I powered through half a dozen books over my weekend. Two were graphic novels so it wasn’t quite an overkill of books. This was I fear the weakest of the lot. I may have simply not been the target audience but there were a lot of things that reminded me of things I’ve read before. More in overarching themes than specifics though. There was a lot of women are oppressed in this society books in the 70s and 80s fantasy I read. Men are oppressed in this one. Only not so much they can’t basically do whatever they want it seems. And it was pretty obvious pretty quickly that it was a fallen high tech world with either sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic or sufficiently advanced technology combined with hand waving psychic powers…. It wasn’t that it was bad. It just didn’t feel as fresh as I’d hoped. But if you like fallen high tech turned to magic societies it could be the one for you. I just can’t bring myself beyond a meh, next but I do devour books by the stack so…. I’m picky sometimes

Thank you so much to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Nightward as an ARC! This is my first time picking something up by R.S.A. Garcia, but the premise of this book intrigued me so much, I knew I had to give it a shot.

I think the concept of women warrior-magicians ruling the world is phenomenal, and I was really drawn to the Caribbean mythology influence. This novel is classified as "scifantasy", which is a term I haven't heard before (but love! I usually just say sci-fi/fantasy, but scifantasy is way more fun). Although I really enjoyed the fantasy elements, I found the sci-fi/technological bits to feel sort of out of place. I felt like there was a lot I didn't understand about the technological element of this book- and I think I would have preferred if it were fantasy only. Sci-fi as an added layer made things feel a bit too complicated and underexplained for this as the first book in a duology; of course, my opinion on this might change as some elements are expanded upon in the second book, but that is my initial thought.

This book relies pretty heavily on the "chosen one" trope with multiple characters, so if that isn't your thing, you may not be a fan of some of these plot points. I'll be interested to see how this story and these characters develop in the second book- R.S.A Garcia did pull out some twists and turns that I really didn't see coming. and I think there is a lot of growth potential for book 2. Overall, I rated this book as 3 out of 5 stars; if you're a fan of matriarchal societies, magic, and warriors who can mind-speak with animals (particularly warrior cats!), then this might be the book for you. The Nightward releases on October 15th!

3/5 ⭐️

This was pretty disappointing and I found myself wishing it was better as I was reading it. I'll start with the good, the world building. I thought the combination of magic systems, Caribbean mythos, and sci-fi high technology was really interesting and unique. Unfortunately, everything else fell a bit flat for me. The characters felt so one-dimensional and I never found myself caring about any of them. There were also a lot of jumps to different POVs and I kept getting confused who was the POV I was reading at times. The confusion also made it hard for me to really care about anything that was going on.

I think this book would have benefited from being maybe longer in order to give us more time to get to know the characters and the world. I don't know if I'll be continuing on with this series but I appreciate this debut by Garcia.

Thank you to NetGalley, R.S.A. Garcia, and Avon and Harper Voyager for my early access to this.

Holy world building, Batman! What an amazing debut! The Caribbean lore mixed with fantasy bordering on high fantasy is unique and refreshing. A familiar character dynamic for fans of The Witcher, but portrayed in a completely different way. Filled with angst, love, grief and strength, the plot is well paced and well thought out. Loved this!

"The Nightward" sounds like an intriguing blend of Caribbean mythology and fantasy! The premise of a princess on the run after her mother’s assassination definitely sets the stage for a gripping tale filled with suspense and emotional depth. I loved the idea of weaving in science fiction elements—it's a unique twist that enriched the world-building.

The dynamic between the princess and her bodyguard also provided well written character development, especially as they navigated the challenges of survival and the quest for revenge. The book thrives on rich storytelling and exploring themes of loyalty, identity, and resilience.

Another Fall 2024 SFF read by an author of color that I wanted to support, but the execution of which I found lacking.

Though THE NIGHTWARD is marketed as being inspired by Caribbean mythology, I got very little sense of unique place when reading. People and settings were described sporadically and vaguely, and I was left feeling like the words were always slipping out of my mind, unable to take shape into anything.

The narration chooses to give rivers long, stilted dialogue within which a ton of world-building information is dumped. As a result, I didn't feel like I got to know any of the characters; rather, they seemed to serve only as a vehicle through which Garcia was attempting to world-build. The characters all coalesced into nothing more than unsubtle archetypes: the crotchety, valiant guard; the young and immature tragic princess; the scheming magic tutor.

It's a great premise, but writing weaknesses meant I could not get into the story, and I was left feeling like I couldn't get a hold of the characters, the world, or what's at stake.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for allowing me to receive an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

The Nightward by R.S.A. Garcia has rich storytelling, likable characters, and amazing world building. I honestly cannot wait for the next book by this author!

