This book has an interesting class system and I like the small glossary at the beginning. I also like the story's premise that someone of a lower class is struggling and it is what we would consider a severe issue and she is the hero of the story. Overall I think this is an interesting storyline and a good read.

A young woman is pulled into a larger plot to forever-alter the city she lives in. She loses and gains friends along the way while struggling to fight an addiction that grips her mind and body.

I initially started off very intrigued by the prologue and felt it intermixed lore with the action without weighing down the story. I also thought it did an excellent job of introducing lore in ways that made sense in the context, not just info-dumping to the reader. I liked the blend of action and dialogue throughout.

In this book, I enjoyed most of the characters, even the ones who were intended to be unlikeable. They all made choices that suited their personalities. I very much liked the use of multiple POVs. However, I did struggle to care about any of the characters; while I enjoyed their banter, discussions, and decision-making, I did not feel attached to any of them (except for one who was not even the main character).

I also struggled with picturing the settings in the book. The overall atmosphere was captured well enough, but I could not describe any of the settings mentioned if asked to do so, other than a very general description (desert, desert town, etc.).

There was one major surprise in the book that I did not expect until a few pages before it was revealed so I enjoyed that. Otherwise, the rest of the story was straight forward.

I would recommend this book to readers who focus on the action and plot of the story, not on the politics, inter-workings, deep lore of a fantasy book. Personally, this made the book hard for me to stay interested in because I regularly had many questions about how certain pieces of the story fit into the larger world it was set in and why certain things mattered or did not matter. The complexity provided in the back cover description and the map at the start of the book led me to believe that the settings, races, characters, and politics would be more fleshed out than they were.

Overall, this book did not suit my reading tastes, but I do think a younger me would have enjoyed it more.

I devoured this book in one sitting, utterly captivated by the author's masterful storytelling and meticulous attention to detail. The richly imagined world, with its awe-inspiring scope and intricate complexity, completely enthralled me. Fans of dark fantasy will find this action-packed Young Adult novel an irresistible delight, filled with pulse-pounding suspense and unrelenting intrigue. With its innovative narrative and immersive depth, this book is an absolute must-read for those who crave the darker side of the genre.

NetGalley Review

Star Rating: ★★★★★

I'm not done with this book yet, but unless the author just throws a curveball from left field at me and does something stupid I think this is going to end up being a fairly solid read. Maybe not my most favorite of all time, which is why I hesitate to give it 5 stars. Though as I think about it, it's probably closer to a 4.5 which would be okay to show as a 5 star. Also, it doesn't hurt that the author only has a few books on Goodreads so I don't mind giving a 5 star as opposed to a 4 star.

Like always though, read it and decide for yourself

So that was quite a ride I wasn't expecting and I did love every bit of it, loved the story, love the world built is definitly what we call Dark Fantasy and it's YA so no big ideas there also the book is perfect the way it is.. it has druids that should be enough

This book was such a vibe! Omg I couldn't put this book down for a second. So so sooo good omg. I rated it 4 stars and I recommend everyone to read this book asap.

This was such a unique read! The worldbuilding is so cool and imaginative and I was so immersed. I really loved the characters, especially Ferra. This is a YA dark fantasy but I believe both young adults and adults would enjoy it! Definitely have to buy a physical copy for my shelf

**When the last free city faces annihilation by an army of stone automatons, a teenage addict must step up as its unlikely savior.**

For a millennia, the desert city of Perlenstadt has withstood siege from an army of mindless stone-men called felschecs. It is perhaps the only city on the continent to have remained free of the felschec armies and their masters, owing to the fact that the sister-druids Ada and Duera built it specifically for this purpose.

But nothing lasts forever. When a pirate is captured in a distant march, he offers information in exchange for his freedom. Information that allows the felschecs to finally break the stalemated siege.

The druid elders of Perlenstadt rush to muster a group of volunteers to fight alongside them and their gelda, tree creatures made to grow in the form of humans. One of these volunteers is a young girl named Ferra, convinced to join as a last resort to save her family from a disaster of her own creation.

The residents of Perlenstadt have one goal: find and kill the leader of the felschec army. But when they venture beyond their own walls, they discover that the world isn’t nearly so black-and-white.

*Elegy of Flesh and Blood* is an action-packed Young Adult Dark Fantasy, perfect for readers of the *Nevernight* series and *Gideon the Ninth*. Follow the inhabitants of Perlenstadt as they fight for survival against those who see little difference between humanity and the soulless automatons at their command.