5/5 stars
Addie is a young girl living in Barracks, a land where hearts are used as currency. Addie has finally reached the age where she is expected to give up her heart and trade it for something else. But Addie has other plans—she wants her brother back. When a mysterious man named Schism arrived seven years ago, Addie’s brother made a choice and she hasn’t seen him since. After discovering that her heart was still red and alive, she’s forced to run. She makes the decision to follow her brother and plunges herself into a realm of darkness.
This was such an incredible book! I loved the characters, especially Addie! She goes through a lot, but her strength and determination were admirable! This book reminded me of Dante’s Inferno, with a dash of Full Metal Alchemist and Kingdom Hearts. As a Christian, I really appreciated the carefully-crafted allegory woven by the author. A powerful and inspirational message is delivered through her story while also being an incredibly fascinating story. One important takeaway from this book is the reminder that we are not alone! For any non-Christians out there, I would still highly recommend this book to you. The story itself and the characters alone are worth reading for!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I will definitely be reading the rest of the series as Addie’s journey continues! Fantasy fans should give this book a read, especially if they enjoy Christian fiction! Fans of H.S.J. Williams’s Moonscript would probably enjoy this book as well!
The Bookish Raven 