Icara's Flight

by R.L. Balladrael

Icara Svi is a venerated immortal who does her best to play by the rules—until she discovers her father’s body in the wreckage of a crashed spaceship. Her father can’t be dead in this crash. He died seven years ago, in a mysterious accident that brought shame upon the Svi dynasty.

Investigating her father’s deaths will put her on the wrong side of the law, and as a monk-in-training Icara knows that Kesperen can take everything from her family, her immortality, even her memories.

But she can’t ignore this tragedy the way they want her to. Can she stay one step ahead of Kesperen’s agents long enough to uncover the truth? And can she guard her heart from the charming avicamel herder who’s helping her search, but may be hiding dangerous secrets of his own?

Genres: Fantasy

334 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2025

About the author

R.L. Balladrael is a physician scientist who left academia to pursue wild entrepreneurial ventures and fiction writing. She has solved math problems until her fingers blistered, flung herself into the ocean at night to swim with manta rays, and gone grocery shopping dressed as a pirate. She writes science fiction, fantasy, and romance, usually at the same time.

Reviews

[Yari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Icara's Flight, the first installment of the Chronicles of Kesperen, by R.L. Balladrael is a great fist of series.

After discovering a crash, Icara life is completely turned upside down. With her life and legacy now in question, she goes on a journey to understand her father’s true identity, the way she discovers everything she has known about her existence has been a lie.

Icara’s ARC is well developed and the world building is so intriguing it leaves the reader hungry for more, I cannot wait to read the next installment of this series.

Thank you, Mantarray, LLC, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 5 stars
Audio Release Date: Mar 14 2025

Tags:
#MantarrayLLC
#IcarasFlight
#RLBalladrael
#ChronicesOfKespren
#YarisBookNook
#netgalley

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a page turner - once I was a quarter of the way through, I couldn't put it down. The author does a great job building suspense throughout the narrative and slowly revealing more information as the plot progresses. I really enjoyed Icara's character development through the book, the personality-filled side characters throughout, and the detailed world building. I was thinking about Kesperen and the world for many days after I finished reading.

[Kira Sivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your life was paradise, would you want to know if it's true?

This is the question that came to me as I was reading Icara's Flight by R.L. Balladrael, and is one the concepts of Utopia. A world free of famine, poverty, discrimination, and crime. All that is good in the world, is all there is. The bad does not exist.

Yet, despite wishing it were so — is often too good to be true. In real life, and in the fictional world of Kesperen that we journey through.

Thank you to BookSiren and R.L. Balladrael for letting me read this ARC copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

✍🏽📖 The Reading Experience

The story is a Space Opera with an interesting premise that hooked me. The worldbuilding is excellent, giving the novel the richness I expected. I loved the variety of worlds, as well as the differences between the 'Home' and the 'Outside'.

My only major critique is that given the scope of the story and its ambitious ideas, the book felt too short, leading to some pacing issues that made the narrative move a bit too quickly at times.

Content Warning: If you do read this, I should mention that Icara's Flight contains depictions of sensitive topics including drug/alcohol consumption and addiction, mutilation, and mind alteration.


📚 The Story: The Story Underneath

The story follows Icara, a young monk-in-training as she sets out to investigate the death of her father. The thing is — he’s supposed to be long dead. Following leads takes her to the Outside, which somewhere no one from the Home should want to go but go she has to if she’s to find her answers.

Once there, Icara meets Esben, an avicamel herder, who seems to have ties to the rebels that she suspects her father knew. Then it’s a race against time as Icara searches for the one who’ll give her the answers she seeks before those hunting her catch up.


🪄 The System & Technology

The system isn't rather technology. It includes elemental 'charmers,' who can learn to manipulate elements.

There are also inventions like regeneration, allowing characters to resurrect themselves (though even that has limits) , and melmia, which allows users to essentially 'download' information directly into their brain, as a shortcut to learning. It's used as a supplement, not a replacement, for actual study, which is a detail that keeps the system balanced.


