Book Title: A House Divided
Author’s Name: Nicole Ciacchella
Series: Astoran Asunder

Spoilers Ahead!

The book is A House Divided by Nicole Ciacchella. It is the first in the Astoran Asunder series. The story follows our two fated leads: Cianne Wyland and Kila an Movis. Cianne is the daughter of a powerful member in the Staerleigh House. Giftless, Cianne only hope to maintain her status within the House is to marry well. The star child of House Staerleigh, Captain Lochlan, is ready to marry Cianne. They are already good friends, but Cianne doesn’t want to move beyond that relationship. Her heart lies elsewhere. 

Kila is returning to the city after his big mouth had him banished a decade earlier. An enforcer, he is gods-gifted at putting pieces together. His period of exile is over, but the city has changed and he needs to step cautiously to avoid making the same mistakes as before. 

Cianne and Kila are drawn together when a member of House Staerleigh dies. While the Elders are quick to write off the death as suicide, Cianne and Kila suspect more to the plot. For years, Cianne has cultivated secret skills in spying on her family. She knows something is wrong, but how can she prove it? More importantly, who can she trust? Kila is not of the House and his position as an enforcer is a good fit for her needs. But it is really the childhood crush that brings her to Kila’s house in the middle of the night. 

There is quite a bit about the story I like. The main characters are interesting. They have clear motivations and complex relationships with their friends and family. It is a slow burn romance that does appeal to me. I like the investigation into corrupt family members. The questions of trusting those around us, of uncovering their secrets, of determining our place in our family are all interesting and do well to drive Cianne’s actions. 

Unfortunately, their plot is convoluted and unsatisfying. During the climax, Cianne places herself in position to overhear the damning evidence of corruption between her family and the other great houses. Sadly, this pivotal moment needs to be explained to the reader because it is not clear in the telling. In fact, it was not that clearly damning. Highly suspicious, but I expected more from Cianne’s spying abilities than a vague conversation. 

I also struggled with Captain’s Loch sudden flip from loving Cianne to believing she was a traitor to the family. After spending almost half the story in a grief-driven stupor, convinced his parent did not commit suicide, he then accepts the fact his father was murder as necessary and the idea that Cianne is out to destroy House Staerleigh. It was too fast a flip in perspective. 

I feel like the story would have been more interesting if there was more of an investigation around the deceased House member. More spying. More interviews. More seeking out clues and putting them together. Instead parts of the ending come out of nowhere (like her mother is still alive!) and is rushed to force both Cianne and Kila into each other’s company and out of the city. 

While I recognized from the start this was part of a series, I assumed it would continue to follow Cianne and Kila. I was surprised to realize that the next book is about two different characters. Not what I expected given the set up of the first book and its lack of a satisfying ending. 

There is much I enjoyed about this story – the relationship between Cianne and Kila was fun to read. It built well and I like how it connected to a past encounter. But several areas that left me unfulfilled. Overall, I would give A House Divided 3 stars out of 5.