I would like to thank both the author, Eden Warwick, and LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program for the chance to read "The Last Nehesi" in exchange for an honest review.

Two empires, once friendly, then foes, and now engaged in political maneuvering in which their roles have been reversed. At the forefront of these empires are key characters, some out for themselves and others doing their best for their people. Figuring out who falls into which category keeps you guessing throughout the book.

Vittoria, the titular character, is engaging and conflicted, which is interesting given her origins. While a fair bit of her youth is glossed over, in this case it works. Her development and growth is fascinating, even though I was startled by some of her final choices (and suspect they may play into the upcoming sequel). I'd love to discuss other characters, but doing so would be giving away spoilers.

Emperors, their spouses and families, come and go for both empires featured in this story. Keeping up with the machinations of each is challenging and sometimes surprising. Characters you didn't see having much of a role might suddenly pop up as central to one plot or another.

I will say that "The Last Nehesi" started off very poorly for me. This was so full of superfluous language it read like something a middle schooler penned. Thankfully that did not last long, and once the story started to move the use of excess verbiage tapered off. And once the story started to unfold the pace really picked up and kept me engaged. If you can overlook the first little bit of redundant descriptions, this book is definitely worth the read. ( )