Book Review: Fledgling - The Keeper's Records of the Revolution by S.K. Ali (YA Fantasy)

Fledgling: The Keeper's Records of the Revolution
S.K. Ali
Kokila
8 October 2024
407
eBook - EPUB
YA Fantasy
ARC via Edelweiss

Would you trade love for peace?

Raisa of Upper Earth has only lived a life of privilege and acquiescence. Ever dutiful, she accepts her father’s arrangement of her marriage to Lein, Crown Prince of the corrupt, volatile lands of Lower Earth. Though Lein is a stranger, Raisa knows the wedding will unite their vastly different worlds in a pact of peace: an infusion of Upper Earth technology into Lower Earth will usher in the final age of enlightenment, ending war between humans forever.

Or is justice more urgent?

Newly released from imprisonment, Nada of Lower Earth has found her own calling: disrupting the royal wedding. Convinced her cousin Lein’s alliance with Upper Earth will launch an invasive, terrifying form of tyranny, Nada sets out undercover to light the spark of revolution.

When Raisa goes missing a week before the wedding, all eyes turn to the rebels, including Nayf, Nada’s twin brother—a fugitive on the run. And when Nayf and Raisa meet, the long-simmering animosity they feel toward each other's worlds slowly burns away into something unexpected.

But the Crown Prince wants his bride—and future—back. And he will go to the ends of the Earths to reclaim them.

 

I really struggled with Fledgling. The premise of the book was just to my tastes, but the execution of the story and prose didn't work for me. I had trouble getting invested in any of the characters, I think because having so many POVs didn't give me chance to get behind any of them properly. Meanwhile, the prose itself and the style of the storytelling didn't grab me. I felt preached to at times too, which is something that always irks me. One major plus is the cover design, which is superb and very eye catching. In the end, I am giving this book 2 stars. I am sure there will be plenty of YA fantasy readers who will enjoy it; it simply wasn't a good fit for me unfortunately.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.