Thank you NewSouth books for this book in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome work.
Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her family, wants more from life than her humble beginnings and is desperate to be trained in magic. So when a strange noble girl offers Annette the chance of a lifetime, she accepts.
Emilie and Annette swap lives—Annette attends finishing school as a noble lady to be trained in the ways of divination, while Emilie enrolls to be a physician’s assistant, using her natural magical talent to save lives.
But when their nation instigates a frivolous war, Emilie and Annette must work together to help the rebellion end a war that is based on lies
Review:
So I was here for this. I read Miller’s other series and you could see her world building and writing getting better and better so I had to dive into this one with no second thoughts about it.
There was only one thing I wasn’t a big fan of and it took a while to grip the plot. I spent most of the book trying to figure out “what was to happen, how it was happen, or they are there, now I am confused?” I just decided that the plot wasn’t the strongest suit of the book but the book was highly enjoyable regardless!
And the good? Ahhh the magic!! I won’t ruin the twist with the magic but it isn’t what you expect (which is great) but it is so much more! I also liked how the magic had consequences that had to be considered before magic was used.
I loved that there is classism in this book, and it is realistic to today’s society in a way which makes you uncomfortable and get you thinking!!! You also get the politics of the world and how they operate. Don’t worry there isn’t too much politics that you get bored. It’s just enough to entertain.
If you are after some representation, then this is the book for you with a trans love interest and side characters that are queer which is just amazing.
The characters were bright and vibrant, the world was incredible and all this makes up for the shady as F plot.
Rating: 4/5
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
ISBN: 9781728210070