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ehwilltolive's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
uh so this book broke me. I could say about 80 billion reasons I loved it but my brain is too soup (pos) to verbalize any of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Homophobia, Slavery, Transphobia, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Suicide
veggiestrawenjoyer13's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The concept of the book is really interesting, I was excited to read it. It had decent reviews, too. However, it fell short big time.
The beginning, and really most of the book, is extremely slow. This isn’t always a bad time, but it felt like nothing happened until the last quarter of the book. Once I hit the point where Yat died (the big plot moment), it got better. The middle made more sense, despite how slow it was. I never felt attached to the characters, I had absolutely no emotional connected. This really stunted it for me, because I couldn’t care less about what happens to them.
The writing is very good at some points, but is mostly confusing. This book could really use a map of the world and a glossary of terms/places. I had no idea what was going on most of the time, and not because of the New Zealand dialect. I simply could not grasp the importance of any places or organizations.
The biggest problem I had with the book was that the plot progressed so sporadically. The last quarter of the book springs so much lore and answers on the reader that it’s difficult to pick up. Also, it felt like it came out of nowhere. This story could have worked well with informations sprinkled throughout, but that didn’t happen.
I pretty much only finished the book so I could read something else. I enjoyed the plot twist at the end and it was extremely surprising, but that doesn’t make the book good. I’m happy for those who enjoyed it, but this wasn’t for me. I won’t be reading the second book, unfortunately.
The beginning, and really most of the book, is extremely slow. This isn’t always a bad time, but it felt like nothing happened until the last quarter of the book. Once I hit the point where Yat died (the big plot moment), it got better. The middle made more sense, despite how slow it was. I never felt attached to the characters, I had absolutely no emotional connected. This really stunted it for me, because I couldn’t care less about what happens to them.
The writing is very good at some points, but is mostly confusing. This book could really use a map of the world and a glossary of terms/places. I had no idea what was going on most of the time, and not because of the New Zealand dialect. I simply could not grasp the importance of any places or organizations.
The biggest problem I had with the book was that the plot progressed so sporadically. The last quarter of the book springs so much lore and answers on the reader that it’s difficult to pick up. Also, it felt like it came out of nowhere. This story could have worked well with informations sprinkled throughout, but that didn’t happen.
I pretty much only finished the book so I could read something else. I enjoyed the plot twist at the end and it was extremely surprising, but that doesn’t make the book good. I’m happy for those who enjoyed it, but this wasn’t for me. I won’t be reading the second book, unfortunately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, and Death of parent
fionamclary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was fun but not quite what I expected. I think the author has a lot of potential.
Some things that would have improved this book:
-a map
-consistent spelling of Tangata/Taangata/Tāngata
-not saying "it was the worst pain she ever felt" every time Yat experiences some kind of magical injury
Otherwise, there was a lot of inventive world-building that sometimes held together only with vibes but was nonetheless engaging. I liked the inspiration from Maori culture and hope that SFF only sees more influence and authors from various world cultures.
Some things that would have improved this book:
-a map
-consistent spelling of Tangata/Taangata/Tāngata
-not saying "it was the worst pain she ever felt" every time Yat experiences some kind of magical injury
Otherwise, there was a lot of inventive world-building that sometimes held together only with vibes but was nonetheless engaging. I liked the inspiration from Maori culture and hope that SFF only sees more influence and authors from various world cultures.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Cursing, Misogyny, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Confinement, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
guardyourhonor's review against another edition
While there were some really interesting things going on that I wanted to know more about, I just couldn't quite connect with the protagonist and ultimately I realized I don't want to read about a fantasy world with this level of homophobia and it was just too much of a stressful bummer for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
wordsareworlds's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely adored this book from start to finish. The worldbuilding was exquisite, the characters were super well crafted, and the writing had me hooked. Even when I wasn't sure what was going on (and there were several times), I rolled with it because I knew the payoff would be worth it, and it was.
