First of all, many thanks to Ronin Verlag for the review copy, you gave me a real highlight to end the year. And from a female author too, which is amazing, because far too few high fantasy books by women are published or marketed properly. You did it well. I’ll be honest: the beginning was a bit challenging for me. So many names, perspectives, and worldbuilding. The first half feels almost like a very long prologue, but stick with it, because it turns out to be an amazing story. The world is dark, exciting, and full of different species, lost civilizations, and constant looming cataclysms. One of the strongest aspects is the slowly forming found-family dynamic among the three main characters. They all come from different corners of the world, with their own traumas and perspectives, and yet a community gradually grows between them. Queerness is natural, feminism is deep, and romance stays on a closed-door level. One of the coolest things is the mix of fantasy and sci-fi. Aliens are firmly integrated into the history of the world, there are historical artifacts, mysterious parasitic spirits, giant spiders, worms, flying ships, and much more. Magic is dangerous, witches use life force, and conflicts often arise from history, culture, and the characters’ differing abilities. Altogether, it makes the world incredibly vivid and alive. In short, dark, complex, emotional, and really gripping. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves stories with deep characters. ⭐ 4.5 out of 5 stars P.S. I not only desperately need the second book, but I also need the physical copy for my shelf. Tropes: found family, various species, lost civilisation, ancient evil returns, body horror fantasy, queerness as normal, cataclysm [Advertisement, review copy]