💡Themes: Control and Self-Discovery (Among Other Things)

A big part of this book is about Icara finding herself. Who she is when she's away from home. Away from everything and everyone she knows. Will she cling to old beliefs in their familiarity and safety, or will she embrace the new knowledge that she's gained?

A quest for truth which weaves other themes through like:

Us vs, Them Mentality: The separation between the perfect Home and the 'unworthy' Outside mirrors how we often assign differences to divide people.

Blind Devotion and Control: The worship of Vana, The One True God, introduces darker themes of organized religion, conforming, ritual mutilation, and the obsessive pursuit of perfection and control.


👥 Characters: The Faithful and Unbelievers

Icara: Starts off a faithful member of the Home, but even then, she doesn't seem to truly believe, reciting scriptures through rote rather than her own voice and emotion. She eventually takes matters into her hand to find the truth, choosing to use her eyes and discover the world for herself.

Esben: Starts off strong when he helps Icara's after she's injured after leaving the Home. He quickly befriends her, teaching her the Outsider way. He isn't there for her however, as he has his own issues to sort out.

Anyi Mott (the chaotic Captain 😊) : She is the surprise of the book. I didn't like her at first, she was gruff and abrasive when she first meets Icara, but then we get to know her, we discover that beneath her (understandably) problematic exterior, she's the good sort.

Dr. Jabar on the hand is not. The whole of Kesperen's system rests on her in more ways than one. While her initial motivation comes from an understandable circumstance, she has strayed so far down the path she's on she's on another planet entirely. I was a unsure about her monologuing to Magnus about her goals, as it felt out of character, given how secretive she is.


✔️ Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed this first book of the series. Overall, I enjoyed this first book of the series. The plot, worldbuilding, and the characters are compelling, and I'm looking forward to seeing them grow in the second book.

If you like stories similar to Star Wars — with different vast worlds, political intrigue, morally complex characters, —you should give this a try 😉.

[Lia (Roman) Rusu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Global conspiracies, lies within lies, worlds ended to forward one chosen realm, secret investigations and generalised suspicion leaving no options wherein to place your trust once the reality you cherished as the ultimate truth is shattered into a million deceitful mirror shards.

Icara's story is intriguing and transfixing, her world resembling a Dune-like universe, with a burdensome deity, rules, rituals, fire charmers, blood charmers, lightning charmers, air charmers, water charmers, earth charmers, ether charmers, priests, outcasts, omnimeds, marriage-arrangement monks, childbearing-approval monks, worship monitors, sin judges, and so many other gripping details pertaining to a well-developed imaginary microcosm.

The writing is agreeable and the fast-paced story unfolds in a relatively constant rhythm, making the reading experience quite delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed the fictional details of Icara's world, from invented materials, drinks, torture techniques, martial arts styles, formidable plants and mind/memory altering-substances. I loved the wordsmith's craft regarding word-coining: very suggestive and easily pronounced new terms. Forged phrases in invented languages are also a treat for any bookworm.

I was quite taken with the book and the protagonist's journey of (self) discovery. I wish some characters had more depth and history so that their visions may be rendered clearer to the reader. I am, however, eagerly looking forward to the promised sequel.

I highly recommend the novel to sci-fi and fantasy lovers. They will be charmed by this literary gem! As will mystery and exploration enthusiasts. This is a complex book with spices for everyone's cup of tea, milk or mulled wine.

---
I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
---

Memorable quotes:

**

I want the urgency of a short life, Kiara. It’s not that I want to die. I simply think
dessert tastes better when there’s less of it.”

**
**

“What’s ‘two moons’?” she asked. “It means ‘it’s not so bad,’” said Esben. “From
the saying ‘At least there are still two moons in the sky .’”

**
**

“You become like those you admire,” Mother said, “so admire carefully.

**
**

Lightning didn’t ask for permission. Lightning didn’t care who was watching.
Lightning started fires and made glass on the beach.

**
**

“Memorize whatever you care about,” her great-grandmother always said, “because you never know when it’ll be taken away .”

