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Black as Diamond
Not yet published
Expected 3 Mar 26A cursed warrior. A reckless healer. A chance to save the world - or condemn it.
Like the rest of the winged eresh keyel, warrior Asaru has spent his life fighting the remnants of a long-dead enemy. When his brother's squadron disappears from a border keep, Asaru travels into the human realm to investigate, only to become ensnared by a fatal - and unbreakable - curse that could wipe out his people.
When he inadvertently commits a terrible crime, Asaru is thrown into the path of Wren, an emotionally tortured former healer playing with dangerous magic. Bound to one another by a spell gone wrong, and on the run from freelance killers, they set out to find the Chronicler, keeper of the eresh keyel's history who could bring them answers, redemption, and the cure to Asaru's curse. But the truths they uncover about the past have the power to break the world into pieces, ending human civilization and settling its remnants into something entirely new.
From Nigerian Canadian author U. M. Agoawike, Black as Diamond is a fresh, dark, and thrilling debut that untangles questions of queer identity, history, and power, illuminating a society crushed by the lingering actions of a few.
Like the rest of the winged eresh keyel, warrior Asaru has spent his life fighting the remnants of a long-dead enemy. When his brother's squadron disappears from a border keep, Asaru travels into the human realm to investigate, only to become ensnared by a fatal - and unbreakable - curse that could wipe out his people.
When he inadvertently commits a terrible crime, Asaru is thrown into the path of Wren, an emotionally tortured former healer playing with dangerous magic. Bound to one another by a spell gone wrong, and on the run from freelance killers, they set out to find the Chronicler, keeper of the eresh keyel's history who could bring them answers, redemption, and the cure to Asaru's curse. But the truths they uncover about the past have the power to break the world into pieces, ending human civilization and settling its remnants into something entirely new.
From Nigerian Canadian author U. M. Agoawike, Black as Diamond is a fresh, dark, and thrilling debut that untangles questions of queer identity, history, and power, illuminating a society crushed by the lingering actions of a few.
496 pages, Paperback
Expected publication March 3, 2026
5 people are currently reading
1449 people want to read
About the author
U.M. Agoawike
2 books8 followersU.M. Agoawike is a Nigerian-Canadian author of short stories with vibes for plot and SFF books featuring everything but the kitchen sink. When not writing, U.M. can be found drawing, watching horror movies, or reading fanfiction.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 3, 2025
Read for work, very wild epic dark fantasy!!
October 16, 2025
Where this book struggles is in the writing. While, for the most part it’s … serviceable, it’s also clunky with misused words, confusing sentences, and grammatically incorrectly ordered adjectives. Words mean things, and the book uses them in ways that make almost no sense. There’s an order to adjectives that flows naturally to a native English speaker’s ear, and this book doesn’t always match that order. Likewise in descriptions, or lines of action, the subject and the action aren’t always in a way that reads … easily. It comes across as stilted and stiff.
Personally, it made reading this book feel more like work than pleasure. The style isn’t bad … it’s just not one I find pleasant to read. My brain kept wanting to rephrase sentences to something that felt smoother.
There are also some repeated phrases, such as “kissed his/her teeth” — which stands out, especially in sentences like: “Asaru shoved [Wren] away and kissed his teeth.” where I don’t think Asaru is kissing Wren so much as … kissing his own teeth. Or using palfrey for a cart horse when that’s the wrong sort of horse. It’d be like saying someone used a ladle to stir their tea. Same shape, but not used correctly.
However, for all that — and there is quite a bit of that — there is something to this book. I honestly believe that the author had a vision and a passion for the world they created; the magic system feels fully realized and the characters are all very aware of their world and how it works. But … I think there’s a missing chunk, maybe as much as 20% of the book, that is still in the author’s head. As if they knew the world and characters so well they didn’t need to explain everything, which is an excellent way to drop a reader into the book but … too much was left out.
For example, there are three races: ordinary humans, the eresh keyel — who are winged, tailed, clawed and horned — and a hybrid of both called the lulaik who … also have tails? What kind of tails? Are they feathered tails like birds, furred and tufted like a lion’s? Are they barbed at the tip like a demon? And the book only remembers to mention the tails every now and then without describing them. They’re long enough someone can step on them, but what do they look like? Eresh keyel have feathered wings, but long sinuous tails. I think. And I’m sorry, but that lack of description was confusing, and the tails are only there when they serve a plot point.
If you’re looking for a new world and magic system, something not based on ye olde knights and firebreathing dragons, this book has that in spades. The world feels large and lush and the exposition dumps are almost invisible. Every bit of information comes to a character from another character, or through some in world action. The religion, the races, it’s all very interesting. But the writing. And the fact that I strongly feel like the author didn’t manage to put enough of their vision into the book, leaving me floundering when it comes to large sections of the world building.
Still. If this author ever puts out another book I’d still pick it up, so there’s that. Thank you very much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.
Personally, it made reading this book feel more like work than pleasure. The style isn’t bad … it’s just not one I find pleasant to read. My brain kept wanting to rephrase sentences to something that felt smoother.
There are also some repeated phrases, such as “kissed his/her teeth” — which stands out, especially in sentences like: “Asaru shoved [Wren] away and kissed his teeth.” where I don’t think Asaru is kissing Wren so much as … kissing his own teeth. Or using palfrey for a cart horse when that’s the wrong sort of horse. It’d be like saying someone used a ladle to stir their tea. Same shape, but not used correctly.
However, for all that — and there is quite a bit of that — there is something to this book. I honestly believe that the author had a vision and a passion for the world they created; the magic system feels fully realized and the characters are all very aware of their world and how it works. But … I think there’s a missing chunk, maybe as much as 20% of the book, that is still in the author’s head. As if they knew the world and characters so well they didn’t need to explain everything, which is an excellent way to drop a reader into the book but … too much was left out.
For example, there are three races: ordinary humans, the eresh keyel — who are winged, tailed, clawed and horned — and a hybrid of both called the lulaik who … also have tails? What kind of tails? Are they feathered tails like birds, furred and tufted like a lion’s? Are they barbed at the tip like a demon? And the book only remembers to mention the tails every now and then without describing them. They’re long enough someone can step on them, but what do they look like? Eresh keyel have feathered wings, but long sinuous tails. I think. And I’m sorry, but that lack of description was confusing, and the tails are only there when they serve a plot point.
If you’re looking for a new world and magic system, something not based on ye olde knights and firebreathing dragons, this book has that in spades. The world feels large and lush and the exposition dumps are almost invisible. Every bit of information comes to a character from another character, or through some in world action. The religion, the races, it’s all very interesting. But the writing. And the fact that I strongly feel like the author didn’t manage to put enough of their vision into the book, leaving me floundering when it comes to large sections of the world building.
Still. If this author ever puts out another book I’d still pick it up, so there’s that. Thank you very much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.
November 11, 2025
I received a free copy from Bindery Books via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Release date March 3rd, 2026.
I saw this new release and I thought I'd give the high fantasy premise a shot. In Black as Diamond, failed healer Wren accidentally casts a spell that ties him to Asaru, who is suffering from a curse and desperately trying to find his brother. Joined by Wren's old friend and an exiled warrior, the four journey across the continent in search for the Archivist, who may hold the answers they seek.
I'll preface this review by saying that one of my favorite things is confusing books. I enjoy the art of puzzling out twisty plot and worldbuilding where many key details remain unspoken, like in Hexwood, Rakesfall, or Harrow the Ninth. Having said that. Black as Diamond is totally incomprehensible. It feels like jumping in at book 10 of a series, and not the kind that has helpful asides summarizing details from the last books, either. It doesn't feel the need to explain minor details, like why 65 years old is considered youthful or why Asaru has wings, which I actually prefer as a worldbuilding technique. But it also has great gaping chunks missing out of critical details explaining the characters' motivations and goals. It feels like a long fantasy novel was skeletonized by a swarm of bookworms down to half the size, leaving a book where it was difficult to engage with the story because the central stakes are barely explained.