DNF at ~40%

I love the idea of the book, but found myself struggling to stay engaged with the writing. The political and magic system seem like they should be very cool, and I'm always a fan of a matriarchial political scheme. However, I struggled with the way the world building is presented in the book with regards to how the kingdom works - a lot of terms with capital letters (the Hand, the Spellsayer, the Seat etc) are thrown in everywhere with not a lot of context or explanation.

The story is told from multiple POVs. While I normally don't mind this, I found the frequency and way that the POVs transitioned to be jarring - sometimes after only a few paragraphs and even a few times in the middle of a page with no indication of a break in text. The writing is straightforward but sometimes too simply. We get a lot of descriptions for things that don't feel necessary (like in depth description of one characters office), while having no real sense of what the climate or the town or even the forests look like.

I can see the comparisons to the Witcher in terms of story line and it also gives me Wakanda vibes with the elite female guard and the mix of magic and technology. This may be good for younger readers, or for reading aloud with a child in small bites where the simple language and change of POVs is less likely to be jarring.

Calling this now, this is going to be a stealth hit of the fall. I was already a sucker for the kind of palace intrigue the summary describes, and then with the full scale of the reveal of what the magic is in this world and what they are about to unleash, I was all the way in. The cliffhanger this book ends on is particularly cruel, but that just means it gets to go buck wild next book. Pick this up and enjoy the ride.

Wow, what a ride! This debut novel by R.S.A. Garcia is a scifantasy masterpiece that combines Caribbean mythology with The Witcher vibes. We're talking women warrior-magicians, child princesses, and bodyguards with secrets. Buckle up, folks!

Princess Viella is the Spirit of Gaiea, next in line to the throne, and a total wild child. She's got magic powers, but she'd rather play hooky than learn how to use them. That is, until her mom, the Queen, gets assassinated, and Viella's world goes dark.

Enter Luka, Viella's bodyguard, who's all about duty and protection. He's got his own secrets, though, and together they're on the run from some serious darkness. Think magic, tech, and a whole lot of action.

What I loved about this book:

- The world-building is insane! Garcia's got this whole Caribbean mythology-meets-scifi thing down pat.
- Viella's a total boss, even if she's just a kid. She's got spunk and magic, and I'm here for it.
- Luka's got depth, folks. He's not just a pretty face (though, let's be real, he probably is). He's got secrets and feelings, and I'm intrigued.

What I didn't love:

- It took me a hot second to get into the story. The beginning's a bit slow, but trust me, it picks up.
- Some of the tech-magic stuff went over my head. I mean, I got the gist, but the details were a bit fuzzy.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an arc of this book. Unfortunately, this book had a really great sounding premise, but it was such a struggle to get through. There was so much talking, not enough action, and you would think with how much talking and strategizing they were doing, they would explain what is going on well. It just didn't happen. Nothing really happened or was really fully explained until about 65% into the story, which is way too long to take off. When the action started to happen, it was interesting, but short-lived, and by that time, I just didn't care. The characters were not that interesting either, with no emotional investment whatsoever. Then there was some random mix of Sci-fi thrown in towards the end of the book, which if done correctly can be good, but it was so far left field and out of place I was just genuinely confused. Random input of real-life social issues are also unnecessary in a fantasy book and take you out of the escape from reality reading is supposed to provide. I don't think I'll be reading the second one when it's released late next year, and I cannot suggest this read.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for giving me early access to this book! All opinions are my own.

I made it 9% before I had to DNF this. The writing style was boring, and didn’t make any sense. Even though I had read many pages, I still had no idea what most of the terms actually meant. Overall very disappointed, I was extremely excited to read this but it just fell flat. 1⭐️

Incredibly inventive and fun, this book seamlessly melds fantasy with science fiction in the most intriguing of ways. It starts off as what seems like a purely secondary=world fantasy, but then along come some hints and clues--and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book to find out how these things are linked, because I'm hooked!

"Nightward" starts with a bang, too. From the start, you're thrown into a full-blown world, with new terms and categories and such, which I love! And while you may wait a while for some of those terms to be described, never fear--they are. And those descriptions only made the plot more twisty and inventive. The author's mastery of plot and voice carried me through any discomfort from my "unknowing."Tthe varying points of view are well-chosen and clear, with each definitely a real person.

But that ending! It's a fast race as so many things come to a head, and more secrets are revealed...and yet there's another whole book to come! More secrets, more turn-abouts, more character revelations. I can't wait!

