TL;DR Review: Fascinating worldbuilding, high-stakes adventure, and a subtly, well-crafted message about climate change.

Full Review:
It’s safe to say that I have never read a story set in a world quite as creative as this one!
And the Sky Bled takes place in a (nameless) world where the skies don’t rain water, but blood. And yes, I do mean that literally.
At some point in the history of the world, humanity learned how to extract a form of magic called “calor” from not only the earth, but also the skies. That magic powers everything—from their flying ships to their homes and water systems—and so, true to human nature, so much calor was extracted that it has led to the total deterioration of the environment.
Now, when the skies bleed, the “bloodrain” is collected by giant funnels and transported to turbines that process it and extract the few drops of calor that remain.
This is where our story begins, following Zain, a young woman working with a group of street-level criminals to steal the calor that is tightly regulated by the government that has conquered her city. She barely gets enough to “pay her dues”, and you can feel her desperation as she tries to find ways to get more—not only to survive, but to help the people around her who are in just as dire straights.
We’re also introduced to Anastasia, the head of the conquering government. From her perspective, we get a great look at how this world is run, who is in charge, and all the political squabbling that results from such scarcity of so many basic human necessities.
Finally, we meet Iravan, one of the “dons” who control the street gangs stealing the calor. He doesn’t do it to gain power (or not only), but he is portrayed as a decent man who is trying to do what’s best for his people, to help them the only way he knows how.
But as we soon learn, there is more tying these three together—we just won’t find out exactly what until much, much later in the book.
There was a lot to love about And the Sky Bled.
The world put me in mind of a sprawling city on the Indian subcontinent (Kolkata or New Delhi), with everything from crumbling slums to opulent palaces. There is very much a hint of “British Empire” in the conquerors who have subjugated the people of Tejomaya, but not so much to be overt.
And the Sky Bled is “climate fiction” (cli-fi), showing a very real possibility of how bad things on our Earth could get as a result of humanity’s excesses. Yet at no point did that come across as “preachy” or shoved in my face—it was simply an element in the story that served as a poignant object lesson in the background, but didn’t override the characters’ individual stories.
The characters were complex, complicated, and enmeshed in their own troubles—many of which were connected—and through their perspectives, we get to see this world that is slowly deteriorating.
The pace is slow and steady, the action scenes are simple but well done, the emotions are raw, and the colors are vivid and vibrant. While it’s not a perfect book (I had a hard time connecting with some of the characters, and so much of the world needed further explanation to really anchor me), it’s definitely a reading experience I will never forget.

S. Hati's debut novel, And The Sky Bled, a dystopian climate fantasy, is simultaneously terrifying and breathtaking. In a world sheared apart, quite literally, by a magical fossil fuel called calor, three unlikely allies race against the clock to search for a hidden cache of calor, which may just save their lives or destroy them.

I quite enjoyed this very ambitious novel. The world was vast and well-thought-out, although was at times hard to understand. The worldbuilding was quite expansive and so was quite confusing in the beginning, but once I understood who the characters were, which factions were vying for power, and what calor was, etc., it got more enjoyable. This is partly par for the course in a fantasy novel, especially one that is a standalone. The imagery was absolutely breathtaking and so vivid in my mind.

The characters were distinct and memorable, and their backstories were extremely well woven throughout the entire storyline. I loved that everyone was intertwined in some way, even though their storylines didn't cross over much in the present timeline (until the end). The slow unraveling and revealing of their backstories was very well done, although sometimes felt slow. I had a lot of frustration with each of these characters at different times throughout, but the reasons why were very reasonable; they had each gone through a trauma that had literally rewired their brains, and only by reading more did we fully realize why they made the decisions they did.

I quite liked the romantic subplots and really loved the conclusion of the story.

I have been following Zoranne and her Bindery journey all the way through and am thrilled that I was able to be in some way involved; I will definitely be looking out for more from S. Hati and am so excited this was one of the first Bindery projects!

*I received this eARC from NetGalley and am providing an honest review.*

I think this would have been better as a duology. As it is, it's fine. The premise is interesting, but I'm not sure it's executed very well in this single volume format. I would have liked more build-up for certain things, and for the explosive events of the second half of the book to be expanded a bit more. The third act love story was predictable and honestly not necessary for the story; it almost felt like an afterthought. I'll read more from this author because she does have a way of crafting a beautiful sentence.