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kind of reminds of the world we live in. The corruption and the fear people in power inflict and the lengths others will go to to stop them and reveal the truth to all.

Icara is a young woman living in the Home where all are promised all their needs just as long as they remain inside the Home and do as they are told. The Home as opposed to the Outside is a totally different place to live than those on the Outside. It sounds like in the Home everything is given to you. If you need clothes, food, etc is given to you. No-one in the Home knows what money is because they don't use it. But you are told where to work, who to marry, and everyone must worship Vana and if you don't worship Vana, you will die. The Outside, on the other hand, one needs money to buy anything one needs to survive and you work whatever jobs you need to do to earn your money. One afternoon Icara witnesses a ship crash land just outside the Home. She runs towards the ship to check for survivors and finds her dads remains on board. But her dad died 7 years previously or at least that is what she was led to believe. The story begins to get interesting when she starts researching her dad and his associates. Icara makes it to the outside world where she begins searching for a particular pilot that she is very sure worked with her dad and she is almost positive is a terrorist as well. Her hope is to find this person and haul them back to Kesperin, the Home, and all her sins will be forgiven her and she will be taken back into the fold and life will go on. She runs into a man in the outside world her herds avicamels but also seems to know the tunnels well where Icara thinks the pilot she is looking for is hiding. A slow romance develops and before Icara, now going by Kiara, knows what is going on she finds that she is happier on the outside then she ever was in the Home and she finds out that things aren't always as the people in power make you believe. A very fast paced and exciting story. I look forward to Book 2.

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

[Βίκυ Χ. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Petals slash through the cosmic veil.
Breathe deep—space never promised mercy.

Icara’s Flight by R. L. Balladrael
Chronicles of Kesperen, Book 1

“She was a flower on a world that had no room for plants.”
Flowers, of course, are as stubborn as they are beautiful—and just as resilient as they are fragile. So is Icara.

R. L. Balladrael’s debut is a full-throttle space-opera that fuses science, deft world-building, and a shimmer of sorcery into one breath-stealing ride. From the first page I felt “entranced, intoxicated, living in an alternate reality,” exactly as the heroine herself does.

Icara’s mission—unmask the Mirage the Council uses to veil its monstrous agenda—is both epic in scale and achingly personal. Watching her risk the only life she has ever known (including her own heart) is equal parts exhilarating and gut-wrenching. Nothing and no one stays what they seem as the plot rockets through revelation after revelation; several scenes were so intense I had to remind myself to breathe.

The supporting cast is no space-opera wallpaper: each character arrives with history, motives, and a pocket of surprises, while Balladrael juggles their arcs without dropping a single thread. The tech feels cohesive, the economics plausible, the astro-politics deliciously messy, and the invented languages just alien enough. Even the villain—a darkly magnetic mad-scientist—is more than a mustache-twirler; his motives are chillingly logical.

By the time the explosive climax subsided, I was equal parts satisfied and ravenous for book two. Icara’s Flight is witty, terrifying, weirdly tender, and absolutely un-put-downable. If you crave a space epic with moral gray zones, sharp banter, and a dash of romance, dive in head-first. You’ll come up gasping—and grinning—for more.

[John Purvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is R.L. Balladrael’s (https://balladrael.com) debut novel. Icara’s Flight was published in March of this year and is the first book in her Chronicles of Kesperen series. It is the 23rd title I’ve completed reading in 2025.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

Icara Svi is a young woman who has lived by the rules of her society. That is, until she finds her father’s body in the wreckage of a spacecraft. The problem is that he supposedly died nearly seven years earlier in an accident that brought shame to the family. Icara can’t let this anomaly go and begins to investigate.

Icara had been training for the religious order that follows Vana. Pursuing the investigation will put that at risk. Perhaps even her life. Following Vana makes life good. You have everything you want. You are told how to live. You are taken care of as long as you follow Vana.

Those Outside struggle to live, getting by however they can manage. Icara enters that world to find answers. She is looking for a pilot who knew her father. What she finds is a young man who herds avicamels and who may have ties to rebels. She hopes he will lead her to the man she is seeking. Along the way, romance blooms. As she digs deeper, she finds that the society she knows is built on lies.

