I don’t think any review I could write will do this book justice. Just like the gears turning and keeping the Wanderlands alive, Benjamin Liar’s writing moves like a cog in a machine, churning out one of my new favorite reads. The world is strange and so much fun to explore and learn about. The way the past and the present are woven together in the grand tapestry of this book, is incredible and hauntingly beautiful.

Sophie Vesachai is bitter, broken, and overall traumatized after being essentially the kid hero that saved the world. Now that she is older she drinks a lot with her “killers,” a band of friends that follow her lead on most things. I always wonder how these characters will act many years after being the heroes and this seems perfect. She does not want to be dragged back into the saving-the-world business and will do anything to prevent that from happening until she is forced into it. I love all of The Killers and how their band works together.

With the winding and mixing of two (or more) timelines, I love how certain characters in the past are revealed to be other characters in the present. Some of the reveals I guessed, but others blew me away. I am so impressed by how good this book is and how it blends genres and that this is a debut!

If you love a blend of epic fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic/apocalyptic, and mystery, you NEED this book in your life.

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

About 10% in and I had already decided this was going to be one of my favorite books of the year. The writing is great, the characters and setting were incredibly interesting, and it had this strangeness and dreamlike quality that made it feel familiar yet unique at the same time. I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was quite a ride, several storylines that sometimes seem almost unconnected until pretty far into the book. The author reveals the setting (and some of the characters' backstories) in pieces that are just the right size and lets the reader fit them together, and there is some well done crazy action and some powerful magic too. Looking forward to the next one.

5 stars isn't a rating I give to many books, but here we are. I was deeply impressed with the intricacy and complexity of the worlbuilding, the sharpness of the prose and the vivid character creation and development. and ALL THIS in a debut!? I'm shocked almost as much as I am eager to read more from the author.

the Wanderlands unveiled their secrets hesitantly, one by one, never quite allowing the reader to see the whole picture, letting them catch glimpses of the labyrinth of connections. the ever-present air of mystery, paired with the quick pace of the plot, kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I had so much fun theorising about characters' secret identities and the ways different storylines were related to each other! (and I am proud to report I got practically all of them correct:))

Benjamin Liar is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing new authors that I've had the honour of reading books from. thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e-ARC! I can't wait to read the second installment of the series!