The Book of Azrael

I found the size of this book very intimidating, but I am appreciative of high fantasy and I think it has to be considered high fantasy at 800 pages long. It would be an absolute crime if this book was slow but it was enjoyable and finishing this book in two sittings is good.

A brief summary is that our protagonist has sacrificed her mortality to save her sister and is now under the servitude of Kaden, who requires the Book of Azrael.

I requested this book via NetGalley because I wanted a high fantasy novel that wasn't Brandon Sanderson or emphasized male characters too much. Of course, I wanted a book of quality with a fresh voice and that's what I got! This book is not derivative at all and I don't feel it is trying to copy formulas of big franchises.

This was a comfort read in terms of tropes like a villainous female main character (Dianna) and enemies to lovers yet not unreasonable, poorly written spice at all. This book gave me a lot of things I never knew I wanted from books. I feel that in my limited experience of high fantasy, I haven't read anything like this and I absolutely loved it.

This book is excellent from the characters to world building. I am excited to see more from these characters.

Finally, yes this book does show a bit of inexperience as a debut and the editing could be improved but it is a very promising start and I am thrilled to have read this e-ARC. Thank you to NetGalley & Rose and Star Publishing for the free copy, in exchange for an honest review.