Ahoy there mateys! This novel takes place on the islands of Gelle-Geu.  The main character is a poet named Erígra Lilún who does not deal well with people and wants to be left alone to garden and write.  Unfortunately, the ghost of their ancestor is badgering them to become the island starkeeper, a position Erígra knows they cannot handle.  The ancestor claims that the star is failing and Erígra is the only person to save it and the islands.  The official starkeeper is Ranra Kekeri who is trying hard to figure out what is wrong with the island and do what she believes is right.  Then Ranra and Erígra meet and are smitten with one another.  But do they deserve happiness on the brink of potential disaster?

I enjoyed this book but didn't love it.  So much of this book focuses on the two characters' inner turmoil.  Not enough of the plot dealt with the island culture and star.  I think the major problem for me was while I loved both characters and sympathized with them, it was hard to watch them make the right choices for themselves and then having such a horrific ending.  I honestly can't say if I believe the ending was inevitable no matter what Erígra and Ranra did or if they could have salvaged the situation by doing something different.

One of the elements that I had trouble with in this book was Erígra spending so much time pondering what their gender identity was.  I totally understand why this was important to the character but it did not seem important to the plot.  Whatever Erígra chose was going to be accepted by island people.  I wanted the focus to be on the islands themselves, the star failing, the magic system, and the impact on the islanders.  Personal preference.

While the writing is still lovely and I will read more from the author, this novel was the least favorite of the Birdverse so far.  No regrets about reading it though.  Arrr!

In terms of story, The Unbalancing was a 5/5 for me.

A restless star slumbers under the waters near Gelle-Geu. Ranra, the new starkeeper, is troubled by the unusual behavior of the star and must face the problems it is causing head on. This is made worse by the past inactions of her predecessors, who ignored the issues at every turn.

Erígra, a reclusive poet, has the temperament and innate ability to be an effective starkeeper, but wants to be left alone to tend to their garden and write among the quince trees. Despite the insistences from heir ancestor, Semberi, that they are the only one who can solve the problem of the star.

When Ranra and Erígra come together, they fall in love and shore up each other's weaknesses while trying to heal their wounded star. They rally the entire island in a race against the clock to save their island and culture from certain destruction.

I loved the plot so much – the ignored and dying star felt like a moving and timely allegory for the climate crisis we currently face. I loved the concept of a community banding together to combine their individual abilities into something greater than the sum of its parts.

Spoiler

Even if the initially defined goal of healing the star and saving the island was not outright achieved, they still saved their culture and survived as a people. This ended the book on a still-hopeful note that I enjoyed and found uplifting.

Where the book fell flat for me was the world building and character development. I know that The Unbalancing is part of a larger world of existing works by R.B. Lemberg, but I felt a bit dropped into this world without much context of explanation. Overall, I would love more world building to really round out the setting and make all the characters' actions and motivations feel more grounded. (Though I am, admittedly, a bit of a world building fiend. I can never get enough.)

The characters felt a bit ill-defined beyond their general archetypes, and the writing seemed to skitter lightly across their surfaces. The relationship developments felt extremely rushed to me – at times it seemed that we were getting quick montages of their feelings and we just needed to trust and absorb that these characters were experiencing the emotions being conveyed.

Finally, I admit that while I don't typically enjoy lore-specific cursing and swearing, every time the characters dropped a hearty "Pluck you", I absolutely loved it. A+ work on those.

Thank you to Tachyon Publications for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first exposure to the works of R.B. Lemberg and their Birdverse, so I went into this ARC completely blind. Overall, it was a very pleasant surprise and a fun read with a few weaknesses.

The Unbalancing follows the dual perspectives of Erígra Lilún, poet and quince tree-keeper, whose only wish in life is to be left alone to their work and their quiet life. Their ancient ancestor, Semberi, cannot allow this to happen as long as the restlessly sleeping star that keeps their island home alive threatens to rumble and destroy everything they hold dear. When Erígra rejects the role of Starkeeper, it instead falls to Ranra Kekeri, brash and loud and determined to fix the problem that has been left to her by her predecessors. Erígra and Ranra will come together to learn the mysteries of how their star was delivered to them by their ancient goddess, Bird, and maybe even how to save their island and their people.

The good: The depth into which this book discusses gender and sexual identity is something beautiful. There are so many different ways to identify as nonbinary, or different versions of queer (my asexual heart was delighted to see mentions of adar people), and all of them are equally accepted and celebrated on the island of Gelle-Geu. Neurodivergence isn't made out to be anything villainized, either; accommodations are normalized and casually mentioned throughout. The magic system is interesting, and it is very clear that Lemberg has created a deep, rich mythology in their Birdverse. Both PoVs are equally interesting and unique, and you don't feel like you're missing out when the story focuses on one character over the other. The story is a fascinating investigation on endings and new beginnings, and what that means to different people.

Struggles: The book was billed as being the first full-length novel in the series, but it felt instead like I had been thrown into the middle of a long, overarching series and had to scramble to catch up. Even a glossary in the back would have been helpful for all of these terms being thrown at me from page 1. My other main struggle was the feeling of insta-love between the two leads; while both were fascinating characters on their own and together, Erígra discusses their feelings of being some sort of (unnamed) demi/grey-romantic, and yet they fall in love within a few days of meeting.

I'll definitely be searching for further pieces in this series, since The Unbalancing has left me curious about the overall mythology! A strong first full-length book in the series.

Sorry, but this book is taking me nowhere. DNF at 125 pages.

Beautiful, lyrical writing. I felt like the world was beautifully complex but the writing was super good so I wasn't overwhelmed with having to absorb a whole lot of information about the world. Fantasy done right, and it's a short book as well which I appreciate. Easy to read and delicious.