A fast-paced dark fantasy novella packed with political struggle and Slavic folklore.

Orsiana is a young heiress who loses everything when her father is murdered in a bloody coup. Desperate, she begs the gods for help and they respond with gifts which are as tricky and dangerous as the gods themselves. Alone in Abia - the town she lost - Orsiana needs to find allies and figure out how to beat her bloodthirsty uncle and reclaim her power.

In a little over 100 pages the author built a vivid, complex world of political struggle and tricky gods populated by plausible characters. The main character does a tremendous amount of growth - from a naive, sheltered girl to a savvy master player - and still remains relatable and sympathetic. There are no easy choices, no simple solutions and I love it how even the romantic subplot has a dose of pragmatism to it. It has a ring of a dark fairy tale, with beautiful, immersive prose and danger lurking under the surface.

This is the second book I read from this author and I am eager to see more.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Lovely novella that made me feel like I knew the characters well by the end of the first chapter. Going into this book I thought it would feel rushed based on how short it was but it never felt forced. Can’t wait to read more books by this author and about Abia.

"It is your destiny to be seen, little Orsiana. People will raise their eyes to your golden light, and they will look up to you, for wisdom, and guidance, and strength."

This book has a very interesting premise, however I believe this could've been executed in a more polished way. I think the chronology of events was a bit messy and the way the story ebbs and flows had many highs and lows, reaching its peak at the beginning of Chapter 2. To me, the pseudo-romance aspect of this novella felt a bit out of place and felt very rushed, with our quote-unquote love interest being introduced roughly at the 65~70% mark. I really enjoyed the scenes with the gods and I would have loved for not only those scenes, but for the rest of the story be more fleshed out and allow these characters to come across as more believable and human. Overall, I would rate this a rough 2.75 stars, however, in order to ease the reviewing process, it has been rounded to a 3 star rating.

4.5 stars.
I loved this snappy, poignant, action-packed novella. It's Incredibly well-done for the length.
I adored the world, the magic, and our main character, who has an immense amount of growth in just over a hundred pages.
The prose was great too, beautiful and evocative but easy to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ghost Orchid Press for the ARC.

I read this in one sitting and absolutely loved it. This novella had an insanely well-developed world and system of gods for being such a short read. Every moment was action-packed; there wasn’t really a time I felt like I could put it down!

Dunato’s writing is absolutely stunning. The novella reads very poetically, complementing the strong, immersive imagery throughout. The realms of the gods were one of my favorite parts - from the gem-encrusted caves, all the way to the healing pools, I could picture myself there.

As far as the storyline, Orsiana is a believable protagonist, which I loved. At no point did I feel like she was getting out of situations *too* easily - she used her wits, talents, and connections in a realistic way.

Overall, if you’re a fantasy reader that’s interested in a quick read that cuts through all the filler, features a believable FMC, and gorgeous writing, you *need* to pick up Ghost Apparent. I loved every bit of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ghost Orchid Press for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ghost Orchid Press for the arc! Hmm, this didn’t really do it for me. I didn’t find the mf too believable. She was trained to rule, but couldn’t employ any of those skills, and then at some point she just could? I feel like some things were told more than shown, and especially about her character. All the other aspects of this novella weren’t too special either. That being said, I liked the gods and their domains, the love one has for their city with the city loving them back, and the theme that men shouldn’t be centered. The story was easy to read and I read it in a single sitting, so was engaged enough to do so. All in all, that equals out to 3 stars.

I really liked this novella! I didn't expect it to be so action-packed and to have so many fantasy elements. The writing took me a bit to get used to as I felt some bits were overwritten, but I still enjoyed the story.

Orsiana is a believable protagonist, and I loved her character growth in such a short book. The world is quite well developed to say it's just over 100 pages long.

Overall, a great novella and I'm thankful to Netgalley and Ghost Orchid Press for the ARC