Name Her Holy can be fairly accurately described as blessed lesbians in space. This book has so many things I love in fantasy: eldritch horrors, sword lesbians, cosmic magic systems, and quests to save the world. It also takes place among the stars, across several planets on the verge of apocalyptic calamity. Jude, a guard, is sworn to protect Kye, a chronically ill chosen one as together, they follow the patterns of stars blinking out of existence while several conspiracies unfold in the background.
I truly loved this space opera with its immersive world-building, slow-burn romance, and steady pace as Ennis puts queer spins on familiar fantasy tropes in a fresh setting among the stars.
My favorite part about this book was the magic system and the world-building. Fantasy tends to have a very singular focus or understanding of the primary religion in the fantasy world. In Name Her Holy, Ennis presents a world that has its codified, formal religion, the Vigil Order, but also folk beliefs that come in direct conflict when the Order sends its Herald to investigate the blight taking over the lands. These tensions feel organic and serve as the primary point of connection and conflict for our main characters. There’s a lot of thought also put into the way gender interacts with the world, especially in the context of legends and deciphering myths to save the world. As someone who enjoys queer readings into chosen one narratives, this book has many treats in store as we gain more insight into our main characters.
The alternating POVs between Jude and Kye do so much to ground the reader in understanding this corner of the galaxy. The depiction of more provincial beliefs versus theology is nuanced, and both influence Jude and Kye’s choices and motivations in ways that bring them closer together, but further apart from the places they hold dear. We learn a lot about what things are taken for granted and about truths that are anything but. I won’t go into specifically what the antagonist is, but I found myself glued to my eReader the more the plot unfolded.
This complexity is also delivered in elegant prose that makes the world come to life. I never found myself confused or questioning any aspect, from the environments to understanding the hierarchy that allegedly holds the galaxy together.
If you’re looking for a book featuring sword lesbians in space with a religious organization that doesn’t have its believers’ best interests at heart while waiting for any news about Tamsyn Muir’s Alecto: The Ninth, this is it.