Good if you're experienced with multi pov epics

TLDR: Fun characters and a good setting and interesting plot, but some writing choices may turn readers away. other readers will love those choices (I did). Epic fantasy with romance, not romance with an epic fantasy backdrop.

This story has a lot going on. I loved it, but have a fondness for long complicated novels. I'll keep this mostly spoiler free (relationships spoiled, but also kinda obvious from literally the first time you meet the characters, so...)

Some reviews mention this ends in a cliffhanger. It does and doesn't - yes, things are set up for book 2, and things are happening, but this is not an unpleasant cliffhanger in the way that some are. The book ends poised above the cliff, with a view of what is to come, but not in a way that feels unfinished or like the story cut off right after you took an uneeded step.

Pieces of the plot are obvious from the onset, or become so as you listen, but that is not a bad thing. Yes, things are predictable at times, but honestly in a story with this many plotlines, that's a good thing - it means that the story is comprehensible. it also doesn't go too far in this direction, making it feel like the story is looking down on readers.

The romances in this are in an interesting place you don't often see in novels. Much of romance media has a focus on characters getting together throughout a book, and will tear apart a relationship through misunderstandings or forced drama in later books, as just making a loving couple be functional is sadly uncommon. Not so here.This book is heavy on romantic pairings, but those pairings are stable, and not the focus of the book.

For character relationships in general: the book has many timeskips, often a year or two at a time, so much of the character (and relationship) developments happen off screen. for example, after Soren leaves Vanya, the first time, the next time he has a POV is a year later. After that, it timeskips again but this time including countless meetings between the two that readers aren't privy to. After we first meet Caris at 16, we don't see her again until she's 20 and graduating, in which time she and Nathaniel have grown from initial attraction to having been friends for years as he waits for her to be interested in moving their relationship forward (side note: yay for the 16 year old not immediately getting into a romantic relationship with someone at least 4 years older. their age gap isn't huge but 16-20 is a very different story than 20-24 in terms of life experience). I personally enjoyed this storytelling style, as it feels like things happen in the time we don't see characters, and honestly, this book is 18 hours without the slice of life, and adding the slice of life relationship changes would be distracting. If you're reading for court intrigue and zombies with references to stable relationships and character growth that is shown at it's conclusion rather than the shaping, this story is for you. if you want slice of life romance, stay away.

I found the characters engaging, and different enough from one another (and their stock roles) to enjoy. That being said, they are definitely cliche roles. The warden, the exiled princess, the lost princess, the adopted parents, the scheming families with backstabbing, the loyal for no real reason beyond bloodlines bodyguard, etc. that being said characters mostly rise above their two sentence description. They are their titles in the same way that lord of the rings is a story about getting rid of some jewelry no one likes.

Warning for people who listen in public places or with family or anything else: there are explicit sex scenes.

Side note: I typed this in the audible app, so please forgive any weird typos or formatting.

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1 person found this helpful

Reminds me of Final Fantasy XV/Kingsglaive

A breathtakingly vast story with lots of interesting characters and places. TV show worthy. The narrator did an amazing job and I can't wait to listen to the next book.

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Expertly-Crafted Queer Steampunk

An excellent addition to queer sci-fi, rich in political intrigue with a strongly fleshed-out world and unafraid to depict a merciless collection of cultures. Turner’s skill at writing shows their evolution with this work and sets up what looks to be a promising multi-part epic re-synthesizing qualities of Dune and A Song of Ice and Fire.

My main criticism is that the first part/95 minutes is front loaded with characters, many of which are peripheral to the core protagonists, and constantly shifts focus which makes it hard to find footing until the narrative shits to a more grounded style for the rest of the read. If you get thorough this first section (or skip and come back to it later) you’ll find a rewarding read.

Looking forward to the next book, planning to get the series in hard copy!

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1 person found this helpful

Huge new world

There are A LOT of moving pieces to this mammoth start to the Infernal War Saga series along with an immense amount of world building. More than once I lost track of details and had to backtrack to clear something up in my mind. That said, both the author and narrator did a good job with telling the story. The political maneuvering isn’t my favorite, but with the way the story is progressing, it’s necessary and fortunately not excessive to the plot. So far, I’d say that signs of romance are slight and merely peripheral to getting all the chess pieces on the board for a game between star gods. That may or may not change later on, but it’s proving to be one heck of a story despite stopping at an inconvenient point (to the reader/listener at least). Is it next year yet.

