Book Review - Palace of Potions: The Sylph Trial

Palace of Potions: The Sylph Trial

by Brittany Wang

Episode 2 of On Wings of Ash & Dust

published August 17, 2021

YA Fantasy

Blurb:

Quinn entered the Ethodine for her brother. Now she has to survive it.

Quinn has never felt so out of control. Stripped of her precious daggers, she's thrust into the privileged world of the potion-making Sylphs and their floating sky city. While preparing for the first dangerous trial, she plots to retrieve her weapons from Moon Face at any cost.

But neither task is as easy as she hopes. She doesn’t expect foreboding visions of her brother to start haunting her dreams or the stakes of the Ethodine to be so high. Besides the flirty Nymph prince who can’t seem to leave her alone, she now faces the Sylph queen and three other powerful competitors: a half-blind artist, a mute beast tamer, and a pompous princess.

Just when everything starts falling apart, an unlikely ally offers a deal to get everything she’s always wanted. But trust is fragile. It will take more than promises to survive the perils of the Ethodine.

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We're in Eldore now, the home of the Sylph clan, preparing for the first trial and meeting the other contestants. I was immediately intrigued by the Dryad heir Alys and her dragon, as well as the half-blind painter and Kobold heir, Hickory. Vale is a bit of a pompous know-it-all, quick to give Quinn some grief. I'd love to smack her.

I was so immersed in the world of Faylan again that when I turned the final page of Palace of Potions, I was stunned. I couldn't believe I'd finished the book in only a few hours. I loved meeting the rest of Quinn's competitors and exploring the Sylph kingdom along with her. I'm especially intrigued by Hickory and Alys and can't wait to learn more as the series goes on. The dreams/visions of danger were gripping and made me want to know just how they're connected to the rest of the story!

I started to like the queen as she told Quinn her story, even sympathized, and then she offered that deal - talk about a backhanded compliment. Nope. She definitely seems willing to do whatever it takes to keep the crown. But at least part of this deal helped Quinn with the Sylph trial of knowledge.

Speaking of that trial, it went by so fast and the tension was high. Tested their knowledge and how fast they could answer or risk getting impaled! Yaa!!

And then that sweet gesture from Aeron at the end. *aw* How will this progress?

You can find Palace of Potions on Amazon. (Please note, this is an affiliate link. That just means I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase something through this link.)