Excellent start to a series. Will read the next book ( )

I could not get into this book. It was good, and very much like everything else I like, but for some reason it wasn't gripping and I didn't have a strong drive to finish it. It picked up near the end and I'll probably still finish the series, but it wasn't a must-read. ( )

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself

Not really a review but more so some rambling thoughts

-Easy to read. I breezed through pages like it was nothing. I looked up and half the book was already read.

-The different people, the scholars, martials, masks, and so… the racial makeup was hard to get a grasp on. I think scholars are pale, lighter-skinned and martials are generally darker, whether in skin or hair color. But some people are blonde, redhead, dark-haired and so on. Maybe it’s more of a cultural thing than a general look because every character’s looks ran the gamut.

-Marcus was horrid. Like a hyena laughing at brutality, grossness, and violence. I don’t think he had any redeeming value. It’s unfortunate placement the first line about him refers to his darker skin, then him being called ugly.

-I’m not sure why only one girl is allowed each year, and in a school of boys raised to be brutish and barbaric.

-Things are cruel at the academy for everyone, the students and, especially, the enslaved. The threat of being raped is a very real, ever-present thing here for the female characters and slaves. In addition, the carnage rises high and children are not spared. There’s a constant sense of peril, which runs throughout the story.

-I’m ambivalent about the Helene-Elias stuff. I didn’t really care for the romance aspect in general, but the strain it put on their friendship was interesting to watch. I wonder why Helene is SO loyal to him. She’s is staking life decisions on one dude.

- I loved the Cook, the real MVP! Also, Laia has some good character development.

- hormones are all powerful. Characters close to death and being actively tortured in ENSLAVEMENT, but got time for their hearts to go doki doki. Well, okay, even during tragedy, people fall in love.

- I'm ready for the Commandment to get rocked.

I guess the real friends we made were the sexism and battle weaponry we met along the way.

In all seriousness, I’ll read book two. I want to see where this goes.
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What a great tale! Can't wait to read book 2 ( )