The 8 hours I spent reading this 266-page science fiction novel were interesting, though there were times the plot did not flow as smoothly as I would have liked. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 3 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC copy!

What I really loved about this book was the worldbuilding: both the Home and the Outside are lovingly fleshed out, with all the wonders of a sci-fi setting on full display. There's everything you'd expect in a utopian sci-fi society where supposedly there is no war, everything is free, everyone has a predefined job, and everyone lives forever, with only sinners dying, (obviously dark secrets just lying beneath the surface) of Home, Outside is chaotic but very alive, and the alien worlds all have interesting facets described as well. Icara is very interested in worlds beyond her own, especially when she is forced to confront the lies underpinning it, and she's a good narrator to explore the world with (befitting a character who desperately would rather be an explorer than her preassigned role of being a justice monk.) I also really enjoyed the unfolding reveals of the dark secrets underpinning Icara's world and life.

However, the pacing of this book was off. Icara tends to blunder about, directly asking people about confidential information, that to be fair, does get her and others in trouble very quickly, but she really seems to have a too easy time of it once she gets Outside. The reveal that half of her childhood memories are all lies gets glossed over by her relatively quickly within a few scenes. She's naive and completely unaccustomed to the idea of money, but she still gets money, help, and a job really quickly, which felt strange. Also the villain here was very obvious and went on a villain revealing all of their motivations, which seemed very blunt.

[Shannon Seafish Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is a unique futuristic/sci-fi storyline where technology and religion are used to subjugate the general population. In the core worlds there are evil overlords and acolytes, some innocent, many complicit.
The main character is Icara, who is a lawyer/monk in training who finds herself in trouble when she questions the ethics of her religion. But what follows is a needlessly complicated story involving the death of her father, rebel factions on an outside planet, family in positions of power that she doesn't trust
This would be an enjoyable story if the FMC wasn't constantly vacillating about whether to return to her home, even after every atrocity that could be committed against her in the name of religion has happened. It feels like about a third of the book is dedicated to this internal dialogue which is distracting.
Also, the biggest evil overlord has to launch into her evil plan, explaining it step by step to Icara's brother in law, not that he would actually have an interest in helping her. So what could have been used to garner interest in a follow up story kind of gets burned out in a long, unnecessary confession of the big bad.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ rounded up

Icara's Flight is the start to an incredibly ambitious story. R.L. Balladrael's experience as a scientist shows in the complexity of the world(s). I loved the political intrigue and scheming, the descriptions of the different lands and creatures, and the journey of faith that our FMC goes through.

For a story with so many complex ideas this is quite a short read. Unfortunately this made for some odd pacing for me. Some sections were described in thorough detail, which helped me visualize the scenes. However, at other times, I found it skimmed over things that were important, and we jumped ahead in time without much reason for it.

In terms of characterization I'm a bit torn. I liked the concept of what each character represented within the story, but they could have used more complexity. There were some great character moments and quotes that I saved that I found relatable, but some of the dialogue felt off/awkward.

Overall I was quite impressed with this debut, and I'm looking forward to the release of the sequel!

Thank you to Book Sirens and the author for providing me with a copy for review.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Icara’s Flight is a gripping sci-fi novel set in a rich, futuristic world full of rules, religion, and secrets. The story follows Icara, a young woman starting to question everything she’s been taught. As she uncovers hidden truths, her journey becomes one of courage, self-discovery, and resistance.

R.L. Balladrael’s writing is clear and powerful, with vivid scenes and strong emotional depth. The world feels real and the main characters are easy to care about. The book moves at a steady pace, blending mystery, action, love, friendship, family, and deep questions about belief and freedom.

It’s the kind of book that’s hard to put down. I found myself fully caught up in Icara’s world and can’t wait to continue her story. I definitely recommend this one to sci-fi fans looking for a fresh and engaging read.

