ARC provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review.

DNF

I tried, I really did. I gave it my best effort! I went into it hopeful since I'd heard nothing but good things and I love an adult fantasy set in a complex world.

But I just do not like the voice of this book. And I don't mean the back and forth between first person and third by two different narrators in two different timelines, though that probably doesn't help. It just feels overstuffed and I don't enjoy the prose. And honestly, I feel like the world is probably a little too complex. Maybe the book becomes more enjoyable once the world is established and things become clear, but that clearly wasn't happening anytime soon, and I just couldn't hold on long enough to read that point.

I started it when I got it, made myself read 70 pages because I know some books take a while to really get me. But though I kept it on my bedside table, I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading it. I looked at it like a chore that needed to be completed, and that is the last kind of reading I want to do. So I'm admitting defeat: I couldn't finish it.

This is clearly going to be a big hit. Tor's throwing all their weight behind it and it's getting good reviews. But it isn't for me.