This was… ✨perfection✨ I haven’t felt that intrigued by a book in AGES and it was…I felt a lot! It left me shooketh and gagged, at awe and totally star-struck. Ma boy Dara deserves forehead kissies Noam deserves them to! And Lehrer gets a hot chocolate because I still like him a lot hahaha READ IT NOW

Fever King is about a dystopian world after a magic virus killed millions of people. Only very few survive the fever and gain control over the magic. That is why the US was ripped apart and formed the states of Carolinia and Atlantia - Atlantia is unable to stop the virus, which is why many refugees try to get to Carolinia, where the controls are stronger and the witchings (people who survived the sickness) are protected. Carolinias borders are closed, however, resulting in terrible conditions for the refugees. Noam is the son of two illegal refugees and lives in the Carolinian city of Durham. He survives the virus and shows a promising kind of magic. That is why he is introduced to the powerful witchings and high society where he starts his training as a soldier. However, he is passionate for his fellow refugees and tries to use the opportunities his new position provides to help his cause. I loved how his clear goal gets more and more diffused. How unclear it is whom he should trust, how much he struggles to do the right thing - because, ultimately, there isn't always a right thing to do. I liked Dara's character, too, especially towards the end and how all his mysteriousness actually made sense! Their love story was very intriguing, even to me (who usually isn't interested in the romance aspect). It's just that at some point I was rooting for them, even though it seemed like they were on opposite sides. Lehrer's character was also interesting (I was caught in between trusting him and thinking "he can't be that bad" which is exactly what Noam was going through ahh) and holy cake, I can't wait to read the next book! The only thing that put me off a little was the fact that "Lehrer" is the German word for teacher and it's a little weird to see it used as a name when you're a native German? Oh well, I really enjoyed this book, even though the ending left me like an empty shell. Book hangover aside, this world is dark and brutal (as is reflected in the language, which just felt appropriate in its setting) and full of secrets and plot twists. I would recommend it to everyone who enjoys gritty rebellion storys with a hint of magic and heartbreak!

I received a free e-book over NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. First I just want to mention that this book has themes of sexual assault and if that's something you don't want to read, you should definitely stay away from it. I LOVED THIS BOOK!! I had a month of reading good books, but non of them really managed to touch me in any way and I had issues reading long passages at a time, then The Fever King came around and at first I didn't know what to think, but then I read like 80% of it in one day. No matter what I did, I just kept going back to reading and I didn't want to stop. This is the type of LGBT+ dystopian that I always wanted to read, but could never find. I enjoyed the humour, the world building and the characters, especially Dara, he's my new fave. Dara's and Noam's romance is such a nice slow burn. It does kinda start out with enemy to lovers, but they do become friends in between, so it was something I really enjoy. This story has quite some twists and turns and while I did see all of them except one minor one coming, I was still always into it. The magic in this is terrifying and intriguing and I so wanna know more about this world and its history. Can't wait for the sequel!