This is an epic and ambitious book that deals with multiple characters in an incredibly rich and diverse cast. The concept of the magic and those chosen to wield it in this novel is incredibly unique and makes the novel even more diverse. The novel deals with trauma, inherited trauma, repression, flawed characters and poor decisions - don't expect there to be redemption available for all characters! Every minute spent with this book was wondering how on earth this was going to end, and it did not disappoint.

Thank you to the Publisher Solaris for providing this book for review purposes via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. So when I saw one of my Friends on Goodreads had reviewed this book, so what did I do? I went and requested a copy of the Arc myself as I was intrigued. It’s hard to define this book into one genre, it’s definitely fantasy but with other elements mixed in. What got my interest from the beginning was Hammer and Crescent, both trapped into fighting a war that neither believed in and was not their own. Stolen from their homes as part of a blood tithe, their families and loved ones and forced to become elite soldiers called Faceless and cruelly branded on their foreheads. After what was supposed to be a routine raid on the orders of the Queen of Ashvi to disrupt the supply train of her own enemies the Tevurian Empire, Hammer and Crescent find not riches but a Godschild, Viri. The Godschildren hold the powers of the gods but their powers are weakening and both sides are desperate to win this war. Can Hammer protect Viri from the system that broke her before she is turned into a weapon of war? It took me a little while to get into this book but once I did I was absolutely hooked and this book firmly had me in it grip. Now that I have finished it I’m desperate for the next book. I really loved Hammer as she was so relatable, she’s been hardened by her experiences but both Viri and Crescent worked their way into her heart and my heart broke for her after that ending. Viri was abused and treated cruelly by Khall the Ashvi Queen, treated like a weapon instead of a person, she deserved better. Naias I did feel for as she was trying to do what was right but the road to hell is paved with good intentions as they said. Khall the Ashvi Queen didn’t really like her from the start, what Naias saw in her I’ll never know. I really enjoyed the world building and the writing, the magic system was fairly easy to understand. I really can’t wait for book two.

This book cut me open and left me to bleed and yet here I am thankful for it. The fact that this book is a debut is just shocking. We have the ever cynical Hammer, one of the Faceless stolen children, a soldier who inadvertently becomes a guardian of sorts to Viri; a hunted child in possession of rare powers that could potentially alter the course of the imperial war. Naias, the Queen’s war advisor and former faceless is possibly the most complex character. Hammer finds herself attached to Viri in ways she can’t yet understand and will do almost anything to protect her. I have been left raw, while there are plenty of physical horrors and acts of betrayal, the emotional cost is the most painful. The complexities of relationships straining under the weigh of oppression are explored emphatically. Grief is irrecoverable but sometimes there is hope is the small acts that can change everything. This book doesn’t sugarcoat the truths of complicity and power but it offers a glimmer of hope in the darkness. Like a small, lonely candle in the vast expanse of the void. I’m going to need a few days to recover. Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion, Solaris for the opportunity to read this title.