Sacrificed

Title: Sacrificed (The Last Oracle #1)
Author: Emily Wibberley
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5
Cover: 10/10
Release Date: February 13th

I was given an egalley of this novel by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Fifteen-year-old Clio should have never been the Oracle of Sheehan. That power is passed from mother to eldest daughter, and Clio is the youngest of four sisters. But when her entire family is murdered by Mannix, the king's adviser, Clio is left all alone and heir to a power she never wanted and doesn't understand.

Hunted by Mannix, Clio seeks refuge in a foreign city where oracles are absolutely forbidden. If she's found out, she will be sacrificed atop its great pyramid.  

Clio has no choice but to win the trust of Riece, an enemy warrior. Despite the growing feelings between them, Clio knows that if he finds out who she really is, he won't hesitate to kill her.

Clio tries to hide her budding powers, but the visions she has of Mannix bringing a barbarian army into Sheehan torture her conscience. She alone has the strength and foresight to stop him, but only if she can embrace her destiny and sacrifice everything."

**

Not going to lie, it took me a while to get into this. I think the main problem was that it's told in third person, when the narrative (at least, so far - it might change in book 2) so clearly, desperately pleaded for a first person narrative. I even started playing a game while reading, seeing if I could substitute all the 'her's and 'she's by 'I's, and it went perfectly. It's a delicate balance, choosing the narrative perspective of a novel, and sometimes the wrong one can take so much away from the story.

Luckily, even though it seemed like this might happen here, the characters and plot pulled through in the end, and thank the deities, too. Because if I had stopped back then, I never would have met my new husband, Riece.
He'll get a section all his own, but later.

For now, let me say that the world built here is really quite something. It's intricate and planned, and with all the pyramids and different gods speaking through people, and emperors, I just kept picturing ancient Egypt in my mind; not sure if that was the point or not, but it was quite a cool image to have.
Clio was a delight. I think at some point around 15% my mind just accepted that it was a first person narration told via the third person, and just automatically substituted all the pronouns, which is why I can say that being in her head was loads of fun. She's one spunky girl, and her compassion and overwhelming love for people - even complete strangers - really made her a brilliant narrator (??).
I was quite puzzled by the first mention of Derik, he seemed to just pop up out of the woodwork, but in the end he was quite a nice addition. I can't even begin to fathom a marriage there, though.

And now, on to the new apple of my eye (I wish I could say this was uncommon, for me to leave a book with a new beloved, but alas... well, as my profile says, I'm a bit of a fictional character slut. I've honestly given up even trying), Riece. Nothing adds that extra something to a story like the kind of banter between him and Clio; I swear, that kind of dialogue and relationship is my real drug. It also explains why, after he's introduced, I barely put the book down at all.
And no, that ending was not fun. Please can I have #2 now? I promise to start reading it as soon as I've stopped sobbing.

All in all, definitely worth a read for any fantasy nuts out there! This series is not to be missed.