Member Reviews
We follow the main character, Teia, who feels trapped when her half brother and heir to the throne, Jura announces a marriage contract to an abusive man. Teia will do anything to get out of this contract and escape (kinda) her evil brother. Jura is evil, manipulative, and enjoys causing pain- a psychopath who Teia is terrified of. Teia gets the chance to infiltrate the rebel group in hopes to eventually turn them in to Jura so that she can get out of the marriage contract.
The beginning was gripping and I was able to flow with the pacing. But Teia’s character was difficult for me to connect with. It felt like she was trying to have a big and sneaky reason to infiltrate the rebels but it fell flat. All that for a favor that you honestly believe Jura would uphold? When he gives no reason to follow his word. I think this would be a great book with a little more development into Teia’s and the side characters. It felt like a decent set up to a series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in return for an honest review
This reads like Avatar the Last Airbender meets Six of Crows, and those are two of my favorite things ever!!! Incredible that this is a debut, it's packed with a tightly paced story rich with political intrigue, worldbuilding, and a fierce FMC that you can't help but root for. I need the sequel EXPEDITIOUSLY!
This is a well-written book with a quickly paced plot. I enjoyed reading it. Tiffany Wang blends reality and fiction well enough to keep you immersed in the story. The characters were well developed and you want to follow them through to the end. This book is addictive as you want to keep reading to discover what is happening with all of the characters' scheming and don't even realize you have read 30 pages at once! I would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a quick paced book.
This was a fun read. It was an easy, fantasy full of political intrigue that kept you guessing. I loved the characters, but I wish we had gotten a bit more information on some of them. They were all so unique and such great personalities & backstories. The story felt a bit slow in the beginning, and then, by the end, it was moving a bit too quickly. That being said, overall, i enjoyed this book. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.
Wang’s debut novel oozes vengeance, ambition and betrayals. Teia is our protagonist in this novel. A daughter of the king and his second wife. After her parents die, her cruel brother Jura becomes the heir apparent.
Jura was a pretty irredeemable character. I found Teia a bit morally grey. I really enjoyed the beginning and thought it was a very good book. I’m impressed by the story and I need to know what happens next.
I’d have liked a bit more punch. Some things seemed to come about a little too easy in my opinion. I’d also like to see more of the other kingdoms and explore Teia’s powers even more,
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.
I love when a book hooks me right from the start! Especially when I cannot put it down.
Thank you for the opportunity to arc read this book!
Inferno's heir is a story of an orphan princess with the ability to control fire.. and water. She is the offspring of a "fire nation" (see what I did there:D) king and a "water nation" queen. Her half brother who is a sadist idiot and hates her, on the other hand, is the first born son of said king and the late queen who wasn't anything special I guess. The princess is to be wed to an awful man because her brother the future king said so, and to take matters on to her own hand, she decides to find the rebellion that causes problems in the kingdom and turn them in to her brother, so as a reward her brother might let her decide about her future herself. She ends up working with the rebellion trying to overturn her brother.
While the story is so familiar from countless other books, I still enjoyed it very much. A princess deciding to work with a rebellion and then falling in love with a guy from the said rebellion is nothing new, but this book pleasantly surprised me with amazing characters and new plot points you don't usually see in this type of stories. I loved Teia the orphan princess, Enna the thief, and Alara the rebellion member. I think these three carried the story so much. I didn't really care about the love interest (even though the love story is in very very very minor part) or Kyra, who also seem to posses fire abilities. The story had a few characters that were bit too black and white in their believes, but despite that most of them had complex personas.
I really enjoyed the story, especially the way the ending was done. I'm not sure if this is a standalone, as the ending was quite open, and I would love to see more of this story, and what will happen next. I think we just scratched the surface with world building and everything, and I'm eager to see more.
4,5 stars. Amazing fantasy debut!
Inferno's Heir
Tiffany Wang
YA Fantasy New Adult
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: October 15, 2024
Bindery Books
Ages: 14+
Subject to Jura, her half-brother's sadist games all of her life, Teia knows that using the kingdom's politics and blackmailing those politicians is the only way she has to survive her brother's maliciousness when he takes the throne. He has sent assassins after her before, but now he has found a new way to abuse her, promising her hand in marriage to the worst of the kingdom's lords.
However, when Jura announces an extravagant reward, one favor from the kingdom, in exchange for the location of the rebel's base, Teia sees her chance to free herself from Jura so she can be in the kingdom without fear.
While infiltrating the rebels was easy, gaining their trust wasn't. But she finds herself liking and admiring the rebels, but their leader, not so much. He sends her and a few other rebels on a fool's mission, which they did not complete, but one of them was captured. Even though their leader was willing to trade, Teia knew Jura wouldn't keep to the terms and would kill everyone, including his own men, which, after his plans were laid out, the rebel leader was also willing to do.
