Inheriting a city full of anger, corruption, and fear isn't
exactly what a future Contessa would want. Sofia Scaligeri
desperately wants to change her home, but it seems
impossible with all the enemies they face. When a Concordian
engineer, Giovanni, agrees to build a bridge over the
Irenicon, a solution starts to present itself. But with a
deadly Wave coming, no one can tell who will survive.
While IRENICON by Aidan Harte has a really interesting
premise, I ultimately couldn't get into it as much as I
wanted. The setting is very intriguing, and I like all the
use of the water element, but most of the world building
left me confused. The snippets of information between some
of the chapters is helpful in answering some questions, but
most of the time they made me more puzzled rather than
clarifying the scene.
I didn't grow to love any of the characters, but Sofia is
nicely complex and engaging. She grows as she faces
challenge after challenge, and I like how she starts to
mature into the role she will hold later. I also like the
side romance between her and Giovanni, even if the ending
left me a bit upset. The writing overall is smooth, and I
think I will read more novels by Aidan Harte.
Overall, for anyone who wants to try a different kind of
adult fiction, IRENICON by Aidan Harte might be a good fit.
I think in the end, the story and setting just wasn't for
me, but I could easily see someone else really loving it. I
will definitely remember Sofia, and I will still look for
more from Aidan Harte.
The river Irenicon is a feat of ancient Concordian
engineering. Blasted through the middle of Rasenna in 1347,
using Wave technology, it divided the only city strong
enough to defeat the Concordian Empire. But no one could
have predicted the river would become sentient-and hostile.
Sofia Scaligeri, the soon-to-be Contessa of Rasenna, has
inherited a city tearing itself apart from the inside. And
try as she might, she can see no way of stopping the culture
of vendetta that has the city in its grasp. Until a
Concordian engineer arrives to build a bridge over the
Irenicon, clarifying everything: the feuding factions of
Rasenna can either continue to fight each other or they can
unite against their shared enemy. And they will surely need
to stand together-for Concord is about to unleash the Wave
again.