TLDR:

Please note in an exchange for an honest review, I received an advance reader copy (ARC) from NetGalley.

So I've heard of The Expanse and kept hearing of a good book it is. I, for sure, recognize the name Joe Abercrombie but, admit, I haven't read anything by him--yet. I know he's suppose to be a good author but just never got around to reading anything he has written.

The description sounded interesting enough and seeing as it was written and praised by well known authors, I figured I request this book and give it a read.

I'm glad I did!

What I Loved

• The writing style. Abraham can definitely describe a scene well (and not so over the top) that you can vividly imagine the setting. I can easily tell you the differences between the people of Longhill versus those of Greenhill.
• The worldbuilding was phenomenal in here! You learn of various gods, religions, beliefs, cultures and lifestyles. It was great to see that a city as large as Kithamar will not be unified in everything but actually have different types of people (which I feel like is more realistic).
• Wonderful characters. Reading about characters actually growing as people and learning from their mistakes or even failing to do so. I even liked the minor characters that were only mentioned in passing! I felt like even they were developed well enough.

What I Disliked

• This book switches point of views a lot, more than I'm used to. This might be something very common in the genre but I'm still not familiar with it. There were times where it took me a while to figure out whose point of view I was reading. This became less of a problem as I progressed through the book since I started to understand the characters more. However, this book sometimes did have a chapter on some side character's point of view (like the main character's mother) then never doing it again.  
• I wished it explored the antagonists motivation more. I'm left to speculate as to why things should remain a certain way but hope that this is further explained in the next book.

Final Thoughts

Abraham wrote a wonderful entry to his Kithamar trilogy. I enjoyed the characters and the plot was interesting enough that I found myself unable to put the book down.

Do I recommend it? Yes! But if you're the type of person who strives for more action than a slow burner character driven plot, then I would definitely pass on this one.

As for me, I'll certainly be picking up the second book since the world was just so captivating and I'm excited to find out what's next for city of Kithamar.

Warning! Spoilers ahead!

A quick little section:

My Favorite Character(s): Sammish. I honestly didn't think we would explore her character much. I figured she would be some side character but I'm glad I was wrong. Reading about her growing from this meek little mouse to a strong-willed woman was awesome.

Favorite Moment:

• Sammish finally telling Alys off. It was so sweet and cemented her as my favorite character!
• The way Sammish makes herself so unremarkable. I love the chapter where she sneaked inside the Brotherhood's temple and her thoughts were just consumed of I'm just looking for my pan. On that same chapter, the switching between what Sammish and Alys were doing kept me on my toes. I could not put the book down!
• Andomaka giving herself to the spirit and the visualization and regret she felt once she realized what it was. It chilled my bones to think how much regret she felt once her eyes laid upon it.
• Reading the confrontation between the spirit of the city and Saffa was so great. The moment it was mentioned a servant girl ran into the spirit, I knew a pull was done! It was amazing.