I loved the idea in general. A utopian society where any type of inclination, identity, or condition is seen as part of the person, but not as everything that matters about this person. There are interesting characters that attract attention from the beginning, such as Lilún and Semberí, and I really liked the ending, a realistic bet that works quite well.

Full review: https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2023/06/resena-review-unbalancing.html

The world is very cool and so is the magic. The falling in love aspect after only a few days is not my favorite.

To see a full review check it out here.

This was woah.

DNF

Probably helps if you have read others in the Birdverse. I liked the tone and story, and nonstandard fantasy world. I didn't really like the multiple new names, complex and obscure magic or the lead characters. But - they weren't characters written for me, so I at least learned something from their point of views.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy to review.

Represenation: Queer MC, queer and trans MC, many QTBIPOC supporting characters

Stars are alive. They dance, talk, and breathe. Except for the one that fell near Gelle-Geu, that one sleeps restlessly. Generations of starkeepers have kept watch, and now Ranra, the newest starkeeper is left to worry about the increasing tremors that her predecessor ignored. Lilún, a poet who wants to live a simple life alone, has been visiting their ancestor, Semberí. Their ancestor was the first starkeeper, and insists that Lilún should be the starkeeper to be there when it wakes. Semberí also tells them stories of the stars' deliverance by Bird, their goddess, as the island shakes more and more often. Ranra and Lilún meet, sparks fly, and they both work together to figure out a solution to the restless star before it's too late.

Rating: 4.5/5 Lemberg's writing is gorgeous and very poetic. I really love the magic system in this universe, and I enjoyed this more than The Four Profound Weaves. Not to say that I didn't like it, I simply felt this had a much clearer and better paced story and the stakes were far higher. I loved the system, if that's the right word, for how trans people (called ichidi in this) identify themselves with tokens that represent what type of ichidi they are. I liked Ranra and Lilún's relationship, but it did feel like it moved VERY fast for people who supposedly knew nothing of each other up until that day they meet at the starkeeper's ascension party. I wish we could have seen far more of the supporting cast, I really liked some of them and felt like they had so much more story to be told. There's not much more I can say that wasn't said in the summary without spoiling the story too much.