Seven years before a certain boy will arrive in the Labyrinth City, an era of chaos and strife reigns supreme. Ryu Leon spends her days serving the goddess Astrea while searching for a brand of justice that she can believe in. She is not alone, for the rest of Astrea Familia are a rare source of light in these dark times. In the shadows, however, something evil is stirring. A threat that will shake Orario to its very foundations…!
7 years before Bell arrives in Orario to claim all the ladies' hearts, Astrea Familia was seemingly cultivating a very yuri atmosphere. This volume taking place during the Dark Era and chronicles Lyu's search for her own meaning of justice. I had some difficulty getting into this story, since I am aware of the outcome in a broad sense, and can assume that any unfamiliar character introduced ain't going to make it out the other end. Once the big bads are revealed, I became a bit more intrigued, but also equally confused. Guess I'll get some explanations if I keep reading. I had to force myself to stop thinking about character ages and world timelines for this series, as I could feel it would lead me nowhere good. Also, the gods themselves are the weakest link of the Falna system, so I am unsure why they are not better protected by their families.
If I split this book in two, the first half would be 2 stars and the second half would be 4. The set up is so long and boring that it took me months to get through it. Once the second half gets going, I finished the book in less then a week. It’s biggest issue, at least for me, was an unnecessarily long set up and way too many characters to keep track of. Even in the good half, as characters are getting obliterated, I kept finding myself asking “who is this again?” Also does not help that some characters have like three damn names.
I was really surprised by this novel. Lots of action and heart pounding action! I also enjoyed how the story jumps from one character(s) scene to another’s and how all the characters are intertwined. Talk about a twist at the end! Can't wait for book 2 to see where things lead.