Hmm...I think if you go into this for a fun spy/assassin story that leans very young adult, you will have a good time here. The majority of the story follows the journeys of the 6 main characters towards the king they are meant to kill, with the actual action happening in the last maybe 15% of the book. The characters are all very similar, and I did not care for the way the muscle for hire talked, it was like grammatically incorrect when convenient, but not consistently so I was always caught off guard when it happened. And this could have been a lot better without the insta-love. All that said, it was entertaining and quick. ( )

DNF 116pages

6 assassins pair up to kill a god king and fall in love with each other along the way.
There’s wayyy too many POVs for me and it just kills the pacing. 116 pages in and I wasn’t invested so I let it go.

Audience: New Adult
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Keywords: Lies and deception, betrayal, revenge, love, LGBTQ, friendship, teamwork

This is a young adult / adult story that takes place in a fantasy world inspired by Korea’s legends and myths. Six people come together to assassinate a tyrant god-king at a celebration within a month. They all have different skills, which make them valuable. But at the same time, they’re all lying to each other about their motivations. As they travel together, we start to see the characters grow and begin to trust one another, which makes the final betrayal feel even worse.
The novel is told through all 6 POVs — and at each chapter, the character and location was noted. The map at the beginning of the novel was important too, and I appreciated being able to track their journey to find where the characters were on the map. The pacing, character development, and overall plot felt YA for me, but that is totally fine, I enjoyed the story immensely. There was some off-the-page romance mentioned, which was referenced throughout the novel. I also enjoyed listening to the audiobook narration of the book. Each character was voiced by a different voice actor, which enhanced the experience. I would recommend this book to anyone who might enjoy action and adventure, espionage, and just a hint of romance. ( )

Set up for a sequel. It was tough to start with the swapping perspectives but became manageable. The plot moved well and the last portion was a good set up. If they don't release the next one with matching edges and binding I will be quite disappointed. ( )