Published: January 5, 2021
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: Entangled Publishing
Synopsis:
Raise. Your. Phantom.
For fans of epic fantasies and sweeping adventures, this ensemble cast will immerse you in a world of unique magic, breathtaking action and unforgettable characters.
In a world on the brink of the next Great Dying, no amount of training can prepare us for what is to come …
A young heir will raise the most powerful phantom in all of Baiseen.
A dangerous High Savant will do anything to control the nine realms.
A mysterious and deadly Mar race will steal children into the sea.
And a handsome guide with far too many secrets will make me fall in love.
My name is Ash. A lowly scribe meant to observe and record. And yet I think I’m destined to surprise us all.
*I would like to thank Entangled Publishing for a copy of this book in return for an honest review!*
“They are our people, she tells me. We don’t leave our people behind.”
A debt fantasy story told in multiple POVs that has all those things a great fantasy is made of! It is an adventure following a cast of characters you can’t help but to love that have big personalities providing all the banter and humor you need . An immersive world and story that has friendship, romance, a unique magic system/lore and epic fight scenes!
“Wars are won in the will, not the weapons.”
I felt like Wilder spent so much time on the characters as well as the world. We get to be inside the head of multiple different characters and get insight on their inner thoughts as well as see the motives behind all of their actions. Ash is a non-savant that is best friend with the Heir, Marcus and a talented wordsmith. Ash is such a fun character, witty and smart, the banter between her “voice” and her is fantastic. She is definitely that sassy, independent character I enjoy so much and we start to learn might have secrets unknown to herself. Marcus is trying to prove himself as the Heir. I love his relationship with Ash and how much he cares for her as well as his relationship with his phantom. The two of them definitely had me laughing.The phantoms overall were so sassy that I was living for it!
I enjoyed that Wilder gave us an older cast of characters. So many time with YA the characters are 14-16, but these characters were between 18-26 (not all ages were mentioned, but closely around this range) It so interesting to read about characters at this age because they are older and more mature, but yet still have so much to experience and learn! Some of the side characters were some of my favorites especially Salina! I am hoping we get so much more of here in the rest of the series. We get multiple types of relationships as well, both some strong friendships and new growing friendships as well as some romantic relationships. Ash around Kaylin was too precious and loved their interactions! Kaylin’s backstory is eluded to and I have my assumptions, but I look forward to learning more about him!
“Oh, by the Deep, let the deck swallow me whole.”
This book was everything I needed to start 2021 off right! Besides the stunning cover, there is a beautiful map and glossary of terms that I absolutely adored. Wilder developed and brought to life a unique magic system that she definitely spent time on. I love that on her website is more information about bone throwers and shows how much of herself and love she put into this story and world. I am always a fan of when authors include additional material to add to the story!
This story follows a group as they try to make their way to the Isle of Aku to train their phantoms! There are three groups of people, the savant, non-savant and marred. Savants raise phantoms which their are a variety of types with different skills. The non-savants have no phantom/magic and the marred are thrown into the Drop when children. We get to learn some of the history of the realm throughout the story as we are learning about the current political turmoil and following the travels. Of course the travel to the Isle comes with twists and surprises!
“The butterflies in my belly have to go somewhere, and it seems they see fit to escape through my mouth, carrying as many words with them as they possibly can.”
Overall, I do not know what else I can say about this book. I am a complete gush over it and cannot wait to see where the rest of the series goes. It reminded my of Tamora Pierce’s stories and just that good classic YA fantasy we all love, while still remaining fresh and unique! Multiple of the characters go through so much and inner monologues that we really get to see the growth and struggles. It was humorous and had so much banter that I was loving it! I felt like Wilder did a fantastic job breaking up all of the intense, dark scenes with those humorous, light, fun ones. I was fully immersed in the story, going through all the emotions with the characters and rooting for them along the way! The ending, although kind of how I saw this one ending, has me dying for the second book and what’s to come for these characters. If you are looking for a fantasy book to lose yourself in this year, this is the one!
*disclaimer this contains affiliate links and quotes from uncorrected/unpublished text*
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