When 20-year-old Alliyah Foley earns her place at the Kingdom's most prestigious school, Darami, she eagerly anticipates mastering the skills of her Sector, Vita.
But her dreams are quickly upended when she is forced into the fiercely competitive Darami Trial.
Forced to train under the brooding and enigmatic Sector Captain, Conah Malik, Alliyah's determination is tested to its limits. Conah is a man she despises—a man whose betrayal played a part in her father's death.
Caught between her hatred and her drive to succeed, Alliyah must confront her deepest weaknesses and navigate the treacherous landscape of loyalty and deception. As the Trial draws nearer, she finds herself entangled in a complex web of power, intrigue, and hidden truths.
Can Alliyah overcome her animosity and uncover the secrets that haunt her past, or will her struggle for vengeance consume her?
In a tale of resilience and redemption, the line between ally and enemy blurs, and Alliyah must decide who she can trust in a world where nothing is as it seems.
"that's you Aaliyah. you're one of those special people. you can make the world turn in different directions with the fire inside of you"
"you saved me. you don't realise it. God you're insufferable but you do something to me, you make me want to be good. And I'll always be here. all you have to do is call and I'll be here. I''ll find you, I'll always find you."
it feels like I've found a treasure I didn't even know I was searching for as oh god, I'm the richest man in the world. she's my best friend, the love of my life, and every strange, wonderful quirk only makes me love her more. because in those little moments - when she's lost in her own world or laughing at something only she understands - I see the real her. and that's the person I loved all along"
I will genuinely do ANYTHING for the next book. My heart *aches*
prepare for an incredibly long rant... I actually reached the clipping limit like half way through.... I have NEVER reached the clipping limit, so if that isn't a testament to how much I loved this book, I don't know what is.
>”you have been my confidant, my partner, my lover, and my best friend. the memories we've created together will forever be cherished, and I will carry them with me always. there are countless moments I wish I could relieve, and nothing I regret when it comes to you my curly haired boy. you have taught me so much about love, and kindness, and about myself. for that, I am eternally grateful."
I had absolutely no idea that the plot twist was gonna be THAT. I could never have predicted all those twists, i was gasping so loudly, sobbing hysterically, i just had no idea what was to come. From page one, i adored every second, i genuinely have no complaints
when the plot twist was revealed, I felt like such an idiot, genuinely, 'cause I was not even close to guessing that would happen... these guys kept saying 'found you' and I just thought they were being weird 😭 the whole way through, I had absolutely zero clue what the twist would be, I kept telling myself 'nothing too bad can happen', god, it is safe to say I was considerably shocked when I got near the end and everything came out. I genuinely enjoyed this book so, so much, I didn't guess the plot twist straight away, the story wasn't ruined like it often is with these types of fantasies. I was just enjoying the plot and I loved that !
Micah. oh Micah. this man had my heart from the very beginning, nothing could have prepared me for his ending. NOTHING. I have never cried so hard, I can't even think about it without getting so upset 😭 you couldn't not love him, like his joy was so infectious, this guy provided the *much needed* comedic relief and he provided the most hilarious commentary. "arrogance, questions" I heard him mutter to himself "Aaliyah, tell me what to say again - I've forgotten!" I can't with this man, I have so much love for him, I don't think it is normal. I never doubted him, not for one second, I knew he was gonna be the purest character out of them all. I did not, however, expect it to be another Liam Maori situation .... ☹️ that was quite mean, I am gonna be completely honest. I feel like all of my favourite characters get the worst end and it *hurts* man. you best believe I was hysterically sobbing 😭 I would absolutely just read a book from his perspective, I NEED to know his perspective on so many scenes, I feel like that would heal the heart break. "where the fuck do you think we're going? to start a war?" "what? I want to be prepared?" "for what? a fucking revolution?" this whole scene had me giggling like a little girl, Micah has my heart, he is so incredibly funny, I love him so, so much. He was the number one Conah and Aaliyah shipper, - "drunk minds, sober thoughts liar" "oh, don't you start with the nickname stuff"
"she's good for me. I could be at the other side of the world in a matter of seconds, but she makes me want to stay right here." I cannot even think about Aoife and Micah without getting so sad, I am tearing up just thinking about them now. they were soulmates, that is for sure, I NEEDED them to have their happy ending.
I loved Roison too, of course. "beg for forgiveness and I won't say anything. oh you can do better than that, on your knees." honestly, it took me a while to warm up to her, but once I did, I absolutely adored her.
