Vessel Review

424 pages

Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana’s body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana’s goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her. Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale. The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate—or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

Review:
I really enjoyed this story. Liyana is an interesting character. She knows what she has been raised for but has a wild and rebellious streak to her that doesn't make her the perfect vessel. Korbyn is fun as the trickster god but you also get to see the serious side to him that betrays his trickster nature. I love seeing the way the relationship between Korbyn and Liyana develops and the twists that are thrown their way.  The whole desert setting of this novel certainly makes things more difficult while they try to save the other vessels but it also adds to the excitement. The vessels are all different and I enjoyed the way they were portrayed based on which tribe they grew up in. There are also a few other surprising characters thrown in that completely change the direction of this book and make thing more interesting. Most books I read have sequels so it was refreshing to read one that ends in one book and still feels satisfying. I absolutely recommend this novel if you like books steeped in mysticism and a different kind of mythology.