Thank you to Bindery and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC!

I liked the premise a lot and the set up, however it just didn’t work for me because I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. They were just blend all together.
I think though that this book will get a lot of audience as it reminds me lot of the apocalyptic books from like 10 years ago and surely will get an hype.
From me 3 stars and would recommend.

I enjoyed this book overall, however some of the relationships between the characters and overall world building felt lacking, which did lead to confusion at times, though I believe this may have been intentional. I also found some of rhe characters to be quite childish, like the ones you'd get in a YA book, so I was a little thrown off when I found out they were adults with kids. The plot and interactions between the characters are quite fun and easy to read. In total its a nice short dystopian novel.

This was such a lovely choice for Bindery. I am so incredibly excited to see what S. Hati does next!

And the Sky Bled is a powerful glimpse at colonialism, reliance on fossil fuels, and the impacts of divides amongst community. This story follows multiple perspectives, though all written in 3rd person, that lead you through the story of the community as a whole.
It becomes clear how the colonialism has impacted the well being of the ancestors of the colonizers and the colonized alike.

Structurally, what I loved most about the book is the chapter lengths representing the intensity of the story. There are not really any epic battles in this story, but the tension and intensity of the story are shown through the rapid changing in the chapters leading to the climax of the story.

This book meshes the hard to read truths and the hard to put down beautifully.

DNF'd at 30%

This book had so much potential but I felt like if you are going to drop in the middle of the world with Characters I have not attachment to I think it could have been handled better. I do think this will work for some readers but it didn't work for me.

Thank you Bindery and NetGalley for this ARC!

I will start off by saying the premise for this book made me believe this was going to be one of my favorite books of the year. All of the elements that make up the story looked so incredibly good with an environmental fantasy, told with multiple POVs, messy characters, government and corporate corruption, and revolution. Unfortunately this missed the mark for me.

The world building was extremely sparse, there was barely any information about the government entities and their level of corruption, and the characters’ backstory were revealed so late in the book that I just didn’t care by the time we got there. I had been very excited about the fact that S. Hati has a Master’s degree in STEM (specifically biotechnology) and figured there would be a well-built science/magic hybrid system that would be delved into throughout the story, but all that was offered was base-level explanations that the world needs a substance called calor for energy and one colonizing government has sucked the sky dry of it which is causing the environment to suffer. I finished the book with so many questions about what it actually was that by the end I was just frustrated. A further frustration lies with a lack of understanding how all of the other countries were connected and what their roles were. Most of the other countries mentioned should have been big plot points but were only there to serve convenient solutions toward the end.

Now for the reading experience itself, I would have DNF’d this after reaching 25% because I was so bored and cared about none of the characters. As a reader, being dumped into a situation with three main POVs, there needs to be some character building, but I just felt like none of the characters had a personality until after halfway through the book. There was a lot of telling the reader what the character is like instead of actually showing the character and it was underwhelming. Then for the political intrigue, the two characters who would have had ample access to witness and be involved in the politics did nothing and witnessed nothing until the very end. They made notes of the environment changing and what they were seeing, but everything was happening around them and they essentially were doing nothing.

Since I’ve ranted because I was so let down, I do want to end it on a slightly positive note. I think this book still did have good bones. In my opinion, it seemed like it suffered from massive over-editing making the story disjointed and missing key components. I would have fully appreciated it more if it had been longer so more of the world, magic/science, and characters could have been fleshed out. Also, after about 55% the action sequences really stepped up the interest of the book and are the reason why I finished it in the first place and brought my rating to 3 stars. It did help that following these sequences the characters started having real personalities and some of their vague motivations became clearer. I would be hesitant to read anything more from this author later, but I wouldn’t rule them out completely.

