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The Ninth Knell of Peace
Every miracle costs a memory.
The kingdom of Nihalthar has broken its promise of peace and massacred the surrendering people of Raventhal, unleashing a new chief—a void-wielding monster that consumes anything. Once feared, Raventhal is now scattered into small river towns, surviving only with Viompur’s help and the work of memory keepers—mages who trade memories for power.
Kaira wants revenge for her brother, but her curious mind also hunts for answers: the true history of the war, the goddess Kaori, and the enemy god Nihal. To chase that path, she must break free of her overprotective friend.
Sayaka, a blessed memory keeper, doesn’t want to kill; she wants to heal and protect the people she loves. But every life she saves takes something from her, and the Yujis tighten their leash. In a war that feeds on power, do the powerful ever get to choose peace?
Shin, a middle-aged Nihalthar veteran, wants only to disappear. His mind is devouring itself—intrusive visions replay the horrors he inflicted until even sleep isn’t safe. He plans to end his life—until a lost girl appears at his door. Protecting her drags him back into a war he tried to leave, and buried memories begin to unravel.
As the void spreads and old oaths fail, their choices will decide who survives—and what each is willing to pay.
The kingdom of Nihalthar has broken its promise of peace and massacred the surrendering people of Raventhal, unleashing a new chief—a void-wielding monster that consumes anything. Once feared, Raventhal is now scattered into small river towns, surviving only with Viompur’s help and the work of memory keepers—mages who trade memories for power.
Kaira wants revenge for her brother, but her curious mind also hunts for answers: the true history of the war, the goddess Kaori, and the enemy god Nihal. To chase that path, she must break free of her overprotective friend.
Sayaka, a blessed memory keeper, doesn’t want to kill; she wants to heal and protect the people she loves. But every life she saves takes something from her, and the Yujis tighten their leash. In a war that feeds on power, do the powerful ever get to choose peace?
Shin, a middle-aged Nihalthar veteran, wants only to disappear. His mind is devouring itself—intrusive visions replay the horrors he inflicted until even sleep isn’t safe. He plans to end his life—until a lost girl appears at his door. Protecting her drags him back into a war he tried to leave, and buried memories begin to unravel.
As the void spreads and old oaths fail, their choices will decide who survives—and what each is willing to pay.
- GenresFantasy
First published January 16, 2026
4 people are currently reading
1214 people want to read
About the author
Shrinivas Gaikwad
2 books9 followersShrinivas Gaikwad, born in 2000, is an Indian fantasy writer still trying to find his footing in the world of self-publishing while balancing a full-time career as a software engineer. He hopes to complete this trilogy someday—and maybe, just maybe, earn the right to drop the word unavailing from his self-assigned pseudonym.
When he isn’t writing or working, he’s usually trying to stay fit or experimenting with musical instruments like the kalimba, violin, and whatever else catches his attention. More often than not, though, he ends up scrolling through YouTube, trying to decide what to watch next—and yes, that counts as a hobby now.
When he isn’t writing or working, he’s usually trying to stay fit or experimenting with musical instruments like the kalimba, violin, and whatever else catches his attention. More often than not, though, he ends up scrolling through YouTube, trying to decide what to watch next—and yes, that counts as a hobby now.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 16, 2026
This is the first book in the Divine Grief series. In every first book of such an epic story, there is a huge part of world building necessary. This is not different in this book. The author carefully build his imaginary world up, with cinematic precision! I was in awe with the images that he brought up in my mind.
The story has several storylines, that are neatly woven together in the 2nd part of the book.
The characters come alive through the authors words, it’s like you follow their journey through their eyes.
The story fully comes to life in the 2nd part, by that time I was so engaged that I couldn’t put the book down!
What comes next, looks very promising!.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The story has several storylines, that are neatly woven together in the 2nd part of the book.
The characters come alive through the authors words, it’s like you follow their journey through their eyes.
The story fully comes to life in the 2nd part, by that time I was so engaged that I couldn’t put the book down!
What comes next, looks very promising!.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 28, 2026
Thank you so much to the author, Shrinivas Gaikwad (who is absolutely lovely, by the way!), for access to this ARC 📚
Genre/Themes: ⚔️🔥💧🌱🌬️📚🔮👹🍜
Tropes: Found Family, Evil Sorcerer, Murder, Elemental Powers, Sacrifice, End of Human Race, Fight Against an Older / Powerful Antagonist, Buried Secrets, Corrupt Officials, Home Invasion, Vigilante Justice, Closed Door Romance, Grand Battles and Sieges, Mythical Creatures, Strong Heroine Saves the Day
Positives: effective use of POV and dual timelines, enjoyable final action scene, ambitious concept, strong horror/gothic aspects
Room for Improvement: distracting issues in prose/grammar/syntax and clarity - especially world-building, weaker characterisation
Rating: 🌕🌕🌘
✍🏻 Full Review - RISK OF SPOILERS 🛑
I’ve read several indie releases like this since the New Year, all with interesting concepts and plots but let down by one thing - lack of professional editing. I understand that self-publishing is a way to make book releasing more accessible, and editing is a big cost. But there ARE affordable editors out there, especially ones breaking into the industry who are extremely talented and willing to do projects for a low fee to build a portfolio. A novel is an author’s baby, and first impressions count, so I implore all indie debut authors - don’t skip out on editing and proofreading! It’s impossible to do it well on your own, because our brains play tricks on us and fill in the gaps that readers still see.
🧍♂️🧍♀️Characterisation:🧍♀️🧍♂️
The main characters of the novel were friends and honourary sisters, Sayaka and Kaira. Kaira resented Sayaka for murdering her brother, an action she was forced in to by an evil Chief in order to turn her into a Keeper. I found Kaira’s internal monologues about this very genuine and relatable - she knew it was illogical to blame Sayaka for her impossible choice, but couldn’t help how she felt anyway. Sayaka’s overprotectiveness of Kaira was realistic, too, and it was understandable that it exacerbated Kaira’s resentment, alongside the Yujis use of her as the ‘spare’ Sayaka. These aspects were done well, but I largely found I was told rather than shown their personalities. I also didn’t really understand what Sayaka’s goals were prior to Kamira’s betrayal. Their dialogues were very similar, and Kaira often categorised her choices as ‘her logical side’ and ‘her emotional side’, as opposed to the reader being able to work that out for themselves. Sayaka was hell bent on trying to avoid killing others, while Kaira was obsessed with being on the front lines to get closer to her goal of murdering Aki’s killer - getting revenge. Kaira’s aspiration to be a scholar was only properly mentioned much further into the book. I suppose some hints were there with all the information she gathered from books, but I honestly thought she wanted to be a soldier for Shizu Hana, not a scholar, so I felt like I’d missed something when that idea came around. That side of her could have been developed better. I found it difficult to gauge either woman’s ages, because they generally sounded quite immature. 5 years had passed since the first chapter, so they were probably still teenagers/young adults? Both were stubborn and struggled to see the bigger picture. Kaira’s blossoming courtship with Arata, another of Shizu Hana’s team, was sweet, even if the ‘misunderstanding’ trope of her ‘pushing him away because he was a distraction’ felt a bit forced. Butcher and his family were the girls’ friends. Butcher was one of the few characters with distinctive dialogue because he spoke with somewhat broken English, but as a character he was pretty non-descript, acting mostly as a mediator between the girls or to ask some incredulous questions.
Shin was the alternate POV, and I personally felt his was the most interesting. He was slowly losing his sanity, being haunted by black shadows with red eyes and the voices of everybody he had killed. To cope, he either drank to unconsciousness, or had traps set in his own house to knock him out. He was like Sayaka, in a way, trying to avoid killing. His was for a different reason, though - he did not want to enable the bloodlust lingering deep inside. This got to the point where Shin felt it better for the world to take his own life, even with the darkness inside trying to stop him. These were genuinely harrowing scenes. There was supposed to be something of a buddy cop relationship between him and Katsura, especially when they then became responsible for protecting Hiyori. I struggled to find a lot of their dialogue realistic, though, especially Katsura’s nickname of ‘beautiful child’ to Hiyori. Nicknames are meant to be smoother and easier to say, not clunkier. There wasn’t enough of a relationship developed between Shin and Hiyori / Katsura for me to feel a bond or connection, therefore I didn’t feel much about their fate.
Shoyo and Okita were another buddy cop pairing, but the only time their ‘comic relief’ actually worked for me was in the author’s note at the end, when the two characters broke the fourth wall. The author showed self-awareness when he said they weren’t developed and were barely in the story. I would agree, and would argue their presence didn’t add an awful lot to the novel. Their dialogue followed this novel’s trend of being quite unnatural and unrealistic. Okita repeated the word ‘demand’, but did it so often that it stopped being funny or a natural quirk and instead felt forced, especially because it was used incorrectly a few times. Shimizu, a lady working in their wing, only spoke once or twice, so I didn’t really know why she was included at all. Shoyo’s dialogue wasn’t unique or distinguishable, to the point I confused him for Shiven quite often. In fact, Shoyo and Shiven seemed like very similar characters to me - mentor figures for the girls and very powerful. I’ll admit I didn’t see Shiven’s twist coming, but at the same time I didn’t really notice him as a character, so it didn’t necessarily shock or disappoint me when it was revealed. I felt the same about Kamira, Sayaka’s Yuji mentor. For starters his dialogue was identical to Aki’s murderer Deesham, in that they both had prominent stutters, while I was again told about a closeness or idolisation towards him from Sayaka rather than shown. Shizu Hana, Kaira’s mentor, was underutilised. Their first meeting, when Kaira didn’t realise who she was talking to, made me think Hana was going to be a stoic leader but with deadpan humour and a subtly more modern approach. Instead, she ended up just being a bit blunt and emotionless, to excess. I would argue. It was another example of being told about her military and scholarly prowess instead of seeing it.
The antagonist was Vikshant, hailing from Nihalthar. He was stupidly powerful, and his evilness was mostly shown by his rape of young women and obsession with acquiring them. His motives felt very unclear, to be honest, as did the other chiefs - Deesham, Kumer and Hitherambhor. They had the ‘evil for the sake of being evil’ feel.
