Aerie

This book is a coming of age story centered around an unique and beautiful mythology. You can tell that the basis for the culture is early Native American but it has enough of its own new aspects to make it truly original. Askari, Dhala and Gyam are best friends that belong to the three different castes in their society. The highest caste, similar to knights, can shift into eagle like forms. The second caste can grow plates to defend themselves and take the role of soldiers. The lowest caste cannot shift and are the general laborers of the society. The three men are just reaching the cusp of adulthood and have to navigate their friendship amid the plague that has been affecting their tribe. They also have to deal with the whims of their gods and the threat of war from a neighboring tribe.

This book was already beautiful and complex without the addition of a love story for each of the characters, which just made it even better. It was adorable seeing the boys discover the meaning of love while also learning what it means to be an adult. There were couples at the end of the book but I foresee many more obstacles for the characters in the books to come. For that reason, I classify this as a HFN. Also, I feel like the boys have more growing to do, so they may not remain together throughout the story.

I look forward to the follow up books because I’d love to read more of the mythology and the budding relationships. This is a 4 star read to me and I recommend this to fantasy lovers who want new and different worlds to sink their teeth into.