Supernatural fantasy in an interesting combination of power, ecology and myth related arc. I loved that the writing hooked me since from the beginning delving straight into the empire’s conflict with its internal and political crumbles following Aisha; the granddaughter of the deposed lord of West Kantal who needs to flee to the imperial capital with her younger brother as a refugee after a violent coup. She gets caught and was planned to be poisoned and killed yet her fate go otherwise when Masyu; the imperial inspector helped her to escape.

I liked how Aisha’s gifted and fascinating ability lured me to her POV giving me details and its intertwined mess to the empire’s sacred crop and the mysterious figure of ‘kokun’ that was worshipped as a goddess and believed to have connection with the land’s prosperity and stability. It was bit slowburn on the development and worldbuilding (map included!) but quite easy to digest despite the tangled secrets in between Masyu and Aisha’s relationship, of their identity backstories and the devious plan that Masyu trying to commit with both Aisha and the ‘false’ kokun; Ollie.

Of duty vs survival and how that one super-crop could control the people and act as a tool for the government to manipulate their powers; totally dense on its nature and environmental talks, of Aisha as a threat to the empire and how their secretive plan works out to heal the famine giving more twists and a thrilling incident leading to that cliffhanger at the end. I was intrigued with that ending scene so might be getting Volume 2 too for sure!

**thank you Times Reads for the gifted hardcover!