Fighting a war is a romantic thing until blood spills.

Kaylo is a 34-year-old man wiser than his years. He has lost faith in the gods since he feels they’ve abandoned them when the Gousht invaded. Kaylo is gifted with the power of the goddess dubbed “The Thief” who’s scorned by Kaylo’s people.

Tayen has recently lost her family and is seeking revenge. Kaylo agrees to train her in combat so she can defend herself while trying to persuade her not to dwell on her rage as he is aware of the consequences of that. He recounts his story to Tayen and throws cryptic lessons amidst. Some chapters are told from Tayen’s POV; and others from Kaylo’s, present and past.

In the “flashback” story Kaylo deals with grief after losing all sense of stability and battles with self-acceptance thanks to societal prejudice, mirroring the experience of many from marginalized communities.

The story centers on colonialism, depicting various ugly aspects like mission schools and misogyny. The religion of The One has many parallelisms with Catholicism, and the indoctrination portrayal was enough to trigger my Catholic trauma.

I found the climax more exciting in the story set in the past as it got center stage in the second half of the book. The present one felt a bit rushed in the end and more like a prologue for the rest of the series.

The prose is beautiful and succinct. I loved the exchanges between Kaylo and Tayen as they come to realize they’ve only got each other. Their voices were distinct and believable, and you can’t help but root for them.