The Lich's Thrall; Austin Julian

Edi Nari just wants to be left to her own devices and continue her studies at the mage’s academy. But when her friends are brutally slain in front of her, she’s thrust into a mission to save her nation from the mad lich’s intent on unleashing the undead and destroying everyone, all at the behest of something far more powerful than the lich she works for, and those she has to face. “The Lich’s Thrall” is a dark fantasy adventure story that focuses on Edi’s journey from ostracized student, to a strong-willed sorceress that is capable of standing up for herself against all odds, and finally is given the answers to secrets her family has held on to for decades. Watching Edi go up against countless gruesome undead was exciting, namely for the uniqueness of the creatures she faced. I also appreciated that, come the end of the book, I didn’t feel like there were any questions left unanswered, even if I would have liked more of a character arc for Edi and some of the people she goes on her quest with.

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For as dark as this book is—I mean her roommates are viciously slain right in front of her in the first paragraph of this book—Edi doesn’t seem all that traumatized by what’s happened. She’ll have moments where things upset her, but given who she travels with and their role in her friends’ murder, she seems relatively fine, so I never felt like Edi had a lot of personal growth. I do like that there is a sapphic romance in this story, but again because of that lack of character depth at times, I didn’t get as much from an otherwise powerful relationship as I wanted.

For as interesting and dark as the world was with fighting the undead and the sheer destructive power of some of these lich’s, the final confrontation wrapped up a bit quickly. That being said, I did like how the book ended, and the answer’s Edi finally got about her family and why she, and her people, were always treated so poorly. I just wish I had connected more to Edi and her story, which is why this gets 3 stars from me, but thanks to the author for sending me a copy for an honest review!