🗺️World-Building:🗺️
Sekizen was the name for the Earth / ground, I presume, and the story followed the Kingdoms of Viompur and Nihalthar. These areas were further split into multiple districts. One of the prominent issues of this novel was the lack of setting and description. I had no idea what any of these places looked like, or felt like. What industries they led or what the day to day life of a citizen looked like. Earlier parts of the novel mentioned tattoos and facial shrouds that were different based on class or nationality, but this was completely forgotten about from the half way point of the story. Appearances, both physical attributes or clothing, were often not described either. I had no clue what the main characters looked like. The only outfits mentioned were black trousers / white shirts, and cholis / ghagras for a ball. I liked the latter and the south asian representation, but they were just ‘pink’ or ‘black’ or ‘gorgeous’. Many things were talked about this way, like chariots being ‘elegant’ or ‘intricate’, or emblems/diagrams/pictures being mentioned but not described. Elegant and gorgeous how? What shapes, designs, patterns am I supposed to be visualising? The Shrines, seen in certain villages, were the same. What were they made of? What were their design, their material, their size? We knew about the Idols inside, although even their descriptions were vague. As far as I could tell, they were stone statues of the Gods, that could talk when spoken to by the right people. The actual worship of the Gods felt quite glossed over, I felt. What each God represented didn’t stick in my mind. During battles, I didn’t know what was being destroyed in the villages because of the lack of setting. ‘Checkpoints’ were mentioned, and I didn’t know what those were either. It sounded more like a video game, but I imagine it was supposed to be a landmark of some kind to create invisible borders within the villages. It would have been helpful to have more explanation of these. Were there squares, plazas, pavilions? Statues, big trees, bodies of water? The Shoyo Wing was described as a derelict looking tower, which was helpful, but there was no information on where the people were cared for or where Sayaka would live within the Wing. I didn’t have a clue what the Shizu Hana Wing looked like, or any of the areas where Sayaka spent time with the Yujis.
The Keepers power was intriguing, if not a bit confusing at times. The Keepers were able to draw power from the Gods, by chanting verses (verses of what?) and drawing ‘patterns’ (drawing with what?) and I found the concept of sacrificing memories to do so to be clever. I liked the different visuals each Keeper had for their memories and the 10 categories of power. For Sayaka, it was an island bearing memory fruits and the powers were 10 doors. The memory types were only mentioned once, which meant I forgot most of them. It would have been helpful to have seen people sacrifice more than just generic ‘sensory’ memories or emotional ones when more power was needed. The rules surrounding the powers seemed to get a bit muddy at times. At some point, Sayaka was told she could draw small amounts of power 3 times before sacrifices were needed. These free passes ‘replenished’, almost like a cooldown. I’m fairly certain at one point the other Keepers said they would siphon their power over to replenish her? There wasn’t an awful lot of context for any of that. The Keepers also had to partake in a ‘classification trial’, which revealed more of the 10 types of power to them. I don’t think any of them had access to all 10? Anyway, this was another aspect that could have done with more clarity, because I still didn’t understand what all the powers actually were. As far as I could gauge, the trial also increased a Keeper’s capacity - the amount of power they could draw. I got confused when it came to all of the memory walking. Kaira wasn’t a keeper, so only accessed memories via Shiven transferring them to her mind, I think. But how did Shiven extract memories from all the other Keepers journals anyway? Was that the same power Sayaka used to see memories through the pendant? Then the scene where Sayaka extracted her power into a ‘glowing ball of light’, away from her own body, to fuel the dome around her army? I was definitely confused by then. The mythical creatures, the Alurs, Rakshesh and Dawans were creative. But I would argue their written descriptions did not match what the illustrations depicted. There was mention of a certain power signalling the beasts to a particular location, allowing them to be wielded like bespoke weapons. Other aspects that needed far more explanation were the Yujis and the Chiefs. What was the difference between them? What did they actually… do? Were Yujis and Chiefs also Keepers? Chiefs were apparently in charge of the weather, and capable of blocking citizens from having negative thoughts about them. What sort of power was that? Ones a Keeper could have?
Then there were the Rebels. I honestly didn’t know what was going on there. The war, generally, felt unexplained. Was it all to do with Raven’s katana? What was the very first scene about, how was that related to the katana and Hiyori? And the Keepers - why did Sayaka have to kill Aki to become one? Why did Hiyori have to die for Shin’s body to be taken over? In fact - who was his body taken over by? The Menace? Told to be Shiven? There was vague mention of Keepers losing their minds if they gave too many memories away - so did all Keepers get their own Menace? Overall, it definitely felt like the author was filling in the gaps in world-building in their own head without making it clear to a reader.
📝Prose/Plot:📝
The plot lagged at times, more so Sayaka’s POV I would argue, because for a lot of the book I wasn’t actually sure what her goals were or what she was supposed to be doing. While the POV changes worked on the whole, the two brief ones for Kondo and Karasu weren’t really needed. But generally, the action scenes with the monsters were entertaining. The final battle between Sayaka and Vikshant, with the help of Viney and the dome over her army, was genuinely great. Shin’s reveal of the dual timeline was good, too, although I still felt there were unanswered questions regarding Hiyori. In fact, I still didn’t get why everyone was after her just for her to be killed. She made Shin’s Menace less powerful by just being near him - why? Why were certain characters, including her, immune to the Chiefs thought-blockers? The nine bells was a lovely touch to remind Sayaka and Kaira of their history together.