On the character side, the book was split up into four POV characters, each of which get relatively equal narrative focus. The divided focus was perhaps a bit ambitious for a modest fantasy novel of only four hundred pages. Out of the four characters, Wren probably had the most character development, which was unfortunate because I didn't gel with his character. He's pathologically insecure and constantly takes the blame for everything, and the self-flagellation gets tiresome. All four of the main leads are paired off in the beginnings of two different romances, which felt a touch forced. But perhaps after the cliffhanger that ends the novel, the next novel will flesh the relationships out a bit more.
I think there were some interesting bones here, especially in Wren's magic tie to Asaru and complicated relationship with healing. But this book desperately cries out for the rest of the novel. What's on page just doesn't make sense.
I saw this new release and I thought I'd give the high fantasy premise a shot. In Black as Diamond, failed healer Wren accidentally casts a spell that ties him to Asaru, who is suffering from a curse and desperately trying to find his brother. Joined by Wren's old friend and an exiled warrior, the four journey across the continent in search for the Archivist, who may hold the answers they seek.
I'll preface this review by saying that one of my favorite things is confusing books. I enjoy the art of puzzling out twisty plot and worldbuilding where many key details remain unspoken, like in Hexwood, Rakesfall, or Harrow the Ninth. Having said that. Black as Diamond is totally incomprehensible. It feels like jumping in at book 10 of a series, and not the kind that has helpful asides summarizing details from the last books, either. It doesn't feel the need to explain minor details, like why 65 years old is considered youthful or why Asaru has wings, which I actually prefer as a worldbuilding technique. But it also has great gaping chunks missing out of critical details explaining the characters' motivations and goals. It feels like a long fantasy novel was skeletonized by a swarm of bookworms down to half the size, leaving a book where it was difficult to engage with the story because the central stakes are barely explained.
On the character side, the book was split up into four POV characters, each of which get relatively equal narrative focus. The divided focus was perhaps a bit ambitious for a modest fantasy novel of only four hundred pages. Out of the four characters, Wren probably had the most character development, which was unfortunate because I didn't gel with his character. He's pathologically insecure and constantly takes the blame for everything, and the self-flagellation gets tiresome. All four of the main leads are paired off in the beginnings of two different romances, which felt a touch forced. But perhaps after the cliffhanger that ends the novel, the next novel will flesh the relationships out a bit more.
I think there were some interesting bones here, especially in Wren's magic tie to Asaru and complicated relationship with healing. But this book desperately cries out for the rest of the novel. What's on page just doesn't make sense.
December 6, 2025
Thanks Netgalley & the Bindery for the ARC!
I was quite excited about this premise, and wanted to love it, but unfortunately I had some issues with it. I wasn't bored, and the story kept me engaged enough to keep reading to the end, and the characters had some interesting moments, but at the same time I constantly felt like I was missing information. I rarely had a good grasp of where characters were or what was happening, and that made it very difficult to follow along with the plot.
The book has 4 POV characters, with Asaru and Wren being the main characters, though the POVs are quite equally divided. The other two characters were Palenisa, a former nun of sorts, and Rishé, a childhood friend of Wren. Palenisa is a character who confused me for some time, it wasn't until the end I really figured out what her deal was, but overall all characters felt developed and had interesting moments.
The world building is vast, but at the same time underexplained. There's various species, religions, countries, but I never really got a good grasp of the world. There's perhaps a bit too much, and we don't linger much in the parts that are relevant and might need some further explaining.
The pacing was generally fast, and I think sometimes too fast to really get a graps of what's happening. Often characters are somewhere and I'm not sure how they got there, and that might be on me for missing things, but it was a constant for reading this book.
The plot and characters did keep me engaged, and I was curious about what was going to happen to keep reading, but overall I would have preferred less plot points with more development of what we had to make sure I could actually follow along with everything that was happening
The ending was interesting and made it clear this was first in a series, and I am curious what happens next, but not yet sure if I'll pick up the next installment.
I was quite excited about this premise, and wanted to love it, but unfortunately I had some issues with it. I wasn't bored, and the story kept me engaged enough to keep reading to the end, and the characters had some interesting moments, but at the same time I constantly felt like I was missing information. I rarely had a good grasp of where characters were or what was happening, and that made it very difficult to follow along with the plot.
The book has 4 POV characters, with Asaru and Wren being the main characters, though the POVs are quite equally divided. The other two characters were Palenisa, a former nun of sorts, and Rishé, a childhood friend of Wren. Palenisa is a character who confused me for some time, it wasn't until the end I really figured out what her deal was, but overall all characters felt developed and had interesting moments.
The world building is vast, but at the same time underexplained. There's various species, religions, countries, but I never really got a good grasp of the world. There's perhaps a bit too much, and we don't linger much in the parts that are relevant and might need some further explaining.
The pacing was generally fast, and I think sometimes too fast to really get a graps of what's happening. Often characters are somewhere and I'm not sure how they got there, and that might be on me for missing things, but it was a constant for reading this book.
The plot and characters did keep me engaged, and I was curious about what was going to happen to keep reading, but overall I would have preferred less plot points with more development of what we had to make sure I could actually follow along with everything that was happening
The ending was interesting and made it clear this was first in a series, and I am curious what happens next, but not yet sure if I'll pick up the next installment.
November 27, 2025
Black as Diamond
U.M. Agoawike
The first book (I assume based off the cliffhanger ending) of a new high fantasy series. Eresh keyel warrior Asaru is on the run after killing a king under possession while tracking down his brother and the Chronicler. His paths magically cross with Wren and a slew of other characters as they work together to find The Chronicler.
Each chapter is told through the POV of one of four main characters. Each character has their strengths and flaws in narration as well as overall arc. It’s possible focusing on four characters might be a bit much for the short length (compared to other high fantasy novels) of the book. While it is interesting seeing the events from other characters besides Wren and Asaru by the end the other two didn’t have much to add to the story.
The plot is dense and the world building is admirable, however there were some aspects of the world rules that never made sense, nor were they explained or seemed to have any effect on the story. At times you could see that the author knows the rules intimately but either forgot to include details or just wanted to leave readers in the dark, and it is possible that in future installments they will be explained.
The story takes its time setting up the world while also focusing on action with a pinch of queer romance. There are also some descriptions used multiple times that don’t read well or translate through writing but are ubiquitous to the genre.
As a first novel I was left intrigued where it will go but I do worry if it takes time for the next book I’ll either forget the details or not have interest to follow up.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the eARC in return for a review
U.M. Agoawike
The first book (I assume based off the cliffhanger ending) of a new high fantasy series. Eresh keyel warrior Asaru is on the run after killing a king under possession while tracking down his brother and the Chronicler. His paths magically cross with Wren and a slew of other characters as they work together to find The Chronicler.
Each chapter is told through the POV of one of four main characters. Each character has their strengths and flaws in narration as well as overall arc. It’s possible focusing on four characters might be a bit much for the short length (compared to other high fantasy novels) of the book. While it is interesting seeing the events from other characters besides Wren and Asaru by the end the other two didn’t have much to add to the story.
The plot is dense and the world building is admirable, however there were some aspects of the world rules that never made sense, nor were they explained or seemed to have any effect on the story. At times you could see that the author knows the rules intimately but either forgot to include details or just wanted to leave readers in the dark, and it is possible that in future installments they will be explained.
The story takes its time setting up the world while also focusing on action with a pinch of queer romance. There are also some descriptions used multiple times that don’t read well or translate through writing but are ubiquitous to the genre.
