The Never Tilting World

                                               

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.

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco - release date October 15, 2019

The concept behind this book is enthralling! The story is told from twin perspectives (from actual twins and their companions) in an amazing way that is able to build a unique world while still being full of adventure. The idea that every person has a "gate" that allows them to access their magical powers was a fascinating concept that merged elemental magic with your more typical specialized magic that a reader would typically encounter. Each of the cities that the goddesses live in are structured differently and seem to be able to portray the entire colony's personality in how they operate. Chupeco did such an amazing job getting me wrapped up in her world that I don't think I questioned her once throughout the book and that's including when Arjun had to milk Deathworms or when Odessa began to encounter galla from the underworld on a frequent basis. 

Odessa and Haidee are daughters of the goddesses that rule over Aeon, except one of their mothers should be dead. Somehow a sacred ritual was broken when the girls were a year old and it wound up splitting the world in two. One half never sees the day and the other doesn't know what life is like without a scorching sun perpetually over her head. Each girl sets out on her own for different reasons to see if they can make it through the abyss back to the place where it all happened. I love how the story was able to give each of the four characters you hear from a unique perspective and personality throughout the book. Lan is headstrong and wildly independent, but ever protective over her goddess lover; Odessa is incredibly shy but learns, through some shady methods, to branch out and figure out how powerful she truly is; Arjun is a boy who feels deserted by the goddess, but soon learns that he would give up his life to protect one; and Haidee is innocent but continuously curious about the workings of the world that she has found herself journeying through. Also, bonus points to Haidee for being a bad-ass mechanic that can fix literally everything and for having such a big heart that she can even win over Sand Sea dolpins! I love that girl so much and I have some personal opinions about the potential fate of her and Odessa (you'll have to read the book if you want the context to understand what I am talking about). There are some steamy love scenes, but also intriguing questions and adventures that each of the characters encounters on their journey. 

This book has an immense amount of creativity in it and that made it an awesome read! Everything in this book seemed to be well thought out, but nothing was bogged down by too much detail. There were so many interesting concepts from creatures to ways that each of the character's magic worked that I had never seen in a different book! I'm going to be a stickler and say that this book deserves a well-drawn map to enhance the way readers can interact with it, but at the same time I have to be honest and say that Chupeco did such a good job creating her world that I could see every path the characters took clearly in my head without a map to guide me. 

A definite 5/5 stars!!! Every time I picked this book up I did not want to put it down! I read it in about a week and would recommend it for anyone who is looking for a fantastical adventure to be immersed in or if you are just looking to find a new way to think about magic. I can't wait for the sequel and it's going to kill me to have to wait to see what becomes of the characters after how the story ended!

~ Alyse :)

Reviewed on October 15, 2019

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