Title: The Inheritance (Breach Wars Book One)
Publisher: Nyla Publishing
Author: Ilona Andrews
Pages: 263pp

Ten years ago, the gates opened and monsters poured in the world. Humanity beat back the invasion, but the gates continue to form, and the monsters keep coming. That’s where people like Ada Moore come in. When the world changed, she changed with it, developing a rare Talent for identifying the minerals, plants, and other resources on the other side of the gate that humanity needs in its fight for survival. But then a gate dive goes horribly wrong, her team abandons her, and Ada is left alone in a hostile environment with only a scared German Shepherd at her side. Oh, and a magic sword. And a strange jewel that contains vital information about the hostile species behind the invasion … information others are willing to kill for ….

I admit it: even though Andrews is one of my favorite fantasy authors, I skipped The Inheritance when it was first released. It didn’t sound like quite my thing. But then they were sneaky, and published a sequel short story in their newsletter. That caught my attention, and even though it spoiled some events from the book, I immediately ordered The Inheritance.

I devoured it in two days.

The book has everything I love in an Andrews adventure: a strong woman protagonist, strange magic, very nasty villains, high stakes, deeply personal stakes, cute animals (which are also very dangerous), cute kids (who are also very smart), a dramatic fight for survival, and the promise of more to come.

It also had a lot of things I was not expecting. Most of the story is told from Ada’s first person point of view. But the scenes of her making her way through the hostile alien landscape are interspersed with scenes back on Earth; specifically, Elias McFeron trying to figure out what happened to Ada, who on his team abandoned her and why, and how to get back through the gate to save her — assuming she’s even still alive. The two story arcs contrast starkly even as they weirdly parallel: Ada is fighting for her life against monsters and alien assassins, while Elias is fighting corruption and sabotage; she desperately wants to leave the alien dimensions and return home, while he desperately wants to cross through the gate and into the alien dimension; she’s making allies, while he’s uncovering traitors in the ranks.

And, yes, it’s also obvious that Elias is being set up as a potential love interest. By the end of the book, he has amply demonstrated his admiration for smart, strong women.

That’s assuming there actually will be a sequel. Andrews is very busy. But I have my fingers crossed. Because I want more Ada, more Elias, more Bear, more Leo, more Samantha, more Tia and Noah. And I want to know who is behind the invasion and I want them stopped. And please, for the sake of my sanity, explain how this ties into The Innkeeper Chronicles.

Highly recommended to fans of Ilona Andrews’ other series, as well as Null and Void by Susan Copperfield, the Hath No Fury anthology edited by Melanie Meadors, and Black God’s Drums by P. Djeli Clark.