I LOVED Anita, I knew she would be such a good character immediately, her and Alliyah's friendship was so cute.
Aaliyah was such a well written character, she made me laugh so much, even at the very start. "he's very.... forward". "he introduced himself by muzzling me. that's not forward. that's clinically insane" this girl had me in a fit of giggles on the bus 😭 I read this on the bus to and at college, so it was so incredibly difficult to not just burst out cackling every other moment - let me tell you. her running commentary was so, completely hilarious, like she would just burst out with the most insanely funny shit at the weirdest moments. - "he caught my eye and smirked subtly. absolute prick" she let Conah look after her dad's journal, you do not UNDERSTAND.
I could go on an hour long rant about Conah and Aaliyah, my love for them is endless and infinite."maybe you're a distraction too, Aaliyah" "what do you get out of this?" "our little moments are the only thing keeping me from being completely bored out of my mind" OKAYYYYY when Aaliyah helped him to study 🥺 man that was so sweet, I cannot even. I worry that they are going to occupy my thoughts until the near future, I don't know how I could ever stop thinking about these two. UGH. their banter was perfection. "you look delicious" "you're vile!" he would take her to every corner of the world, just because she said she wanted to, he would BREAK THE BORDER, to take her to all the places she wanted to go. love like this can only ever exist in books, gosh, my heart cannot take it 😭
"you look breathtaking. truly exquisite. you put the stars to shame"
Conah... MY MAN. 😭 page *66* and he was already so in love with Aaliyah, he actually stormed out of the room when she spoke to another man. that made me giggle so hard, I loved him from his very first appearance, I just knew his character arc was gonna be phenomenal. this man was so, hopelessly in love with Aaliyah, he could not stay away from her no matter how hard he tried , and it is so funny looking back 'cause like, dude, you actively sought out her just to flirt with her and wind her up 😭 he could not help himself and just had to be the first one to 'find' her. I fear he never had a chance of making Aaliyah hate him because, well, he could not help but flirt with her at any given moment - "oh, my little liar, I'll be as insufferable as I can be if it means you keep looking at me like that" he actually got his sister to change the seating plan so he could sit next to Aaliyah, so that he could endlessly pester her with questions about herself. I enjoyed that so damn much, it was so very funny, all the way through.
he IMMEDIATELY forgot that he was *supposed* to not like Aaliyah when he found out she was entered into the trial, oh my gosh. "why didn't you tell me you entered? we should've started training by now!" his voice was frantic, laced with frustration. boy was STRESSED 😭 all he cared about was her safety, you best believe I was squealing so loud. "if I had to drug you to save your life, then I can live with that" Aaliyah was so painfully oblivious, it genuinely stressed me out sometimes. just reading over my annotations from this, I can't help but cackle, christ, this was so damn funny. "I have been dying to hold a blade to your throat" "I should feel threatened but to be honest, Aaliyah, I'm a little turned on" they are EVERYTHING to me, their dynamic is everything. he cut a boys tongue of because he insulted Aaliyah, THIS MAN. I fear if I told someone who didn't read, this, I would seem insane.
"its yours. my heart, my skin, my bones, my soul, you can take it from me. you can have it all"
I am a fool for the found family trope, nothing could ever compare. the way they all interacted together, the way John was a literal father figure to all of them 🥺 the whole scene where Aaliyah was introduced to John and everyone was sharing stories from when they were younger... that was perfect. that healed my broken heart twice over. "for the first time in a long while, I began to feel like I belonged, away from my own broken family" dude, you don't understand how loudly I cackled when Conah offered to give her a piggyback. oh my lord, that was the funniest thing I have ever read 😭 it was such a mundane moment, but it was just so funny to me. the little, mundane moments were my favourite, by far. they were so raw and real, I loved them more than anything else. "it felt like we were heading home and despite my anxiety of the trial, a sense of peace settled over me. we were together, and for now, that was enough. the laughter of my makeshift family surrounded me, a comforting reminder that I was no longer alone in that house"
I did not expect the ending I cannot wait for the sequel you guys need to read this . The romance was very swoon worthy the trials aspect and it was very fast paced all the characters are well described and the world building is very interesting if your just getting into fantasy this is perfect as it’s not very fantasy based
I found this book from a clip off of tiktok, and I don't even think I saw the scene that interested me in the beginning. The book is riddled with contradictions, grammatical errors, and repetition. Now, if someone had said that this book didn't have an editor or that this was the author's first book, then I wouldn't be surprised. I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm just saying that reading this book gave me hints as to why it would be believable. Aside from that, I think the plot of the book was interesting. It's just the execution, the escalation of events, and the writing of the characters that just threw me for a loop. There were multiple instances where I found myself confused as to what and why something was happening. Low-key felt like I wasted my time reading, but that's not to say others won't enjoy this. It's just my opinion as an avid reader that may or may not have a standard that I hold authors to.
