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"In Panduri, an enchanted city seen only at twilight, everyone’s path is mapped, everyone’s destiny decided, their lives charted at birth and steered by an unwavering star. Everyone has his place, and Matteo, second son of Panduri’s duca, is eager to take up his as Legendary Protector—at the border and out from under his father’s domineering thumb. Then Matteo’s older brother pulls rank and heads to the border in his stead, leaving Panduri’s orbit in a spiral and Matteo’s course on a skid. Forced to follow an unexpected path, resentful and raw, Matteo is determined to rise, to pursue the one future Panduri’s star can never chart: a life of his own."
I was intrigued by the premise of this book, and excited by the description. It sounded exactly the kind of book I love - fantasy, based in mythology, a unique world - however, once I began reading, I was thoroughly disappointed.
This book throws you right in the deep end, straight into a world full of characters you have no understanding of. When done properly, this can be a very effective literary technique, however I felt that the novel never really delivered the backstory and world-building which is required to ensure the audience properly understand the plot.
By halfway through the book, I still had no idea how Panduri worked, what it looked like, where it was, or even what species its occupants were. Vague comments would occasionally be thrown in about grass-covered streets or bowers made of branches, but immediately followed by descriptions of offices and conservatories,; this led to much confusion, on my part, about the kind of world Panduri was, and made it very difficult for me to picture.
The plot jumped around so much that I rarely knew what was happening which, combined with seemingly random and unannounced changes in character perspective, made for a very confusing read.
Overall, I was unfortunately unable to enjoy this novel. With some more world-building, and a more streamlined plot, it could have been great; but in its current form I think it is a very difficult story to understand and, therefore, enjoy.
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Thanks to SparkPress and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this novel.