As a first novel I was left intrigued where it will go but I do worry if it takes time for the next book I’ll either forget the details or not have interest to follow up.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the eARC in return for a review
October 23, 2025
4.5 stars
This one is Bold but memorable... The narrative follows Asaru, a winged soldier bound by duty and curse, and Wren, a healer whose defiance blurs the line between salvation and destruction. Together, they navigate a world where history, identity, and power collide in unexpected ways. Agoawike builds a setting rich in tension and consequence, where every choice matters.
The author’s approach to fantasy is refreshingly grounded. There are themes of guilt, power, and belonging. These fore the characters to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves and the world they’re trying to save. The result is a story that feels epic but deeply personal in tone.
The relationship between Asaru and Wren unfolds with complexity but also restrain. It felt more than just a simple romance or partnership. I think the relationship was more of a layered bond formed under pressure, filled with doubt, anger, and fragile hope.
Black as Diamond is dark, imaginative, and strikingly original. This fantasy also questions what are the costs that come with survival and what it means to be truly free.
For readers looking for something that challenges the familiar characteristics of the genre, but also something that offers power and emotion... this one might be for you.
Thank you NetGally, Bindery Books, and Ezeekat Press for the ARC. Can't wait to get my hard copy!
This one is Bold but memorable... The narrative follows Asaru, a winged soldier bound by duty and curse, and Wren, a healer whose defiance blurs the line between salvation and destruction. Together, they navigate a world where history, identity, and power collide in unexpected ways. Agoawike builds a setting rich in tension and consequence, where every choice matters.
The author’s approach to fantasy is refreshingly grounded. There are themes of guilt, power, and belonging. These fore the characters to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves and the world they’re trying to save. The result is a story that feels epic but deeply personal in tone.
The relationship between Asaru and Wren unfolds with complexity but also restrain. It felt more than just a simple romance or partnership. I think the relationship was more of a layered bond formed under pressure, filled with doubt, anger, and fragile hope.
Black as Diamond is dark, imaginative, and strikingly original. This fantasy also questions what are the costs that come with survival and what it means to be truly free.
For readers looking for something that challenges the familiar characteristics of the genre, but also something that offers power and emotion... this one might be for you.
Thank you NetGally, Bindery Books, and Ezeekat Press for the ARC. Can't wait to get my hard copy!
December 1, 2025
Black as Diamond is a fantasy book following four main characters: a human alchemist, a half human failed healer, an eresh keyel warrior (winged humanoid creature with tail) and a priestess, working together to break a curse and save the realm. While I enjoyed the story, at times I had to stop and re-read parts because they wording didn't make sense. The world building was vast and intriguing, but missing some details leaving me a little confused at times. I felt that the relationships were a little rushed since most of the time the characters were snapping at each other and in stressful situations. I would have liked a little more building of the relationships.
Overall, good fantasy book. Interesting characters, world, and magic.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, good fantasy book. Interesting characters, world, and magic.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 22, 2025
At times dark and wrenching, at other moments full of blade-sharpened wit, or sometimes brimming with gritty hope that settles beneath your fingernails—above all, unforgettable.
I’m pleased to be the first to say it here: U. M. Agoawike is the freshest new voice in epic fantasy. Prepare to take note, and to be utterly transported.
I’m pleased to be the first to say it here: U. M. Agoawike is the freshest new voice in epic fantasy. Prepare to take note, and to be utterly transported.
August 4, 2025
A wickedly original epic fantasy bound by the familiar threads of friendship, family, and fate. Agoawike's masterful world-building is in rare balance with characters who shine bright within a world where nobody quite fits and nothing is as it seems. Dark but boldly hopeful, Black as Diamond is fantasy at its most brilliant!
November 3, 2025
I love epic fantasy. This is a great start to a multi-book series and I'm excited to see where the story goes. I think I should have referred to the glossary more often because there is a ton of new vocab/lore that could have been explained a little more.
A huge thanks to Bindery and Net Galley for the EARC!
A huge thanks to Bindery and Net Galley for the EARC!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews