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Aurelia and Septima are adoptive sisters; bought up together from a young age when their father rescued baby Septima from a war-torn land. They live in a world where magic is nothing but a fairytale born of dreams and legends. They want to be warriors, but it’s forbidden in their county, where women are expected to be ladies and are married off for political gain. When their father introduces them to two men, they know that they must escape if they want to have some form of freedom – especially as Septima has no interest in men, at all. And so, minds made up, they run off in the night, with only the clothes on their backs and Aurelia’s pet tiger, Kano. As they try to sleep, they hear voices in the woods that surrounds their father’s home. It soon becomes clear that the voices they’ve heard belong to warrior women, and they plead their case to be taken with them. And that’s when the whole other world opens up to the sisters. One where women are not only warriors but leaders too and one where magic is only all too real and the portal to from the Fea world the human world is about to fall into the hands of an evil entity.
Although Crown of the Phoenix had an incredibly strong start, it somewhat petered off; the narration became somewhat clunky and at times it seemed over-simplified for the target audience. Saying that, though, I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the kinship between Aurelia and Septima – the closeness of their bond despite not being related by blood was heartwarming and unusual to see in the fantasy genre. I also enjoyed the fact that gay characters were very much front and centre.
All in all, this is novel with great potential. Just push through the slightly garbled narration, and you will love it.
S. A.
This was originally published on Reedsy Discovery as part of their ARC program. You can read the original review here.
You can buy Crown of the Phoenix by clicking on the name. It’s also available to read as part of Kindle Unlimited.