Posted by The cover won’t steer you wrong (and it’s gorgeous). If you like horses, or cultures that revolve around riding and horses and all that, this could definitely be for you.
Thea has grown up in a foster family in a culture is defined by their horses and a group over individual mentality. She thinks of her foster father as her ‘real’ father even though she still feels connected to her ethnicity and biological family. The problem here being that the two cultures she identifies with are at war with one another.
She’s also training to be a warrior, and not just a normal kind of warrior, but a class of warrior where it’s accepted you’re going to die young and they are considered the elite of elite. In this culture you’re expected put the needs of everyone else before yourself. That sentiment can be taken to extremes, too. There was a time Thea thought her people were about to get attacked and so she tried to rush to sound the alarm, putting her own life at risk. This did not gain her accolades but instead a reprimand for risking her own life because she’s in training to be an elite warrior and the group shouldn’t suffer that kind of loss. Her father is a leader figure of the tribe, but even then she gets belittled and treated like shit, sometimes physically abused. I guess I had a hard time believing that achieving this title as an elite warrior would eliminate the hatred she’s getting from others if even being the leader’s daughter doesn’t change their attitudes and they’re still brazen enough to attack her in front of others.
This feels more like a character study and a deep dive into a culture rather than a high stakes fantasy novel — which is fine. I could also be wrong since I set it down around 25%. At around the 25% mark I didn’t know if there was going to be an over-arcing plot or if the book was going to focus on the journey of this young woman trying to be accepted by the culture she loves, or not. I decided to set this one down because I knew I had stronger feelings about other books potentially up for a semifinalist spot, but this was an enjoyable read so don’t let that deter you if it sounds interesting.
I’d recommend this for people who like horses/horse centered cultures, warriors in training, multiple love interests for the MC, divided loyalties, a journey for acceptance, and coming of age stories.