I love reading books where they use a different interpretation of the most basic types of magic. However I persevered and I’m very glad I did so. I’ll confess that at the beginning I very nearly put the book down – it was very heavy at points and I found it to be fairly intimidating. It was emotionally compelling and incredibly well written. Phoenix Unbound was a whirlwind of a read. I’d say that it starts out with the worst of it, and gradually gets less intense. It gets very rough at times, but it is also very relevant to the plot, so it’s hard to avoid. There are a lot of references and details to torture, burning at the stake, and rape. Both have been slaves, one bound by chains and the other guilt and family. Both main characters have been through hell and back.

Warnings first: There is a lot of trauma in this book. It’s so striking and beautifully done, how could it not? I love the bolder colors and the bright elegant title scrolling across the cover. Grace Draven is no stranger to writing epic tales of fantasy, so I had little doubt that this one would be outstanding as well.īack when I was scrolling through the fantasy category on NetGalley, I couldn’t help but have the cover for Phoenix Unbound catch my attention. Phoenix Unbound is the first book in Grace Draven’s new series, the Fallen Empire. I received a copy of Phoenix Unbound through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. She is the winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice for Best Fantasy Romance of 2016 and a USA Today Bestselling author.Warnings: Rape, slavery, torture, burning at the stake Grace Draven is a Louisiana native living in Texas with her husband, kids and a big, doofus dog. To protect her family and village, she will abandon everything to return to the Empire–and burn once more. Unknown to Gilene, he also wants to reclaim the birthright of his clan. Gilene’s sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses.Īzarion, the Empire’s most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion–and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery.

For the last five years, one small village’s tithe has been the same woman. A woman with power over fire and illusion and an enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from the USA Today bestselling author of Radiance.Įvery year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire’s capital–her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses.

Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven