Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date: April 1st, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A glittering fantasy thriller about a glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.

At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money—and all the magic—in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.

But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.

And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random—it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.

While the dangers of the Veritaz competition threaten each of the Holtzfall girls, and the stark class differences turns political outrage to terrifing violence—the new cousins must fight to stay alive, no matter what.

Incredible tests, impossible choices, and deadly odds await both girls. But there can only be one winner.

NO COMPLAINTS HERE.

Did anyone else read the Rebel of the Sands series and promptly wonder where Hamilton went for years and then finding out she has a new series and it absolutely hits as well as Rebel did?? BECAUSE IT ME.

I had such a good time reading this one. I loved that the audiobook had multiple narrators for multiple POV. It made it easy to keep everyone separate and I don’t think there was a weak POV in the mix. I loved seeing every angle of this dystopian-esque novel. It was kind of steampunk, dystopian, and fantasy all rolled into one and it worked for me!

There’s good twists and turns with plenty of action with some quieter moments where a few romances were starting. It was engrossing and I didn’t even notice this was a 15hr audiobook. I can’t wait for book two!!

Overall audience notes:

• YA Fantasy
• Language: low
• Romance: kisses
• Violence: moderate

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