An interesting world that I think was held back at times by the writing. The writing isn’t bad, just a bit confusing. There were a lot of elements here:

pirates and biotech and fungi and magic and zombies and Gods and immortality and a religious maybe-cult and a rigged election and homophobia and police brutality

that I think the world building suffered a bit from being a little too scattered. I don’t feel like I really got a good sense of any one element of the world because there were so many. I found Yat’s pieces of the story much more compelling than Sen’s though Sen as a character was far more competent and seemed to have stronger motivation. Several of the descriptions, particularly of the magic use, became a bit repetitive while remaining a bit unclear in terms of what was actually going on in the scene. Interesting premises, I wish it had been refined and focussed so the unique world could have shone.

This was great, confusing, but great. Absolutely everything happens in the last hundred pages and made a lot of the start and middle feel very slow and filler-like, but the book came together wonderfully when it did, when plot points and characters and places all connected.

Wasn’t a huge fan of the stuff with Kiada and Yat at the end just because it was so rushed, kinda predictable, and irritating to read through their interactions where Yat doesn’t recognise her.

A challenging bisexual main character, two wlw couples, a cute cat!! Cool plants!!! Cool setting!!! I love the world, it truly is a mix of Black Sun and Gideon the Ninth; I really like the integration of the gods in this, of the powers and magic, of death not necessarily meaning the end. Truly great, loved this.

I had a hard time getting through this one. Intriguing  world and characters for sure, but I had a difficult time with the writing style and following the plot. It could just be it's one of those books that's better read physically or on ebook rather than an audio. But I do think the narrator did a really fantastic job with tone and cadence. I could tell that a lot of heart went into this one and it definitely played with some cool ideas. I just had a hard time following it. Worth a try or anyone looking for queer fantasy but this one was not for me.

This book has wild and unique ideas that make for a great fantasy tale but I was confused during the entire read. I am not sure if I was so lost in the imagery that I missed details but scenes jumped from one thing to another in a way that made the story hard to follow. 
For instance... the main character suddenly is firing a gun. Where did it come from? Couldn't tell you. It was just little details like that where you're reading and suddenly you screech to a halt and re-read the last few paragraphs to try and figure out how the characters got to point B when there wasn't a mention of point A. In order to make it to the end, you need to be ready to just accept what you're reading and move on without being too distracted by the writing style. 
Also, queer representation is a plus. But, I thought the explanation of discrimination against queer folks was boring. We're all familiar with religious groups bashing gays for living in sin. I hoped with how wildly imaginative this story is that there would be a more exciting tale. Maybe the author can expand more into their ideas about that in the next books which I will read because I do like the characters and the plot. 

This took me ages to read for such a relatively short book, and part of it was because of how twisty and strange the story is. The world is fascinating and dark, and after I finished it I had some deeply weird body horror-esque nightmares. I'm still not quite sure what to make of the story as a whole, but I loved the characters.

'The Dawnhounds' by Sascha Stronach is a creative fantasy with unique worldbuilding and a cast of complex characters.
The story centers on Yat Jyn-Hok, a cop who lives in a city where plant power has taken over a once industrialized city. When she happens upon a murder, the perpetrators kill her as well. But Yat wakes up with a newfound ability to sense the threads of life that make up every living being that surrounds her. As Yat searches for an explanation for what happened to her and why she didn't die, she starts to uncover a plot to transform the city she loves, including everyone in it. 
Stronach creates a unique world in The Dawnhounds and then lets us as the reader uncover all of its different aspects slowly throughout the story. There is biotech, living houses, pirate ships that can be transported across long distances in mere moments, and ammunition imbued with living, hungry grubs. Stronach explores both the beauty and the potential terror of biotech throughout the work. Along with the world, the characters are the other strong point in this novel. My favorite character is a pirate captain who can harness the threads of life and may be far older than anyone could guess. The characters weave into the worldbuilding in really interesting ways that helps to make them feel important and also help us to discover more about the world Stronach has created. I am looking forward to where this story goes next and cannot wait to pick up the next book.