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

[Kay Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really is a magnificent blend of science fiction, fantasy and romance. The last is a slow burn, tender beginning that builds slowly over the storyline. Icara (Kiara) is a strong stubborn young woman who gets into trouble and flees the role expected of her. Esben is a ‘retired’ fighter for the resistance who strives to protect friends and aid those in need. But the bigger picture is so much more. The evil infiltrating worlds is almost unbelievable, encompassing the ruling religion and the controlling forces. There is plenty of action, abilities that are stunning, and millions of lives that need saving. The world building is perfection. Even the descriptions of space craft is carefully structured and easily understood. I found this book riveting from start to finish!!!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story had interesting world building and enjoyed the main characters. Icara had a lot to learn about her world. She was considered an aristocrat due to her mother's position. Many things don't make sense to her and she challenges a lot of things that she is expected to just follow. There are others that see her challenges as reasons to abduct her and subject her to some questionable practices. How does her mother handle this? What is the mystery surrounding her father's death?

I am looking forward to the next book.

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

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as an ARC from Book Siren knowing next to nothing about it and was really pleasantly surprised. I'm a huge fan of any story that features the hidden evil underbelly of an empire being revealed and the systematic unraveling of the main character's faith was deftly executed in a way that had me finishing the book in two sittings. The worldbuilding is wonderfully complex without too much cumbersome infodumping and the romance develops fairly naturally without veering into any YA-style limerence at first sight territory. I enjoyed this immensely and immediately signed up for the author's newsletter so I can buy book 2 when it comes out.

[H. Nightshade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Icara’s Flight is a soaring triumph of imagination and emotion. R.L. Balladrael crafts a tale that is both epic in scope and deeply personal, blending lyrical prose with breathtaking worldbuilding. Icara’s journey is filled with resilience, sacrifice, and the fierce pull of destiny, making her a heroine who lingers in the heart long after the last page.

The pacing is flawless, the characters are layered with nuance, and the themes of freedom, loss, and hope resonate on every level. This is the kind of story that reminds you why you fell in love with reading in the first place.

An absolute masterpiece—Balladrael has set the bar impossibly high for the genre.

[Joseph L L · Rating 4 out of 5]

They say Immortality is mainly boredom, which Icara's Flight is not.

Icara has it all, a home, a future husband, a promising job. All that ends when her father's dead body literally falls from the sky and leads her into a great adventure.

R.L. Balladreal writes a compelling story with complex characters and beliefs.

The worlds are living worlds with living people. The enemies are real and not just cardboard cutouts.

I can't wait to read the sequel.

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

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, I will now be buying the rest of them, I have to know how everything turns out and can you say anything better than that about a book? I highly recommend this book to everyone, you if you like sci-fi/fantasy at all you definitely don't want to miss this one!

[Delia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice concept! Eagerly waiting for the second book!! :)

[FoxieLee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I haven’t picked up a fantasy book like this in years. Trust me Icara/Kiara and Esben story, the rich worlds they live in and all the political drama, it’s well worth the wait.
To live in a world where you grow up believing what you’re told, only to run from it to clear your name and bring in the so called terrorists. Then to find out what you believed was all a lie. It blows the mind.
I can’t wait to see what happens next. I hope Kiara finds her way back to Esben and get to live their lives the way the should.

[Mitzi Passos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of Icara's flight for an honest review and here it is.
This is an adventure packed story that moves quickly right from the start. Icara is a sheltered young woman in a theocratic society where everyone is promised a life of plenty and immortality if you follow all their tenants and stay in the Home. When her supposedly dead father resurfaces, the story starts to unravel, and we follow Icara on her search for the truth and redemption.
There are different POVs and slow-burn romance, both aspects that I love. There is no mystery regarding who the villain is, but I really liked seeing insights into their motives and mind.
That being said, I found Icara's stance on Kesperen, the ruling Home, contradictory to her character's build and personality at times. I also thought the villain was a bit black and white and lacked more depth, but maybe there will be more to it in the next instalments.
The book ends on a mild cliffhanger giving us a taste of what's to come, and I look forward to seeing Icara's development!