You'll love this book if you like distinctive secondary world fantasies, political intrigue, unique magic systems, and inclusive world=building.

This is a hard one to review. When it comes right down to it, I wasn't interested enough to continue after reading about 30% of the book.

Why not? The book has a lot going for it. There's a lushly imagined world, a matriarchal society beginning to make moves for masculine equality, a magic system, giant intelligent felines that can be ridden.

I think I wanted just a little more explanation for most of those things. The book blurb says that the culture is based on Caribbean folklore but I couldn't discern any. I'm not an expert in Caribbean folklore by any means but if that's how the book is being marketed it probably needs to be more obvious for people like me.

I liked our princess character and her soldier guardian but I felt like I was being held at arms' length from them. I didn't have a real sense of how magic worked in this world so I had no basis for comparison to see if a magical act was powerful, unusual, forbidden, unless the book came out and told me, which it often didn't.

It seemed like this book was about to be one big chase scene. The princess and her guard were on the run, ran across various people and then kept running. I was never sure just how dangerous their pursuers were or how long it would be before they caught up. I never got to attach to any other characters either because they were all left behind.

There is a lot of potential here, but the book felt dreamlike and nebulous and I needed more information.

thanks to netgalley for providing me with a arc of this book in exchange for a review!

first of all this cover!!! so beautiful and definitely drew me into requesting an arc of this. the nightward takes place in a rich world blending medieval fantasy and some mysterious science fiction elements. the world these characters in is deep and complex, from the way magic works, to the creatures, and the political upheaval that begins right at the start of the book and races all of the way through (and thankfully the readers get a pov of every angle!). luka is the standout character of the book for me, and i actively looked forward to the parts about his relationships with both viella and eleanor. i'm really excited to see what he and viella get to do in the sequel to this book!

I love R.S.A. Garcia's writing, and I liked this pretty well. There are maybe too many characters, and I would have liked to have a firmer grasp on what was happening by the end of the book -- I know this is the first in a trilogy, but it feels like this first book spends most of the time just getting started.

Going into this book I believed it was a fantasy book and was excited to see what would happen based off of some reviews I had seen. I thought the story and the world building were great. I did wish there was a little more explaining of the magic system at the start of the book, but I understand why it was explained later and it meshed well with the story line.
You do follow three main groups of characters in this story (the good guys, the bad guys, and the soldiers). I definitely like following the story of the god and bad guys and was not a huge fan of following the soldiers. I felt that at some points during the soldier’s story line was very slow and because the chapters are so long and you get a glimpse at all story line in each one, it can feel like the story is dragging.
I LOVED reading a story the follows a matriarchal society and seeing how scenarios play out when the gender with power is switched. I hope the differences in magic for women and men is discussed more in the next book.
I am excited to see what happens in the second book!

I had so many thoughts about the early part of this book — nitpicks on how the names didn’t seem to make sense or work together, some of the terminology — and then a thing happened and turned all of that sideways. This is a book with skillful world building seen through the eyes of a child who has just seen her mother murdered, her teenage bodyguard (he’s 19), the villains and a few side characters. As such, much of the story is heavily skewed because Viella doesn't understand what’s going on, Luka is very much in his thoughts and his pride, and the villains are trying to manipulate everyone around them.

The mythology of this world feels rich and real, the matriarchal culture and magic system had a great deal of thought put into them; they’re not just a reskinned monarchy. Everything and all of it comes together in an easy, understandable way and that — combined with the writing and solid pace — made this a fun read. The only reason it took me two days to finish is because I had to go to bed halfway through the book.

Because it’s the first book in a series there’s also a focus on setting things up, overly explaining some of the reasons behind the villains, the evils, the monsters, but it’s all done organically through conversations and revelations with no weight info dumps or long, exposition laden speeches. I had fun with this book and am very much looking forward to the next one!

Thank you very much to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC.

You know what? I just don’t want to read this any more. I’m a bit sad about it, because this was one of my most-anticipated books – I was RABID to read it! But. I’m bored, and I don’t care, and there are some objectively cool things going on that are just not grabbing me, for some reason. I made it to 38%; that’s a lot more than my usual cut-off point, at 20%. But the extra pages didn’t make a difference for me.