The politics were there but pretty light-handed, the book focuses more on what we see through our PoV characters and how their understanding of the world, which changes as they learn through the course of the plot. I adored Yat, for all her flaws, and loved how her anxiety was portrayed throughout the book. Her powers are not a magic cure for it, but she does gain tools to manage and use it, and it was a perspective I appreciated a lot.
The ending was satisfying while also leaving a major AHHHHH moment for the last few pages that makes me want the next book RIGHT NOW. I can't wait to see the ripple effects of what happened in this book play out, and see more of all these characters.
Highly recommend for anyone looking for a queer, action-heavy, weird as hell bio-punk story that knows exactly how to draw you in and make you want more RIGHT NOW.
The politics were there but pretty light-handed, the book focuses more on what we see through our PoV characters and how their understanding of the world, which changes as they learn through the course of the plot. I adored Yat, for all her flaws, and loved how her anxiety was portrayed throughout the book. Her powers are not a magic cure for it, but she does gain tools to manage and use it, and it was a perspective I appreciated a lot.
The ending was satisfying while also leaving a major AHHHHH moment for the last few pages that makes me want the next book RIGHT NOW. I can't wait to see the ripple effects of what happened in this book play out, and see more of all these characters.
Highly recommend for anyone looking for a queer, action-heavy, weird as hell bio-punk story that knows exactly how to draw you in and make you want more RIGHT NOW.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
neens_m's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Homophobia
nightstitch96's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty and Suicide
courtsport3000's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Really mixed bag for me. Fantastic worldbuilding that I could read about for hours and hours more. Incredibly cool magic system. Interesting, fully realized main characters, but secondary characters that felt very flat. Huge A+ for casual queerness and disability rep. Lots of subtle humor that was so fun. But a plot that felt messy and difficult to keep track of - sometimes to the point of feeling nonexistent. Love the people and the vibes, but wanted much more going on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty
daffodilcherry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this queer, Māori, solarpunk sci-fi & fantasy adventure. As a sci-fi with fantasy elements, this book would be a good bridge for anyone looking to move into either genre from the other. I've had this book on my TBR for ages, but always found it difficult to start, partially because the first chapter is more of a prologue with a POV we don't see again. But the narrator, Anna Coddington, absolutely blew me away and heightened my enjoyment of this series with her New Zealand accent. I love an audiobook I try to listen to as much as possible. I loved the kiwi-isms as well, which gave the worldbuilding a refreshing twist.
My one gripe with the book is that the action and plot is a little choppy due to its pace. This might be exasperated by reading this book as an audiobook. My only wish was that Stronach took a little more time to flesh out the world and to let the action happen over a longer period of time, the book's timeline takes over the place of a week (emphasised in the final chapters) which just jam packs all of the action. Maybe pacing the book over a month would have helped with the choppy feeling, if not for this aspect this book would have been a total 5 stars.
Wheelhouses: queer main character (bisexual woman) who actively has sexual attraction for other ladies, complex and complicated main character, main character development arc, homophobia that is actually woven into the worldbuilding as opposed to being the assumed normal (not that I like homophobia), cop characterwho has to reckon with that ACAB , ACAB, fantasy/sci-fi that tackles systemic oppression issues, pirates!!!!, gay lady pirates!!!!, mushroom based horror elements.
My one gripe with the book is that the action and plot is a little choppy due to its pace. This might be exasperated by reading this book as an audiobook. My only wish was that Stronach took a little more time to flesh out the world and to let the action happen over a longer period of time, the book's timeline takes over the place of a week (emphasised in the final chapters) which just jam packs all of the action. Maybe pacing the book over a month would have helped with the choppy feeling, if not for this aspect this book would have been a total 5 stars.
Wheelhouses: queer main character (bisexual woman) who actively has sexual attraction for other ladies, complex and complicated main character, main character development arc, homophobia that is actually woven into the worldbuilding as opposed to being the assumed normal (not that I like homophobia), cop character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Drug use, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
catsandbookspluspup's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, and Lesbophobia