I think this was a combination of the writing and the audio narrating, but this book really captured a distinct feel and voice for the main character. And his emotions, and the awful reality that was his life, really came through. I felt so terrible for him.

I hated everyone in positions of power, everyone hurting others. Nathan just wanted a normal life, he didn’t ask for any of this. And he could’ve had a normal life, but all the assholes on the council kept destroying everything for him, hurting him, threatening him. And it just wasn’t fair. It hit so much harder because of how like real life it was, in that way. People in power can just ruin other people’s lives. And this really captured that and made so angry reading about it.

I loved his brother Aaron though. So sweet and gentle.

The story was good too. Not the most exciting, but it kept my attention enough. Or maybe that was mostly the characters. Still, kept my attention, and any slowness was necessary to understand Nathan.

Oh, there was also magic! Because witches. I was a little confused about the world, but the way magic and spells worked was interesting and a little different than in other books I’ve read.

There’s a hint of romance here, but that’s more of a series thing. To give a spoiler, *SPOILER* there are two romantic relationships, first with Annalise, then with Gabriel, and the second is the one I felt had more depth, and I think it was supposed to be that way. *END SPOILER* Also I wouldn’t categorize this series in the romance genre, though there are feelings.

As I mentioned, the narrator, Carl Prekopp, was fantastic. His sort of downtrodden but not hopeless way of speaking for Nathan was perfect. Other characters had different voices, accents, and ways of speaking, making them easy to tell apart. And all sounded great.

I will note, the audiobook I got from the library still used the terms Black and White for the witch factions, instead of Blood and Fairborn, but the other two had the updated terms, so it could be that my library just had an older edition.

Overall, a solid, well-written first book in the series that really made me feel for the main character and feel in general, even if they weren’t all happy feelings.

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2023 // Format: Audiobook*