Week 23 Review: Voidwalker

From Goodreads:

Fionamara is a smuggler. Antal is the reason her people fear the dark.

Fi ferries contraband between worlds, stockpiling funds and stolen magic to keep her village self-sufficient - free from the blood sacrifices humans have paid to Antal's immortal species for centuries.

Only legends whispered through the pine forests recall a time when things were different, before one world shattered into many, and the flesh-devouring beasts crept from the cracks between realities, with their sable antlers and slender tails, lethal claws and gleaming fangs. Now, mortal lives are food to pacify their carnivorous overlords, exchanged for feudal protection, and the precious silver energy that fuels everything from transport to weaponry.

When Fi gets planted with a stash of smuggled energy, a long-lost flame recruits her for a reckless heist that escalates into a terrorist bombing - and a coup against the reigning immortals, with Fi's home caught in the crossfire.

She's always known the dangers of her trade - and of the power she's wielded since childhood, allowing her to see the secret doors between dimensions, to walk the Void itself. But nothing could have prepared her for crossing paths with Antal. For the deal she'll have to make with him, a forced partnership to reclaim his city that begins as a desperate bid for survival, only to grow into something far more dangerous.

A revolution.

And a temptation - for how sweet the monster's fangs might feel.

From the author of the instant Sunday Times-bestselling The Phoenix Keeper comes an era-defining new fantasy universe where spicy romantasy meets the Cosmere, unmissable for fans of the world-building scale of Sarah J. Maas and the world-shifting stakes of Rebecca Yarros.

Voidwalker will be your next romantasy obsession, a deliciously feral story that started with just two words: "bite me".

My Review:
This was absolutely a blast to read! It's very different from The Phoenix Keeper, that was personal states fantasy, and this one has some life-and-death stakes. And while it is queer, Fi has had male and female partners, it is a heterosexual relationship. Not to mention the whole thing where the daeyari  eats human flesh-usually while it's attached to said human, while they're alive. Which is something to deal with.

Fi is stubborn, and contrarian, and a fighter. So when she's up against the daeyari, she is scared, but she doesn't let it show. I love watching her face off with Antal, as his territory is taken from him-territory where she lives, where he was a distant ruler, not demanding sacrifices if they didn't request help. Which when he is overthrown, well, his replacement wouldn't continue that agreement.   

This world with the daeyari and voidwalkers, and the different realms and planes, was so interesting to learn about! Then there's the overall arrangement with the daeyari ruling, and the humans offering sacrifices to get things that they wanted. Which is an uneasy situation to be in. Putting in Fi and Antal, I just adored the pair of them, their interactions were so much fun to read! 

It was so exciting to read this book, to meet these characters and explore this world. With the developments in this book, it has me excited to see what the sequel holds. I think it said that it would be a duology, but I'm not 100% but I'll read however many books in this series there ends up being, I can't wait to see what happens next! 

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait from more from this series and by S.A. Maclean! 

Author: S.A. Maclean
Series: Beasts of the Void #1
Read: June 1st, 2025 
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Loved her first book and it sounded really good, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, Sophomore Challenge Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Orbit
Expected Publication: August 19th 2025

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars