begins to help the rebels, she has to decide, does she actually want to join their cause or does she want the throne for herself?

I would like to applaud Wang as she made Teia everything that I had wanted Shan from Mistress of Lies to be. Thank you for giving us a morally gray, backstabbing and intelligent female lead. And also, what a fantastic use of an unreliable narrator as Teia definitely pulls the wool over the reader's eyes until the very end. I thought this book was going in one direction and was annoyed at it being so obvious. But then, Wang executes a fantastic twist in the end that left my jaw on the floor. Obviously, I was pleasantly surprised.

Teia oscillates between being an antiheroine to an anti-villain throughout the book in a way that made her enjoyably complex. Although she is an unreliable narrator, we are shown how her childhood and abuse at the hands of her brother shapes her into the woman that she becomes. She is obviously cut throat but still longs for the safety and love that she experienced with her parents. I don't want to spoil anything but she makes it clear by the end that power is more important than love (and does that make her more like her half brother than she realizes? Absolutely but she doesn't have the level of self awareness to recognize that).

For the most part, the character development was well done throughout with the exception of the 'evil coded' characters: Jura and the rebel leader Cornelius. Jura is given very little to flesh him out beyond painting him as a psychopath (like literally mentioning that he tortures animals and loves playing with fire). I know we are supposed to be rooting against him but I like when villains are given something beyond the villainy. In the same vein, Cornelius just screams 'I can't be trusted and will double cross my own followers at any chance' from his very first introduction. Please give me a reason to root for Teia beyond: well obviously she's better than those two men with antisocial personality disorder.

Overall, a fun action packed read that kept the tension up throughout.

Reviews will be posted on Goodreads, Fable and Storygraph 10/13 and on TIktok either 10/14 or 15.