Published: January 18, 2022
Publisher Erewhon
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 544 (Paperback)
My Rating: 3.5/5.0
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
Orphaned as young women, Celestia and Izara De Malena find themselves land rich but destitute, with only a failing rainforest acreage, Celestia’s perfect manners, and Izara’s nascent magic to their aristocratic names. With the last of their money running out, they enact a dangerous plan—using a spell she doesn’t fully understand, Izara summons the Lady of the Seraphine and demands a favor: a husband for Celestia, one rich enough to enable the De Malena sisters to keep their land. But a favor from the river goddess always comes at a cost . . .
Now, five years later, rumors of war and disease are spreading, Celestia’s husband has been called away on a secret mission for the Emperor, and the Lady of the Seraphine is back to collect her due. Izara will be forced to leave the academy where she has been studying to become a mage; Celestia will be pulled from her now-flourishing farm while newly pregnant with her first child. Together, they must repay their debt to the Lady—embarking on a mission that will put them on a collision course with Celestia’s husband, the Emperor, and a god even more powerful than the Lady of the Seraphine.
Gorgeous, compelling, and utterly captivating, The Beholden follows Celestia and Izara as they journey from the lush rainforest to a frozen desert on an impossible quest to find a god who doesn’t want to be found and prevent the end of the world.
This book started out quite dramatically, with Celestia and Izara de Malena stomping through the depths of the jungle with their guide Ico so that they could find a goddess, or as they are called here, the Airiana. When bargaining with gods and goddesses, one must always expect to pay a price and the price for Celestia de Malena finding a husband to manage her property effectively was that the Lady of the Seraphine could call upon the three of them at any time for a favor. And then I put it down for a while because I sort of lost interest and decided to read a few other books. Once I was in the mood to read this again I finished it in just a few reading sessions!
Celestia’s husband is called away on a mission for the king, where he and his party will try to track down and kill a wizard who was thought dead five centuries ago. Shortly after, Celestia, Izara, and Ico are contacted by the Lady of the Seraphine for a mission of their own. They must track down Lord Kajari and convince him to stay in the world, because he’s not a human wizard – he’s Decay, one of the Airiana and the counterbalance to Growth. Without him there will be no death, only continuous unchecked growth. The story is really just a long journey to find Decay with some interruptions.
There’s a ton of cool scenery, from lush jungles to gilded palaces, to a hidden city, to the desert fortress of Decay. The concept of aspected gods and goddesses is not an original one, but it is one I really enjoy especially when they interact with mortals. I even liked the characters, but overall something didn’t completely jive with my tastes so I didn’t love it even though I can appreciate the story overall. It’s also really difficult for me to pinpoint what exactly didn’t work for me so it’s taken me longer than usual to settle on a final rating. Honestly, I think it just ran a little long for what the story contained and need to be edited down to a somewhat shorter length and snappier pace.
Powder & Page 
Leave a comment