The Fever King by Victoria Lee

*Minor, minor spoilers*

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia. The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear. Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

I had seen this one around quite a bit. It sounded interesting enough, but I just wasn’t sure if it would be my cup of tea. It sounded like it would be heavy and I usually shy away from those types of books. But, I’m trying to branch out. Plus, the author said that it’s super, super queer! Trigger warnings: acholol abuse, rape

This book is intense. And it does live up to that deep sadness vibe that I got from the synopsis. So, if you like those kinds of books, you’ll probably enjoy this one more than I did haha. It does get heavy, though I felt like this book slipped from YA to NA territory a lot. Like the writing couldn’t quite make up it’s mind what it wanted to be. I think The Eletric Heir, the next book, will be more solid in that aspect since the plot is evened out and it knows where it wants to go.

This is a dystopian and the world is based off the United States. I think this book did an absolutely fantastic job of reflecting the issues and pain that people face here. It highlighted the struggles that people face and how things can get really, really bad. It’s a dark world. I did have a hard time picturing the world though. I didn’t realize that Noam’s home in the first couple of chapters was in the sameish vicinity to where he was taken afterwards. The city was just hard to picture overall, though it did get easier towards the end.

While reading it, I didn’t think I would like the magic system as much as I would. It’s rooted in science and looking back, it makes sense since it is a disease books and those are rooted in science haha. But, this magic system is complex in the way that you have to know a lot to make your magic work. And since sciences aren’t my forte, I respect Noam and Dara and everyone a lot of studying to enhance their magic haha. It’s cool how the magic takes science and gives it a little push to make it even more fantastic than it already is.

The twists were mind blowing and the ones at the end are what pushed me from enjoying this book a little bit to thoroughly enjoying this book. But I still don’t know how I feel about them. I think the development could have been a little stronger in aspects and I definitely predicted some of them. BUT SOME OF THEM WERE REALLY GOOD AND JUST AHHHHHHHHHH.

I’m really looking forward to where this story is going to go. I know it’s going to be heart breaking, but I’m looking forward to seeing Noam and Dara again cause I like them a lot. The story is going to be even more complicated than it already it and I’m looking forward to seeing how everything plays out and how all the threads weave together!

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Thank you for reading!