14+
Set against a breathtaking landscape of snow and ice, this fully fledged and developed world that is reminiscent of pre-revolutionary Russia pulls me in and the added variable of magic? I have no words.
The premise of the novel is a princess chased from her palace and furs because she has been wrongfully accused of killing her father and she is searching for the man she witnessed poison him. However, she has her own reasons for revenge against the alchemist. She is an Affinity – basically a person with a specific power, like wind or fire or mind. However, she is the only recorded Blood Affinity, which means she can control blood. Because the Affinities are considered lesser and ‘deimhov’ in the eyes of the empire, her father allowed the alchemist to try and torture her affinity out of her when it violently appeared when she was a child and killed several people. Years later, the legend of the Blood Witch has never been connected with the sickly princess and Ana is able to pretend to be a flesh Affinity, something much less rare but with a similar effect.
I also adore the way that Ana slowly starts to realise that the empire she saw as a child princess was an extremely angelised one covering up the mistreatment of the Affinities as she is exposed to more and more of the harsh realities of her empire. The Affinities are lured into the empire with promises of work, but enslaved when they arrive and forced as children to sign contracts they cannot read. I cant say any more without spoilers, but the world is an stunningly harsh and yet beautiful in places mix of historical and fantasy elements in a Russianestc monarchy.
The side characters are all fully fledged, but even the villians have their reasons for what they do – reasons created by the empire and the system they live in. Ramson Quicktongue is the possible love interest/crime lord she rescues from a prison to help her hunt down the alchemist, and his backstory is shockingly bittersweet and offers a small glimpse into a life that in some ways is close to Anas, and in other ways the complete opposite.
Characters – 4.5/5 stars
World – 10000/5 stars – I’ve gushed about it enough in my review but – I LOVE this world.
Romance – 3/5 stars –Soft Romance– I honestly dont particularly like Ramson as her love interest, but that might change as I read the rest of the trilogy and that’s just a personal dislike even though as a character he is magnificently well rounded.
Plot – 4/5 stars – we are just really warming up to the overarching plot, but so far I have enjoyed it thoroughly.
Things to be aware of: The Affinities are basically taking the places of the serfs and slaves which is one of the things that has bumped the rating up to a 14+. Child abuse (non sexual) and Torture.
Damsel in Delight 