Now suspicious of his true intentions, the idea Teia tried to push away begins to scream in her mind: What if she could take the crown?
When I started this book, I feared that it would be bogged down with pages and pages of political mumbo jumbo, but it was a pleasant surprise to find this story blended the politics, backstory, magic, characters, and main plot equally together so I was not bored!
While there were some slow spots, it still moved along at a good pace. It wasn't one of those books that I hated to put down, but I was not dreading reading it. I wanted to find out what was going to happen.
Most of the characters were great, though a few were predictable, (the romantic interest,) but Teia, the MC, was a great character. She knew what she was doing was wrong, and could/would get people killed, but it was either her or them. Her character makes you think about who you would betray to protect yourself/those you love.
I do wish the magic system was explained in more detail. Maybe it's in upcoming books, but I felt 'left out' because while I mostly understood the magic Teia and Jura could use, I don't remember much of the other kingdoms.
There were a few twists and of course obvious outcomes, and while there is violence, it isn't overly graphic, so it's suitable for readers fourteen and older.
Looking forward to the next book in the series.
4 Stars
Netgalley review, possible plot points mentioned below.
If you like six of Crows or Ace of Shades you might like Inferno's Heir, a mix of heist and found family.
I think the end half of the book was personally the more interesting part, I think sometimes I felt I was waiting for something to happen for too long.
The part I hated the most was the morals, every person apart of the dawnbreakers refused to kill or even harm the enemy in the slightest so much than the princess was the only one really killing people. How was even the poison master not always ready to kill? It just feels weird to be like we need to break into a prison where our friends are being held hostage and tortured BUT we can't harm anyone at all 🥺.
This book was entertaining enough but I do believe some plot points, dialogue, and character development needs to be worked on a little more.
I thank the authors and netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.
This is a wonderfully creative fantasy that reminded me somewhat of Six of Crows and Throne of Glass in a way.
With a fierce main character who doesn't shy away from her power and a ragtag bunch of rebels, this was exactly what I wanted to read. The writing style helps to sweep you into the story and won't put you down until you've turned the last page!
If you love a morally gray main character this book is for you. Inferno's Heir is about Teia a Princess of Erisia. Not only can wield fire from the royal line of her father, but she can also wield water through the royal line of her mother. After her parents death, Teia's half brother is Jura is the soon to be crowned king is trying to push Teia out of the way by having her married off. The an uprising of rebels, Jura is going off the rails and will do anything to make the rebels disappear before his coronation.
Inferno's Heir has multiple strong female leads, great political intrigue, and is easy to get hooked into from the very first page.
Inferno's Heir is a definitely a must purchase. Inferno's Heir is YA, and such a fantastic fantasy book!
I gave Inferno's Heir 4/5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read Inferno's Heir.
There were parts of this book I really liked but I'm not sure the ending was one of them. I almost want to re-read the last 100ish pages to see if I saw what happened coming. The soon-to-be-King in this book is vile, and Teia wanting to take over makes sense. She wants to see her half-brother taken down because he is a horrible person, but the way she does it almost doesn't make it any better. The writing style was good but sometimes it felt like there were too many moving parts, too many people doing things that would make a difference in the text. I really enjoyed Tobias, and I'm sad that he was semi-betrayed. Plus, I think Teia was unreliable a lot of the time. Rated it a sold 3.5
Teia Carthan is the half-sister of Jura Carthan, a despot and soon-to-be ruler of Erisia. She has survived numerous assassination attempts orchestrated by Jura but if he ascends the throne, there is no place in the Five Kingdoms where she will be safe. However, an uprising against the monarchy by a rebel group called the Dawnbreakers presents Teia a slim chance to secure her future. Will she seize it? When the rebel group begin promoting a new champion, Teia believes that freedom is within her grasp if she can find this champion and befriend her. By infiltrating their group, she believes she can double cross them in order to save herself. But as she gets closer to the Dawnbreakers, Teia begins to question whether or not she has it within her to betray them.
Inerno’s Heir was a fun and easy book to read! The magic system was easy to follow along, as well as the world building! It was really cool that this was Wang’s debut novel- she did a good job!! I really enjoyed the characters and the heist aspect of this book!
The only downside of the book was I felt that the events comprised of the ending happened too quickly, the beginning had a hard time drawing me in, and that the reader is often told and not shown the dangers the characters are facing. Blackgate was supposed to be this big, bad, and scary prison but I never felt that. I also wanted more interactions with Teia and the Dawnbreakers to solidify that found family feeling that Wang was shooting for.
