Quick Synopsis – Lucine and Solehan have been blessed by the stars since birth and are poised to become the protectors of the druidic clans during an Eclipse. But when a stranger interrupts the ceremony and everything turns to chaos, the twins learn the prophecy is must more complicated. Lucine and Solehan are separated and both must come to terms with their new realities and their roles in prophecy.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Kiss Me With Your Eyes Closed by Morgan Clae

Publication Date – March 29, 2024

Content Notes – This book is an epic fantasy and there are several scenes that contain violence and blood. There is also some fairly graphic scenes of women being burned at the stake. There are also a few romance scenes, though they are fairly tame. There is off page mention of parents dyeing. There is child sexual abuse mentioned in a flashback. There is also child death off page.

Steamy Rating – 🌶🌶

Overall Rating – 3.5 out of 5 stars⭐ (rounded to 4 for Goodreads and Storygraph)

Review – First, I want to say that the artwork in this book is absolutely stunning. I loved the character portraits that served as the opposing faces diving sections of the book. I think if you like Dungeons and Dragons or roleplaying games in general, this would be a good book for you. There were several places where you could almost feel the good or sometimes bad dice roll. The group of Lucine and her companions (an assassin, a bard, and a paladin) was so compelling and easily the best part of the story.

The beginning of the story starts very quickly and then kind of goes into a lull. I get that the author wanted to take time to develop Lucine and Solehan as their own characters with their own journeys, but I think less time could have been spent meandering in towns waiting for something to happen. I almost wish Alaris had been two novels instead of one. I thought that the characters were well developed, but Solehan’s Stockholm syndrome was a little much for me. I think that if Solehan’s story had started more gently, I would have enjoyed it more, but it just gave me the ick a little bit. There was also too much time spent with Lucine thinking she was worthless; it was clear early on that Lucine also had some power or influence. That should have been explored quicker.

I did love the queer representation in this story. While we do have a heteronormative couple, there are also several queer characters and they don’t die! Having a genderfluid character so beautifully rendered was such great representation.

Overall, this was a fun fantasy story with some pacing issues. I would be interested to see the next thing this author comes out with.