thank you so much to netgalley and blackstone publishing for the audio arc

i think the narrator is great and can definitely emote emotions and the book itself seemed interesting enough BUT after listening to the TWs and just the way it started off, i know it’s something that won’t be for me and i need to protect my peace and DNF this sadly. this is in no way, shape, or form a reflection on the author’s writing or the book itself as it had great potential, it is just for me; therefore i will give it a 3 star rating which is basically the middle as i feel it is not fair on the author if i rate it lower as they did give us TWs and explained what their aim with this dystopian read was

I thought this world was really, really interesting, if not rather awful in the things that are happening. It gives me an adult version of the Hunger Games mixed with colonialism and g*nocide. We follow two women of a colonized nation, Coa and Ife (I hope those are spelled right, I got them from other reviews and the blurb due to the audiobook copy meaning I've got no name spellings). This book deals with heavy topics in a well-written way, giving readers an engaging story while dealing with serious issues.

Coa is a laborer in a work camp run by the colonial nation, the Artic. They host a death game in which this time around they have selected her group of laborers. The cost of losing-not only her own life, but that of her family. I have mixed feelings about Coa at first, but as the story progressed I was held suspended in the action as she tried to escape and, baring that survive, while accompanied by a deserter and a rich colonizer who thinks this is all fake. Also, she has powers!

Then there is Ife, who was my favorite POV character. She is married to one of the colonial military members, acting on the inside to try and take down the colonial empire and protect her people and her loved ones. I found her story particularly exciting to follow, and after that twist at the end I can't wait to return to her.

I would definitely like to read this again, in a physical copy, as I will admit I had a little trouble following the audio book at first, as the swap in characters, while narrated by distinct voices, confused me a bit, as did moments when the story seemed to be in the past. But both the writing and narration is great. I think identifying the narrating character in the track header would've helped me with this, giving me a means to reference quickly.

Coa Rangecroft has been captured by the Allied Forces. Her punishment? She's to participate in the Great Hunt, and if she dies, so does her family. Meanwhile, Ife Stormbane,a Markarian princess married to the golden boy of the Allied Forces, has a plan to kill her husband for the pain he's caused her family.

It's hard for me to rate this book because I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. The beginning of this book is all over the place and super confusing. The story jumps all over the place, and it took a while before I could get into it. Coa was okay, a bit annoying, but I really liked Ife. There were some plot holes (like how was Coa captured and Ife's whole backstory), and confusing inconsistencies (like I thought they were all supposed to be POC but Coa says she's white passing, and I'm still not sure what Ife looks like). The world building is mostly missing which is a shame because in a Hunger Games style world, you'd think there'd be plenty of that. Anyway, I was mostly interested in Ife's story because it seemed to be more fleshed out. I just felt a distance from Coa that I couldn't breach.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Jesse Vilinsky and January LaVoy were amazing narrators and helped me enjoy the story way more than if I was just reading it.

I had no idea what was going on for a lot of this book, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks this based on other reviews. There is so much information given, but almost none of it is of any use to us as readers.

The explanation for why this Great Hunt is happening and no explanation for how Coa got to the labor camp from the North Transatlantic wilds where she was from. The motivations of Coa for whether she wants to survive the hunt or not swing on a pendulum so fast it will make you dizzy.

The only slightly redeeming part of this book was Ife, at least for the first 2/3 of the book. I could get behind her motivations and actions, but her story at the end of this book just made me so angry, it made no sense.

I also think the addition of the magic (that only Coa had for some reason) didn't fit with the rest of the story at all, and Coa only used it a few times and it was forgotten about most of the time. It would have fit better if maybe more characters had magic, or if there was an explanation as to why Coa was the only one to have it.

Overall, would not recommend as it is very hard to follow, and not enough of a history as to how everyone came to be in the situation that they are in.

2.5 Stars
So much potential!

While I appreciate the intriguing concept, I found that the story didn't flow seamlessly and there was quite a bit of info dumping. Despite a strong start, I struggled to fully engage with the novel.

Overall, not for me.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Akana Phenix, and Blackstone Publishing for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

I did not know we were publishing first drafts now, because there is no way in the world that was the finished version.