I absolutely devoured this book—what a cliffhanger! I need book two yesterday i need to know the next part of Alliyahs journey!!! The story had me hooked from start to finish, and I couldn’t put it down. I loved every single character, each one felt real and compelling in their own way. But Alliyah’s development in particular was amazing—watching her grow and evolve throughout the story was one of the highlights for me. I’m already counting down the days until the next installment!
I actually enjoyed this book quite a lot, i thought the plot was good and the characters were likeable, however i had a few issues.
Starting off with the romance, i found it a bit confusing, and at first, it felt very one-sided and lacking chemistry, however, throughout the book i thought it got better and i started to love the characters and their relationship, i just think it takes a while to get into it. I will praise the author for the MMC, he was complex and well-developed, and genuinely loved the FMC (unlike some booktok mmc's). I do think he's one of the better MMC's from all the books I've read. Also, i think the ending explains their dynamic at the start, so thats why i can look back and love the romance.
The writing... the writing wasn't bad, and actually at times i thought it was really really good, but then a few pages later, there would be gramatical errors (like was instead of were) and slightly cringey dialogue. So it really just needed some editing.
The plot was really enjoyable and the plot twist at the end was quite unexpected for me personally, however, the trials lasted about 10 pages of a 400 page book, and it was made to be the biggest part of the plot, so i think that needed to be longer and more developed.
Overall, was this book perfect? Definately not. Did i still have a good time? Yes. Would i recommend? Also yes.
I found myself thinking about this book throughout the day, and couldn’t wait until I could sit down to read more. I could see the plot twists and turns coming but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment.
The only thing I would say, is that there were enough typos, inconsistent verb tenses, and minor line repetitions to be noticeable, but not necessarily distracting. I couldn’t imagine how much effort to it takes to write a book so I can see how these little things could slip by.
I really enjoyed the plot and the characters, but I physically cannot overlook the sheer amount of grammatical errors. The flitting between tenses and the weird spacing was even off-putting at times. A good editor could really elevate the book, and I hope the author does this for book 2! Minus 1 star for the grammar and minus half a star because I guessed the plot twist 1/4 of the way through, regardless it didn't make the book less enjoyable, just a little predictable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
did I figure out this plot as soon as the MMC starting acting too familiar with the FMC when they first met? Yes. Did the side characters give away the big twist ending? Yes. Did I end up having a dandy good time? Also yes. Lolol the plot follows like half the books I've read at this point but it was fun and I'm a sucker for training scenes and a man down bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
chatgpt could write a better story than that, the writing is so shit I‘ve read stories 10 times better on wattpad.
edit: I‘m honestly mad, like who the fuck approved this book?? there are more spelling mistakes than good moments in that book. the fmc / mmc have ZERSO chemistry? they just jumped from hating each other to dropping the ‚i love yous‘ in like a speed not even flash could keep up with.
It’s good!! There’s a big plot twist but the storyline is easy to follow. I think it definitely feels inspired by Fourth Wing, but it’s a really good story. There are a few small editing mistakes or tiny plot holes but overall it’s a great story.
3.9 - I guessed the twist about 1/3 of the way through but still didn’t make this book less captivating. I liked the characters and group dynamic. Now I’ll just be awaiting a second book?
WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT???????!!!!!!!!!! I'M IN PURE SHOCK RN 😭 REBECCA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE i was smiling, giggling like a little girl, i was kinda annoyed also and then out of a sudden my jaw dropped.
I loved some of the characters, and I was so invested in the plot!! Plot was 4.5 stars
But minus -3 for the writing
that was the toughest read of the year for me, the grammar was all over the place, flitting between tenses, countless typos and weird spacing.
I BEG the author to get an editor for the next book, cause she clearly has a brilliantly creative mind and the plot shouldn’t suffer because of the writing!!
Yeah it was fine, really was just a copy paste of powerless. was a good enjoyment but also cringe i guess? i dont even know but yeah it was fun if you really miss the powerless books but dont want to reread ig 😂