Emberhawk by Jamie Foley {The Katrosi Revolution; 1}

Book Blurb:

The elementals have decided they’re gods, and humans are nothing but fuel for their fire.
A starving trapper.
Merciless drought withers Kira’s ranch, leaving her family hungry—and desperate enough to cross the border into the forbidden forest to trap wild game.
But the forest is infested with tree-scorpions and giant cats that wield elemental invisibility, and they’re hungry, too. When Kira mistakes one elemental creature for another, she ends up with the last thing she wants in her trap: an enemy soldier.
An invisible spy.
Ryon can’t afford to be a prisoner of war. If the Malaano Empire extracts his secrets, the rumors of war will be confirmed—and the tribes stand little chance against the Empire unless they can put aside generations of bad blood for the sake of a Tribal Alliance.
When Ryon’s escape leaves Kira injured and her livelihood in flames, Ryon must choose between aiding her… or returning to his chieftess with vital information. But can he survive the trek when an elemental pursues him for his rejected heritage?
A sacrificial princess.
Imperial Princess Vylia is given a powerful ancient stone as her wavesinger trials approach. But is the stone’s whispering voice from the water goddess, or a masquerading elemental the creator god imprisoned millennia ago?
When Vylia’s diplomatic mission to the tribal lands erupts in fiery revenge, she, Kira, and Ryon must work together to survive—or become pawns in the battle of the gods.

I received this book from the author via BookSirens for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.

Rayleigh’s Review:

“You look like you died and just haven’t realized it yet.”
Ryon turned his smile into a lopsided smolder.
“Well then, I’m one good-lookin ghost.”

Emberhawk was a thrilling adventure into a monster-infested forest with one charming foreigner.

There is a lot happening in this book. It begins in a way that almost seems like normal life for Kira and her family but quickly escalates into a race to uncover sinister plans and save lives.

I really enjoyed the plot and found myself surprised around every corner. I was impressed that I hadn’t guessed everything at the end and was thoroughly shocked by the new revelations. And the characters were all so good! I loved the witty banter between Ryon and Kira, and of course the snark and sarcasm was delightful. Felix’s presence made me laugh, he was the perfect fox! The only character that I never fully understood her presence in the book was Princess Vylia. She only has three or four chapters out of the whole book and her story felt so different than everything else happening. But I have a feeling she’ll play a bigger part in Silverblood so I look forward to getting to know her better there.

Emberhawk is a clean YA Fantasy. There is no cursing and the sexual content is reduced to only a few non-detailed kisses and some mild comments from other characters. There are plenty of fight scenes in which there are a mentions of how people died, but I didn’t find these descriptions to be gory.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Emberhawk and I look forward to reading Silverblood when it releases in March, 2021!