Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 460 pages
Author: Laurel Black
Publisher: 
Release Date: January 17th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Stripped of her memories and her magic, Raven has been left for dead.

As a prisoner in the enemy’s mineral mines, her only clue to who she is and where she came from is the mysterious map tattooed on her hand—a map containing hidden secrets that some people would kill for.

Jeddak is one of those people.

A warrior from the Kovak tribe, he’s hunting for the powerful Zavien stone to pay the corrupt king’s ransom. If he doesn’t return home with it by the new moon, his betrothed will be executed.

When Jeddak discovers that a prisoner named Raven has the only map that leads to the artifact, he allies with her as they navigate treacherous lands and battle against ancient magical forces to unravel the map’s secrets. But can Raven trust this stranger who’s helping her? If the map gets into the wrong hands, thousands of people will die.

As their feelings for each other grow, their tenuous alliance begins to fray. Until Jeddak is forced to make a decision—betray Raven or forsake his kingdom.

Choose wrong, and he’ll lose everything. 

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

WOW.

This was an incredible debut. I am so happy that I got a chance to read it early! It had a lot of those classic YA fantasy moments, but still felt new and intriguing and I will absolutely need the second book as soon as possible.

I loved the slow burn romance. It is slowwww and that’s my favorite kind of burn. I like that it’s not a linear path either. Some ups and downs, reveals and jaw drops that I can’t wait to see continue. I spotted possible other angles and now I’m theorizing all the things for this book.

Dual POV is my jam and I’m grateful we had it here. Seeing the hidden identities and lost memory tropes play out so well as they progression of the story moved back and forth between Jeddak and Raven. I loved Jeddak’s animal sidekick (Kah!!) and was the perfect addition to this traveling adventure. I thought that the world building was laid out well and I liked that I got see almost the whole world in this one book.

A wonderful debut and one I’ll happily be hyping to others. Definitely one to take a chance on!

Overall audience notes:

• YA Fantasy
• Language: very little and light
• Romance: kisses
• Violence: moderate
• Trigger/Content Warnings: sexual assault (brief, non-consensual kissing), non-consensual drugging, murder, loss of loved ones, blood depiction

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