But the overarching issue with this book’s readability was the prose. Sentences would run on without punctuation, semicolons were used everywhere and often incorrectly, sentences were regularly repeats of the previous - just worded slightly differently, tenses would change, incorrect characters would be tagged as speaking, and words/phrases would be repeated far too many times. I flagged 5,500 instances of these things as I read. Generally, the prose lacked flow and rhythm, feeling clunky. Lore was over-explained to the point of actually not explaining anything at all, making things less coherent, and small details like switching between feet to metres / kilometres affected immersion. Sometimes sentences would directly contradict themselves or a detail given a few sentences earlier, and occasionally sentences didn’t make sense.
I think there is a genuinely interesting world here, with a plot that could work well to enhance it, however I think this novel needs professional editing and proofreading to become a higher quality reading experience.
However, if you enjoy South Asian-inspired fantasy worlds with elemental magic and mythical beasts, this could be for you.
Genre/Themes: ⚔️🔥💧🌱🌬️📚🔮👹🍜
Tropes: Found Family, Evil Sorcerer, Murder, Elemental Powers, Sacrifice, End of Human Race, Fight Against an Older / Powerful Antagonist, Buried Secrets, Corrupt Officials, Home Invasion, Vigilante Justice, Closed Door Romance, Grand Battles and Sieges, Mythical Creatures, Strong Heroine Saves the Day
Positives: effective use of POV and dual timelines, enjoyable final action scene, ambitious concept, strong horror/gothic aspects
Room for Improvement: distracting issues in prose/grammar/syntax and clarity - especially world-building, weaker characterisation
Rating: 🌕🌕🌘
✍🏻 Full Review - RISK OF SPOILERS 🛑
I’ve read several indie releases like this since the New Year, all with interesting concepts and plots but let down by one thing - lack of professional editing. I understand that self-publishing is a way to make book releasing more accessible, and editing is a big cost. But there ARE affordable editors out there, especially ones breaking into the industry who are extremely talented and willing to do projects for a low fee to build a portfolio. A novel is an author’s baby, and first impressions count, so I implore all indie debut authors - don’t skip out on editing and proofreading! It’s impossible to do it well on your own, because our brains play tricks on us and fill in the gaps that readers still see.
🧍♂️🧍♀️Characterisation:🧍♀️🧍♂️
The main characters of the novel were friends and honourary sisters, Sayaka and Kaira. Kaira resented Sayaka for murdering her brother, an action she was forced in to by an evil Chief in order to turn her into a Keeper. I found Kaira’s internal monologues about this very genuine and relatable - she knew it was illogical to blame Sayaka for her impossible choice, but couldn’t help how she felt anyway. Sayaka’s overprotectiveness of Kaira was realistic, too, and it was understandable that it exacerbated Kaira’s resentment, alongside the Yujis use of her as the ‘spare’ Sayaka. These aspects were done well, but I largely found I was told rather than shown their personalities. I also didn’t really understand what Sayaka’s goals were prior to Kamira’s betrayal. Their dialogues were very similar, and Kaira often categorised her choices as ‘her logical side’ and ‘her emotional side’, as opposed to the reader being able to work that out for themselves. Sayaka was hell bent on trying to avoid killing others, while Kaira was obsessed with being on the front lines to get closer to her goal of murdering Aki’s killer - getting revenge. Kaira’s aspiration to be a scholar was only properly mentioned much further into the book. I suppose some hints were there with all the information she gathered from books, but I honestly thought she wanted to be a soldier for Shizu Hana, not a scholar, so I felt like I’d missed something when that idea came around. That side of her could have been developed better. I found it difficult to gauge either woman’s ages, because they generally sounded quite immature. 5 years had passed since the first chapter, so they were probably still teenagers/young adults? Both were stubborn and struggled to see the bigger picture. Kaira’s blossoming courtship with Arata, another of Shizu Hana’s team, was sweet, even if the ‘misunderstanding’ trope of her ‘pushing him away because he was a distraction’ felt a bit forced. Butcher and his family were the girls’ friends. Butcher was one of the few characters with distinctive dialogue because he spoke with somewhat broken English, but as a character he was pretty non-descript, acting mostly as a mediator between the girls or to ask some incredulous questions.
Shin was the alternate POV, and I personally felt his was the most interesting. He was slowly losing his sanity, being haunted by black shadows with red eyes and the voices of everybody he had killed. To cope, he either drank to unconsciousness, or had traps set in his own house to knock him out. He was like Sayaka, in a way, trying to avoid killing. His was for a different reason, though - he did not want to enable the bloodlust lingering deep inside. This got to the point where Shin felt it better for the world to take his own life, even with the darkness inside trying to stop him. These were genuinely harrowing scenes. There was supposed to be something of a buddy cop relationship between him and Katsura, especially when they then became responsible for protecting Hiyori. I struggled to find a lot of their dialogue realistic, though, especially Katsura’s nickname of ‘beautiful child’ to Hiyori. Nicknames are meant to be smoother and easier to say, not clunkier. There wasn’t enough of a relationship developed between Shin and Hiyori / Katsura for me to feel a bond or connection, therefore I didn’t feel much about their fate.
Shoyo and Okita were another buddy cop pairing, but the only time their ‘comic relief’ actually worked for me was in the author’s note at the end, when the two characters broke the fourth wall. The author showed self-awareness when he said they weren’t developed and were barely in the story. I would agree, and would argue their presence didn’t add an awful lot to the novel. Their dialogue followed this novel’s trend of being quite unnatural and unrealistic. Okita repeated the word ‘demand’, but did it so often that it stopped being funny or a natural quirk and instead felt forced, especially because it was used incorrectly a few times. Shimizu, a lady working in their wing, only spoke once or twice, so I didn’t really know why she was included at all. Shoyo’s dialogue wasn’t unique or distinguishable, to the point I confused him for Shiven quite often. In fact, Shoyo and Shiven seemed like very similar characters to me - mentor figures for the girls and very powerful. I’ll admit I didn’t see Shiven’s twist coming, but at the same time I didn’t really notice him as a character, so it didn’t necessarily shock or disappoint me when it was revealed. I felt the same about Kamira, Sayaka’s Yuji mentor. For starters his dialogue was identical to Aki’s murderer Deesham, in that they both had prominent stutters, while I was again told about a closeness or idolisation towards him from Sayaka rather than shown. Shizu Hana, Kaira’s mentor, was underutilised. Their first meeting, when Kaira didn’t realise who she was talking to, made me think Hana was going to be a stoic leader but with deadpan humour and a subtly more modern approach. Instead, she ended up just being a bit blunt and emotionless, to excess. I would argue. It was another example of being told about her military and scholarly prowess instead of seeing it.
The antagonist was Vikshant, hailing from Nihalthar. He was stupidly powerful, and his evilness was mostly shown by his rape of young women and obsession with acquiring them. His motives felt very unclear, to be honest, as did the other chiefs - Deesham, Kumer and Hitherambhor. They had the ‘evil for the sake of being evil’ feel.
🗺️World-Building:🗺️
Sekizen was the name for the Earth / ground, I presume, and the story followed the Kingdoms of Viompur and Nihalthar. These areas were further split into multiple districts. One of the prominent issues of this novel was the lack of setting and description. I had no idea what any of these places looked like, or felt like. What industries they led or what the day to day life of a citizen looked like. Earlier parts of the novel mentioned tattoos and facial shrouds that were different based on class or nationality, but this was completely forgotten about from the half way point of the story. Appearances, both physical attributes or clothing, were often not described either. I had no clue what the main characters looked like. The only outfits mentioned were black trousers / white shirts, and cholis / ghagras for a ball. I liked the latter and the south asian representation, but they were just ‘pink’ or ‘black’ or ‘gorgeous’. Many things were talked about this way, like chariots being ‘elegant’ or ‘intricate’, or emblems/diagrams/pictures being mentioned but not described. Elegant and gorgeous how? What shapes, designs, patterns am I supposed to be visualising? The Shrines, seen in certain villages, were the same. What were they made of? What were their design, their material, their size? We knew about the Idols inside, although even their descriptions were vague. As far as I could tell, they were stone statues of the Gods, that could talk when spoken to by the right people. The actual worship of the Gods felt quite glossed over, I felt. What each God represented didn’t stick in my mind. During battles, I didn’t know what was being destroyed in the villages because of the lack of setting. ‘Checkpoints’ were mentioned, and I didn’t know what those were either. It sounded more like a video game, but I imagine it was supposed to be a landmark of some kind to create invisible borders within the villages. It would have been helpful to have more explanation of these. Were there squares, plazas, pavilions? Statues, big trees, bodies of water? The Shoyo Wing was described as a derelict looking tower, which was helpful, but there was no information on where the people were cared for or where Sayaka would live within the Wing. I didn’t have a clue what the Shizu Hana Wing looked like, or any of the areas where Sayaka spent time with the Yujis.
