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Faith In Annihilation
"If the Almighty is capable of making such perfect beings, then why was I not one of them?"
Kena hates mages–which is strange, considering she is quite the mage herself. But despite her gifts, she’d sooner dig her own grave than conform herself to Denwroth’s Institute of Arcane and Academia. So when she’s forced to break into the lab of a highmage in order to pay off a debt, she hasn’t the slightest issue with the crime.
But what Kena doesn’t realize is that the man she’s stolen from is no ordinary mage.
When Sin Desmond has his work stolen, he is overcome with hate for the thief, a hate that only worsens when the contents of his research are deemed heretical by the Sanctified Root. Now, the only copies rest in the hands of the very criminal who jeopardized his chance for archmage.
A criminal who seems to be the only other person who believes in his work.
Thus, a rocky, volatile partnership founded on nothing more than mutual, blasphemous curiosity is born.
As the two work to realize the applications of Sin’s theories, they come face-to-face with the true cost of magic and are forced to confront their beliefs. Because what they once believed to be heresy may very well be the thing that saves the world.
Or destroys it.
Kena hates mages–which is strange, considering she is quite the mage herself. But despite her gifts, she’d sooner dig her own grave than conform herself to Denwroth’s Institute of Arcane and Academia. So when she’s forced to break into the lab of a highmage in order to pay off a debt, she hasn’t the slightest issue with the crime.
But what Kena doesn’t realize is that the man she’s stolen from is no ordinary mage.
When Sin Desmond has his work stolen, he is overcome with hate for the thief, a hate that only worsens when the contents of his research are deemed heretical by the Sanctified Root. Now, the only copies rest in the hands of the very criminal who jeopardized his chance for archmage.
A criminal who seems to be the only other person who believes in his work.
Thus, a rocky, volatile partnership founded on nothing more than mutual, blasphemous curiosity is born.
As the two work to realize the applications of Sin’s theories, they come face-to-face with the true cost of magic and are forced to confront their beliefs. Because what they once believed to be heresy may very well be the thing that saves the world.
Or destroys it.
- GenresFantasy
652 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 10, 2025
5 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 22, 2025
it’s 04:18 i’ll write a more coherent review in the morning but wow. i am an absolute wreck. this book and these characters consumed my entire soul and i don’t want to leave them behind.
•••
multiple weeks later bc i forgot to come back 💀 this is genuinely a perfect book to me. the world building was strong, and the magic system very unique; i really enjoyed seeing how differently everyone interacted with it(especially kena and sin because of their different backgrounds). i got attached to both of the pov characters so quickly, and was so invested in seeing their relationship grow and change. they both had such clear, distinct voices both internally and in their dialogue. the side characters are equally amazing, specifically val, who might be my favorite in the book. i love val. her emotional journey brought me to tears multiple times. honestly don’t even want to think about how many times i sobbed while reading (sometimes at 3am. or on public transport. or at a hair salon. it makes sense once you read the ending). the prose was just so insanely gorgeous and poetic. i somehow wound up with over 200 annotations and a notes app file stuffed with random quotes bc it was all so beautiful. also… was not expecting a romance at all but there are two stunning romantic arcs with elite yearning that might have healed my soul. in conclusion, everyone needs to read FiA immediately. bc it’s perfect.
•••
some of my favorite non spoilery quotes:
“she surrendered herself to gravity, giving herself to the fall without so much as a fight, as though she was absolutely certain no one was there to catch. but that was wrong. someone was there.”
“movement is more than enough to take a life.”
“it was futile, for she was the one thing in this world i was unable to understand. her words, her actions, her emotions. i was a student of her existence, learning more and more every day.”
“two people from two different walks of life, joined together in curious heresy.”
there are so many more that i love sooo read the book and find them.
•••
multiple weeks later bc i forgot to come back 💀 this is genuinely a perfect book to me. the world building was strong, and the magic system very unique; i really enjoyed seeing how differently everyone interacted with it(especially kena and sin because of their different backgrounds). i got attached to both of the pov characters so quickly, and was so invested in seeing their relationship grow and change. they both had such clear, distinct voices both internally and in their dialogue. the side characters are equally amazing, specifically val, who might be my favorite in the book. i love val. her emotional journey brought me to tears multiple times. honestly don’t even want to think about how many times i sobbed while reading (sometimes at 3am. or on public transport. or at a hair salon. it makes sense once you read the ending). the prose was just so insanely gorgeous and poetic. i somehow wound up with over 200 annotations and a notes app file stuffed with random quotes bc it was all so beautiful. also… was not expecting a romance at all but there are two stunning romantic arcs with elite yearning that might have healed my soul. in conclusion, everyone needs to read FiA immediately. bc it’s perfect.
•••
some of my favorite non spoilery quotes:
“she surrendered herself to gravity, giving herself to the fall without so much as a fight, as though she was absolutely certain no one was there to catch. but that was wrong. someone was there.”
