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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Police brutality, Colonisation, Trafficking, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, War, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Rape
noriboo's review against another edition
- 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
If you're into Doctor Who, Star Trek, or epic adventures - or all of the aforementioned - I'm quite sure that you will also enjoy this book.
The story is divided into 3 parts, and to me, the first part symbolises discovery. The second part is denial and reluctance, and the third part is acceptance. However, in the third part, Obi and Asha haven't yet fully realised what they'll have to sacrifice to reach their goal, and neither had I.
The focus of this story isn't on the romantic relationship between Obi and Prince George or even the romance between Asha and ****, and I preferred actuall preferred that for this part in their shared story. There's a lot going on, and I do think that the development that we do see is befitting their situation.
I had theories while reading, but I had to throw them all in the bin. I was only right on one account. The events in the end left me feeling gutted in the best way. I'm excited to read the next book in this series.
Graphic: Mental illness, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: War
pvbobrien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide, Trafficking, and Slavery
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Classism
Minor: Blood, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Infidelity, War, Mental illness, and Sexual content
syllareads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Drug use, and War
inkysplodge's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
- characters: 3/10
- atmosphere: 3.5/10
- writing: 3/10
- plot: 4/10
- intrigue: 4/10
- logic: 1/10
- enjoyment: 5/10
i enjoyed the story but the writing is very clearly from a 16 - 18 year old and the only thing that makes it new adult rather than young adult is swearing. the story has so much potential and i feel that with experience (and a better editor), this book could have been amazing. a LOT of typing errors (there was literally about 3 short chapters without any and this is a 43 chapter book) and inconsistencies e.g. one chapter switches between being in a garden and in a room... 3 times; Obi was
pretty much all character development (including relationships) happened off-page so i struggled to care about the stakes later on because i felt no connection to them. we also go the whole book knowing they're part of a prophecy which the characters know exists, but they only really find out they're a part of after 75% of the book is done
i'll be trying book 2 only because the author was young when she wrote this and now she has a degree in English Literature so hopefully the writing will be better (still needs a better editor though). this story has serious potential and i hope we get to see it fully realised
Graphic: War, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, and Genocide
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Body horror
Minor: Vomit, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
while most injury detail is mild to moderate, there is one short graphic scene duringmadscientistcat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Confinement, Suicide, Trafficking, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, War, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Rape
Minor: Sexual content
persephonefoxx's review
- 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
4.0
It is a story about a girl and her friends, and how hard times made heroes of them, whether they wanted to be or not. It is a story of loss, and adventure, of daring and of courage burning in the bleakest of times. It is a story about love.
Can we talk about how insane it is that this is a space opera meets historical fiction…and yet, somehow, it works?!
I may not be the biggest sci-fi girlie when it comes to literature (something I am trying to improve upon). But I am a historical fiction girlie, and definitely had an intense Doctor Who phase as a teenager, so this book has its appeal.
Asha and Obi are so complex. The romance had me in my feelings, and there were twists I didn’t see coming. It’s engaging, fun, and (in some places) a little soul wrenching. You know what you did Part Three. I am keen to see where this series goes.
Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, and Slavery
Moderate: War, Medical trauma, Racism, and Torture
Minor: Rape
ruthhelizabeth's review against another edition
- 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 loved our main characters, and their flawed, courageous warmth. It was a genuine joy to see their character development throughout their building adventure. I'm not normally a fan of books with British royalty in, but I loved how many parts of this faced up to the most problematic elements of having a prince tied up in colonialism interact with a commoner.
I don't read a lot of epic fantasy or sci-fi and at times I was a little lost in all the detail. However, the strong characterisation kept me invested and moving through the bits I was a bit unsure in.
I would echo another reviewer and raise a word of caution around characterising a ruling class as anything similar to a lizard. I felt like if they had been portrayed on screen, this could have been fleshed out more so it was clear they were not similar to antisemitic tropes. However with so much left to the reader's imagination and in the place they held in the society, I felt this might have benefitted from an amendment.
Overall, this was a satisfying and epic tale, and I can imagine myself picking it up again before the sequel comes out.
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Death, War, Suicide, Abandonment, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Drug use, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Genocide, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia
Minor: Gore and Death of parent
oweatherwax's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Graphic: Genocide, Suicide, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Police brutality, Slavery, Blood, Confinement, Antisemitism, Grief, Abandonment, Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide attempt, Rape, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
blacksphinx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
1. The author wrote this book between the ages of 16 and 18, and you can tell.
2. Marketing this as an adult book is a massive mistake, and it should have be aimed at a teen audience.
This is not to say that the book is bad. I applaud the young author for her genre smashing approach, wanting to create a time traveling space opera that is also an epic fantasy and a gay regency romance. It's also a blisteringly fast-paced book with little meandering and downtime. I think if I was a teenager I would have really enjoyed it. But wow, having an ill-defined prophesy the characters must all follow really fills this book with insta-found family and insta-love. Some characters that are supposed to be educated, wise adults come off as extremely childish (see: the commentary on the prophecy we get sometimes at the end of chapters that no academic would have written in such a casual tone). I think there's potential here, and I'm curious if she keeps writing after this series is finished.
I just can't get past looking at the King George IV, known womanizer and extravagant spender, and going "what if he was a progressive, anti-imperialist gay man with a Black lover?" I can't do it. It is so hilarious it makes my brain shut down.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Death, Addiction, Slavery, and Drug use
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Confinement, Gun violence, Genocide, Blood, Classism, and Vomit
Minor: Medical content, Police brutality, Torture, Trafficking, and War