The Keepers power was intriguing, if not a bit confusing at times. The Keepers were able to draw power from the Gods, by chanting verses (verses of what?) and drawing ‘patterns’ (drawing with what?) and I found the concept of sacrificing memories to do so to be clever. I liked the different visuals each Keeper had for their memories and the 10 categories of power. For Sayaka, it was an island bearing memory fruits and the powers were 10 doors. The memory types were only mentioned once, which meant I forgot most of them. It would have been helpful to have seen people sacrifice more than just generic ‘sensory’ memories or emotional ones when more power was needed. The rules surrounding the powers seemed to get a bit muddy at times. At some point, Sayaka was told she could draw small amounts of power 3 times before sacrifices were needed. These free passes ‘replenished’, almost like a cooldown. I’m fairly certain at one point the other Keepers said they would siphon their power over to replenish her? There wasn’t an awful lot of context for any of that. The Keepers also had to partake in a ‘classification trial’, which revealed more of the 10 types of power to them. I don’t think any of them had access to all 10? Anyway, this was another aspect that could have done with more clarity, because I still didn’t understand what all the powers actually were. As far as I could gauge, the trial also increased a Keeper’s capacity - the amount of power they could draw. I got confused when it came to all of the memory walking. Kaira wasn’t a keeper, so only accessed memories via Shiven transferring them to her mind, I think. But how did Shiven extract memories from all the other Keepers journals anyway? Was that the same power Sayaka used to see memories through the pendant? Then the scene where Sayaka extracted her power into a ‘glowing ball of light’, away from her own body, to fuel the dome around her army? I was definitely confused by then. The mythical creatures, the Alurs, Rakshesh and Dawans were creative. But I would argue their written descriptions did not match what the illustrations depicted. There was mention of a certain power signalling the beasts to a particular location, allowing them to be wielded like bespoke weapons. Other aspects that needed far more explanation were the Yujis and the Chiefs. What was the difference between them? What did they actually… do? Were Yujis and Chiefs also Keepers? Chiefs were apparently in charge of the weather, and capable of blocking citizens from having negative thoughts about them. What sort of power was that? Ones a Keeper could have?
Then there were the Rebels. I honestly didn’t know what was going on there. The war, generally, felt unexplained. Was it all to do with Raven’s katana? What was the very first scene about, how was that related to the katana and Hiyori? And the Keepers - why did Sayaka have to kill Aki to become one? Why did Hiyori have to die for Shin’s body to be taken over? In fact - who was his body taken over by? The Menace? Told to be Shiven? There was vague mention of Keepers losing their minds if they gave too many memories away - so did all Keepers get their own Menace? Overall, it definitely felt like the author was filling in the gaps in world-building in their own head without making it clear to a reader.
📝Prose/Plot:📝
The plot lagged at times, more so Sayaka’s POV I would argue, because for a lot of the book I wasn’t actually sure what her goals were or what she was supposed to be doing. While the POV changes worked on the whole, the two brief ones for Kondo and Karasu weren’t really needed. But generally, the action scenes with the monsters were entertaining. The final battle between Sayaka and Vikshant, with the help of Viney and the dome over her army, was genuinely great. Shin’s reveal of the dual timeline was good, too, although I still felt there were unanswered questions regarding Hiyori. In fact, I still didn’t get why everyone was after her just for her to be killed. She made Shin’s Menace less powerful by just being near him - why? Why were certain characters, including her, immune to the Chiefs thought-blockers? The nine bells was a lovely touch to remind Sayaka and Kaira of their history together.
But the overarching issue with this book’s readability was the prose. Sentences would run on without punctuation, semicolons were used everywhere and often incorrectly, sentences were regularly repeats of the previous - just worded slightly differently, tenses would change, incorrect characters would be tagged as speaking, and words/phrases would be repeated far too many times. I flagged 5,500 instances of these things as I read. Generally, the prose lacked flow and rhythm, feeling clunky. Lore was over-explained to the point of actually not explaining anything at all, making things less coherent, and small details like switching between feet to metres / kilometres affected immersion. Sometimes sentences would directly contradict themselves or a detail given a few sentences earlier, and occasionally sentences didn’t make sense.
I think there is a genuinely interesting world here, with a plot that could work well to enhance it, however I think this novel needs professional editing and proofreading to become a higher quality reading experience.
However, if you enjoy South Asian-inspired fantasy worlds with elemental magic and mythical beasts, this could be for you.
January 16, 2026
This books storyline is absolutely epic in so many ways I'm finding it hard to write a review that won't ruin the reading experience for anyone who's not yet read it.. Well all I can say is that if your ummming and arrriing then just do it! read this beautifully created story - you can thank me later..
It's literally epic on so many levels, the world building is just so creative and well explained that one's mind just instantly gets teleportated into the world. the characters are just brilliant in their own personalities and qwerkiness. I felt like I was truly with them on this journey. the story and plot was so immense that I struggled to put this down until I had completely devoured it and then got upset with myself for finishing it. lol.
I'm going to be keeping both eyes on this author for more golden gems!
It's literally epic on so many levels, the world building is just so creative and well explained that one's mind just instantly gets teleportated into the world. the characters are just brilliant in their own personalities and qwerkiness. I felt like I was truly with them on this journey. the story and plot was so immense that I struggled to put this down until I had completely devoured it and then got upset with myself for finishing it. lol.
I'm going to be keeping both eyes on this author for more golden gems!
January 18, 2026
What an amazing and gripping read! The magic system is dark, well-defined, and refreshingly grounded, where power feels dangerous, limited, and deeply costly. Its rules and consequences add constant tension and reinforce the grim tone of the world. The characters are emotionally rich and easy to connect with, especially as their relationships are strained and reshaped by war, trauma, and loss.
Thank you to the author for sharing the ARC copy!
Thank you to the author for sharing the ARC copy!
March 10, 2026
Needs Better Editing; Interesting Story
The Ninth Knell of Peace has an interesting magic system: you give up memories for power. The story switches between several points of view, so it can take time to get settled into the story. I like the idea of the story, but its form leaves something to be desired.
