The Sun and the Void

By: Gabriela Romero Lacruz

Narrated by: Natalia Castellanos

Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

"Evocative and captivating. An enthralling tale of ancient gods, dangerous magic, family and love."―​Sue Lynn Tan, author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Two women embark on a unforgettable quest that draws them into a world of dark gods and ancient magic in this sweeping fantasy debut inspired by the history and folklore of colonial South America.

Reina is desperate.

Stuck on the edges of society, Reina’s only hope lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never met. But the journey to her is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster.

Attacked by creatures that stalk the mountains, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn—and keep—her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesaré is unwanted.

Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries to be the perfect daughter, but Eva is hiding a secret: Magic calls to her.

Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet it’s hard to ignore power when it has always been denied you. Eva is walking a dangerous path. And in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined.

Praise for The Sun and the Void:

"A rich, enchanting read and an impressive debut.”―Ava Reid, award-winning author of Juniper & Thorn

"A gorgeous epic of family and power, gods and magic, longing and betrayal." ―​Melissa Caruso, author of the Rooks and Ruin series

The Warring Gods

The Sun and the Void

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Gabriela Romero Lacruz (P)2023 Orbit

Critic reviews

"In The Sun and the Void, a world of misunderstood power, summonable gods, and fearsome danger sets the stage for a gorgeous and gutting exploration of family, ambition, and belonging. Through evocative prose and desperate characters, Gabriela Romero Lacruz weaves a delightfully tangled web of magic and curses, gods and monsters, love and betrayal. This read is perfect for readers who like their fantasy served with a healthy dose of anguish. Prepare to be thinking about this one long after you turn the last page."—M. J. Kuhn, author of Among Thieves

"Set in a beautiful and engaging world with fascinating characters and even more fascinating magic, The Sun and the Void is an excellent addition to any fantasy reader's collection."—Tara Sim, author of The City of Dusk

“Capricious gods, dangerous magic, and ancient vows straining under the weight of her characters’ desperate humanity, Gabriela Romero Lacruz has gifted us a classic epic fantasy with an original, inventive setting. A rich, enchanting read and an impressive debut.”—Ava Reid, award-winning author of Juniper & Thorn

I tried so hard

I really tried to finish this, tried to stay engaged, tried to pay attention, tried to care, but I failed on all fronts. It's not normally such a struggle to stay interested in a story, and the setting and premise seemed perfect, but I just couldn't force myself to care about this one.

Tough Read

I apologize but this book is my 1st ever DNF (40%). I always said I would finish every book and never DNF, but this was a tough read for me. I love books of other cultures that embrace actual history or folklore, but this one I found hard to read smoothly due to just how much different terms/titles/names there were. Not only this but the pacing of it, as well as just the story wasn’t pulling me in. The writing style left a feeling of disconnect, and forced me to try and possibly commit through audible. However, even the performance by the reader wasn’t enough to make me want to listen to it. When she told the story it still felt like a drab and bland reading. This was just my experience though, everyone should read/listen for themselves and decide. I just think this book didn’t hit the mark of my interest, which was on my part, as I specifically purchased the book on looks alone of the (UK edition & illumicrate special edition) book, as well as it being of a different cultural heritage that I was hoping to branch out to and explore.

Good story, bad narration

This book was a bit difficult for me to get through. The beginning was slow, but it picked up with time and by the end I was excited to read Book 2. I have a hard time getting into the first book of fantasy series because there is so much of the world to learn. So part of the difficulty in getting through the first part is probably a "me thing" and nothing to do with the book. Now that I am familiar with the lore and the different species I feel like I can devote more energy to getting sucked into the story in the next installment.

For me, the biggest let-down was the narrator. Something about her inflection, the emphasis she put on words, felt like she wasn't really paying attention to what she was reading. This happens especially in dialogue, when one character is addressing something another character said, and a specific emphasis is necessary to get across the author's intended meaning. Emphasis in the wrong part of a sentence can change the whole meaning, and unfortunately that happened a lot with this narrator. Also, she ends every chapter with the same tempo and inflection as any other sentence, which missed out on opportunities to build tension and foreboding. It made the ends of chapters feel flatter than they might have with more intentional delivery.

Also I kept getting tripped by words that I don't know whether the narrator was pronouncing them strangely or if the author had picked a close but wrong word (ex. "volted"...did she mean bolted, or maybe vaulted? Or "rackety chair," did she mean "rickety"?). Either way, it took me out of the story, usually at high-intensity moments.

One thing I really liked was how Eva and Reina's stories and experiences mirrored each other. It was an artful storytelling device that set up future events really well without being overly obvious.

I think I will keep reading the series, but I will get the hard copy instead.

Gorgeous Venezuelan Fantasy

I’ll admit this was a hard review to write, however, the way this fantasy novel reels itself in through a journey of fate, self-realization, love, belonging, magic, and adventure, I knew Gabriela Romero Lacruz’s writing had done this book its fair justice. Coming from a similar background as Lacruz, in science that is, I am very impressed with her talent and ability to craft a story so beautiful and magnificent as The Sun and The Void. Gabriela, I whole-heartedly away Book #2. This is your debut honey! Take it all for what it’s worth! #TheSunAndTheVoid

Absolutely amazing story

The beginning of this book is a little slow as you get through the world building but man the second half really takes off and has so many twists and turns! Absolutely love when you can love and hate the characters! So good! I cannot wait for the second book to come out!

Can't wait for book 2!

enthralled until the very end. I can't wait for the second book to find out what happens next. some twists were a little unexpected bit did not take away but in a good way.