The First Sin

by Astur Sorkatti

Ashia has everything she wants.
Doting parents, an adorable sister and a kingdom who loves her. Succession classes and prepping for her coming of age ceremony has taken over her life, but she does not mind.
She was born for this. Becoming the Iyoba, Queen Mother of Gohir was her birthright.
But somethings gone wrong and talk of war is brewing. An evil Oba, King to Nkondi, plans to take her fathers throne and everything she’s ever worked for and holds dear.
Join Ashia, Gohir’s beloved princess, as she fights for the right to her throne.

290 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2024

About the author

Astur Sorkatti is an eater, sleeper and author of the new YA Fantasy novel The First Sin.

A professionally trained sloth, Astur has spent her every moment reading and writing romance and fantasy novels. When she's not absorbing literature in its many forms she's known to be found binge watching anime or tottering about in her home garden.

Her latest work is the combined effort of years of researching African traditions and the many unfinished and unpublished works that came before.

Reviews

[the equestrian's library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ashia has everything she wants.
Doting parents, an adorable sister and a kingdom who loves her. Succession classes and prepping for her coming of age ceremony has taken over her life, but she does not mind.
She was born for this. Becoming the Iyoba, Queen Mother of Gohir was her birthright.
But somethings gone wrong and talk of war is brewing. An evil Oba, King to Nkondi, plans to take her fathers throne and everything she’s ever worked for and holds dear.
Join Ashia, Gohir’s beloved princess, as she fights for the right to her throne.

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Trigger Warnings: Brief mention of suicide, graphic violence (throat slitting, stabbing, whipping, torture, executions, beatings, etc.), Torture, Mentions/Depictions of dead bodies, Depictions of starvation, prison slave labor, kidnapping/hostage situation, sexual assault (multiple kisses under dubious consent), Death of a parent (on-page), Implied death of mother and sibling, Implied deaths of legal guardians, mentions of alcohol, drinking, and alcohol brewing, death of an animal (on-page, bird), Numerous depictions and descriptions of injuries, Manipulation/Influence via magic, Murder, Imprisonment, Mentions/descriptions of war & genocide, Implications/depictions of PTSD & hallucinations

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Thank you, BookSirens, for an ARC copy of Astur Sorkatti’s THE FIRST SIN!

This book was an interesting one. The cover is beautiful, and I give props for that since a good cover can make or break a book. Personally, I think the book needs another solid round of edits. In the ARC provided on BookSirens, there are a significant amount of grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the manuscript. While the premise is fine, I think that it does need another layer of polish.

There were also some choice things that may just be personal preference? When using "ok" in a book, it's generally written out in full as "okay." Additionally, having Ashia's father (who is given the description and vibe of being a wise, experienced leader) say "I guess" just felt juvenile? That may be nit-picking so take it with a grain of salt and as personal preference, but it didn't seem to fit his personality. And, I do know that some punctuation are stylistic choices (see Sally Rooney's NORMAL PEOPLE having no quotation marks in ANY dialogue), but using only apostrophes did make it hard to follow the dialogue at times, mostly because they're tiny marks and are hard to see. Dialogue typically uses the full " mark, not ' .

Ashia is a good FMC. She has attitude, she fights back, she isn't some weak damsel-in-distress and I loved that. I love strong feminine characters in books that don't rely on other characters to help her. Or, at least, her personality is strong. Ashia has never been trained or taught how to defend herself, so there are parts of the book where you're left wanting her to do just about anything at all.

I think a lot of the side characters come in and out without any true, well-meaning development, and I genuinely couldn't tell who was a romance and who wasn't. Some of the reviews I've seen about a romance puzzle me because I didn't see any of that going on. Maybe this will continue in the sequel(s)? I certainly hope so!

Notably, this is categorized as a Young Adult and it is exceptionally violent with no trigger warnings listed anywhere. Would definitely have appreciated those, especially when there's a few in the prologue right out of the gate, primarily for readers who do need those warnings.

That all being said, the world-building is lovely, and I do really appreciate the inspirations and draws from African culture and mythology. The descriptions of the world were well-written and vibrant, and it was always easy to paint a picture of where Ashia was and what she was doing. I did notice not that many character descriptions except from a few choice items which is all well and good, sometimes an additional thing or two can help add some depth.

I have a lot of questions about a lot of aspects in the plot, and the ending did not give a satisfying conclusion in my opinion, cliffhanger or not. It felt rushed, and the ARC suddenly ending was a bit abrupt and startling. I had to check and make sure I didn't miss anything or skipped any pages.

Overall, I think the premise of THE FIRST SIN is good, and the world is clearly well-loved and has had extensive research poured into it, but I think the overall writing needs a bit more polish. Kudos to the author nonetheless for completing their manuscript and I hope this story is a success!

2.5+/5

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[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good read with a dash of nostalgia. I could see some of the twists coming but that's just me. Younger me would have absolutely fangirled over Ashia.

[Aria N Daze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was left with more questions than answers. That isn't necessarily bad, however I feel unsatisfied by the conclusion, even knowing a sequel is to come. I loved the exploration of Orishas and African tradition. I enjoyed the guardians, I enjoyed the setting, Ashia however was utterly useless. That isn't necessarily her fault, because her parents and even the guardians should have really taken the time to train her properly. Especially the guardians, they knew what was coming and they just let her make beer and eavesdrop all day???? Weird, but alright. Anyway, I'm hoping to have my future questions answered, but overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy.

[Wonder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I TELL YOU RIGHT NOW… that this book right mf here. It’s good as hell. I enjoy it. I can’t wait to read the whole thing. The book got me in my feelings and I genuinely feel for Aisha and the stuff she went through in the book. I can’t wait to get more books from this author. She is becoming my favorite author along with Angie Thomas, Mimi Grace and more. I don’t even like Fantasy books but I fw this book heavily. I had to stop myself from reading because I didn’t want to finish it right there so I stopped for some days to process it. Good jobbbb AHHHH😭😭

[Sara]

I’m sadly DNF’ing this book at 50%. This was filled with African cultural references and mythology and should’ve been right up my alley, but all I felt was “eh” while reading it. 🙁

(EDIT:) I just read the terms and conditions for reviewing, and won’t be posting my full review. Whoops. 😅

Publication date: March 15!

[Hanna Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great fantasy romance novel! I really enjoyed the characters, the developing and sweet romance, and fantasy elements.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shakella "The Singing Bibliophile" Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all things African mythology, so this book was right up my alley! This book has it all, romance, fantasy, action, and internal conflict that Ashia went through, Having to hold a family secret and watch those around her go through turmoil at the hands of an enemy that she did not make. I enjoyed the broodiness of the guardians and the twist in their origin. That was an amazing revelation!

I do wish that Ashia had been more prepared for what she was up against. Considering the time between her acquiring the family "gauntlet" and her meet-up with the antagonist, there was plenty of time for her to prepare. I wish she had fight to match the mouth.

Other than that little hiccup, this book was everything I never knew I needed!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.