Faith and Ruin: The Dawn of Reckoning

by Amanda Webb, Rory Webb

Finding a murdered priest is the least of their problems.

When priestess-in-training Quay and her three bodyguards—taciturn swordsman Ghdion, pompous spellcaster Hypnocost, and good-natured ex-guard Lucius—discover a string of alarming murders, they unwittingly expose a plot by a cult bent on revenge against members of Quay’s own church.

Their investigation leads them to the capital, where paladin Avindea is thrust in the middle of the political intrigue surrounding its governing body. War looms on the horizon, and she strives to keep the city out of the impending conflict. Can our heroes stop the cult and preserve the peace before everything unravels?

Perfect for fans of cozy fantasy but with high stakes—like playing a tabletop role-playing game with your best friends in a richly imagined world where whimsy, chaos, and hope collide.

Faith and The Dawn of Reckoning is the first in a planned six book epic fantasy series.

536 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 26, 2026

About the author

Rory and Amanda Webb are the husband and wife team behind Legends of Aukera and the fantasy webcomic, Legends of Aukera: The Ascendants. Married since 2006, they both graduated from Grand Valley State University, Rory with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Video Production, and Amanda with a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Design. They reside in Grand Rapids with their three kids, spunky rescue dog, and basement full of old action figures, eccentric movie props, and vintage video games.

Reviews

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC review

Thanks so much to the authors for the review copy!

First off, I loved the beginning of this book so much that before I even reached the 50% mark, I ordered a copy from their website and it came with ALL the artwork. Which is gorgeous. And the text is peppered with illustrations throughout. Books don’t need art to be excellent, and this one is excellent on its own, but you should take a moment to appreciate the whimsical sketches that perfectly convey the spirit of the story AND the personalities of the characters.

The plot is basically an intricate table top role playing game, full of diverse characters with their own backstories and motivations. There’s romance and friendship and political scheming and spy craft and betrayals and treason and battles and magic. There’s everything. It’s multi POV (I think 7 characters?) but the stories are woven together so skillfully and all add to each other.

This is perfect for a reader that enjoys high fantasy with a side of snark. The humor in the writing is pervasive. The world building is impressive with multiple religions, factions and countries vying for power and the necessary histories provided.

I can’t wait to see what is revealed in the next book!

Also, Mertha the ox.

[Noom Sutaputra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faith and Ruin: The Dawn of Reckoning by Amanda and Rory Webb [ARC]
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
_______________
📖 Review: Thank you Amanda and Rory for providing me with an ARC of this book. Let me start off by saying: GIVE ME THE SEQUEL! I Love this book so so much!

Here is what you can expect from this book
⚔️ Adventure and side quests. The best part of this book are the quests the characters go through
⚔️ Romance is a subplot and the slowest burn you will ever read (I love it)
⚔️ Politics and Religion are discussed in this book
⚔️ Loveable characters
⚔️ The illustations add so much depth to the book

Overall, I had a blast reading this book! I cannot wait for everyone to read this book once it comes out on Feb 26, 2026

[Elisa S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanna read something cool? Let me answer that… yes, yes you do! And it's this book right here.

A truly auspicious beginning that sets the tone for a high stakes tale of hijinks with snark galore, glorious humor, action, adventure, intrigue inspired by DnD but very accessible for people just beginning their fantasy journey. Think Princess Bride, Critical Role, etc.

And what's better than that? Illustrations to go with it! I first fell in love with Amanda Webb's fabulous artistic talents, and now I am the proud owner of Amanda and Rory Webb's Faith and Ruin: The Dawn of Reckoning, their first offering in their six book epic fantasy series.

What's it about, you ask? Well…

Faith and Ruin Book 1 features:

🗺️ High stakes in a cozy world you want to escape to

👥 Lots of relatable, likable characters in an ensemble cast

✨ Multi POV

🎲 The unhinged and joyful chaos of a DnD table

👑 Political intrigue

🧙 Fantasy first, romance second

🫑 Very slow burn over multiple books

🩸 Murderous cults!

⛪ Religious trauma!

