Willa Knight: Dweller. Slave. Non-magical being.

In Minatsol, being a dweller means that you are literally no better than dirt. In fact, dirt might actually be more useful than Willa. Her life will be one of servitude to the sols, the magic-blessed beings who could one day be chosen to become gods.

At least her outer village is far removed from the cities of the sols, and she won’t ever be forced to present herself to them… Until one small mistake changes everything, and Willa is awarded a position to serve at Blesswood, the top sol academy in the world—a position that she definitely did not earn.

Under the sudden, watchful eye of the gods, she will be tasked to serve the Abcurse brothers, five sols built of arrogance, perfection and power. They are almost gods themselves, and under their service she is either going to end up sentenced to death, or else they are going to ruin her so badly that she will wish for it.

Either way, she is in trouble.

This was an interesting read; I read it off the back of ‘The Queen of Quintessence’ by Tessa Hale. Didn’t really give myself a chance to breathe before plunging into this book. I didn’t review the book above by Tessa Hale because I read it in a kind of migraine fog and wasn’t really with it.

This is a short read; it took me only two and a half hours, and while it is a why-choose romance, it has little to no spicy content. The premise is one that fills so many books: a relatively unknown woman with little to no power, or of a lower class, enters a realm with gifted or high-powered individuals and falls in with certain main characters. I’ve read many books that sit in this sub-genre, some that have been fabulous and others less so. This one sort of sat in the middle for me, not completely unique but not completely stereotypical either.

The book is told purely from Willa’s point of view. A chaotically clumsy but fiery ‘dweller’ – the lowest of the low. She is mistakenly chosen, along with her friend, to travel to the heart of Soldel and serve the sol there. It doesn’t go as planned, as you’d expect. There is quite a bit of terminology at the beginning of this book that I naively thought I would understand with one read; I ended up having to write it down because I kept getting confused by the different cycles and what they meant.

I enjoyed Willa as a character because of her sarcasm and clumsiness; while I’m not clumsy myself, I am rather sarcastic, and that similarity made it easier to fall in behind her. I also enjoyed the way her brain works, how she talks to herself, and how she interacts with others. I think she presents herself unapologetically with no bells or whistles attached. There is no agenda, no playing up or down any character traits; she is true to herself every time.

The Abcurse brothers are the five men she gets to mingle with, and as a dyslexic, I found some of the names difficult to understand.

Coen – Pain –

Coen is large; well, that doesn’t really set him apart; they are all large and imposing to Willa. Coen has the power of pain, and to a normal dweller that would be enough of an incentive to stay far, far away, but Willa doesn’t really have that sense of danger awareness; she also doesn’t seem to fit the mould of ‘sheep follower ’, so regardless of the way this plot were to play out, I think she would always catch their attention.

At the beginning of the book, I wasn’t sure what kind of men I’d be meeting. Coen and Yael, specifically, came across as borderline grey characters with viciousness and bully tendencies. It was almost discombobulating how quickly they shifted their attitudes in Willa’s presence. In this book, a lot happens to Willa, but there is a specific moment between Willa and Coen’s pain, and everyone involved is clearly confused about what happens and why. It shifts the dynamic between them all; I just couldn’t place where that dynamic would go. Coen’s eyes hold a longing when he looks at Willa, and though the book is told through her eyes, I feel like a lot is bubbling under the surface of his character, waiting to spill out.

Rome – Strength –

Rome could crush a dweller under his thumb like a bug. His attitude in the arena is to end the fight as quickly as possible, whether by death or unconsciousness. He felt like a no-nonsense character, but there is definitely more to him. He was clearly one of the loudest voices in the decision to keep Willa as a friend only, which makes me wonder about what exactly he is feeling and what he’s afraid of unleashing.

Aros – Desire –

Willa and Aros also have a moment in this book, and it is entwined with Coen. The characters talk about it in the aftermath, but honestly it just fuelled my curiosity to see this explored further, rather than answering any questions I had. Aros tends to haul Willa over his shoulder and carry her places, or hold her in his arms and carry her places. I can’t fault his logic; she is clumsy as hell. It’s amazing she hasn’t broken every bone in her body! Despite having the gift of Desire, Aro keeps his talent tightly controlled, and when Willa isn’t overwhelming his senses, he seems softer around her. I’m very interested in how Aro’s and really all the men’s personalities and gifts will unfold as the plot continues.

Yael – Persuasion –

I would say that Yael is the first to notice Willa. I mean, she made herself known only a few hours after arrival. It was pretty impossible for him not to notice her, but he is definitely the first to think about ‘keeping’ her, investing time in her, and essentially bringing her into the fold. He has used his persuasive power on her, to varying degrees of response, but he is clearly holding back when it comes to her – as they all are. He has a lot to say; he’s very quick with his words. I suppose it comes easily to him, given his gift. I got the sense that he knows more than he is saying, and I don’t know whether he is trying to keep himself and his brothers safe or trying to keep Willa safe.

Siret – Trickery –

Siret is like all the jokers ever spawned in royal courts. What I learned about his behaviour in this book did not surprise me one bit. He wears his gift like it’s everyday clothes, but he still has a way of sneaking around you and causing unimaginable chaos. All the men enjoy touching Willa in various ways; I think I clicked more with the story when it was Aros and Siret. It just hit me in a way that made more natural sense. I learned quite a bit about why the men were there through Siret’s past actions, but I am more interested in seeing more of how his gift works now and how it will shape the plot as it plays out.

Chaos, it seems, is a MAJOR plot point in this series, but I don’t really know enough about its role, who will play it, or what it means to draw a full conclusion. Of course, I have suspicions; there’s the most likely option and several less probable options, but at this point, all have merit. I think I’m content to see where the plot leads me for now and continue with the series.