Rating 4.5 stars, but rounded up despite frustration!

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Great character voices...

3.5 stars for the narrator

I think Gary does a great job with the character voices. He's created different voices for each and uses numerous accents, He brings emotions to the characters. I just didn't love his reading outside of the character voices. It left a lot to be desired. Overall though he did a solid job.

4 stars for the story

The Rourke's are a family with star fire/ magic in their blood. What I get is that the Star Gods have all chosen sides with the different Countries of Maricol. The inferno essentially was the burning down and destruction of Amari. The point of it was to rid the world of the Rourke family. However, the three children were taken by different Gods and placed where they wanted them.
-Eimarille was placed with King Bernard of of Daijal
-Alasandair aka Soren was placed with the wardens who are neutral parties and protect the border of the countries from revenants.
-Caris in Cosian with Portia and her husband to be raised as their child.

The only Rourke known to be alive is Eimarille. Alassandair (Soren) is believed to be dead and Caris was not even known to have been born.

In the first part they are multiple POVs that get a bit confusing but it is all played out to set up the story. As the story progresses the POV break down to a few main POVs and from there, things get better. There are time jumps the first is a 15 year jump.

From this time jump everyone has aged and have been living the lives they were placed into. There is still a lot going on but the main point is a power grab. The king of Daijal wants to do so by marriage through Eimarille and his son Wesley. He believes doing this will give him power over Amari which will then help him establish power over other countries. But like I said there are other powers, through the Gods, at hand and they don't necessarily all want the same thing.

There is a group called the Clockwork Brigade and their main job is to keep Amari running and to prevent Eimarille from taking the throne. Instead, they want to have the youngest Rourke in power.
Basically, there is a fight for it. It is all really interesting. Like I said power over the Countries of Maricol seem to be the gist of it.
Eimarille doesn't seem like a very good person. Girl is a plotter.

I would say there is romance in the book but it is not really what I consider a romance novel.

Honovi/Blaine (MM)- They are married.
Vanya/Soren (MM)- They came together after Soren saved Vanya's life. They may be my favorite.
Eimarille/Terilyn (FF) -Secret lovers.
Caris/Nathaniel (FM)-Young and blossoming.

I liked most of what was shown with these relationships. I am so intrigued as to what will happen next. Vanya/Soren may be my favorite but Honovi/Blaine are not far behind. I really want to see what happens with Caris/Nathaniel especially because of the events towards the end.

Overall a very interesting beginning to this Saga. This author's story telling and world building skills are impeccable. I could use book 2 now!

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2 people found this helpful

Prince’s Poisoned Vow!

The book was action packed and filled with intriguing plot twists. The book ends with a slight cliffhanger and I cannot wait to see where the next book goes!

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Loved It!!!

It's an addictive story with characters you'll both love and hate. It's full of emotion with the right amount of spiciness mixed in.

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Incredible!

What a great series starter. There’s a GoT vibe going on. Lots of characters too keep up with, more POVs.
Great set up as a first book.

I can’t wait for more!

Gary Furlong is one brilliant narrator.

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1 person found this helpful

Richly Complex World Building and Vivid Characters

Hailey Turner strikes again with an incredible new world to explore and a plethora of characters to fall in love with, root for, despise and anything else in between.

I thought the first part of this book was a stroke of genius. It felt like the ‘prologue’ part of a movie playing inside my head as pieces of the puzzle slowly fell into place and the world started taking shape before my eyes. Few authors could’ve gotten away with this many POVs, and there were moments when it was almost too much. But Turner has never let me down before.

I’d expected to fall for Soren and Vanya, our leading men, fairly quickly. What I didn’t expect was the way Eimarille carved a place for herself in my mind. How my heart ached for Blaine and Honovi and Caris.

This book painted a vivid picture of a complex and rich world, and I can’t wait to keep discovering it.

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Epic world and story

This is a fantastic world with some amazing world building. I loved the different characters so much. Each one had a different perspective and were such a joy to get to know. I love the intrigue and want so much more of these characters. And the secret agents and assassins were so awesome. And there were so many different plots that kept me on my toes. The narrator also did a fantastic job with the voices and accents.

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