ARC Review: The Imrati Trials by Lizzy Gayle

Name: The Imrati Trials
Series: Sisters of Magic and Shadow #1
Author: Lizzy Gayle
Publisher: City Owl Press
Format: Kindle (ARC – Thank you to The Nerd Fam for the gifted eARC)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Spice Rating: Open Door 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Rating:

Synopsis: Goodreads
A Dangerous Tournament, Forbidden Magic, and a Choice that Could Destroy Her World.

Nyah, the illegitimate daughter of a sorcerer king, has always lived in the shadows. With only a touch of magic and no real power to call her own, she’s accustomed to being overlooked—especially when compared to her full-blooded sister, Leuruna, the princess who suffers at the hands of their cruel father.

But when Leuruna transfers her magic to Nyah to protect it from their father’s tyranny, Nyah is forced to flee the kingdom. Her escape takes an unexpected turn when she’s saved—and kidnapped—by Rivven, a mysterious and charismatic warrior with dangerous secrets of his own. His mission? To assassinate Nyah’s father. But Rivven’s plans come with a risk Nyah isn’t willing to he wants to enter the Imrati, a tournament where the victor can claim the legendary powerstone and the hand of the princess.

It’s the perfect opportunity to get close to the king and strike. But the stakes are higher than Nyah could have ever imagined. As she’s pulled deeper into the trials—and into a scorching attraction for Rivven—she finds herself torn between her duty to her sister and the growing desire to stand by the man who’s risking everything for a better world.

In a contest where betrayal runs as deep as the magic that fuels it, Nyah must will she embrace the power inside her and take the chance to change everything? Or will she risk losing herself, and the people she loves, to a king whose cruelty knows no bounds?

Enter the Imrati—where only the strongest will survive, and the prize may cost more than anyone is willing to pay.

Review:

I saw deadly trials, romantasy and I was on board. I’m always down for some deadly trials! I did not realise I was signing up to read my newest obsession. Both our main characters and our side characters were to die for. I loved the friendships that were developing (and the romances!) and I honestly cannot wait to find out how these go over this series…

By now, you know how I do though… I read the bare minimum about a book before deciding to read it, so I go in blind most of the time. But, so that you know a little more about the book, let’s talk about it!

Nyah is the bastard daughter of the Evil King, ignored and hidden away, able to live somewhat freely while her sister, the legitimate daughter, Princess Leuruna is trapped and suffering at the hands of the King. When the King announces the return of the Imrati Trials, Leuruna hides her magic within Nyah and tells her to run away…

Nyah flees and ends up in a… situation. Cue our MMC, Rivven to the rescue. I loved Rivven. He and Nayah had great back and forth (I’m a sucker for a silly nickname, and his for her was ”little spy” and I loved it) and their relationship was… tenuative at best despite him rescuing her. Once he’s informed of the Imrati Trials returning, the pair decide they’re entering with an ultimate goal of killing the King…

Are you hooked?! Because honestly this was just the start of it!! Lizzy Gayle builds an interesting world of three kingdoms, with magic specific to each Kingdom and then tells us that the magic is contained within 3 powerstones… And for the first time in too long, the other kingdoms have a chance at getting their hands on the Evil King’s stone as a result of the trials coming back.

Guys, I devoured The Imrati Trials. When Lizzy decided she wanted deadly trials, she WENT for it! These were deadly, they felt unique (the first one I think will haunt me), and I loved the twists that she used in her trials. I don’t know if this trials element will be reused in anyway in the sequel but it’s not necessary to keep me reading, because i’m hooked on the characters.

Our main characters, whilst not perfect, did have a great relationship. Nyah and Rivven are both strong and driven characters. They have separate desires, but ultimately they know that their one shared goal will help them both and so they work together. I wasn’t 100% sold on their chemistry – it felt like it went from 0 – 100 quite quickly. But it wasn’t too jarring that it pulled you out of the story or anything.

Additionally we had some excellent side characters, one of which became one of my favourite characters and I fear for him constantly because history shows if I like a side character they’re going to go THROUGH IT. If you know, you know. I personally really enjoyed watching Nyah come out of her shell in order for her character to get to know the side characters. I’m excited to see where these characters go in book 2 – including Ven (when you meet Ven you’ll love Ven, I promise) – because I’m hooked on them.

I hope it’s come across just how much I enjoyed The Imrati Trials, because truly I did. Not only did I enjoy it, but I’m obsessing over it. I find myself thinking about certain scenes, certain characters and that ending often. I’m so grateful that I had a chance to read this early so I could gush about it on release day!

Reading With Tyler