This would have been five stars but I wasn't too happy with the ending. Well the ending is fine, in fact I rather liked it, I just wasn't too happy with who she ended up with,so I dropped it a star for that, but otherwise this was a great book. 
 Heads up there may be Spoilers, still don't know how to hide them so i guess read at your own risk. 
 First: that cover, it's gorgeous! I love it love it love it. Liyana looks so pretty dancing on the cover. This would be one of those books i'd buy just for the cover. 
 Anyway on to the characters. Liyana. oh why can't there be more girls like her in YA fiction? why? There needs to be more characters similar to her and less of the Bella swanesque (yeah not sure how to spell that)types. I mean this chick is awesome, her world is pulled out from under her feet and she is cast out from her family and sentenced to death.But does she let that stop her? oh no she decides she's going to survive and goes about doing just that, she faces down sand-wolves all by herself. I don't see many YA heroines doing that actually i can't think of a one right now off the top of my head. Also she has a legit struggle, she realistic has to work to gain control of her powers and it costs her something. Not to mention the fact she will die if her goddess comes like she suppose to. So she has to give up her family and friends and her life in order to save them. Not to mention she's very pragmatic. I totally enjoyed the part where she threatened to blind one of the vessels if the girl didn't get it together and cooperate. Girl don't play. Another plus is, she isn't slowed down by the romance. Yes the cute boy enters the picture and no she does not lose her head over him. Okay she does but she's a strong enough character on her own to not become a weak willed girl who's every thought revolves around whether or not the guy she's with likes her or not. Okay that thought came up occasionally especially in the end due to events I will not speak of right now. But she also remembers she has a family, she has responsibilities, she realizes there is more to the world than whether or not she and Korbyn will spend eternity together. I like Liyana I really do. 
 I also liked Korbyn, i like their relationship, i liked that he had his flaws and he wasn't inhumanly beautiful, even though he was suppose to be a god, i liked that he had the ability to learn to empathize with the people he cared for and worked with. I really enjoyed the fact the Liyana and Korbyn got along they weren't needlessly antagonistic, and he wasn't overprotective of her. They learned to trust each other and he taught her what she needed to know to defend herself and help rescue their gods. They did make a cute couple even though they were likely to never be together. I liked reading their banter and i really loved the dance lesson Liyana gave him. 
 Pai was awesome, i loved the fact that even though she was blind she was bascially fearless. i loved her voice and she was an excellent foil for Liyana. I liked it when Liyana began to worry to much or began to lose focus on what was important, Pai brought her back to earth, so to speak. I also liked her tact, everyone knew Liyana was crushing on Korbyn but she didn't rub it in, in a hurtful way. 
 Raan was a strong female character as well. She bucked her destiny until the very end and she had a very distinctive presence in the story. I didn't connect with her as much as the other three but I could understand her situation her desire to save her people and to save herself. 
 The last one, um yeah i remember his god was Sender or something like that but i can't remember his names. I never really got into him but i couldn't help but laugh when his arrogance got him tied to a stake and then his doting on Pai was kind of sweet. 
 To sum up I liked that each character had their own voice, they didn't blend together or fade into the background. The group dynamics were believable, not everyone got along at first but you could see the trust and friendship they built with each other. Everyone had their roles and they weren't just sidekicks to Liyana. Plus the girls weren't stereotypical mean girls, that seem to be every girl in the genre who isn't the main character or her bestie. 
 Also I've got to mention the family i am so glad Liyana was close to her family, her mom,dad and brother, way too often the main character is estranged from her family or complaining about her parents or something, at least in this story there was a legit reason Liyana was by herself and her family did what they could, they left supplies for her when they weren't suppose to. 
 Oh i almost forgot, the Emperor. Yeah i skipped mostly through his chapters and i didn't really gain an interest until Liyana actually met up with him towards the end. 
 So this was an interesting plot-line I've never actually read something like this. And I really enjoyed it. It was taking the whole needs of the few versus needs of the many concept and making it close to home, what would you do if your people needed you to die so they could live.There was also the whole need for water thing. I mean it's interesting to see an invasion from the conqueror's point of view. The emperor needed water and he was willing to go through the tribes to get it even if they're suppose to be free. 
 (view spoiler)[He also kidnapped their gods in order to force cooperation. (hide spoiler)] I just noticed that formatting tips box over to the side there. Anyway I don't like the idea of someone coming in and trying to take over another group of people, disregarding their traditions and culture, but in this case needing water because of a drought is a legit reason. maybe. So yeah the overall story was awesome the characters engaging and complex and no insta-love. Okay there was little insta-love at the end of the book and that's what brought it down a star for me. I don't know if the next part is a spoiler but i'll mark it anyway. 
 (view spoiler)[ so yeah, all of a sudden Liyana was kissing the emperorer, i hated it, hated it! I get that she needs to save her people and this is a viable solution but really? really? why does marriage have to be a thing? I would have supported this relationship more if it had developed more like Liyana's and Korbyn's. I mean they knew each other all of a day maybe two if that, and the emperor who's name begins with a "J" starts pining over her. They don't see each other for months ,okay probably not that long but close enough, and then for maybe all of thirty minutes and he's proposing marriage and then she KISSES HIM?! Why couldn't she be an ambassador or foreign dignitary? I could've gotten behind them developing mutual respect and love for each other over working together to help their people but come on!An out of the blue wedding proposal?! Okay I get Sarah had to wrap the book up but i did not like this cobbled together love interest for Liyana since she couldn't have Korbyn. (hide spoiler)] 
 Okay i didn't talk about the gods who do actually show up but i have to leave something for the readers...(okay so i just didn't feel like talking about them. Bayla was pretty interesting though. I did like her straightforward kill all enemies attitude.) 
 Overall this was an enjoyable read for me, and i am happy Sarah Beth Durst wrote and published this book. I would gladly read it again, and i will likely buy this now that I've returned it to my library. If you want a good story with a likable heroine and supporting characters, not to mention a compelling and engaging story then I recommend you read this book. You may or may not enjoy it but give it a try.