The writing is fine: very readable, very easy, but nothing special, and lacking the lushness I’m always hoping for. The magic is so simplistic. As is the matriarchy I was so excited about; women are warriors, men are oppressed (and also warriors), Oh No. (Not that we see said oppression? There’s some semi-nasty comments about men from literally one person, and it’s implied that men aren’t taught as much magic, but 38% of the way through this book I still didn’t know how men are oppressed – I was just told, not shown, that they were. Can they not inherit property? Are they banned from certain professions? Are they objectified, does the law not recognise that men can be raped by women, are they considered less intelligent, what???)(For that matter, I don’t get how this is a matriarchy; we have queens, and women warriors, but men are warriors too, and if you made all the women into men you’d never spot the difference from a generic Fantasy patriarchy, this is boring and also stupid.) Of course it’s an Evil Man who murders the queen and steals the throne (albeit not for himself); of course his partner is a woman who feels she was passed over as queen. And where is the Caribbean influence? So much of this set-up seems ripped directly from the (historically INaccurate) collective hallucination that is SFF’s idea of Medieval Europe. (Dressing characters in saris and having warrior women named after the Dahomey Amazons is just set-dressing, not fundamental worldbuilding.) And why do you even HAVE princesses/princes when the monarchy isn’t hereditary? Why is the Queen Mother a position of influence when she wasn’t chosen as queen, her daughter was? This whole set-up should be wildly different; the worldbuilding is so inconsistent, it doesn’t fit together, ARGH.

(And why Gaiea? Why? That’s such a fucking cliche. I disapprove of cringe culture immensely, but folx, anyone using Gaia/Gaiea as an All-Goddess figure in a secondary world setting makes me cringe so hard.)(I got excited for this book before there was a blurb, okay, I didn’t know.)

Bonus, stupid contradictory details, like someone moving ‘soundlessly’ despite being decked in anklets and bracelets. OKAY. Or – again, in a secondary world setting, where names I recognise SHOULD NOT EXIST – names like Sophia and Frances and Elise existing right alongside Viella and Valan. Or, supposedly experienced warriors thinking it’s better to remove an arrow still in the wound, when that is the thing you must absolutely not do until you’re with a doctor who can deal with it; and seriously suggesting that TWO PEOPLE are enough to get the queen where she needs to go while her queendom’s under threat

THAT BEING SAID.

It’s clear that there is a huge, world-changing mystery lying beneath Gailand’s history; the magical portals are actually teleportation technology, and the oraculars are something like mobile phones + holograms. ‘Property of Genetech’ is a gigantic clue that Something Is Up. Gailand’s legends have Gaiea overthrowing ‘the Masters’ – perhaps some corporation or other entity that set up Gailand as an experiment, or some kind of wildlife reserve, or something even stranger. And yet, the Dark is objectively real, so this IS a matter of demons and magic too. This should be SO INCREDIBLY INTERESTING, and for the right reader, it absolutely will be.

But not for me. The story moves quickly, but not in a direction I cared about; the clues for What Is Up were coming far too slowly to hold my interest. The worldbuilding does not hold up in my eyes, so I don’t really care about it for its own sake. And the characters are nice, sure, but bland. Nothing about them stands out: honourable warrior, honourable warrior, 9 year old whose maturity spikes and dips from moment to moment (although to be fair, she’s been through a lot recently, which would mess up most 9yos). I suspect Luka might not be cis, but it’s already clear that Gailand has no room for nonbinary people and I’m not interested in seeing Luka have to fight for acceptance on that front as well (he’s already lesser because, you know, man in a matriarchy).

It just…all fell so flat. Maybe Nightward becomes EPIC in the second half, maybe we would learn more about Genetech and the reveal will be SO COOL…but that’s just not enough of an incentive when the first half is so meh, when I don’t care about the cast, when the worldbuilding bores and annoys me.

Some readers will love this, undoubtedly. I’m sad I’m not one of them.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one was weird. I can solidly get behind the basic plot, that was fine. The main characters were great, and I loved the relationship between Luka and Viella. The matriarchal society was a refreshing take on the issue of the gender binary, presenting many of the same issues seen in patriarchal societies, and reminding the reader why either extreme is generally bad. On that topic, the cultural gender split between male/female magic users was confusing at first, but slowly made sense the more the reader learned about the world.

Where the book starts to lose me is in the side characters. So many side characters and points of view. So many names to pay attention to that belong to almost identical people with almost identical roles, at some point I completely forgot who was who. POVs could have been trimmed substantially and nothing in the story would have been lost.

A few other reviews I’ve read mention this is a world-building book, and that I can understand. There is a lot of lore built and history told, and hints of what that history might actually be. By the end, I think I came to the conclusion that The Nightward is more of a prequel than the first book in a series, and that I would probably enjoy the book more had I read it after the rest of the story. Overall, 3.5/5