The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco — ARC Review

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Summary:

Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn.

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.

While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.

But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

Review: 4 Stars

I was relatively excited for this book because it was written by Rin Chupeco and I own several of her books and the ones I don’t own I want to read. I was really hopeful that I might love it because then I can dive into her other books. I didn’t really know what to expect going in and honestly thought that this was a space novel. I really enjoyed this book and now I’m thrilled to read Rin Chupeco’s other books.

Rin Chupeco threw the reader right into an intricate fantasy world. There was immediately a lot going on and a lot of characters. While the world building comes in pieces and I was able to understand what was going on, I do wish that the world building was stronger. It was a very cool idea for a fantasy world, but I wish that there were more descriptions. I had some questions about how the magic worked and also about the world and the setting in general that never really got answered. I had a hard time visualizing the world.

The Never Tilting World is a fast paced driven novel. The pacing never let up, which made the book very hard to set down. It was filled with a ton of action and had a very strong plot. The two goddesses at the center of the story lived in complete opposite sides of the same world that struggled from opposite harsh environmental conditions. One side of the world was a desert where the sun never stopped shining and the other had a lot of water but it was always night. Each goddess set out to fix their side of the world and the challenges they faced along the way seemed insurmountable. So there were two full story lines going on, in two separate settings with two main characters that eventually converged. It felt like two stories that became one.

The characters were so much fun to read about and really well done. I was able to keep track of all the characters really easily even though there were 4 different points of view, all of which were written in first person. Each character was unique and they were all very memorable. The characters and their lives kept me very invested in this story. My favorite character was Haidee because she had so much personality and an interest in mechanics which really just brought her to life and made her feel real. They were all fierce and the plot was fantastic, but Haidee really stole my attention and I just kept wanting to get back to her point of view.

Overall I am impressed in Rin Chupeco’s ability to write a plot with so much action, yet still have memorable characters. I did feel like the world building needed more details though. I really loved this book and am excited that it is going to be a series.