Desert Rising - Book Review

Desert Rising (Desert Rising #1)
by Kelley Grant

What is it about:
The Temple at Illian is the crown jewel of life in the Northern Territory. There, pledges are paired with feli, the giant sacred cats of the One god, and are instructed to serve the One's four capricious deities. Yet Sulis, a young woman from the Southern Desert, has a different perspective—one that just might be considered heresy, but that is catching on rather quickly...

Sulis's twin, Kadar, meanwhile, is part of a different sort of revolution. When Kadar falls in love with a woman from a Forsaken caste, he finds he's willing to risk anything to get these people to freedom. But with Sulis drawing a dangerous level of attention from the deities, and war about to break out on two fronts, change may not come as easily as either twin had hoped.

What did I think of it:
This is a really nice read.

I liked both Sulis and Kadar. The story switches between the both of them and at times to other characters to give more insight in what's going on.

I must say I wanted to know more about what happened to their mother. There are references and I can guess a lot, but it seemed liked what happened to her was glossed over too easily, especially as it is implied that Sulis is following in her footsteps.

That aside I was intrigued by the world that is painted in this story.

I liked Sulis' story line the best, but that might be because of the school aspect of her story. She's chosen as a pledge and has to follow lessons and stay in the temple until she's initiated. She and her fellow pledges are stirring things up though, and might expose themselves to danger this way.

The story about Kadar falling in love with a Forsaken (casteless) woman is interesting as well, but at times it felt that his story was overshadowed by what Sulis was doing. I would have liked a bit more scenes from his perspective and about the struggle of the Forsaken.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I will most certainly give the next book in the series a try.

Why should you read it:
It's a very enjoyable Fantasy read


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