⚔️ Swords! So many swords

🔮 Magic that doesn’t require a PhD to understand

💋 Bodyguard/priestess vibes

🌠 If Game of Thrones was hopecore (and less problematic about its female characters)

Faith and Ruin: The Dawn of Reckoning is available NOW in paperback, on Amazon, and on Kindle Unlimited!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read. Each character has a life that many characters struggle to capture, with unique and interesting things that allow them to flourish and the heart and soul of the story. The plot which I will not spoil flows super smooth, with each new detail making events to follow more intertwined with politics or a secret organization or maybe cultists? I seriously cannot recommend this book enough, I gave it to a friend and he read it in 10 days and loved it. I would say that faith and ruin thrives because of its memorable characters the cozy world and just how easily you can sink in for a story that feels like a DnD campaign. Which it was. Mostly though faith and ruin does something very few stories due, keep you interested from front cover all the way to bak cover. If you like DnD storytelling or fantasy you will love Faith and Ruin. Plus it’s the first official novel published by the webbs. With mainly comics and graphic novels before hand, which means they already have a polished storytelling background. Oh and the art inside of the book itself is all drawn by the authors, which is crazy because it’s some amazing artwork.

P.S. for those who are curious the insta account for the authors is legendsofaukera.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 🌟

Debo confesar que inicialmente me sentí intrigada por el libro porque uno de los personajes en un rubio todo gruñón. Lo vi y dije: de aquí soy 🫣

En la historia nos encontramos a un grupo de personajes, entre ellos Quay que es una sacerdozita en entrenamiento, Ghdion (el rubio gruñón), Hypnocost y Lucius, sus guardaespaldas, quienes empiezan a investigar unas muerdes muy sospechosas y resultan hasta descubriendo el resurgimiento de un culto 😩

Amanda y Rory crearon no solo una historia interesante sino un mundo también. Al ser el primer libro de una saga nos encontramos con un montón de información nueva sobre los dioses de este mundo, la política y los engaños. Sin embargo, es muy fácil sentirse enganchado en la historia, especialmente por los personajes. La ambientación del mundo está excelente, tanto que a pesar de la situación que estaban viviendo me dieron ganas de vivir allí con ellos 🤭

Me encariñé un montón con los personajes y tengo muchas ganas de saber que pasará en los siguientes libros y también llegar a conocer más del pasado y los traumas de ciertos personajes 🤭

Muchas gracias a los autores por el eARC

[Evelina Block · Rating 5 out of 5]

Priestess-in-training Quay and her party of bodyguards gets tangled up in a plot of cultists seeking revenge against her clergy. (While she's also struggling with catching feelings for her very gruff bodyguard). There's also political intrigue and a dash of mystical magic.

Did I mention it's also gorgeosly illustrated throughout?

What I find impressive about this book is that it is quintessential fantasy but still very beginner friendly. Both a seasoned fantasy reader will enjoy this just as well as someone trying out fantasy for the first time. It's rich in lore but never dense. There's a lot of characters (multi-pov!) but never confusing. The plot is clear without being "simple". As the authors state themselves; the world is cosy but the stakes are high.

Things are TRULY escalating in the last 100 pages (in a great way) and I'm very much looking forward to finding out what happens in book 2: Faith and Ruin: Eye of the Maelstrom

[Elinore Judd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg I need to know more immediately!! It ends right when the story gets going!! I can’t believe [redacted] is part of [redacted] and I need [redacted] and [redacted] to have their deaths avenged!!

This truly is a cozy fantasy that remains gripping with high stakes adventure! Murder! Cultists! Loads of political intrigue! Will it come to war? Do [redacted] and [redacted] finally kiss? TELL ME NOW!!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic first book in the series! Highly enjoyed the characters, the adventure, the banter, and the added illustrations. Definitely excited for the next books in the series. This was such a fun read!

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank the authors for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful easy to read fantasy. All of the characters are interesting and I can’t wait for book 2.

[Yashira C · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review

I have nothing bad to say only that is amazing and I can't wait for book 2 and I love this epic fantasy book