The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lucruz

Pages: 533

Publisher: Daphne Press 

Released: 25th of July 2023 

In a lush world inspired by the history and folklore of South America, a sweeping epic fantasy of colonialism, ancient magic, and two young women's quest for belonging unfolds.

Reina is desperate.

Stuck living on the edges of society, her only salvation lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never known. But the journey is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster.

Attacked by creatures that stalk the region, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn—and keep—her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesare is unwanted.

Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries her best to be perfect and to hide her oddities. But Eva is hiding a secret: magic calls to her.

Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet, it’s hard to deny power when it has always been denied to you. Eva is walking a dangerous path, one that gets stranger every day. And, in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined.

TW: Violence, Child death, Death,  Body horror, Medical trauma, Body shaming, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility

What I Have to Say 

This was brutal. If you skipped the content warnings, go back and read them because it was a lot. But I didn't  hate it. There were bits that I certainly wish I hadn't read, but I enjoyed the rest. I liked the characters, I liked the plot and the magic system was really interesting. 

I did feel like part of the plot was introduced too late. For one thing, I was led to hate Javier and then in the second half, I was meant to feel sympathy for him? Like his plotline was interesting, but there was a pretty big thing that didn't even seem to be hinted at, it was just dumped in the middle of the book and I was expected to go with it. Maybe there was foreshadowing I missed but it put me off. 

I also started to really hate Reina by the end of it. She was the character I was most interested in at the start, but she made some really, really bad choices and treated Celeste terribly so I went off her. Celeste wasn't that great to her either, but that doesn't excuse it. 

I probably won't read on with this series. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Daphne Press for gifting me this book for review.