Overall, it was a fun and good story! I can’t wait to read the next installment in the series! Thank you to Netgalley and Bindery Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Inferno’s Heir is a debut YA fantasy featuring royals, rebels and elemental magic.
I enjoyed the story, but did think the world building and characters could use a little more filling out. Overall the journey was an enjoyable ride.
I did also think it was a standalone - but that ending points to something more in the future.
Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.
This political fantasy story had me captivated from the very beginning. I could not put this book down. The scheming, cunningness, deception, alliances, and betrayal was so well crafted. Not to mention, the mythology and the magic, which was cleverly weaved throughout the story. There were so many strategic moving parts, high stake heists, plot twists, and revelations that had me at the edge of my seat, needing to know how everything played out.
In addition, the characters and relationships were complex and well developed. Each character had their own unique personality, backstory, and motivation. I really enjoyed each of their journeys, especially our morally gray protagonist, Teia. She is definitely an anti-hero. Willing to sacrifice the sense of comfort and safety she felt with her new found family, and be seen as a villain to achieve what she believes to be a better future. After all, only a monster can destroy a monster. Besides Teia, I also found Kyra’s character fascinating. She is the symbol for the rebellion, compassionate and morally just. However, I loved how her moral compass does become questionable when it comes to saving the people she loves. However, my favorite character was definitely Enna Van Apt, the master thief. Smart, cunning and funny. Despite saying she has no loyalty except to money, she has yet to abandon Teia. There is also a very small sub plot of a budding romance, which I enjoyed. I am curious to see how the author will develop this in the future novel.
Overall, this book is perfect for readers who love political intrigue and compelling characters. I really enjoyed the writing, especially the sarcastic, witty dialogues. Although the pacing in the beginning starts off slow, it does pick up quickly. This book was definitely a page turner and THAT ENDING!!! I am already longing to get my hands on the sequel.
Thank you Netgalley and Bindery Books for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
This fantasy ya debut has great base line world building and really intriguing political inner workings. The magic system, from what we know, is elemental based with fire and water magic however, very limited to certain characters.
The pacing is quick and easily digestible, even being a bit repetitive, sometimes.
My main problem is with the characters, they feel like archetypes in the beginning and remain so throughout the entirety of the book, because their development is basically nonexistent.
The ending leads me to assume there will be at least one more book in this story and I am hopeful Wang will improve in this one aspect
AMAZING!!! i loved all the characters, connected with them, and overall enjoyed the plot a lot!
this was extremely fast paced and featured my favorite trope - found family!
highly recommend ❤️
I'm in the midst of also reading a very popular fantasy series and am relatively new to this genre...
I enjoyed Inferno's Heir even more than the mainstream series. Great characters, interesting plot lines, and overall entertaining.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.
Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for the ARC of Inferno's Heir by Tiffany Wang.
Inferno's Heir is a gripping tale of survival, betrayal, and unexpected alliances that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Teia Carthan, the outcast princess with a tumultuous past, is a masterfully crafted protagonist. Her journey of navigating the treacherous waters of rebellion against her own family showcases her intelligence and ruthless determination. The moral complexities she grapples with are both thought-provoking and relatable, making her an unforgettable character.
Wang does a brilliant job with the supporting cast; each character is vibrant and distinct, contributing to the rich tapestry of the narrative. I was pleasantly surprised by the humor woven throughout the story, adding a refreshing layer to the intense plot. The camaraderie and friendships Teia develops with the rebels are beautifully portrayed, and I found myself genuinely invested in their fates.
The pacing is spot-on, building tension and excitement as Teia grapples with her loyalties. The climax is intense and satisfying, yet it leaves just enough threads dangling to tantalize readers for a potential sequel. I can’t wait to see where Wang takes Teia’s story next!
Overall, Inferno's Heir is a stellar debut that combines fierce ambition, emotional depth, and an engaging plot. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantasy that challenges the boundaries of loyalty and power. This is a book that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page!
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book, it is fast paced with a small amount of magic, but a whole lot of political intrigue. Teia is a complicated and morally grey character, but you follow her logic and understand why she does the things that she does, which is always a favorite of mine. I am excited to see where this story goes next!
3.75 stars
This is a fun, fast-paced YA fantasy with wicked royals, rebels vying for change and political intrigue.
I do think a little more time could have been spent on world building. But I originally thought this book was a standalone; the way it ended, that assumption seems to be wrong. So maybe we will get more world building in the next book.
No spoilers but I did think the final act of the book was accomplished way too easily. Why couldn't that have been done at any point?
Overall, this is a fun and accessible fantasy book that I think will have at least a sequel. It better after that ending!