A review by billykmaguiree
Heir to Thorn and Flame by Ben Alderson

3.25

 I’d been in a reading slump for a few weeks before picking up this novel and this novel helped me extraordinarily get out of it. I’m a huge fan of fantasy, and believe that queer voices should be represented a whole lot more, so seeing a fantasy novel that normalised LGBT+ voices was the first thing that drew me to picking this up. The second was an increased social media presence of Ben Alderson and because of this, I was delighted when I got approved for an e-arc through Netgalley.

Now the actual story wasn’t bad, in fact, I think it’s one of the first books that I’ve actively looked forward to binge-reading in a few months. The execution was good and the plot was enthralling, I just couldn’t feel a connect with the characters. There was a bond between me and the writing, it just wasn’t strong enough for me to care more than a three star. Quick, enjoyable and fast-paced but lacked the connection that would’ve made this a four/five star.

If anyone’s interested in a video review, I’ll be posting one on my Tiktok @billyslifeonline for anyone interested on August 3rd 2023.