Synopsis
Centuries after the Forgotten Wars ravaged the world and turned it to ash, the Houses of Pilar, Darakai, Boreal, and Bastiion forged an accord, founding a Quadren of advisory to the throne. Every generation, a single Haidren from each House is appointed to this coveted chair.
Upon her Ascension to adulthood, Luscia Tiergan takes her seat at court as al’Haidren to the House of Boreal and is quickly drawn into a maze of political traps and dark secrets. As she adjusts to her new life, Luscia uncovers a pattern of forgotten children, slain in the streets of Bastiion.
Raised on superstitious rumors about Boreal’s penchant for sorcery, Zaethan Kasim, al’Haidren to the House of Darakai, inevitably clashes with Lusica when she arrives in Bastiion. But when his position is threatened by an old rival, Zaethan is forced to set aside his hatred and form an uneasy alliance with the Boreali al’Haidren to secure his claim.
Following a disturbing stream of innocent bloodshed across Orynthia, Luscia and Zaethan discover their ideals are far more aligned than they might have imagined. But in a land of war and deceit, the path to peace should never be trusted.
www.thehaidrenlegacy.com
See this review and more at my blog, The Scribe Owl!
Thank you to YA Bound Book Tours for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
4.75/5 stars!
If you've tracked my reviews before, you'll know that I am a massive fan of political fantasy and court intrigue! Let me tell you, House of Bastiion did not disappoint in any way! Frankly, the only reason it didn't garner a perfect rating from me is that I rarely give the first book in a series five stars because I just haven't had enough time to soak in the world and meet the characters.
The Houses of Pilar, Darakai, Boreal, and Bastiion forged an accord with the royal line of Thoarne, founding a Quadren of advisory to the throne of Orynthia. Every generation, a single Haidren from each of the four Houses is appointed to this coveted chair. House of Bastiion follows Luscia, the heir to the seat of the Boreal, and Zaethan, heir to the seat of Darakai, Boreal's ancient enemy. Luscia and Zaethan have to put off age-old rivalries and hatred to achieve their common goal: to stop the strange string of murders of have taken place across Orynthia. But in a land of war and deceit, the path to peace should never be trusted.
The first and most noticeable trait about this novel is the worldbuilding. No one would be able to protest against the fact that the author has breathed life into this world she's created! The world or Orynthia is beautiful and detailed, with distinct cultures and even fully-formed languages!
K.L. Kolarich also exhibits a beautiful writing style. I can't stand books with juvenile language, so I was thrilled to see her lyrical prose flow across the page! Her world choice and figurative language paint a picture of a city that takes no measures to avoid the spread of debauchery or the criminal underworld that comes with such an important location.
Finally, we come to the make-or-break part of a novel for me--the characters. I adored the characters in House of Bastiion! In fantasy books, we often see characters' flaws glamorized for the audience to try to sell the whole "bad boy" or "sassy heroine" thing. In this book, we see characters make mistakes, acknowledge them as wrong, and deal with that guilt. All the characters in this novel felt painfully real, especially how Zaethan acted around Luscia. He was horrible to her, and at one point he paused and recognized that. The author didn't try to explain that he had his reasons, he didn't know better, any of that. He just saw what he'd been doing and how he was starting to sound like his father, and that made him rethink everything.
Excuse me as I devote a section of my review to my excitement over this slow-burn enemies to lovers romance!! Part of why I normally dislike the enemies to lovers trope is because the characters go from hating each other to loving each other out of nowhere when that's not how it works. It goes from hate to dislike to tolerance to grudging acceptance. It's a gradient of greys, not a jump from black to white!
I absolutely loved this book and I can't wait until the next one comes out! I would highly recommend it to my fans of court intrigue and political fantasy.
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