Gr 7 Up—When Tarisai successfully earns a place on the Council of 11, she is happy to be one among others, with
little interest in the higher honor of being bonded to the Crown Prince through the Ray and carrying out her mother's
plan of assassination. Blending fantasy, Nigerian folklore, and a complex and engaging set of relationships, debut
author Ifueko pits loyalty to self against family obligations, newfound friendships, and love.

I sucked this one down quickly and hope for a sequel ( )

Tarisai of Swana is born to a perplexing woman called The Lady and a djinn (called an ehru in this novel), and her whole life is a preparation to join the Crown Prince’s Council of Eleven, all of whom possess some magical power. However, even before she arrived, she was cryptically instructed (programmed, really) to kill the prince, the person she as a Council member, is sworn to protect and love. Tarisai resists this instruction, travelling through the twelve realms of Aristar trying to understand herself and this command. Political unrest, palace intrigue, bigotry, love, betrayal, and marginalization of “other” are the familiar themes that drive the plot, making this strange universe relatable to our own. Impressive debut fantasy novel. ( )

This was gold. Ifueko's very creative. Only nitpick some of the Anointed Ones got more spotlight than others. ( )

Oooh I loved this book. I was intrigued om the fist page. Although, full disclaimer, I do love it when fantasy books are based on different cultures. This was a massive plus for me and I kept finding myself wanting to learn more about this world.

The book mainly focusses on Tarisai's journey and I loved seeing her grow and become more confident through the pages. We meet her as a child and learn more of her world as she matures and grows up. The whole concept of the curse is fascinating and I loved seeing her struggle with it, her largely unknown family and what she wants for herself. I enjoyed seeing the subtle shifts in the writing as she grew up to reflect her own changes. While this book is marketed as YA, it is definitely just as suitable for adults. It feels a lot more fleshed out than a lot of the YA books I've recently read and doesn't rely on romance to push the plot forward. The characters feel real and I think that people of all ages can It focuses a lot less on romance than modern YA books seem to and spends more time looking at self growth and destiny and the importance of other forms of love (something I absolutely love and want to see way more of in books). While some characters were definitely more of a focus than others (especially Tarisai and Dayo), all of them felt well thought out. I very much enjoyed how deeply flawed they all were and learning about their weaknesses and fears just as much as their strengths.

There is a lot of beautiful imagery in this book and I liked how it tied back to its African folklore inspirations. The author did reuse a lot of descriptions though and often in the same scenarios. I enjoyed the unique magic system and the concept of the council. The way it works and grants power is fascinating. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it before. The world is clearly well thought out and the book does and incredible of of exploring it and just how diverse all its cultures are, while also looking at the dangers of xenophobia and attempts at cultural suppression for the sake of conformity. Although I felt some parts towards the end were a little bit expositiony, this is largely done in a natural way through the plot.

I can definitely recommend this book to fantasy lovers who would like to explore a unique world, particularly those who would like to read beyond the typical European-inspired fantasy realms (not that there is anything wrong with them of course). And to those who enjoy YA fiction but are tired of how romance and love triangle heavy the genre has gotten. I will definitely be reading the next book as this one, while it has a good end point, definitely leaves a lot of questions unanswered about the future of Tarisai's world ( )