“movement is more than enough to take a life.”
“it was futile, for she was the one thing in this world i was unable to understand. her words, her actions, her emotions. i was a student of her existence, learning more and more every day.”
“two people from two different walks of life, joined together in curious heresy.”
there are so many more that i love sooo read the book and find them.
August 31, 2025
I wrote one of the saddest scenes on my phone in the break room at my job.
September 7, 2025
this ARC was very kindly sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
this book was pretty much exactly what was pitched - blood over bright haven meets the lies of locke lamora (to a certain extent) - but with enough fresh twists so that it was unique and could stand on its own two feet. really enjoyed the rune-based magic system and the battles stood out in particular because it wasn’t just your typical “blast spell and keep running”, it felt like each second was another puzzle that had to be solved on the fly and that made the action so much more engaging to me.
the world is very gritty and this is where the comparison to locke lamora comes in. and i will say this upfront that the violence is very unapologetic and in your face. i thought it fit the story really well but if this isn’t your thing then this might not be the book for you.
i felt like the writing was a teeny bit clunky at points, more in word choice rather than overall style, and the tone jumps back and forth between serious and slightly more playful, especially in kena’s chapters. it kind of pulled me out of the vibe a bit but i can 100% see how it matches her character.
i will have to say, as much as i loved the worldbuilding, the characters were a standout to me. sin’s backstory broke my heart, especially when his runes get removed and his memories come flooding back. i do wish that we got more of his backstory so that this would have hit even harder than it did. his relationship with kena, going from actual enemies to reluctant allies to fleeting lovers, was such a great arc to read and the ending actually had me crying, it was giving your name vibes in the best way.
personally though, my favourite character has got to be val. seeing her grow from a mauler into the person she eventually becomes was such an incredible journey and i love the fact that she’s an older woman. honestly, we need more of that in fantasy, authors, take notes.
i really enjoyed the big battles towards the end of the book as well. at the second wound, reading the fights gave me chills and the aftermath left me in tears. and the final battle at the cathedral was just gut wrenching, reminds me a lot of the aot’s rumbling on a smaller scale. i do wished though that the emotional moments were drawn out slightly longer for maximum emotional impact but still, i was crying so you know they already hit hard.
overall, this was such a great mix of the fantasy novels and anime that i love, being familiar yet new at the same time. this would have been a very solid 4 star read but the amount of swearing wasn’t personally for me. still, it was such an emotional climax and i finished off the last page in tears. 10/10 ending for sure.
congratulations again, josh, on your first novel!! it’s been a pleasure seeing your journey from first draft all the way to published book🙂↕️
this book was pretty much exactly what was pitched - blood over bright haven meets the lies of locke lamora (to a certain extent) - but with enough fresh twists so that it was unique and could stand on its own two feet. really enjoyed the rune-based magic system and the battles stood out in particular because it wasn’t just your typical “blast spell and keep running”, it felt like each second was another puzzle that had to be solved on the fly and that made the action so much more engaging to me.
the world is very gritty and this is where the comparison to locke lamora comes in. and i will say this upfront that the violence is very unapologetic and in your face. i thought it fit the story really well but if this isn’t your thing then this might not be the book for you.
i felt like the writing was a teeny bit clunky at points, more in word choice rather than overall style, and the tone jumps back and forth between serious and slightly more playful, especially in kena’s chapters. it kind of pulled me out of the vibe a bit but i can 100% see how it matches her character.
i will have to say, as much as i loved the worldbuilding, the characters were a standout to me. sin’s backstory broke my heart, especially when his runes get removed and his memories come flooding back. i do wish that we got more of his backstory so that this would have hit even harder than it did. his relationship with kena, going from actual enemies to reluctant allies to fleeting lovers, was such a great arc to read and the ending actually had me crying, it was giving your name vibes in the best way.
personally though, my favourite character has got to be val. seeing her grow from a mauler into the person she eventually becomes was such an incredible journey and i love the fact that she’s an older woman. honestly, we need more of that in fantasy, authors, take notes.
i really enjoyed the big battles towards the end of the book as well. at the second wound, reading the fights gave me chills and the aftermath left me in tears. and the final battle at the cathedral was just gut wrenching, reminds me a lot of the aot’s rumbling on a smaller scale. i do wished though that the emotional moments were drawn out slightly longer for maximum emotional impact but still, i was crying so you know they already hit hard.
overall, this was such a great mix of the fantasy novels and anime that i love, being familiar yet new at the same time. this would have been a very solid 4 star read but the amount of swearing wasn’t personally for me. still, it was such an emotional climax and i finished off the last page in tears. 10/10 ending for sure.
