Name: House of Bastiion
ISBN: 9781735460628

K. L. Kolarich

An intricate, High Fantasy adventure loaded with political intrigue, sharp objects, and complicated characters. The Haidren Legacy series packs an epic punch for NA and YA readers alike.

The Haidren Legacy, Book 1

House of Bastiion

Haney Hayes PR

House of Bastiion was my first Kolarich read and I can promise it won’t be my last. From time to time I love a good YA Fantasy and let me tell you what, this one did not disappoint. 

I’m going to give it four stars but I have a reason. It would have been five if there wasn’t so much political nonsense in the story. 

Now let’s go into what I enjoyed most. Kolarich doesn’t play. Like this Author is great a world-building and well-rounded characters. I loved that enemies-to-lovers trope. Let’s not forget the slow burn! We all need a great slow burn in our life and if you love fantasy then you need to try this one!

Aundreya Rich

Luscia screamed with a waking wrath that consumed her entire being. She spun in place, pulled her mother's consort dagger from its sheath strapped across her thigh. Nearly jolted by an outbreak of light, she threw Ferocity along the threads of lumin, aiming straight for Kasim's skull.
With a clatter the dagger hit the wall and jangle against the floor. The thread shuddered at the sounds and coiled in a makeshift fence surrounding them. 
She tasted iron on her tongue when her fingers wiped blood away from the cut near her temple. To her shock and dismay, he grinned at the sight.
"There you are." 

When Houses come together to council the King, they become the Haidren Quadren, and the next reign is preparing themselves.

With 3 POVs of Zaethan, a Darakai warrior and the king’s favored guard and friend, he will not bow or accept the traditions of the Thoarne rule when it comes to the Boreali al’Haidren Luscia, for all she is is a witch with pale skin and alluring eyes... and his enemy.

Luscia is the outcast of the Quadren, along with her men and wolx Aksel, but her purpose may be more than to serve on the counsel... it may be to save the prince, and her people.

The hooded figure with no name... with a bit of mystery, you’ll follow this dark figure as he does the bidding of one of the houses and investigate the murders happening around them. 

As a huge romance reader I was nervous that there wasn't going to be much "happening" in this book, but KL. K. did not disappoint with her skillful writing, incredible character development, and some seriously BA fight scenes between Z & L. I lived for their banter and moments in the training ring, or searching for the killer.

Read if you like:
▪️ the political build of the Daevabad trilogy
▪️ well rounded and developed characters who are morally grey
▪️ artistry from a new author that created an epic world, and a glossary to its own language
▪️ a bit of brutality
▪️ a lot of banter between enemies that although does not create a romantic story NOW, it has potential in the future
▪️ A handsome and kind prince that you just might fall in love with (that's me)
▪️ a well thought out website where you can even find out what house you would represent! (  House of BOREAL REPRESENT! 

▪️ high fantasy
▪️ a little “who dun it?”

What I struggled with:
▪️ k.l. kolarich is so intelligent that sometimes the verbiage plus the language was hard to keep up with, the flipping back and worth would distract me and I’d have to reread a bit.

Overall I felt that this book was a great started and set up for a series many will be talking about!

Rating:
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
World building: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (EPIC!)
Steam level: “about as seductive and sexy as a nun’s habit.”



Thank you for my gifted copy, I’m excited to see where the series goes from here!

Jess Ostrander

Do you like stories with interesting worlds full of political intrigue? Then House of Bastiion is for you! This was a really interesting read, and I found myself very drawn into the world and the story. There is a lot of world building on the front end, so that definitely makes it a little harder to get into. But it felt necessary, and helped build up the story for sure. I definitely found the glossary really helpful. I tried to start without it, but quickly found that was a mistake! So have that thing handy when you read, and I think you'll find this story will pull you in sooner than you expect! 
The story is full of court politics, secrets, and intrigue. I think the characters are what really made me like this book so much though! We've got our two MCs who have to form a tentative alliance even though they pretty much hate each other. I loved their interactions. The mystery will keep you hooked too, and probably trying to figure it out the whole time! 
This book is definitely not romance heavy. There's just a hint of romance (well, potential romance really) and so I'm intrigued to see how that plays out in the next book. Normally I find it hard to enjoy books without romance, but I didn't mind it here! The world was just so good, and I was enjoying everything else! 
If you like fantasy with rich world building, political intrigue, court dynamics, mystery, and well written characters, you definitely need to check this one out!!

Lauren James

Full review on my blog, Storied Adventures!

LOVED this book! It has political drama, mystery, magic, possible (I'm hoping it's real) enemies to lovers slow burn, and amazing world building! 

I've never read a fantasy mystery before and now I want more. Also if I could have book 2 now, that'd be great!

House of Bastiion The Haidren Legacy, Book 1

Reviews

Highlights