And the sky bled really renewed my faith in the fantasy genre (though be warned it’s very low fantasy really just a small bit of magic and I’d say it’s more apocalyptic/post apocalyptic). I’ve been a bit burned out on the genre lately but And the Sky Bled sucked me in from the first chapter. I loved getting POVs from characters who are obviously working against each-other making you question their perspectives and motives throughout. Mostly I just thought it was a gripping story, trying to figure out who of the three would be successful and how they all would connect in the end- and I was not disappointed. I will say it’s definitely plot driven and I did wish we got a little more character development and insight as we went. && There were a couple answers that had plagued the characters and drove the book that I felt were wrapped up quickly for the amount the plot relied on them- if anything I wished she had hashed these out into a duology and was a little disappointed when I realized it wasn’t going to be. Overall I loved it though and will definitely be reading more S. Hati in the future!

And the Sky Bled is told from three different POVs as various factions in the fictional city of Tejomaya vie for the essential substance calor which is used to power their world. As the city begins to face a calor shortage and the ramifications of over use of calor, our three main characters will have to contend with their tragic pasts and figure out a way to the future.

So I'm not going to lie, this book was kind of a mess. Hati tried to accomplish way, way too much in one book instead of expanding this story into a duology or trilogy. As a result, I spent the vast majority of the book confused about basic world building elements and character motivations. I.e. Why is the sky bleeding? Where did calor come from prior to the rift above Tejomaya? How did no one know about the negative environmental effects despite it being used for centuries to power advanced technology? Who are the Urjan prophets and what is their role in their home land? Why would Charvi take an untested substance that she knows is toxic and leave her daughter alone in the middle of a violent coup? There was so much that didn't make sense.

The characters did not get any real development or story arcs either. Too much of their pasts were hinted at and not explored thoroughly enough. I don't think it's necessary for an author to spill everything out. However, fleshing out a character and their past allows the reader to understand who the characters are and where they are going in the story. I didn't feel attached to any of the characters as they were so flat. The story tells you various facts about them that should have been shown instead with some reveals coming late in the book that should have come earlier for them to have any meaningful impact. The romantic relationship between Zain and Theron rubbed me the wrong way. He was verbally abusive to her and then he is a love interest in like three days?

I also don't think the plot knew what it was doing. I had no idea where the story was going or what I was supposed to be taking from it. I kind of understood what the themes were meant to be but it was so poorly done that again, I just didn't care. There seems to be some attempt at political intrigue but again, it was not well written enough to leave an impact. It's a shame because there were kernels of good ideas in this book that could have been expanded upon and improved with several more rounds of edits.

Reviews going live on Goodreads, Storygraph and Fable on 10/8. Will post review on Tiktok on 10/11.

This books biggest vice is that it is just boring. I didn't feel overly attached to the plot or anything really. However I do think this book has promise, and that some things were executed really well. Overall I gave this book a 2.5 rounded to a 3.

What I like about this book:
1. I love eco-fantasy, and this books shows how dependence on fossil fuels impacts poor communities better than almost any I have read.
2. The depiction of community here is really effective. Every character in this book is incredibly flawed, but they rely on each other in ways that in the end allows for hope.
3. The writing is quite beautiful. The author does a good job of creating imagery that is dark and grimy in the best way.
4. I think the author nailed the ending.

What I did not like:
1. The world building is clunky for most of the book. Particularly at the beginning, it’s very difficult to get a good grasp on how everything connects together or to keep track of the large number of characters.
2. Related to number one, there are a lot of back stories that are hinted at but we don’t get a clear idea how they relate to the main story until almost literally the last page. I’m meant to be invested in how the characters have betrayed each other, but I don’t actually know what that betrayal is.

I am giving this a soft rating of 4 stars because it’s obvious the author has talent. I look forward to seeing what they do next.

An exciting, if somewhat formulaic, mod fantasy. The core protagonists are appealing and sympathetic, yet manage to be complex enough to carry the high-concept premise. Hati deftly incorporates their colonial narrative. There is quite a lot of magic system "buy-in" early on - which is always a small turn off for me. But lore junkies will appreciate its novelty.

More dystopian sci-fi than fantasy, this novel is just as much about colonialism as it is about climate change. To me, when I think fantasy, I think magic and mythical creatures, of which this book has none, which is why I lean more towards the dystopian sci-fi label. This story left me with lots to ponder; however, the story and characters fell flat for me.

I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters and they felt one dimensional. There's a love story thrown into the mix in the last half that kind of crept up on me and didn't feel genuine. The story of the fire was also not revealed until the very last minute and the build up to the reveal felt too drawn out and honestly annoying; and we didn't get to see a lot of the fall out of the reveal.

Storywise, I spent a lot of the book confused about what was happening and was not invested too much in the story. I'm still confused about how the rift in the sky happened. I just spent most of the book trying to figure out what was happening, the backstory, and The book also feels like a murder mystery if finding calor is the murder.

Overall, I'd give the overall idea and themes 4 stars but the story and characters 2 stars. This book isn't for everybody, but I do think some people will enjoy it and it will leave you with lots to think about.

Review goes live October 10

I typically find myself reading series for both fantasy and romance. It can be a little exhausting to keep up with releases if it's a currently ongoing series or read the entire series if all the installments are published. So, a standalone can be the perfect way to change pace.

'And the Sky Bled' by S. Hati is a South-Asian (!) climate fantasy with a dystopian lens on the effects of the destruction of our natural world, and it's worsening through colonization, power imbalances, corruption, and colonial violence. All of these things are connected. The occupied city of Tejomaya is fighting for survival while their occupiers fight to obtain more and more of the precious fossil fuel, Calor, for their lavish lives at the expense of those living in the slums. In fact, there is a scene where the folks in the slums are experiencing a firestorm, and it's absolutely hell fire down upon them. Instead of helping, the colonizer's police faction take the time to arrest citizens they believe stole fuel from their stores.

Now, I wonder why that sounds so familiar. This is an incredibly timely story, and I urge many to read it and continue connecting the dots between art, life, and politics. Art is and always will be political.

This is the first time I've read a climate fantasy. I've since learned climate fantasy fiction (cli-fi!) is way scarier than any horror book will ever be for me. There's an element of experiencing the potential (further) descent of our own world through the pages that give me goosebumps.

'And the Sky Bled' has very strong character writing, especially the main POV characters. The way they're all connected to each other is done extremely well. Also, none of the main characters are teenagers! They range from 23 - 40. Can't tell you how refreshing it is to not read about 17 - 19 year olds doing death-defying acts. Like I'm aging, I need the characters to age up with me! I'm so glad this book reached me at the perfect time.

Thank you so much @coloredpagesbt @bindery_books and @shatiwrites for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book!

I find this a bit unreadable. Big overuse of adjectives to describe every little last thing. The back story is doled out through the most painful clipped conversations between characters in a way that no two humans would talk to each other. Nothing about this is grabbing me in any way and I cannot risk this putting me into another reading slump.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of power. Who has it, who wants it and who needs it.
Calor is the lifeblood of the country. Coming from the sky's blood rain, only one place still experiences the rainfall and so is the epicenter of the story. Our 3 main characters are intertwined in the struggle for the power to find and use calor for their own agenda. They also share a history, one that, before the end, will shatter all their lives.
A wonderful first novel!

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Bindery for the ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bindery Books for the ARC. I didn't really connect with any of the characters nor was I invested in the plot.

I wanted to like this book. In the beginning, it gave me strong YA dystopian vibes from around 10-15 years ago. Think Caragh O'Brien's Birthmarked, Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns (fantasy but great), or--to a lesser degree--the Divergent series. The writing felt well-balanced between sufficient world-building, brisk pace, and character development. The concept of the sky "raining" a valuable blood-like resource, and having a society of haves and have-nots being built around access and possession to this resource, seemed like it was going to be riveting.

Unfortunately, as the chapters went on, I felt that the building up of empathy for each character began to be shunted aside for cheaply dramatic events, usually in the form of supposedly tense interactions between characters or, in one instance, a firestorm (?) that erupts from the sky. The (melo)drama felt contrived; I felt like I was reading <b>a novelization of some done-before apocalypse film</b>, minus the details that would help me stay invested. I wanted to empathize with the three main characters, but neither of them felt fully fleshed out, leaving me to have trouble distinguishing between their voices and circumstances.

Decent premise, good enough writing, but lacking in the emotional investment I want from my reads.