congratulations again, josh, on your first novel!! it’s been a pleasure seeing your journey from first draft all the way to published book🙂↕️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 11, 2025dnf @ 54%
i really really tried to push through this one but it sadly fell short
the writing feels very forced, words and phrases used seem like they were plucked straight from a thesaurus
the characters are ones i’ve read about a million times: a poor girl, living in the slums, who is actually really talented at -insert magic system of book- with a ✨tragic backstory✨ & a talented, highly accredited boy who’s in the upper echelons of society with, you guessed it, a ✨tragic backstory✨
despite this i actually really enjoyed the magic system and the analysis of how deeply rooted religion can be in politics but it wasn’t enough to make me want to keep picking this up
also this reminded me wayyyy to much of blood over bright haven, i couldn’t stop comparing the two
i really really tried to push through this one but it sadly fell short
the writing feels very forced, words and phrases used seem like they were plucked straight from a thesaurus
the characters are ones i’ve read about a million times: a poor girl, living in the slums, who is actually really talented at -insert magic system of book- with a ✨tragic backstory✨ & a talented, highly accredited boy who’s in the upper echelons of society with, you guessed it, a ✨tragic backstory✨
despite this i actually really enjoyed the magic system and the analysis of how deeply rooted religion can be in politics but it wasn’t enough to make me want to keep picking this up
also this reminded me wayyyy to much of blood over bright haven, i couldn’t stop comparing the two
December 23, 2025
3.5 stars
September 18, 2025
Thank you for the ARC!! Also the cover is AMAZING!! I received an ARC to review this book. I was very intrigued when hearing the concept of this book on TikTok and eagerly signed up to be an ARC reader. Unfortunately this did end up being my first DNF at 351 pages, something I do not like to do at all. I just could not connect to the world or the characters no matter how hard I tried. I liked them at first and as the story went on it lost me. Do not get me wrong the concept is cool and I typically do enjoy a dark fantasy, I liked the unraveling of the religion, but felt like it wasn’t really even seen enough. I also highly considered that this is self published so the author does not have the same resources as a traditionally published author would. That being said, a lot of weird phrasing and repetitive phrasing throughout. I also feel like we’d see a character in pain and it would just say they’re in pain or in emotional distress, but not describe it at all, which I think would highly benefit readers in connecting to these characters. This is stylistic I’m sure, but I also find it strange when characters we’ve known for the whole entire book are described as the dark-skinned woman did this, when it was a main character that the person speaking had known and developed a friendship with, that choice was used multiple times with different characters and it just didn’t work for me. I do feel like the battle scenes were described really well which I appreciated!!
I also thought the magic system was cool, but I think could have been explained a little further because it’s very complex and would be nice to understand it really well. Even if the runes were described in detail would have been a nice touch!
Also some things used as marketing points have been barely touched on over half way in the book, which is odd to me as well.
Overall, I think this concept is great, truly!! However, I do believe this story could have used a little more polishing.
I also thought the magic system was cool, but I think could have been explained a little further because it’s very complex and would be nice to understand it really well. Even if the runes were described in detail would have been a nice touch!
Also some things used as marketing points have been barely touched on over half way in the book, which is odd to me as well.
Overall, I think this concept is great, truly!! However, I do believe this story could have used a little more polishing.
Read
December 2, 2025Soft dnf at 30%. Not sure if its the boo or just not the right time. Will return another day
December 18, 2025
“raise your hand if you were personally victimized by the ending” ✋✋✋ i was literally warned
December 22, 2025
am i supposed to be okay after that ending or
October 9, 2025
Faith in Annihilation is a great debut! I had the privilege of receiving an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and I’m glad I got to read this book.
It took me a bit to get invested in the world and its magic system, but once I found my footing and got to know the core characters, the story took off. And the characters stand out.
Kena has a steely interior she masks with sharp wit and a whole lot of cussing. Sin, a mage at Denwroth’s Institute of Arcane, is buried so deep in his research and faith that he’s forged a lack of empathy and becomes blind to the world outside. Both characters are trying to find their path and prove their worth … mostly to themselves. And of course, their worlds collide, and when they do, it sparks a violent journey to save the world. But to do that, they’ll have to question everything they believe in.
The book did drag a bit for me in the middle, and the prose occasionally felt wordy. Some of the emotional beats could have been explored more deeply. But that said, the ending did pay off for me.
It took me a bit to get invested in the world and its magic system, but once I found my footing and got to know the core characters, the story took off. And the characters stand out.
Kena has a steely interior she masks with sharp wit and a whole lot of cussing. Sin, a mage at Denwroth’s Institute of Arcane, is buried so deep in his research and faith that he’s forged a lack of empathy and becomes blind to the world outside. Both characters are trying to find their path and prove their worth … mostly to themselves. And of course, their worlds collide, and when they do, it sparks a violent journey to save the world. But to do that, they’ll have to question everything they believe in.
The book did drag a bit for me in the middle, and the prose occasionally felt wordy. Some of the emotional beats could have been explored more deeply. But that said, the ending did pay off for me.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews