“We have taken so that we may live. 
We have taken so that one day we may give back. 
And now the taking is done.”
~the Caldonnae hunter’s prayer~

One of my new favorite books. The book begins brutally. And the book ends brutally. It follows two characters as they make their way in a city, Tiran, that doesn’t appreciate them: Sciona, a woman, and Thomil the Kwen/“Blighter” janitor. Sciona mistakenly assumes that she would be respected once she passes her exam to become the first ever female highmage. But of course, she lives in a world and profession dominated by men some of whom will go out of their way to make her miserable. Thomil was the janitor of the building that she works in until one of the male highmages makes him Sciona’s (untrained) assistant as a humiliation to them both. As Sciona and Thomil work together and get to know each other, they come to learn the truth of the magic that Tiran is powered by. 

I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this book. I’d heard that it was like Kuang’s Babel, and it certainly was. But they are also two very different stories. I feel like I enjoyed this one more! It explores themes of racism, sexism, xenophobia, cultural assimilation, theft of culture and language, and mass slaughter and genocide. I cried a lot throughout this book. Often I’d cry near the end of it, but I was crying in like every other chapter. Anyway, this was an AMAZING book. Be prepared for racist and sexist language though. And for one SA scene. Oh, and gory death scenes too, sprinkled like blood throughout the book. In fact, just look at all the trigger warnings. I’ll add as many as I can think of.