It took me a long time to get into the story of the book. It wasn't till about 3/4 of the way done with the book that it started to pick up for me. I didn't like the three different point of views for this story, I had to keep going back and forth to make sure that I didn't miss any information. Ultimately I did like how the author was able to get them all to come together and have the relationship grow.. It was defiantly showing two different side of society and how people will rebel to get a better outcome. It also is showing how one may think that someone is your family and they end up betraying you in the end. All and all the book was well written and I have friends that would love this book. It just ended up not being a book for me.

Thanks to bindery for the ARC. For transparency’s sake, I am very good friends with the bindery creator whose imprint this book falls under.

I genuinely And the Sky Bled a standalone cli-fi or climate science fiction fantasy title that follows a couple of different POV characters as they're dealing with this situation in a city in which the sky rains or bleeds this sort of like red substance and from the rain it creates this like energy source called Calor. The resource is rare and can produce amazing magical feats but because it only appears in one place and very infrequently, people scramble to collect and sell this resource. The stakes are immediately presented, and we follow characters in a world that is currently dying and the only sort of resource that can help is not renewable and constantly being fought over.

The book is well written, I think S. Hati is a good writer and does a fine job balancing the world and showing your important details about it without it feeling like a lot of info dumpy. The information in her writing is clear, it's concise, and I was very impressed in the 1st chapter how much information was presented to me without it feeling like I was reading a textbook—things were happening, characters were doing what they were doing and at the same time I was learning all about the world. The characters of the book are well crafted--the main character, though a bit trope-y protagonist at times is a good anchor of the story.
I actually found a lot of the supporting casts more interesting—Anastasia was probably my favorite, and I wish we had a bit more involvement from her.

Where the book sort of detracted stars from me, if we're going to put it that way, is in the pacing though if you've been here a long time you know that I'm quite picky about how fantasy books are paced. It is not as egregious as others I've read in 2024, but I do think the first half takes a bit of time to capture interest, but once you get to the 50% mark the interest in the story also picks up.

All in all, if this is a first title from bindery, I am really interested in the stories the are going to publish next.

4/5

And the Sky Bled
S. Hati

Amidst a dying city three rivals race to find a magic to save their city.
Finding magic might be the key to Zain’s freedom. The determined Iravan might be a slumlord but he is anticipating that the magic might save his people in the slums.
At the same time the heiress Anastasia guides the ruling class to an island close by seeking safety. With magic for herself she could finally rid her city of the slums once and for all. They all are searching for magic for their own gain and some will do anything for it.

I love fantasy books with multiple points of view. And all three of the characters were amazing. I loved this book, I would recommend it to anyone. I’m kind of bummed out that this is a standalone, I would have loved going father with the characters and story. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.


A big thank you to Bindery Books and NegGalley for this eARC in exchange for my review.

And The Sky Bled is a standalone climate-based South Asian influenced fantasy following three main characters as they navigate a dying world with. The rapid use of calor - a bloody liquid, that burns those who come into contact with it, (and a non-renewable resource), has led to an international shortage and the three characters are competing to find a rumored cache each for their own purpose. This book is great for those who love dystopian fiction, and series like Divergent and The Hunger Games, and looking at themes of power, oppression, class and race.

This book had a really strong plot/synopsis but I really struggled to get through the writing style. There's an important twist that I wish had been midway in the book instead of at the end

Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. I chose to DNF this book at 30%.

This book is a dystopian climate-change centered fantasy set in a dying city and controlled by colonizers who are hungry for the resource, calor. A rumored cache of calor drives three distinct individuals, a theif, a slumlord, and an heiress, to race and find the precious resource.

I loved the synopsis of this book, the focus on climate change, and the nuanced characters. I felt like character (depicted from their pov) each had a distinct motivation for their actions. However, the world building was hard to grasp, even when I restarted the book. In my opinion, the pacing at the beginning was too slow and convoluted to make sense, even for a reader who regularly reads fantasy books. Overall, this book was not for me but I do think that readers who enjoy complex fantasy worlds with diverse characters may enjoy!

thank you to netgalley for an arc of this book!

I had a really good time with this, especially with the characters. I enjoyed the fact they were all adults and clearly had history that was explored throughout the book and continued to affect them. the concept of the book is very interesting and I liked the new way of portraying how exploitation of the earth is beneficial for no one involved. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get started with books that have strong political intrigue but also want a good amount of action and tension.

I have a love/hate relationship with standalone and that might have some influence over my opinion of this book.
I left desiring more of that makes any sense. I feel in order to answer all the questions that the story propose I think this should have been a duology

Solid novel about environmental exploitation, all the people in the city playing against each other for how they can try to come out on top for the magical resource. The big thing behind this publisher is that they're essentially publishing books chosen by book influencers, but I will be very honest, I had a lot of long pauses between reading this one and frequently had to read back to try and figure out where I was and what was happening. Ended up not being quite for me, but I'm sure someone else will like it!

