This book was…interesting.

There is no handholding. You are thrown straight in with no explanation for the world or what’s going on and in the first third that serves well as you keep reading to discover more. Kai is a demon and he and his friend were imprisoned in a tower, and they break out and try to find answers as to what happened to them and who betrayed them.

The flashback chapters serve to introduce us to the beginning of Kai’s story and his past and to provide context for what is happening in the present. A whole coup has happened in the past, very significantly against the Hierarchy (and also the immortal blessed which are not the same thing but have worked with/for the hierarchy in the past….I didn’t pay attention). There is a lot of geopolitical background that forms the basis of the world currently and while it was cool to see a fantasy world that was non-western, a lot of it I wasn’t super invested in.

The first 30% where you’re learning more and getting exposed to the world and trying to figure things out along with Kai was cool. I liked the characters but not enough to be heavily invested in them? Ultimately I just think the narrative was more concerned with things I was not concerned with. It is by no means a bad book. Just…interesting.

I am unsure whether this is a solid standalone, or maybe a stand-alone that could go places as a series if the author decides. If there are more books I might read them. But I might wait to hear what they’re about before I get invested in it.

3.75 stars.