It seemed as if it was written by a non-native speaker (with a relatively decent grasp of English) who did not have a native speaker to help edit it. There are run-on sentences and missing punctuation. There are missing words. There are pronouns that don’t seem to be referring to the most recently referenced person, unless the gender is mismatched. There are even a few descriptions that don’t make sense. Several times, I considered not finishing the book. With better editing, I would read the next book in the series, but for now I am reluctant.
I would give the story itself 3.5 stars but the editing only 2 stars.
The Ninth Knell of Peace has an interesting magic system: you give up memories for power. The story switches between several points of view, so it can take time to get settled into the story. I like the idea of the story, but its form leaves something to be desired.
It seemed as if it was written by a non-native speaker (with a relatively decent grasp of English) who did not have a native speaker to help edit it. There are run-on sentences and missing punctuation. There are missing words. There are pronouns that don’t seem to be referring to the most recently referenced person, unless the gender is mismatched. There are even a few descriptions that don’t make sense. Several times, I considered not finishing the book. With better editing, I would read the next book in the series, but for now I am reluctant.
I would give the story itself 3.5 stars but the editing only 2 stars.
January 19, 2026
I was struggling for the first half of the book. The world building and character pov dragged on for what seems like forever. While eventually the story picked up, it was a but of a slog. Was there a reason for it? Yes absolutely especially with the ending battle and the major plot twist!! This book is wonderfully written and quite intense. The author puts the characters through their faces and tortures me the reader 🤣
After the second half, I finished it in less than 2 hours. I could not and would not put the book down. I was completely addicted. By the end of the story, everything hit its stride and the writing, world building, and characters melded perfectly. The cliffhanger was a doozy but it made me salivate for book 2. I really hope there is another book
After the second half, I finished it in less than 2 hours. I could not and would not put the book down. I was completely addicted. By the end of the story, everything hit its stride and the writing, world building, and characters melded perfectly. The cliffhanger was a doozy but it made me salivate for book 2. I really hope there is another book
Review of advance copy received from Indie Reviewers
Firstly, I would like to thank the author for giving me the opportunity to read this story before release day for an honest review.
Where should I start without giving to many spoilers away?
This is a story about lost friendships, betrayal, elemental magic using your memories, fighting magical beasts, and fighting for a common cause: freedom.
The story is running from 3 different POVs, that comes together at the end the of the book with the biggest plot twist I have ever read; my jaw was literally on the floor.
I did have suspicion regarding one of the main characters, but I've pushed it in the back of my mind, although I should have listened to my hunch as that was the plot twist.
There is an epic battle at the end and the story leaves you with a cliffhanger, so I am hoping for a 2nd book.
I would like to see more world & character building in the next book, but all in all I really enjoy it and well done for the author for a 1st release.
Please note, this is pure fantasy with some high stakes, so if you're a romantasy lover, this will not be for you.
Where should I start without giving to many spoilers away?
This is a story about lost friendships, betrayal, elemental magic using your memories, fighting magical beasts, and fighting for a common cause: freedom.
The story is running from 3 different POVs, that comes together at the end the of the book with the biggest plot twist I have ever read; my jaw was literally on the floor.
I did have suspicion regarding one of the main characters, but I've pushed it in the back of my mind, although I should have listened to my hunch as that was the plot twist.
There is an epic battle at the end and the story leaves you with a cliffhanger, so I am hoping for a 2nd book.
I would like to see more world & character building in the next book, but all in all I really enjoy it and well done for the author for a 1st release.
Please note, this is pure fantasy with some high stakes, so if you're a romantasy lover, this will not be for you.
Review of advance copy received from Author
An in depth, vibrant fantasy adventure that's incredibly detailed and not shy of the gritty and gore. As a reader, you will not be disappointed and will be absorbed by the scene and atmosphere of the world: the violence is dark and you will immediately get the sense that no one is spared and just how serious the situation is. The magic system is interesting and I like the idea of sacrificing some memories to use powers: it's very unique.
I definitely recommend this read for lovers of an intense fantasy with a rich storyline that'll have you glued to the pages and gasps at the many twists and turns.
thank you to Shrinivas Gaikwad for the ARC and I voluntarily give my review.
I definitely recommend this read for lovers of an intense fantasy with a rich storyline that'll have you glued to the pages and gasps at the many twists and turns.
thank you to Shrinivas Gaikwad for the ARC and I voluntarily give my review.
January 24, 2026
I rated this a 3.5
It's a decent read. The first half was a bit slow for me and started to pick up in the middle where things start to happen. The pacing is a bit off mostly cause of the different povs for me, but not too bad.
The memory based magic was unique and interesting. The world building was decent for a high fantasy read. I would like a bit more character depth. Only critic, is mostly pacing wise for one certain part once readers get to it. I wanted to be in that moment more.
The twist actually got me which made all the sense once it came together.
It's a decent read. The first half was a bit slow for me and started to pick up in the middle where things start to happen. The pacing is a bit off mostly cause of the different povs for me, but not too bad.
The memory based magic was unique and interesting. The world building was decent for a high fantasy read. I would like a bit more character depth. Only critic, is mostly pacing wise for one certain part once readers get to it. I wanted to be in that moment more.
The twist actually got me which made all the sense once it came together.
