Book: Trivium by Jenna Ruby
Reviewed by A.Hampton Reads
Rating: 4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 strong stars
I loved that Trivium gave me three completely different women to root for. Each POV felt genuinely distinct, and even when I connected with one more than another, I was invested in all three of their stories. Each woman arrived at the Academy of Creature Defense with her own history, motivations, and struggles, and their individual perspectives stayed distinct throughout the story.
Zeina was easily my favorite. Having spent most of her life surviving on the streets, she approaches nearly everything from a place of self-preservation. She isn’t written as particularly sweet or eager for connection, and I loved that about her. Her independence, discomfort with intimacy, and instinct to remain unnoticed all felt like natural extensions of the life she’d lived rather than traits added simply to make her seem morally gray. Watching her slowly begin to form connections was one of my favorite parts of the book.
Ahmina surprised me in a completely different way. Her anxiety, fear, and self-doubt felt incredibly familiar, sometimes almost too familiar, but that made her growth especially satisfying. I loved watching her gradually become a braver, more confident version of herself without suddenly becoming a completely different person. I also really enjoyed the relationship that develops around her; it was refreshing to have a romance that felt genuinely supportive and healthy. And you better believe that if something happened to her, there would be hell to pay.
Loveleena was the character who had the boldest personality with distinct character flaws, but interestingly, she was also responsible for pushing much of the story forward. She’s impulsive, stubborn, and often so focused on what she wants that she doesn’t see the larger picture. There were definitely moments when I wanted to reach through the page and ask her what exactly she thought she was doing, but I appreciated the self-awareness she began developing as the story progressed.
I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding in Trivium. The Academy is important, but this didn’t feel like fantasy academia built primarily around the aesthetic or familiar school tropes. The larger world, its cities, history, magical creatures, and the complicated relationship between humans and those creatures became increasingly important as the story unfolded. The creature magic in particular was one of my favorite elements, and I loved the different ways the characters interacted with it.
The pacing worked well for me for most of the book. I appreciated that the opening chapters took their time establishing each POV and the lives they were living before bringing everyone together at the Academy. My biggest hesitation came later, when some major answers were withheld for quite a while. I understood the eventual explanation for why certain truths hadn’t been revealed sooner, but at times the delay felt more like a narrative choice than something that happened organically within the story.
That also affected the ending for me. While I enjoyed finally getting the answers the characters and myself had been anticipating, I wanted a little more time afterward to see them actually process what they’d learned.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book! The characters felt well developed, the plot took turns I wasn’t expecting, the prose was easy to settle into, and the magical creatures and their connection to the larger world kept me especially invested. I’d recommend Trivium to readers who enjoy multi-POV fantasy, found family, magical creatures, morally complicated characters, and a little romance woven into a mysterious fantasy setting.
If you’re like me, you’ll be thinking about these characters well after you finish the book, wondering where their new truths will lead them in Book 2!
I received an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.