The Sun and the Void Audiobook By Gabriela Romero Lacruz cover art

The Sun and the Void

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The Sun and the Void

By: Gabriela Romero Lacruz
Narrated by: Natalia Castellanos
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"Evocative and captivating. An enthralling tale of ancient gods, dangerous magic, family and love."―​Sue Lynn Tan, author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Two women embark on a unforgettable quest that draws them into a world of dark gods and ancient magic in this sweeping fantasy debut inspired by the history and folklore of colonial South America.

Reina is desperate.

Stuck on the edges of society, Reina’s only hope lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never met. But the journey to her is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster.

Attacked by creatures that stalk the mountains, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn—and keep—her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesaré is unwanted.

Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries to be the perfect daughter, but Eva is hiding a secret: Magic calls to her.

Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet it’s hard to ignore power when it has always been denied you. Eva is walking a dangerous path. And in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined.

Praise for The Sun and the Void:

"A rich, enchanting read and an impressive debut.”―Ava Reid, award-winning author of Juniper & Thorn

"A gorgeous epic of family and power, gods and magic, longing and betrayal." ―​Melissa Caruso, author of the Rooks and Ruin series

The Warring Gods

The Sun and the Void

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Gabriela Romero Lacruz (P)2023 Orbit Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy LGBTQIA+ Creators Fiction Magic
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Critic reviews

"In The Sun and the Void, a world of misunderstood power, summonable gods, and fearsome danger sets the stage for a gorgeous and gutting exploration of family, ambition, and belonging. Through evocative prose and desperate characters, Gabriela Romero Lacruz weaves a delightfully tangled web of magic and curses, gods and monsters, love and betrayal. This read is perfect for readers who like their fantasy served with a healthy dose of anguish. Prepare to be thinking about this one long after you turn the last page."—M. J. Kuhn, author of Among Thieves

"Set in a beautiful and engaging world with fascinating characters and even more fascinating magic, The Sun and the Void is an excellent addition to any fantasy reader's collection."—Tara Sim, author of The City of Dusk

“Capricious gods, dangerous magic, and ancient vows straining under the weight of her characters’ desperate humanity, Gabriela Romero Lacruz has gifted us a classic epic fantasy with an original, inventive setting. A rich, enchanting read and an impressive debut.”—Ava Reid, award-winning author of Juniper & Thorn

Dear Listener,

What am I excited for you to discover in this story
"I wrote this story to give readers a small glimpse into the exciting things Venezuela has to offer the world, especially viewed through a speculative-fiction lens. Nowadays, whenever Venezuela is discussed in media and online, it is usually associated with polarizing topics. However, I am more interested in showing the world that we have a country of beautiful, varied landscapes, diverse peoples, and imaginative folklore born from a blend of Spanish, Indigenous, and African roots. This setting had never been explored before in epic fantasy, and I personally felt excited about the possibility of more tales of adventure (or misadventure) that borrow from old superstitions, folklore, and Venezuelan settings. This book is important to me because I want my country to be associated with and represented by positive media, to provide sword and sorcery escapism to the millions of Venezuelans living in the diaspora like myself, and to inspire budding storytellers into believing that their words matter." - Gabriela Romero Lacruz, writer of The Sun and the Void
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I’ll admit this was a hard review to write, however, the way this fantasy novel reels itself in through a journey of fate, self-realization, love, belonging, magic, and adventure, I knew Gabriela Romero Lacruz’s writing had done this book its fair justice. Coming from a similar background as Lacruz, in science that is, I am very impressed with her talent and ability to craft a story so beautiful and magnificent as The Sun and The Void. Gabriela, I whole-heartedly away Book #2. This is your debut honey! Take it all for what it’s worth! #TheSunAndTheVoid

Gorgeous Venezuelan Fantasy

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As much as I love your classic Tolkien-esque takes on fantasy and magic systems, hearing a story rooted in Venezuelan folklore and mythology, as well as hearing all the subtle details about the culture from mentions of food to verbiage used made this book feel like home. This story feels like a warm hug and reminds me of just how beautiful Venezuela is. I can’t wait for the next book!

A fresh take on fantasy

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The beginning of this book is a little slow as you get through the world building but man the second half really takes off and has so many twists and turns! Absolutely love when you can love and hate the characters! So good! I cannot wait for the second book to come out!

Absolutely amazing story

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I really enjoyed the story! The ending has me excited for the next volumes. I enjoyed the descriptions of food and the magic system seems very interesting, especially the different species.

The timing of the book skips around a bit. But I found the story overall very satisfying and well thought out and planned. I find the drama enticing and the characters lifelike. It deals with some heavy topics. But if you enjoy magic and swordplay it's definitely a very interesting read.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the narrator. there was a bit of bleeding between character voices and a few points where dialogue was left a bit flat and then the word shouted or screamed put afterwards that could have been better expressed. But it didn't ruin the work for me.

If you were interested but unsure about the title I hope that you give it a shot.

vibrant and wonderful new world!! can't wait for more!

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This book was a bit difficult for me to get through. The beginning was slow, but it picked up with time and by the end I was excited to read Book 2. I have a hard time getting into the first book of fantasy series because there is so much of the world to learn. So part of the difficulty in getting through the first part is probably a "me thing" and nothing to do with the book. Now that I am familiar with the lore and the different species I feel like I can devote more energy to getting sucked into the story in the next installment.

For me, the biggest let-down was the narrator. Something about her inflection, the emphasis she put on words, felt like she wasn't really paying attention to what she was reading. This happens especially in dialogue, when one character is addressing something another character said, and a specific emphasis is necessary to get across the author's intended meaning. Emphasis in the wrong part of a sentence can change the whole meaning, and unfortunately that happened a lot with this narrator. Also, she ends every chapter with the same tempo and inflection as any other sentence, which missed out on opportunities to build tension and foreboding. It made the ends of chapters feel flatter than they might have with more intentional delivery.

Also I kept getting tripped by words that I don't know whether the narrator was pronouncing them strangely or if the author had picked a close but wrong word (ex. "volted"...did she mean bolted, or maybe vaulted? Or "rackety chair," did she mean "rickety"?). Either way, it took me out of the story, usually at high-intensity moments.

One thing I really liked was how Eva and Reina's stories and experiences mirrored each other. It was an artful storytelling device that set up future events really well without being overly obvious.

I think I will keep reading the series, but I will get the hard copy instead.

Good story, bad narration

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