[ARC Review] The Sacrifice of Constellatia by Bianca K. Gray

PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS: Every ten years, twelve people were sacrificed to the Idols, twelve people who had power coursing through their veins.
Every ten years, that is… until Emira was found.

Seventeen-year-old Emira Solus had grown up her entire life believing she would become a Priestess of Night and Magic, like the priestesses who raised her. Despite having the eyes of an Idol, she believed she wasn’t destined for greatness, like the other warriors in Constellatia, as she didn’t possess ichor in her blood. It isn’t until she meets a boy named Mateo, a boy with the eye of an Idol, does her world get turned completely upside down. He’s a sacrifice, a sacrifice for the Tenth Year ritual. And he rejects his fate, a fate Emira so desperately wants herself.

But, Mateo is the first person she had ever met who doesn’t believe what the rest of Constellatia believes. He knows the truth about the Tenth Year ritual, and he can’t let Emira have the same fate as him. A fate he suspects they share.

But, Emira isn’t a revolutionary. She believes in the Idols.

And the Idols never lie.

MY THOUGHTS: When I say I lived for every moment throughout this book, I am not downplaying my enjoyment in the slightest. This is my first time reading anything by Bianca K. Gray, but she is definitely getting added to my list of recommended indie authors after reading The Sacrifice of Constellatia. Emira and Mateo were both riveting and complex characters who only grew more engaging as the plot progressed. It was easy to be intrigued by both these main characters right from their first interaction, and every nuanced action made them more fleshed out and complelling. 

I thought I was over my "chosen one" trope stage, but Emira has officially sucked me right back in. I loved Emira's character arc, especially as she learned more about who she was as a person as well as the truths about the Idols. Gray certainly threw a couple of plot twists in that I was not expecting, and it made the overall story so much more dynamic from start to finish. 

I loved the relationship between Mateo and Emira. From their very first interactions, it was clear that there was fantastic back-and-forth between them, and the wit and snark and honest emotion only grew the more time they spent together. It was exciting to watch Emira grow (and become a little unhinged) as she learned more about the world outside the temple walls; she was multi-faceted in her demeanor, and it was entertaining to watch her play off of Mateo, who spent much of the book being more reserved and guarded. 

Outside of the main characters' relationship, there was so much to love about this story. I thought the plot was intriguing, and kept me guessing the whole way through about what would happen next. I never would have guessed that ending was coming, and I simultaneously want to be able to read the ending again for the first time while also immediately having access to the next book. Gray's ending seriously made me gasp out loud, and not many endings make me do that. 

The Sacrifice of Constellatia is top-tier YA fantasy with magical elements, a mythos built on falsehoods, and the fate of the world resting on the shoulders of the seventeen year olds who have seen through the lies. 

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Release date: 1/16/24

Format: eARC

eARC provided via: the author