Blood Names Her by Daria Tince

Blood Names Her impressed me from the start with how original and carefully constructed the premise feels.
Lyra Veynmar has grown up in a world shaped by the Fall, when four bodies fell from the sky and struck different corners of the old world. The civilisation that existed before was far more advanced, and its people attempted to prevent the disaster by breaking the bodies into smaller pieces. Those fragments went on to affect certain bloodlines, creating the Marwrought.
Lyra has been raised to believe that the Marwrought are no longer human and must be destroyed. However, they are not presented as one uniform race or as straightforward villains. They take many different forms, and the novel gradually complicates everything Lyra has been taught about them. I especially enjoyed this aspect of the story.
Lyra herself is likeable and easy to sympathise with. Her relationship with her mother is strained, and her father apparently died at the hands of the Marwrought. She has spent much of her life feeling unwanted, but she shows considerable promise during her compulsory military training, even if archery is not one of her strengths. After receiving a flint token, she is selected to continue her training within the Citadel, where the soldiers are divided into ranks such as Flint, Ash, Iron and Obsidian.
At the same time, Lyra begins to feel a strange hum pulling her towards the Marrowlith, an obsidian-like stone through which she connects with Cassius, a Marwrought searching for the person or object connected to an old prophecy. He also appears in her dreams, but everything Lyra has been taught urges her to resist and fight him.
During her training, she also grows close to Aeron Halvik, her captain. The romantic conflict developing between Aeron and Cassius is well handled, although my own preference leans firmly towards Cassius. The enemies-to-lovers tension is strong, and the inclusion of chapters from Cassius's point of view makes that relationship even more compelling.
The world, the central conflict and Lyra's role within it all feel clever and well thought out. The Marwrought have a dark appeal that reminded me slightly of Anne Rice's characters, even though they are not vampires. Combined with the military training and romantic tension, the novel feels like Fourth Wing crossed with a darker, more gothic fantasy- with shades of ACOTAR as well.
The ending is a real strength. It is climactic and left my emotions in chaos: anger, sadness, fear and relief all at once.
There are areas that could still be strengthened. Some of the characters would benefit from more distinctive personalities and individual dialogue patterns, as several voices can sound similar. There are also a large number of training sequences, and certain phrases and sentence structures are repeated often enough to become noticeable. A tighter edit for pacing would give the story more momentum and allow its strongest ideas to stand out.
Despite those issues, this is a five-star book for originality. The premise is unusual, the Marwrought are far more complex than the monsters Lyra was taught to expect, and the ending confirms that the author knows exactly where this story is going. I am invested in discovering the full truth about Cassius, the prophecy and Lyra herself.