My rating: 5 of 5 stars
summary from GoodReads
A woman with power over fire and illusion and an enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from the USA Today bestselling author of Radiance.
Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire's capital--her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village's tithe has been the same woman. Gilene's sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses.
But this year is different.
Azarion, the Empire's most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion--and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery. And unknown to Gilene, he also wants to reclaim the birthright of his clan.
To protect her family and village, she will risk everything to return to the Empire--and burn once more.
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REVIEW
Step back Game of Thrones for the amazing world of "Pheonix Unbound"! I have a great love for Grace Draven and her writing and for a long time I have also been re-reading and re-listening to her audiobooks!The immersing world of The Fallen Empire series will sweep you away with its beauty and brutality too. Gilene is a witch-sorry- she is an agachin with the power of fire and illusion. Her duty is to follow the slavers of the Krael Empire where every year, they chose women and take them to their capital where they are forced to serve their gladiators and then die in the pyre for ritualistic reasons.
And Gilene has been doing this every year. But this time it's different. She becomes noticed by Azarion, the Gladius Prime of the arena who wants to escape his own prison and flee to his motherland of horse riding tribes and endless fields.
But the story is more than the trials of an unlikely pair, who begin as enemies and gradually turn into allies and fall for each other. It's a tribute to the human nature both its ugly and beautiful side, how the scars of our past can either consume us or define us.
This is no story where only the woman suffers. Azarion too has faced struggles in the hands of the Empire yet both he and Gilene find slowly solace in each other, as they travel through the Empire to the lands of the Sky Below, where there are also obstacles for them to overcome. The tribes also reminded me of descriptions of both the Mongol tribes and the Scythian ones, especially on the descriptions and the how their houses were made.
Another point I want to make is not only the detailed world-building but also how the action never stops. At the same time, the characters' development is interlaced in the plot creating the perfect balance for both the story to unfold and not feel left out when reading about the customs, the societies, and the religions.
On the final one, I have to say that the scene towards the end of the book was movie worthy! Or at least the perfect ending to a long-standing tv series? ;)
Grace Draven has set the foundation for a masterful journey through an epic world, where stakes are high and the characters are unforgettable! I seriously need the second book!
About the author:
I've loved storytelling since forever. I published my first short story with Amber Quill Press and have since written several other tales. A love of the bad boy in fiction always inspires me.
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