This is so close to being seriously excellent: the premise is epic, the worldbuilding is great, and the prose is, mostly, pretty readable.

Another pass from a good editor, and I think this could have been stellar.

What stops it being perfect is the writing, which is, mostly, pretty readable – but it’s also often overwrought. The wording is often ‘fancified’, with rarer synonyms replacing common verbs just often enough to be jarring and grating; ‘strode’ does mean ‘walked’, but there’s a good, albeit difficult to articulate, reason we don’t say ‘she strode over there’. There’s unfortunately a lot of this in this book, along with occasional instances of awkward or odd sentence structure.

The characters are also underdeveloped. All of them are defined by one or two traits and have no personality beyond that; they’re extremely two-dimensional. Two of them, the 23yo and the middle aged man, behave as if they’re much younger, and Anastasia is cartoonish in her overt villainy.

This is all super fixable; it would not have taken much effort to polish away. Which makes it extra grating, to be honest. This isn’t the first time I’ve been frustrated with a book from Bindery Books – I’ve DNFed every book of theirs that I’ve tried – and it’s not convincing me that their ‘unique’ publishing process works. Or at least, I wish they’d get some better editors on board – Sky Bled has real potential, Bindery was right about that. But it reads like an early draft, not a fully-developed novel ready to be published. Alas.

thanks to netgalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for a review!

ohhhhh the found family, oh it was so good. 100% the standout part of this book. great characters, and the relationship between them is so so interesting.

what lost some points for me was the pacing/structure. as others have pointed out, the three main characters are connected by a shared event from their past which is referenced CONSTANTLY by all three of them. the reveal is fun, but they teased it too much for it to have the weight i think that it was intended to.

An incredible fantasy novel about a city under colonial oppression and threatening climate disaster reaching its boiling point. Tension builds steadily, though through twists and turns, to an inevitable conclusion.

This book was such an immersive read. from being with 3 POVs to going through an unexpected chaos and ending with a long anticipated chaos.

And the Sky Bled follows Zain, Iravan, and Anastasia as they struggle in their own ways while the world is literally collapsing. Some people are fighting for a normal life, others are fighting for their greed and a bunch think that nothing can touch them. But the climate has changed and the effects are killing people. Is there a way to stop it?

I have been savouring this book ❤️ it grabbed me from the first chapter and didn’t let me go until I finished it 👀 I want to know more about the world and its climate and what caused them to get there (I get the idea from the book, but I want it to be a spin off 🤭). oh and I want to know how other lands are surviving (and thriving?) without calor!!! I need so many spin offs 😄

Thanks to Zoranne together with Fantasy & Frens imprint of Bindery and the author S. Hati for providing me with the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review. And thanks to NetGalley for facilitating it.

I knew going into this that it would either be a perfect book for me, or just miss the mark. Unfortunately this missed the mark for me. It was wonderfully written, but it was just a bit too dystopian. That is just an issue with my personal taste and not an issue with the book. I would absolutely recommend this to someone who loves dystopian fantasy.

3.5 rounded up. This book was fine. It had everything necessary to be great (politics, suspense, romance, greed, etc.), but it just was slightly off the mark for me. The book centered around the "secret", but instead of creating a buildup, it was just a bit messy and confusing. As a result, I didn't really connect with any characters, because the bulk of the story was centered around an event that was purposefully hid from the reader, and by the time it is revealed, I didn't care anymore. That being said, I really enjoyed the messaging driving the story along, especially given the current political landscape.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the eARC!

This is a richly woven climate fantasy in a world teetering on the brink of collapse. The story’s foundation—a dying city ruled by colonizers and powered by a magical fossil fuel derived from blood rains—is both imaginative and devastatingly poignant. This book does not pull its punches, throwing readers into a high-stakes race for survival, freedom, and power - depending on the character.

The world-building is one of the book’s strongest elements. The city feels alive, pulsing with tension and desperation. Hati unveils the intricacies of the setting and its history as the story unfolds instead of in a lore dump - which I really appreciated. While this method makes the world feel organic, it also requires focus from the reader. And despite using this technique, the details can occasionally feel overwhelming

The characters are a compelling but complex bunch. However, because the story rockets forward with constant, escalating action, there’s little time to linger on their emotions and really get to know them as much as I'd wanted. While their struggles and choices are fascinating, I found it hard to form a deep attachment to them—a critical ingredient for me to fully love a story. The shared history between the three adds depth but doesn’t quite hit the emotional peaks it could have because of that distance.

The breakneck pace is both a strength and a drawback. It makes the book hard to put down, but the nonstop action leaves little room for quieter moments of character exploration. Similarly, the ending feels less impactful than the buildup suggests. The stakes are enormous, yet most characters survive, making the conclusion feel less perilous than it seemed to promise.

Overall, this is a thought-provoking read with intricate world-building and a wonderful story. While it didn’t quite achieve the emotional resonance I crave, it’s undeniably creative. Perfect for readers who love explosive action and don’t mind working through dense, immersive details.