January 19, 2026
This was stellar writing with captivating characters and beautiful imagery. I am often reading right before I fall asleep but this one just kept me wide awake. Read this one for some really great story telling.
April 2, 2026
I wish i had binged this book in one go because it was so good! high fantasy, very much like The Wheel Of Time meets The Last Samurai but easier to read if that makes sense?
Fab characters that you learn to love as they grow. I really enjoyed it and only wish that I had read it in one go.
Fab characters that you learn to love as they grow. I really enjoyed it and only wish that I had read it in one go.
February 6, 2026
Fast Paced
I like a book with a lot of sword fighting and this starts off with a sword fight and stays fast paced until the end. I was a little confused at the start without a clear back story, but there are not so many characters that it gets overwhelming, and the sword fighting continued!
I like a book with a lot of sword fighting and this starts off with a sword fight and stays fast paced until the end. I was a little confused at the start without a clear back story, but there are not so many characters that it gets overwhelming, and the sword fighting continued!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I read The Ninth Knell of Peace as an ARC reader and really enjoyed it. The world-building is detailed without feeling overwhelming, and with every chapter the story becomes more vivid. One of the strongest parts of this book is its characters—Sayaka and Kaira, who are strong, determined young women facing a world that constantly works against them, and it was inspiring to watch them push forward.
Initially, especially in Part 1, the story felt a bit slow because of everything the characters were going through and the amount of world-building involved. However, that only pushed me to keep reading, hoping that justice would be delivered to those who were wronged—and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. From Part 2 onwards, the character journeys deepen, the plot twists pick up, and I honestly couldn’t put the book down. I ended up finishing it in a single day, and the time spent on building the world definitely felt worth it.
I also really appreciated the writing style itself. It’s simple yet crisp, and it fits each section of the book well. The action scenes are written beautifully—I could clearly visualize the setting, the fights, and everything unfolding. The emotions of the characters are handled with a lot of care, and it’s obvious that genuine thought went into writing them.
I especially liked how the different storylines come together so smoothly. The magic system felt fresh, different and interesting, and it definitely made me want to know more. Most of all, this book made me care about the characters, no matter how big or small their roles were. It’s not easy for a story to evoke genuine emotion, but this one does. I’d definitely recommend it to fantasy lovers looking for an engaging and heartfelt read.
Initially, especially in Part 1, the story felt a bit slow because of everything the characters were going through and the amount of world-building involved. However, that only pushed me to keep reading, hoping that justice would be delivered to those who were wronged—and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. From Part 2 onwards, the character journeys deepen, the plot twists pick up, and I honestly couldn’t put the book down. I ended up finishing it in a single day, and the time spent on building the world definitely felt worth it.
I also really appreciated the writing style itself. It’s simple yet crisp, and it fits each section of the book well. The action scenes are written beautifully—I could clearly visualize the setting, the fights, and everything unfolding. The emotions of the characters are handled with a lot of care, and it’s obvious that genuine thought went into writing them.
I especially liked how the different storylines come together so smoothly. The magic system felt fresh, different and interesting, and it definitely made me want to know more. Most of all, this book made me care about the characters, no matter how big or small their roles were. It’s not easy for a story to evoke genuine emotion, but this one does. I’d definitely recommend it to fantasy lovers looking for an engaging and heartfelt read.
January 17, 2026
Firstly, thank you to Shrinivas Gaikwad for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I firstly want to say the premise of this story is fantastic. I enjoyed the world, and the depth of the magic system. I also enjoyed the multiple points for view, and how the various storylines tied together. It created an immersive world which I continued to want to be in.
However, I really struggled with the writing style and the slight lack of depth of the characters. I found myself pulled out of the world due to the style of writing, and struggled in sections where characters didn't have enough depth to pull the story through.
I am sad that this book didn't live up to my expectations, as the story and themes are fantastic.
I firstly want to say the premise of this story is fantastic. I enjoyed the world, and the depth of the magic system. I also enjoyed the multiple points for view, and how the various storylines tied together. It created an immersive world which I continued to want to be in.
However, I really struggled with the writing style and the slight lack of depth of the characters. I found myself pulled out of the world due to the style of writing, and struggled in sections where characters didn't have enough depth to pull the story through.
I am sad that this book didn't live up to my expectations, as the story and themes are fantastic.
February 6, 2026
The premise is very interesting with a unique memory based magic system. The 1st half was a bit long but it picks up very nicely in the 2nd half. Once you get to the 2nd half, the story moves at a very good pace and the twist at the end was really cool. The themes of grief, loss and choices based on loss are well discussed. Ramifications of grief can be vast and can shape a person's subsequent journey and this element is well presented. The themes of corruption and power are always gray than black or white and this needs further elaboration in the upcoming parts as this felt less explored in this part. Some characters were richly explored whereas some others needed more depth. The character of Shin was very interesting.
Overall, an interesting read. I would give it 8.5/10
Overall, an interesting read. I would give it 8.5/10
March 3, 2026
She has lost her brother and now she is after revenge for his death. She also wants answers about the true reason for the war so she could prevent it happening again. There are two others who are involved with this wonderful story so see how it all goes
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a delightful story
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a delightful story
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