Whoa! Where did this come from? GEIS is a delightful but ghoulish little fantasy with a strong female protagonist and a quirky cast of side characters. The heroine, Io, is reluctantly thrust into a deadly tontine that will determine the next leader of her land and empower an evil witch. I cannot stop wondering how she will ever get out of this predicament. I'm 100% immediately addicted to this series and am seriously jonesing for the next volume. ( )

A Geis is a curse, a vow or a spell where, if broken, the infractor will suffer dishonor or death.

The chief matriarch is on her deathbed with no heir to rule in her place. She has decided that a contest will be held to find the one worthy to rule in her place. Fifty people have signed her will to participate, unknowingly being placed under a geis by a powerful sorceress. Now, the participants must complete the challenges or face the consequences.

I am just starting to read more comic books, so I am not the greatest judge. However, I was really pulled into this story and it's cast of characters. There is a wide variety of people who are competing for the position including a judge, Councillor, village witch and a young girl, a Kite Lord's daughter. I enjoyed seeing the first challenge from several of the characters perspectives. The artwork uses a muted pastel palate which brings the focus to the characters and keeps the tone classic and serious. The story leaves us on quite a cliffhanger with the end of the first challenge. I would have really liked to learn more about the curse itself and some of the characters and I'm hoping book two of the trilogy will answers these questions. Appropriate for middle grade readers and up, a suspenseful, exciting story with a little bit of a dark streak.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )