A deadly disease. A vanishing remedy. A breathless journey.

All her life, Niya’s known she will die young from the fatal rasp. She survives only with the aid of vitrisar spice and a magical, curmudgeonly fire salamander named Alk. Then an ambitious princess burns down the vitrisar grove in an effort to steal Alk so she can claim her rightful throne. Joined by Jayesh, a disgraced monk, Niya and Alk must flee to the faraway Hidden Temple with the last vitrisar plant, or all who suffer from the rasp will perish.

But even as Niya’s frustration and banter with Jayesh deepen to affection, the rasp is stealing away her breath and life.

For a girl with limited time and a crippling quest, love may be more painful than death.

Today I’m reviewing Spice Bringer, by H. L. Burke. Burke is the author of multiple fantasy novels and series, including, but not limited to The Dragon and the Scholar Saga, the Nyssa Glass YA Steampunk Series, and Coiled. This lady has a seriously impressive resume when it comes to published works. Spice Bringer was recently released in August 2018 and it carries within it the theme of Hope and love of Life in the face of unavoidable death. I found that Spice Bringer, despite is sad subject matter, contained a lot of joy and even fun, and I’d highly recommend it.

First Impressions

One of my first impressions of this book was that the cover was beautiful. I can’t help it, I judge books by their covers. (That’s what covers are there for.) But this cover isn’t misleading, the story inside is beautiful as well. Set in a fictional world that heavily resembles India, Burke’s world here had a lot of color and culture. One of the most interesting aspects was the religion in this story. The culture acknowledges three benevolent deities, the Kind God, the Just God, and the All-Knowing God. All three god’s have orders of monks that follow them and it’s interesting to see how these orders interact with the world and with each other.

Characters

The characters were just as vibrant as the setting they lived in. Niya, the main character was spunky. Despite the terminal illness in her lungs, she had a lot of banter in her and was pretty fearless in a lot of cases. I enjoyed her growth as a character, as she gained confidence and came to terms with the idea that she was deserving of love even if she was going to die.
Jayesh was also a great character. His stubbornness and struggles made him feel very real to me, but at his core he’s a really genuine and good man. It was interesting to see him struggle with his faith in his god and in himself.
Alk. Oh Alk, this is a character that will stay with me for a while. He’s cantankerous and full of snark, but he’s also squishy and lovable on the inside. The loving banter between him and Niya really made this book for me.
The last main character was Advika. Advika was interesting because she was the antagonist, but she wasn’t a villain. It is easy, as a reader, to empathize with her situation, her desperation, and motivation. In a lot of ways, I liked Advika. She’s tough, she’s determined, and I can see her being a very good empress one day. However, she really frustrated me as a character. There were several times where if she had just stopped for a moment and asked questions she could have prevented a lot of trouble. Her character still had a lot of room for growth by the end of the story. To be fair, the story wasn’t really about her, but I would have liked to see more resolution in her arc as a reader.

Themes

So Spice Bringer had the main theme of living life to the fullest when you are aware you are going to die at a young age. It’s a sad theme, but Burke handles it well. This book is in no way depressing or overbearing with hopelessness. In fact, there is a lot more hope in this book than you would think. Niya has a “bucket list” of sorts and by focusing on the joys in life, she really truly lives life to the fullest.
It’s interesting to see how falling in love plays into this though. Obviously it’s a huge struggle for both her and Jayesh. And I think it’s really handled well. There is no real wallowing in victim-hood or “poor me” mentality by either of them. They see the situation, struggle with it, and push forward.
I will say, as sweet as Jayesh is, I did find the romantic elements of the story to be… too realistic. I know that sounds funny as criticism, but hear me out. Both these characters are young, but the world culture is set up in such a way that it’s not too odd, but when they fall in love they remind me too much of young people in love. My husband and I called it “the vortex” when we were in school. Two of our friends would start dating and suddenly we wouldn’t see them at all. They’d be off somewhere staring into each other’s eyes and whispering sweet nothings and they wouldn’t hang out with us anymore. After Jayesh and Niya committed to being together it got… a little awkward. I felt like Alk was a third wheel. I felt like a third wheel.The audience isn’t really shown anything besides some kisses, but it’s still like, “Hey you guys, do you want to be alone right now?” I’m personally not a huge fan of romance in fiction though, so people who like that sort of thing will probably love this book.

Final Thoughts

This book is very easily appropriate for a young adult audience, but there are a few things to be aware of going in. The first thing is that there are characters that die, and one of them is a young kid. It’s sad. I cried. Another thing to be aware of is some vague talk about sex as two characters are entertaining the idea of marriage, but it’s very appropriately handled and nothing graphic is discussed. All in all, this is a lovely book. The setting is beautiful, the characters are well rounded and fun, and the story kept me hooked throughout. I’d give it a solid four stars. Book Review: Spice Bringer by H. L. Burke - image 1 - student project

Jemma Jablowski

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