Thanks so Bindery and Netgalley for the complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

3.75/5 rounded up to 4/5

This is one of those books that I feel is perfect if you're ever in a reading slump- a standalone that is under 400 pages long but manages to have compelling characters with an interesting plot and a world that leaves you wanting to know everything about it. The book takes place in a country quite literally sucked dry by the environmental ramifications of colonialism- the violence inflicted on its people literally leaving a gaping wound above its sky which rains down blood that the invading forces harvest for power and deny the native people. We follow three perspectives, three characters all connected by one event which broke them all in different ways and irrevocably changed the path the city was heading towards for good. Anastasia, the daughter of one high-ranking councilmembers who seeks to crush the city beneath her heel after she was forced to flee in the wake of tragedy and betrayal, Iravan, one of the dons leading the city, desperate to realize the dream of freedom and stability for his people which slips further and further from his grasp every day, and Zain, a "leech" working under the dons while she struggles to face her past and untangle herself from the noose placed around her neck by one of the powerful dons controlling the city. The characters were probably the best part of this book for me- they were all fleshed out and compelling in their motives and the actions that they took to realize them, all of them fueled by a desperation that was only exasperated by the constant feeling while reading that everyone was rapidly running out of time.
The only portion of this book that I felt didn't work for me was that some moments felt like they didn't carry the amount of weight they should due to how quickly they passed and in the same vein some character relationships felt slightly hollow yet predictable due to there never really being focus on them in order to build them naturally. It often felt like some relationships developed simply because the characters were there and it was just the obvious thing to do, but there was no real buildup that made their realization feel satisfying. But since this wasn't really a huge focus of the book, it was never enough to actively bother me or keep me from enjoying the rest of this book- because there really is a lot to enjoy.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

In a city ruled by colonizers and suffocating under a six-month drought, three rivals race to find a hidden cache of magic that could save—or destroy—the crumbling world of Tejomaya. With themes of climate catastrophe, power, and resistance, And the Sky Bled is a bold, atmospheric debut that takes you on a dark, twisty adventure.

WHAT I LOVED:

The world-building: A city where magic comes from blood rains? Yes, please! The imagery is sharp, grotesque, and unforgettable.

The characters: Anastasia stole the show for me—morally grey, ruthless, and utterly fascinating.

The themes: A biting commentary on colonialism, environmental exploitation, and survival in a dying world. It’s heavy, thought-provoking, and so relevant.


WHAT FELL SHORT:

Pacing issues: The plot sometimes felt rushed, especially in the opening and the big reveal of the shared past event. It left me wanting more time with the characters and their relationships.

World-building gaps: The concept is brilliant, but I had lingering questions about calor and the political structure of Tejomaya.

Some emotional disconnect: While the characters were complex, the storytelling often “told” instead of “showed,” making it harder to connect with Zain and Iravan.


And the Sky Bled is fierce and ambitious, and for fans of political fantasy with dark, dystopian vibes, it’s worth the read! While it didn’t hit every mark for me, S. Hati’s debut is unique and full of potential. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on what they write next!

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for this ARC Copy!

I really like the idea of Bindery creating imprints for influencers because the influencers that I go to for book recommendations should be able to identify manuscripts that they know will be able to pick books that we will all love. This is the second book from the Bindery influencer program that I have read and so far I am really enjoying them. I do not think that this would have been a book that I would have picked up otherwise but I am glad that I did. It was different than my usual brand of fantasy and I was to say it was refreshing, but this book was far from refreshing, and that was the point. It really opened up opportunities for us to think about the dangers we face if we allow our climate to be destroyed.

In this fantasy standalone, we follow 3 MC’s who have been heavily impacted by a mysterious event/fire 10 years prior. While the story begins with the 3 separated, their journeys come together toward the end and are shown to have been intertwined from the beginning. This world is powered by an element that rains from the sky and is slowly being diminished due to climate change and overuse.

This book was okay. While I liked the overall premise and themes, the execution left much to be desired. I felt disconnected from the characters and from the plot. At times, I had difficulty remembering which POV I was reading from because they were all so similar. None of the MC’s were developed on a deeper level; it felt like they all had one thing that defined them and that’s it. I didn’t understand their motivations throughout the story and, at times, it felt like the author did not know either. While I read the book relatively quickly, I found myself forgetting what happened. Plus, the plot felt repetitive (Zain constantly talks about the mysterious event from 10 years ago, Anastasia always talks about how she doesn’t want to go back to the mainland because of what happened and puts on a tough act for others to make up for the event, and Iravan is jealous that his best friend has other friends). Some of the plot points also felt pretty rushed (like Zain and Theron’s relationship - I actually forgot why they initially worked together but then they were having feelings for each other so quickly and all of a sudden knew each other really well. It felt like the relationship was an after thought and because the two characters spent time together, it was enough for the relationship to develop). Overall, I enjoyed the overall premise but the execution of the plot and lack of character development made me feel disconnected and uninterested.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.