Unforgiveable betrayals, devious motives, and forbidden love collide in the first installment of internationally bestselling author Sally Green's epic new fantasy series, perfect for Game of Thrones fans.
In a land tinged with magic and a bustling trade in an illicit supernatural substance, destiny will intertwine the fates of five players:
A visionary princess determined to forge her own path.
An idealistic solider whose heart is at odds with his duty.
A streetwise hunter tracking the most dangerous prey.
A charming thief with a powerful hidden identity.
A loyal servant on a quest to avenge his kingdom.
Their lives intersect with a stolen bottle of demon smoke. As war approaches, they must navigate a tangled web of political intrigue, shifting alliances, and forbidden love in order to uncover the dangerous truth about the strangely powerful smoke that interwines their fates.
This is definitely a simpler YA version of Game of Thrones. But I didn't mind it, it was such an easy read, had interesting storylines, and I enjoyed how everything came together in the end. I especially liked Catherine, who is similar to Sansa in almost every single way. I do think that Ambrose was the most annoying character ever. His only personality trait seemed to be to love Catherine, which I did not care for. There is a love triangle (which might upset a lot of people), but luckily it wasn't the main focus of this book. It was an intersting concept with demons and a lot of political intrigues. However, I do feel like the ending could have been so much better. It's a battle scene and we are wondering what happened to our beloved characters. Except, we're not. Battle scenes as endings almost never seem to work for me, and I would have preferred a good plot twist instead of 'oh who is going to die?'. It's too bad, but I will still read book two.
