Rhea and her twin brother, Lexos, have spent an eternity helping their father rule their small, unstable country, using their control over the seasons, tides, and stars to keep the people in line.
– GoodReads
My Review
Trigger and Content Warnings [From Author]:
Emotional and physical abuse by a parent.
Death.
Manipulation/discussion of loss of agency.
Discussion of state violence and war, as well as a history of imperialism.
Mention/description of blood.
It’s official. Power has strut her skills onto the epic fantasy scene and left me speechless. This novel was near perfect and I can’t believe that this is from the same author who wrote Wilder Girls and Burn our Bodies Down, like what amazing diversity in her writing styles.
This is such a heavy fantasy and it is truly going to be on an epic high fantasy level that I hoped for. Just, perfection on that level. There’s politics, betrayal, rebellion, it has everything.
Not to mention it has the starting vibes of an ancient Greek Tragedy with its creative cast list and it just morphs into something so complex from that that clever list.
The family aspect of this is probably what makes it so brilliant. Rhea and Lexos are not just twins but they’re the eldest, responsibility falls at their feet and they have to try and meet their father’s expectations. However there isn’t much any of the siblings can do to satisfy this man; someone clearly lost to the power of lust. Their two younger siblings are pushed to the background and not because they’re not of interest to us as the readers but because the story is from their perspectives really. So. Certain things that arise are just like jaw dropping if you don’t catch on (or you’re oblivious to most like me). And I loved that.
The politics were certainly entrancing though, I wanted to see both sides of it all, at all times. Rhea is somewhere where the the grip of their father’s power is loose, underestimating the people from this part of their rule. Lexos on the other hand is stuck in the middle of the political hub with his father and the other rulers.
What starts as an unshakeable bond between twins slowly becomes the story of a fragile rule and the binds that can break in the the struggle for power.
The pacing is done well in that Power made the chapters shorter so it kept my interest. And that went a long way in such a dense novel.
I found myself going from loving one sibling to hating them, and vice versa and then I just couldn’t help but wonder what the other two siblings were up to as we realize how under-looked they are from the view of the twins.
The side characters were intriguing and I think they’re all going to play bigger roles in book two and THAT ENDING HAD ME SHOOK.
I am not sure I will be able to handle book two as much as I’m looking forward to it.
I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS BOOK IS GONNA EXIST IN THE WORLD IN A PHYSICAL FORM.
I’ll be buying a physical copy for sure, this was amazing.
4.5/5 Cups of coffee from me, can’t wait for the sequel. Full RTC on blog.
Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Caffeinated Reader 