I requested The Exalted on NetGalley without realizing it was a sequel, and then had the pleasure of binge reading this duology by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson. It is hard to go into a lot of summary without spoilers, so here is the GoodReads summary:
In the Alskad Empire, nearly all are born with a twin, two halves to form one whole…yet some face the world alone
The Singleborn A rare few are singleborn in each generation, and therefore given the right to rule by the gods and goddesses. Bo Trousillion is one of these few, born into the royal line and destined to rule. Though he has been chosen to succeed his great-aunt, Queen Runa, as the leader of the Alskad Empire, Bo has never felt equal to the grand future before him. The diminished When one twin dies, the other usually follows, unable to face the world without their other half. Those who survive are considered diminished, doomed to succumb to the violent grief that inevitably destroys everyone whose twin has died. Such is the fate of Vi Abernathy, whose twin sister died in infancy. Raised by the anchorites of the temple after her family cast her off, Vi has spent her whole life scheming for a way to escape and live out what’s left of her life in peace. As their sixteenth birthdays approach, Bo and Vi face very different futures—one a life of luxury as the heir to the throne, the other years of backbreaking work as a temple servant. But a long-held secret and the fate of the empire are destined to bring them together in a way they never could have imagined.
The Singleborn are few and born to rule and be leaders, while most of the population is born as twins to keep their other half in check. This ties in with the pretty cool lore and world building, depicted by the halved moon on the gorgeous cover. See this below! The lore and premise really had me interested in this series and I found a lot of unique elements. I also freaking loved Queen Runa by the way.
What I really liked was the world building, political structures, and how quickly the action progressed. I liked the journey but some parts felt too easy, like Mal and Quill coming out of no where and being Vi's new bffs. I was also cringeing at the insta love between like...everybody, but at least they kind of recognized it as lust and didn't get all emotional at first. Bo is also extremely gay which seems to be a big draw these days. Really though between the world, the friendships built, the unlikely families and friends, the betrayals coming from unlikely places, and how terrible certain things end up being for Vi's old friends...This story really twined together quite nicely and progressed quickly enough to keep me fairly rapt. I think the author took riding lessons or has horses as well, because Vi's riding lessons had me laughing at the 😂
This might be book two but the atrocities that the Suzerain and the temple are committing are like 😳, fear ruling bastards. I honestly forget where in the major plot line book one ended, but it was not a cliffhanger. The book didn't need one, I already knew I would be reading the sequel and appreciated the solid ending of this first installment.
Highly recommend to any fans of fantasy, found families, political betrayals, and thick plot building!
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