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©️ Kay Adams 2020
You would be wise to question your God.
Over a thousand years have passed since the first Godstones ripped through the skies and mangled the earth. With their fall came centuries of chaos and destruction, but also immense power.
Power that separates humans from Gods.
Now, in the Kingdom of Azanthea, two adoptive brothers flee from unjust conscription.
A fugitive heiress of a slaughtered people struggles to truly be free.
A double-crossing warrior must choose where his allegiances lie: with his wife or with his daughter.
A traitorous heir to the Kingdom’s throne roams the lands in search of an army to call his own.
A prodigy in the House of Historian competes in a grueling trial to prove her loyalty.
And one God-King rules over them all.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
If you like stunning fantasy worlds, dystopian future settings, incredible magic sources, heartwarming family narratives, cute gay girls, possible love triangles, mysterious god-like figures, intense political intrigue, and a villain-turned-maybe-friend-maybe-not, this book is definitely for you!
The first in Keylin River’s Highwings series, it follows six characters — Ion, Kuba, Aurelia, Rohan, Vallich, and Kari — with the God-King Apollyon lurking like a shadow through every chapter. To some, he’s a king. To others, he’s a killer. Loyalties will be questioned as war brews, and no one knows who they can trust, especially when questioning the God-King can mean certain death.
The main plot follows adoptive brothers Ion and Kuba as they flee conscription into Apollyon’s United Azanthean Army, leaving behind their small mountain village and venturing out into a world where it seems everyone is fighting everyone else. Kuba, the younger of the two, hasn’t seen his own parents in years after they were drafted into the House of Historians, a mysterious group of people who are only loyal to one person: the God-King. When a Godstone falls from the sky and gives Kuba a rare power — the power to Wield lightning — suddenly everyone seems to be tracking them down. The brothers are saved from the army by the alluring Aurelia, a Fire-Wielder from the North, who agrees to help them get to the Free-Wielders where they will be safe. She teaches Kuba how to focus on his Wield to get them where they need to be, but after they are almost caught by the army, they reluctantly allow a new person into their group. The same traitorous heir to the Kingdom’s throne who Apollyon is hunting down. Vallich, going by the name Vincent among the trio, is more interested in figuring out who the lightning Wielder is, and building his own army to take down Apollyon. A murderous little beast, everyone knows Vallich is cruel and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, but he carefully conceals his ulterior motives from the trio while they figure out how to find the Free-Wielders with the help of a disguised soldier, Rohan. During their journey, Vallich pushes Kuba to the edge to teach him how to Wield, and even though Kuba sees him as a friend, Ion and Aurelia are not so sure they can trust him. After parting ways and the trio sails to the Free Wielders, they learn that an army led by a ruthless non-Wielder is sailing to their shores to stop the rebellion. Rohan’s wife, Elara, is the leader of the Free Wielders, but Rohan’s loyalties are torn between her and his daughter, training with the army. Meanwhile, in the House of Historians, Kari struggles to move past Vallich’s betrayal to the God-King, while keeping the secret to herself the entire time. An Ascension Trial must take place to declare a new heir, and Kari is one of the promised competitors. When the trials begin, she starts to question how true the God-King must be to allow so much death. But questioning the God-King could lead to her death, so she keeps her fears to herself, until she learns something truly horrifying about the God-King and his powers. An epic battles takes place on the island where the Free-Wielders live, and while Kuba, Vallich, and Aurelia are reunited, Ion has been injured in battle and has gone missing. The book ends on an enticing cliffhanger from Kari’s point of view in the Azanthean dungeons.
The first thing that really grabbed my attention in this book, aside from that beautiful cover, was the worldbuilding. Keylin does a fantastic job of infusing new magic in a typical fantasy setting, without making it obvious that this book is set in the far, far future. The Godstones that fall from the sky have the power of whatever they touched first — fire, water, earth, diamonds, any kind of element including the rare and elusive element of lightning. The first person to touch a Godstone becomes a Wielder, but it’s not easy to hold a Wield or even use in battle because it drains the user’s energy. This kind of magic is new and exciting and refreshing to see in young adult fantasy, and really ups the ante in certain settings. A Fire-Wielder in the snow can’t do much against her enemies without exhausting all her energy, but these characters learned to adapt. Even Kuba is resilient and determined to grasp lightning before it strikes the ground.
The world itself is absolutely amazing to read about. The brothers are forced to flee Zar, through the forest of Reinbeck, to Sable, to Spearield. An elegant map at the beginning shows just how far they are willing to go for their family. We learn a little bit about the North, where Aurelia is from, but I’m excited to learn more in the rest of the series. There is still so much of the world left unexplored.
The characters, oh, the characters! These characters will stay with you. Ion and Kuba are the brotherly-est brothers I have ever read, and they will do anything for each other and their family. Ion is a little laid-back and Kuba struggles with panic attacks (Keylin does a masterful job at describing them in a fantasy setting where there really isn’t a word for “panic attack”), but Ion knows exactly what to do to help his little brother. His advice guides him to connecting with his Godstone as well.
At first, I wasn’t too keen on reading about two brothers for the entire novel, but then Aurelia came onto the scene, and I fell in love with her. Witty, snarky, badass. She blasted enough soldiers away to earn a spot in my heart within the first few chapters. Plus, with a tragic backstory, I knew I would love her from the start. (There may or may not be a possible relationship between her and Ion; that’s up to you to decide 😉)
Aurelia is definitely my favourite character, but Vallich is a close second, despite being an absolute ass for the majority of the book. He’s also the one character everyone else hates. With a passion. And fury. He did help kill a lot of people under Apollyon’s orders, after all. Also snarky, very sassy, with a god complex to boot, I absolutely love the power dynamic between him and Aurelia during their interactions. (Please, Keylin, let them get together!)
Kari is up there with Vallich, mostly because she keeps eyeing her other scantily-clad competitor and IS VERY GAY for her. I love that. And, oh, did I mention Dane??? Canonically trans Dane??? Love. (Dane doesn’t get a POV, which is a crime.)
Rohan…to be honest, I didn’t care for Rohan. I felt as though his conflict — his wife or his daughter — was forced throughout most of his chapters to create tension and emotion, but it was just a lot of crying between him and Elara. I have to say, I screamed when he chose his daughter (if you’ve read the book, you know the part where he does the thing). That was exciting, but his chapters didn’t add much to the rest of the story for me.
Keylin’s writing is easy to read and creates beautiful images in the mind, while leaning a little to the telling side of show, don’t tell. Overall, a quick read, and enough POVs to keep it interesting without dragging down any one narrative. I would have loved to read more about the Ascension Trials and Kari, but I’m looking forward to her development in the next book. Plus that ending! I screamed! I cried! A fantastic job ending on a cliffhanger.
Get your hands on this book if you like: diverse characters, stunning worldbuilding, awesome powers, funny quips, plot twists, and a cliffhanger ending that will leave you craving more!
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“Kay’s Raves” is a new blog series where I review books I’ve read recently, starting with Keylin River’s All the King’s Traitors. Keylin was so generous to let me read her incredible fantasy for an honest review. Thank you so much, Keylin, and I can’t wait to read the next one! All the Queen’s Renegades comes out early 2020!
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