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5 Stars!!

Thank you to Rachel Fallon for an ARC of this book. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oh wow! I loved the magic system in this book! The aspect of the different gems having different properties and the way those properties could be enhanced/adjusted/etc was interesting. I liked the way Jacinth was figuring stuff out, even when she admitted she didn't know a ton of magic.

While I understood Jacinth's need for vengeance, I did note that things were not as they seemed when she recalled things the first time. The way certain things were said, and yes, they hinted at things and considering her age, I could see it sticking with her. But at the same time, I feel like maybe she should have at least started to go "wait..." before she ended up at the competition. That being said, even before she realized things, I liked the fact that she started making friends and how without realizing it, they probably helped nudge her to question. Then at the end when things were going slightly sideways and she realized what she had to fight for now.

Azurill was awesome and I laughed at lot when we were in his POV chapters. Yes, he was dealing with stuff and having to have the competition while also dealing with his grief (although I kind of wished we'd gotten a little more on that...several people in his inner circle had said they suspected murder and it felt like maybe it was being investigated but then that kind of got dropped. Or maybe not dropped and it'll come up in a future book when we focus on one of those characters?) I liked that it didn't take long for him to kind of zero in on Jacinth, even while he was telling himself he needed to give all the competitors a chance, but it was like he instinctually knew who Jacinth was and everything. Or maybe Erodite or Veritx were pushing him along?

I didn't trust Carnelian from the second he stepped on page and while Jacinth thought she was using him for her own ends, it was unfortunate how things fell out from that.

This book is connected to Rachel Fallon's other series (starting with Of Darkness and Ruination ) but you don't have to have read that to read this. The books/series are interconnected standalones, so it sounds like people make appearances in other books but you don't need backstories. Although I'm intrigued to read those books and see who pops up!

Book released February 12, 2026

Other reviews:

Storygraph