The Mourners: The Deadly Elite by Aminah Fox offers a unique twist on the dystopian genre with a rich, alternative historical backdrop. The premise—a world where the American Civil War ended in a stalemate, leading to a fractured nation governed by a fundamentalist regime—was intriguing and set up high expectations. Elide Hester, a mute protagonist navigating this harsh world, brings a refreshing layer of depth and representation.

The world-building is intricate, though at times overwhelming. Early on, I found myself struggling to keep up with the dense lore and the various roles and titles. It felt like I was dropped into the middle of a complex system without enough initial guidance. However, once I was maybe a third into the book, the pieces started to click into place, making it easier to immerse myself in the story.

Elide's character arc is a highlight. Watching her evolve from a reserved, studious individual into someone who begins to challenge the world around her is rewarding. The magic system, though initially confusing, becomes more engaging as Elide learns alongside the reader. The integration of her disability was handled thoughtfully, particularly how communication barriers shifted between her small village and the larger city.

That said, the story's pacing falters in the latter half. What began as a fresh, darkly academic narrative unfortunately veered into more familiar dystopian tropes. Elide's interactions with the enigmatic leader, the Apostate, started strong but became frustratingly tropey. By the time the climax rolled around, the plot twists felt predictable, and the resolution lacked the punch I was hoping for.

In summary, *The Mourners* has a compelling setup and some great ideas, but the execution falls short towards the end. It's a decent read for fans of dystopian fantasy, but it left me on the fence about picking up the sequel.

The Mourners: The Deadly Elite is book one in The Mourners series by Aminah Fox.
Woah, this was such a fascinating story.
I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. But goodness it was fantastic.
There setting is just phenomenal and Fox’s writing was incredible.
I was literally hanging onto every single word.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was a strong start to the Mourners series, it does a great job in bringing you into the world and how the characters worked in this universe. I enjoyed the alternate history going on and that it uses the dystopian fantasy element. Aminah Fox has a strong writing style and am excited for more in this series.

Another five star read this month!

This story is set over a century after the American Civil War, where the southern states became a separate nation. The head of the government is called the Apostate and his followers the Apolites. We get introduced to Elide (the FMC) at the most important moment of her life: all twenty-one-year-old Apolites have to take an aptitude test to be assigned their place in the pseudo-religious society. 
But nothing goes as planned and she is initiated in a deadly organization where she discoveres that nothing is as it seems. 

I love the dark academia setting in this story. The author did a really good job at describing the details of the school and city. 
It took me a while to get into the magic system but since it's all new for Elide too we get to learn right with her. The different types of magic were very well developed and presented through the story. All the different powers were similar but unique at the same time. 
The Mute representation was very thought out. In the beginning we get to see how hard it is for Elide because not a lot of people know Sign-Language in her little village. But as soon as she arrives in the big city she's able to communicate more because most people learned Sign-Language at some point in life.
Elides grows so much during the whole book. She starts as this shy and naive girl and turns into a strong woman who stops at nothing to change the world.

If your looking for a fast paced book with a fantastic plot: this is your book.

The book was published in 2022 and I can't believe I've never heard of this book before.

All in all a very good first book for a series. I can't wait to read the next book: The Harlots, which was published this summer. 

Thank you to @victoryeditingngc and @aminahsfox for the free copy.

When I started the book...I was confused by landscape, the titles and roles of the people, and kind of felt like I had missed a prequel or something that gave a better explanation of where I was in this world. I found myself using the search feature a lot to get a better understanding of people, places and things. After about 25% I felt I had a better grasp of the situation.

I did like the story and the author's writing style, but the story that started out pretty strong and pretty different kind of fell into cliched tropes as we got to the 70% mark. If Elide was supposed to be as strong as the Apostate then why was she putting up with his BS, type of thing. The end of the story was a let down and left me thinking I wasn't all that interested in exploring Harlots.