Tuyo by Rachel Neumeier

Raised a warrior in the harsh winter country, Ryo inGara has always been willing to die for his family and his tribe. When war erupts against the summer country, the prospect of death in battle seems imminent. But when his warleader leaves Ryo as a sacrifice -- a tuyo -- to die at the hands of their enemies, he faces a fate he never imagined. Ryo's captor, a lord of the summer country, may be an enemy . . . but far worse enemies are moving, with the current war nothing but the opening moves in a hidden game Ryo barely glimpses, a game in which all his people may be merely pawns. Suddenly Ryo finds his convictions overturned and his loyalties uncertain. Should he support the man who holds him prisoner, the only man who may be able to defeat their greater enemy? And even if he does, can he persuade his people to do the same?

Adult • Fantasy/Science Fantasy

Content Warning: Violence, War, Torture, Animal death, Xenophobia, Slavery, Child abuse/death (off the page), allusions to sexual assault.

SKaeth author

This is a hard book to categorize, except as a fantasy book with an old-school science fantasy feel (except the worldbuilding is clearly fantasy and not at all science fiction). The cultures are so immersive and well thought-out, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.