This book suffered deeply from the author having a big imagination but not the skill set to do the story any measure of justice. The first few chapters alone are a great indicator of the flaws to be found in this book that, in the right hands and given more time, could have been a very profound story. Instead we are given a story that bounces all over the place, is rife with massive info dumps and pages of exposition that often say nothing or contradict half the story, and leaves the reader with a hundred questions that are never answered. I read over 400 pages and a) do not know why Coa was in the Hunt to begin with and b) do not understand why the future leader of what is essentially a neo-nazi aryan race empire would marry the most vapid Black girl who has not presented herself with any value. So many things did not make sense and it tanked the story from the first chapter.

I will not be reading the rest of the series.

This book had a lot going on. I will say, you can tell that the author is creative and has an active imagination as seen through the worldbuilding of this book. Unfortunately, nothing came together strongly enough to make for a compelling or cohesive read.

There was a lot of worldbuilding – pages and pages of exposition explaining so many things that didn’t play a role in the plot or characters. But then there were instances when something was just thrown in with little or no explanation and left me wondering what exactly was going on. Some examples: the world itself is our world but it has been taken control of by the Allied Forces which includes all countries except the US and Britain, the Allied Forces are essentially Nazi-like people hanging out in the Arctic holding the Great Hunt (Hunger Games), some folks (mostly Africans) have magic, etc.

There were also many, many plot holes that were just too difficult to ignore. A couple non-spoiler examples: Coa decides to participate in the Great Hunt because they’re threatening to kill her family using DNA tracking, but Coa only has an adoptive family so…. Coa is also stated as having what sounds like a club foot, but aside from it being mentioned several times, it doesn’t impede her or cause her any issues during a very active Great Hunt. Character motivations were nonexistent (one kept fluctuating between telling soldiers to killer her then frantically trying to survive for her family) and they were majorly lacking in depth/development.

The author tried to tackle heavy and painful topics (genocide specifically) with this book, but it just didn’t work. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this one at all. My thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The writing and idea behind this book is super intriguing, but the book's execution left a lot to be desired. There were so many components to this story and its massive world building, with so many characters and history interwoven early onto the book, but there was very little information/backstory. I ultimately chose to DNF at the 15% mark because I simply couldn't keep up with everything going on with this book without more explanation. Maybe I would have finished this book if I read it as a physical copy rather than listened to an audiobook, but I simply could not continue. However, I do like this author's writing style, so I will read further books from her. Hopefully her next series will be a better fit for me.

The Empire Wars by Akana Phenix had a lot of potential with its ambitious world-building and complex themes, but it ultimately fell short for me. The story is packed with dystopian elements and touches on important issues like fascism and genocide, but the execution feels underdeveloped. The world is confusing, with too many divisions and unexplained elements, making it hard to keep track of what's happening.

The characters didn't resonate with me either; they felt two-dimensional, and I struggled to connect with their motivations. The competition aspect of the plot, which should have been thrilling, felt chaotic and underwhelming. While the author clearly has passion, the story needed more refinement and depth to really shine.

Overall, The Empire Wars has an interesting premise, but it didn’t quite deliver on its promise. If you're a fan of YA dystopian fiction, you might find some aspects intriguing, but it didn’t capture my interest as much as I had hoped.

This is one of the easiest 5 stars I've given a book, recently. The story telling is absolutely riveting, the characters you grow attached to very quickly, and the relevance to the real world, right now is absolutely everything. This book had me on edge and waiting to see what happened next. The performance of the audio is fantastic and I hope there is more to come with this story and these characters. I would definitely recommend this one!

while i haven’t seen this being compared to the hunger games, i do think this is one of the few books that deserve a comparison to it. a lot of hunger games comparisons have a deadly competition without the social commentary, but this had both.

we get the perspectives of coa, a forced participant in the hunt, and princess ife, who comes from a conquered nation and is hoping to take the empire down from the inside following her marriage to a man who ranks high in the allied force.

seeing these two different, yet similar, points of view helped put the whole story into perspective. i highly recommend this book, and i can’t wait for the sequel!

Thank you to Blackstone for my ALC in exchange for my review!

Genocide and hunger games vibes.
The fmc is like katniss….with all her emotions : awe , precipitation and love.
Arena and fighting is so competitive.