Book Cover & Title (5/5): Starting off with the synopsis! Already off to a great start with setting the tone of the story. Giving me the "What to expect" but also the "But how should I expect it?" Ideas of characters are given without giving much away, the unlikely allies moving towards their goals that eventually intertwine further in the story.
Now for the book cover and title! Great color scheme and simple at that. The story, from first glance, seems to be a military-esque kind of story so this helps with that tone. I can definitely see the spine of this book already and why it should invoke someone to pick it up. Simple, extra bread crumbs on the book cover, I like it. Solid!

Plot(48/50): The opening chapters ignites a spark of curiosity and intensity, setting a tone for what we're gonna read. What is this war about? Who's winning? The beginning gives us a who, makes us question the what, and other essential points. The start of the story splits into a few parts revolving around the same series of events to eventually intertwine, bringing our characters together.

When diving into the story, you are introduced to two warring nations and pivotal characters that set the foundation of the story. A magic flows through the beings in this story, unique to their people and thus defining their lifestyle and ethics. Each having their own inner turmoil and setbacks to the development of the overall plot as conflict doesn't only happen on the outside but the inside as well.

A lack of scenery is depicted unfortunately, very few but of only structures thus far. I mean, it takes place in pretty contained environments but I wanna know what lies beyond these places. What do the trees look like outside the walls? How much snow? What are the characters traversing through besides mud and waters? Setting a scene doesn't deprive the plot of anything, it actually enhances it; giving the plot characteristics and more beef.

The layup to each chapter is so well put together. With pieces of lore, character nuances, and mannerisms; all these small dots start to paint the big picture and the thought process for me is to always wonder: Why is that? Who is that? And the more I read, the more "ahhh"s I do. This author does a great job at raising questions then nurturing them with bread crumbs to keep the reader coming back. Just from the beginning, you can tell it's rich with how diverse it starts. As you continue to read, the gravity begins to don on you with the secrets held, the possible collateral, and the obvious danger behind every endeavor during these warring times.

Character Development(25/25): First we are introduced to Eunike who seemingly doesn't like the ideas of her foolish queen, fellow echelon, and just overall military. She seems like the My way or the highway type of person so definitely feeling a spearhead type of personality which has room for flaws which is perfect for the development with this character.

Then comes Siraj, a skeptically hopeful person with one mindset—to survive, or rather to save everyone to save himself. There's a line drawn between duty and friendship, a duality of sorts. Seeming to be one of the weaker soldiers, he still had made friends along the way. After hearing a. . . non beneficial tactical plan, he opts out—live to fight another day sorta deal—and finds himself in another mess to sneak out of. Practically a fool, but his heart's in the right place and a fool always gets the chance to learn.

Meanwhile, Ashe seems to be very honor driven—by the books—but at the same time she doesn't necessarily wanna be in the spotlight. Blinded by customs and obsessed with being the best but still admiring those who stood above her, in a way. Stuck between duty and denial, soon these conflicts will clash, it feels, and explode into a change you wouldn't expect.

And then there's Vanora, a trusty shipmate of Marmoris; practically the first mate. Just like Ashe, Vanora is super loyal to her ship. Everything Vanora does has Marmoris' best interests and sometimes the ship helps refugees of the war, taking them to safehouses that are away from the turmoil the war has brought to their doorsteps. Honorable, but also a pirate so anything goes to get their goals as that is the drive of the crew. She also has some sick sea knowledge!

Throughout the beginning of the story, we are introduced to these characters. We start to get to know them and their ambitions, how they're going to achieve them, and what's at stake. You get to learn their emotions—what sets them off, what frightens them, how they cope—and really get to delve into the psyche of the character(s) and thus you start to feel like you know them; ultimately bridging the gap between the author and the reader.
All of the characters presented thus far have great potential to grow throughout this story and that is what makes a progressive story... part of it at least.

Overall Enjoyment(16/20): The first chapter starts off with a map! A freakin' MAP! I have yet to run into a story with a map and I love maps! It's such a great introduction of the world. With one simple illustration, the reader can understand geography and the distances between Kingdoms. There's even POI's! Chef's kiss.

The names are coordinated with the respective Kingdoms it seems like, for some characters if not all. Or the theme(for a lack of a better word) of the Kingdom? Which is cool! I like those little snippets of detail, it shows a lot of care and thought went into creating this world. It's almost like they're assigned for that Kingdom, if that makes sense—like they belong there.

The further you read, you get a better understanding of the world and the perils the other nations are going through, making you root for anyone that isn't Phoinixian. It's like the author's slowly pulling the veil from over your eyes and ta-da! Here's the world, surprise!

Sentences get a little long. Grammatically, it's correct but it could be seen as a running sentence, not really giving the reader time to breathe between bits of information. The use of commas, however, may be overused—in the wrong places, to extend description, where the sentence should end—really breaking the immersion by disrupting that flow with these pauses. Perhaps the use of ";" or "—" could prove beneficial to help with these elongated sentences and overall flow of the reading. Sometimes I find a whole paragraph is made of 2-3 sentences but they're long. Definitely try to avoid that. Mental energy is a thing, and if it runs out people may lose interest.
There are some instances where synonyms could be used to help the flow and some grammatical edits as well. But bear the points in mind as it will help the reader, which is super important. Long paragraphs aren't bad, but the longer they become, with no changing punctuations, the more they seem like run-on sentences or even feel rushed so be careful.
The closer I got to chapter 5, the more of a mess the paragraphs became. It took a lot to try and understand the direction as I read; the fluidity getting lost somewhere in the jungle of dashes and commas. What I would recommend is to read your chapters out loud to yourself, or use a text-to-speech to listen to what you have written. If it sounds weird, 86 it or alter the way it's written so it flows. Sometimes the simplicity of the sentence is what makes it all the more wholesome.

(94/100)

Other Notes:This is such a good read! The flow could use some work. There's a little active feedback in the comments I left to help with that process, but since I'm doing a review I thought it'd be best to put most of it in here. When you go through this and decide to edit further, just bear these suggestions in mind.
As I've mentioned before, I would love more scenery descriptions. When we get to Vinora's chapter we kinda get this but for the most part, we're left to our own imagination and with so much ground to cover between nations, that requires a lot of imaginative work. Show us the world you want us to see, paint that landscape, roll out the red carpet—whatever it takes to give us that edge to the details. But other than the grammar and lack of scenery, this story excels in its characteristic dialogue; each one gives you a perspective to the character's psyche. It gives us a tone that directs the feelings of the reader as they connect with them through these dialogues.