Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Reign of the Fallen (Reign of the Fallen, #1)

by Sarah Glenn Marsh

A gutsy, unpredictable fantasty epic with a surprising and breathtaking queer romance at its core.

"Reign of the Fallen is a diverse story brimming with wickedly delightful magic, sizzling romance, and shocking betrayal—I’ve completely fallen under its spell."–Kerri Maniscalco, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Stalking Jack the Ripper

Without the dead, she'd be no one.

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their soul from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised: the Dead must remain shrouded. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, a grotesque transformation begins, turning the Dead into terrifying, bloodthirsty Shades.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears around the kingdom. Soon, a crushing loss of one of her closest companions leaves Odessa shattered, and reveals a disturbing conspiracy in Karthia: Someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is forced to contemplate a terrifying question: What if her magic is the weapon that brings the kingdom to its knees?

Fighting alongside her fellow mages--and a powerful girl as enthralling as she is infuriating--Odessa must untangle the gruesome plot to destroy Karthia before the Shades take everything she loves.

Perfect for fans of Three Dark Crowns and Red Queen, Reign of the Fallen is a gutsy, unpredictable read with a surprising and breathtaking LGBT romance at its core.

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

5 of 5 stars

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Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book was an absolute delight.

For those who haven’t heard me squeeing and squirming about it for the last 6-8 months, Reign of the Fallen was one of my most anticipated reads of 2018. I’m a sucker for a good necromancer story, and there just aren’t many of them. Reign of the Fallen gave me everything I want in a fantasy world: hierarchies, necromancers, mages, pirates, non-traditional princesses… be still my beating heart, this book was friggin’ magnificent.

Odessa is a Master Necromancer. She’s new to the trade, freshly graduated. The story opens with the raising of their king. See, in Karthia, the dead rule the kingdom. No one could be older and wiser than the Eldest Grandfather and Eldest Grandmother, and nobody could love their people so much that they are willing to be killed and brought back over and over again.

The people of Karthia don’t know what happens to the dead if they remove their shrouds. When members of the royal family begin to go missing and Shades stalk the land, it is up to the Master Necromancers to save Karthia, before all is lost.

What this book doesn’t tell you in the description is how raw and real Odessa is. How amazingly flawed the characters are. Sick of overconfident heroines who never ask for help and are succeeding beyond all odds? Then you’ll love Odessa. Odessa is broken to her core (and I won’t tell you why because SPOILERS). In a land ruled by the dead, it is perfectly sensible that death affects so many of the characters so deeply. I loved this aspect of the character and I wanted to hug Odessa.

But it’s not just Odessa that’s great. With a couple small exceptions, I loved every single character in Reign of the Fallen. They’re so well developed and passionate in different ways… each with their own quirks, strengths, and flaws. I latched on to Kasmira immediately, as well as Meredy… you will love this cast, I promise.

As far as world building goes, Marsh is a genius. Karthia feels like something feudal, but also like something that reached the industrial revolution and broke. It’s a world stuck in time and ruled by plague. Nothing is simple for the characters and the rules are strictly followed (I hate it when characters make bad decisions and there are no consequences? Not true here).

I just… I’m blabbering, guys.

I really loved this book. I was engrossed. I couldn’t wait to get home and end my night reading it. I can’t wait to get my preordered copy so I can actually hold it and stare at the beautiful cover.

Just add it to your TBR. Preorder it. Put a reserve in at your library. This is a must-read for any fantasy fan, anyone with a love of good storytelling, and anyone who likes a strong but flawed protagonist.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 6 January, 2018: Finished reading
  • 6 January, 2018: Reviewed