The Prophecy of the Yubriy Tree

This was brilliant. I was racing through this, and getting annoyed with myself because I knew it was an arc and there's gonna be a wait for the next book.
It's really EXCELLENT. A real big chunky fantasy to sink your teeth into, with dark GoT hints and brilliant chapter characters. A common criticism of some of the late GoT books is that some of the characters chapters' are just boring and you want to skip to your fave character again - this book has it perfect. I loved each characters arc, I loved the threads crisscrossing through the hook and enjoyed each character even when they're being awful!
If you like fantasy, you'll love this.
Please release an arc of the next one because I need to read more!

4.5/5 ⭐️
Damn. This was amazing. I loved that you can tell this was inspired by Game of Thrones, but the author did a brilliant job making it their own. The world was so rich. The stories so engaging. And so many times I found myself pleasantly surprised. For example, I would be sad of a particular character’s death (and the fact they had me sad within only one chapter) to kicking my feet with excitement for the outcome that followed.
I am constantly in search of another high fantasy story that captures what George RR Martin created. One that has a deep world, court politics, an engaging plot, and most important of all, interesting characters. And this checked every box. I cannot recommend this book enough. I’m so mad I now have to wait for the rest of the series to come out cause I need to know what happens next.
Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing, and the author for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

The Prophecy of the Yubriy Tree (The Song of the Burning Heart Book 1) by Ben Spencer. Publishing date: 19th October 2024. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I picked this book as the title intrigued me and I am so glad I did as it was fantastic!

The book centres around three main characters - Johanna Salk who is the lesser twin daughter of the Lord of a great house. Silas O’ the Songs who is a young lutist who longs to write and play his own original songs for a grand audience, and Gregor Thorn the bastard half brother (or is he??) of King Micah Dayborn. The Yubiry Tree and its prophetic leaves peaked my interest and I really enjoyed the ceremonial elements to its protection and gathering of the leaves.

The multiple character POV works really well in this book and fans of character driven fantasy will not be disappointed. I felt that was beginning to understand who the characters are by the end of the book (except Wyn who I cannot wait to find out more about!), yet wanting to know more of each characters back story as I went along.

The trio start on separate paths and we meet side characters on the way who are just as interesting as the main characters such as Easton Dayborn, Wyn Dunkin, and Madrig & Jacy (who I instantly loved). There are also tales of dragons of old and a dragon resurgent in the lands.

Ben Spencer has weaved together elements of a number of my favourite high fantasy books and come up with a brilliant story of his own. I couldn’t put it down. It has a rich but easy to follow plot with politics, magic, a little romance, and it’s full of interesting and intriguing characters which left me wanting more.

I honestly can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

I received this book as an arc read and my review is my own personal view of the book.

I loved every single aspect of this book and it's story. The characters are all very lovable and unique, and you understand their motivations and their personalities very well. That is very important to me - I hate nothing more than bland characters. The story has a perfect pace and the multi POV is perfectly done. And I haven't expected a romance when I requested the book, but I am more than happy to find it in the book - and once again perfectly written.

I know that epic fantasies are nowadays all compered to GoT to gain more attention, but in my opinion, this one is more enjoyable and better. This book was so good that made me want to read everything Ben Spencer wrote which I will be doing soon. Even the cover is perfect in my opinion and I would always pick it up in a bookstore. Now I would really want to know how long we need to wait for the second book.

I received this ARC for free and I am leaving my absolutely honest review.

The Prophecy of the Yubriy Tree reads like a classic high fantasy epic by the likes of JRR Tolkien and George R Martin. Traditional fantasy elements are blended together with a fresh set of ideas, creating a rich and beautifully woven story.

Spencer takes his time and lets us immerse into the story, with help of his intricate world building. The three main characters are not only compelling and easy to sympathize with, through out the story they give us insights to their strength, flaws and most importantly (to me) their character growth.

Though I’m not always a fan of multiple point of views and the pacing fluctuates, it did not disturb the flow of the story at all. It was so beautifully done that this is one of my top fantasy reads of 2024. As Spencer manages to enrapture the readers and take them on an epic adventure. The next book cannot come out soon enough.

This book is a definite must read for anyone who enjoys high fantasy.

It's been ages since I found a new High Fantasy book that I enjoyed SO much.
The Yubriy Tree was a highly addictive and amazing read! The imagery the author is able to weave in their writing is exceptional. Highly descriptive in a way that is immersive without becoming boring or longwinded and overwhelming. The pacing and prose is perfect with multiple POV's that twist and interconnect and work well together. I especially loved Gregor's story. Character's feel fleshed out and complex, with their own motivations, flaws and strengths.

I can see why this story has been compared to Game of Thrones. The plot itself is similarly twisty, dark with a whole lot of politicking and intrigue.

Overall this was an exceptionally well written book with enjoyable characters and a wonderfully exciting plot. I would recommend this to any readers who enjoy High Fantasy that tends to lean on the darker side. Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing for the Advanced Copy. All opinions are my own and I am posting them voluntarily.

A prophecy-foretelling, possibly-maniacal tree, dragons and magic? If it sounds like you’ve heard a story like it before—you haven’t.

The Prophecy of the Yubriy Tree was a refreshing take on aspects that are prevalent in a lot of fantasy books today. The world is immersive and beautifully crafted, and even though I remember wishing there was a glossary on more than one occasion (there is a map!), I suspect this was intentional as was the fact that the dragons are in the background as this is the beginning of a series. The worldbuilding was done in a subtle way (no huge info dumps) through character interactions and lore unfolding as the story progressed. There’s not an overwhelming amount of violence, but as expected from high fantasy it’s definitely there. I really enjoyed the destiny/prophecy aspect of the story and the fact that the characters’ stories intersect at one point or another in a way reminiscent of GoT. Some passages were written so beautifully that I’ve got a ton of highlights already!! The multiple POVs work well with a story of this scope and each character’s story was enthralling. Silas ‘O the Songs was lovable and Johanna + Easton <3 - need I say more? Most importantly, this is one of those books that has scrumptious food descriptions 🤤 they’re not overdone or overwhelmingly present for the people who don’t like to read about jam glazed meats and trenchers of bread swimming with gravy. I had fun reading this captivating story set in an original fantasy world, and I’m excited to see where the story goes as the series continues!

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing and Ben Spencer for the opportunity to review this eARC!

The Prophecy of the Yubriy Tree is an unexpected triumph in epic fantasy writing.

I was completely swept away into Ragar Or and this magical world of prophecies and deception,

I adored the multi-POVs; the character were masterfully woven together in a stunning tapestry. I particularly enjoyed Silas and Wyn’s dynamic: “ Silas was too busy taking in the smell of the sea to respond to Wyn’s latest Wynicism”. I loved learning more about the interesting magic system and hope we will explore that aspect further as the series progresses.

Overall, this was an excellent first installment and I cannot wait to read the rest of The Song of the Burning Heart series!