Synopsis:
“I am strong. I am Kaji.”
Atae is a hybrid, a Kaji half-breed, living on the capital planet of the Kajian Empire. In a culture dictated by strength and honor, Atae’s father pushes her to prove herself worthy of being Kaji.
At the elite Sula Academy, hybrids like Atae compete alongside the Kaji purebreds, warriors with the ability to transform into savage battle beasts. Atae and her packmates prepare for the Sula Academy Tournament, which will determine their fate within their warrior culture, but a close brush with death threatens Atae’s position in the competition and forces her to confront her weaknesses.
Atae must find the strength to escape a spoiled prince’s wrath, survive her first crush, and help her packmates complete the Tournament, all while keeping the biggest secret of her life from her father. And she must do it without losing her true self in the process.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0578673959/?ref=exp_kellysloveofbooks_dp_vv_d
Review
Thanks to Kelly at Love Books Tours. I admit I agreed to this tour out of nostalgia for my teenage years when I devoured fantasy. The synopsis made me think of Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books, for the feisty female character going through military training.
The Rosie Synopsis
Atae has no idea about her parentage but her father is Solum, a royal advisor to the queen of the Kaji Empire. For 17 years she has been training, with her father and in her school, Sula Academy, to be a warrior. To prove herself she has to get through the end of school Tournament and enter the Gridiron, to gain citizenship and a position in the royal household.
But she’s a hybrid, Kaji and an unknown species. Her mother was Roga, Solum’s mate, but her father is unknown. Roga is a traitor who left the last king to die in battle. Atae knows nothing of this, or that Solum is Packmates with the Queen Sula, the dead King Uta, his lost Mate, and her instructor Feku.
As well as complicated family matters, Atae lives in the capital of an Empire of many planets and sentient species, one that had been at war for millennia with the neighbouring Camille Empire. Tensions are running high between those who welcome other species to Kaji and those who think all hybrids should be killed at birth, those happy the war is at last over and those who believe the treaty between the Camille and the Kaji is a betrayal.
To survive and prosper Atae must build a pack of her own, overcome her unruly beast and rivalries with others in the academy and get over her distaste for the brat prince.
The Good
I enjoyed the complex world building. I would describe this novel as science fantasy, it mixes a lot of the tropes of sci-fi with those of fantasy – there’s interplanetary travel and alien societies, but a lot of the tech might as well be magical for all anyone knows how it works. The palace and Sula Academy are painted in detail while the city is more broad strokes. The distinct species that interact with each other, and their societies, are fairly clear where the characters come from those societies, but others are unknown. The Camille are barely described, only spoken of as a great enemy. Later in the novel we learn a little more about them, but they are a background threat.
The development of Atae and Jeqi, friends and pack mates, as they mature in the final school year that leads to the tournament, their preoccupations and interests, are strong characters. While Jeqi is a ‘side-kick’, and the narrative mainly focuses on Atae, they’re equals in importance. It would be interesting to see a version of the story from Jeqi’s POV. The relationship between the two hybrids is tested by the fall-out of Atae attack and sickness, then by the tension over Schinn and the secret of Atae’s ability to shift. The development of their friendships with Sloan and Marqee, and their relationship with the prince Truin, is an important part of the novel and for their personal development as characters.
The plot was gripping, I found myself sitting for about seven hours reading it in one go. The opening chapter was confusing, but the rest of the book needs it to be given context. The main narrative is a technicolour adventure, aliens in a bildungsroman. There’s young love, social rivalry, politics and the threat of death.
The Not-So-Good
To heavy on the orbs and using eye colour to distinguish between Sloan and Schinn. Yes, we know they’re heirs to their families, no need to keep repeating it.
The Verdict
Gripping YA novel, with aliens.
Author Bio and Image:
Kelly A Nix is a native-born Texan from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In high school, she competed in rodeo, earned a brown belt in Taekwondo, and strived to be an actress. After graduating with her M.B.A., Kelly enjoys her career in the veterinary industry, and she spends most of her free time with her family, traveling, and writing. An animal lover, she shares her home with three cats, Louise, Rachel, and Orange Kitty, and a Great Dane mix named Dingo. www.kellyanix.com
Everything Is Better With Dragons 
Thank you for being part of the tour. Have a great week, Kelly x