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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When I first saw this on Goodreads, I assumed it to be generic M/F dark academia (with an admittedly gorgeous cover) and ignored it. But then I ran across it at a Barnes & Noble, got surprised reading the blurb, bought it, and got surprised again reading the first chapter.
Surprise the first: the waifish "boy" on the cover is a butch woman.
Surprise the second: a Jewish-coded butch woman.
Needless to say, hell yes.
The setting is a fantastical, gender-equal and queernormative version of the early German empire, complete with all the 19th century fashions and former warring states forced to coexist—and a sick water-based magic system to boot. Saft built a world such that she could have women when dueling scars (hot) and gay arranged marriages that go south (lol) while also commenting on the perils of imperialism—the cultures that get erased, the marginalized minorities that get hurt. You feel for the conquered province of Alba nearly forced to give up its unique culture—yet at the same time, you wince when they channel that anger into anti-Yeva discrimination. You feel for Lorelei forced to live in ghettos her whole life, and still kinda hate that it manifests into distrust, anger, and some really stupid decisions towards the end—but really, what else could she have done? Could you really say that you'd be better?
The fairytales and folklore were a nice touch. While occasionally repetitive and inserted into tense scenes in ways that I'm not always sure fit, they themselves still served as great worldbuilding and easter eggs. Plus, tales like "The Yeva in Thorns" served to bespeak just how ingrained antisemitism was in this society, just as it is in real-life European cultures.
Not to mention everything with the Ursprung. Not only do we have a king chasing after fairytales in a desperate attempt to secure his reign, but we havebehind the scenes politicking and lies to secure a politically advantageous false spot . Ziegler's involvement in the whole affair left me with my jaw on the floor, and while everyone had their reasons to kill her, I'm glad I caught onto Adelheid's shifty motivations early on. It's always the person the protagonist suspects least...
Funnily enough, the dynamic between Lorelei and Sylvia was both a highlight and a weak point for me. Enemies/rivals-to-lovers isn't my favorite dynamic, so I can't judge too hardly on that, and it's a well done push and pull between the two. There are some stereotypical "masc wears black and is tall, fem wears white (and literally has white hair) and is shorter" things going on, but considering it's lesbians, I'll excuse it bc hrgh tall butch woman go brrrrrr. My only real quibble is that I feel Lorelei did more work in changing her opinion on Sylvia than the other way around, but that night be a function of her being the sole, limited POV. And it does sweeten towards the end, when Sylvia cuts through Lorelei's self-sabotage and sees her as the hurting woman that she is.
The ending has me conflicted. It's not that it's bad or unrealistic, per se—it's just that it's a touch liberal.Brunnestaad has deep, systemic issues and is by all accounts an unjust state—but the happier ending to Adelheid's civil warmongering is Lorelei working to fix the system from the inside as Wilhelm's chamberlain; basically, she's his pet Yeva. Though Albe secedes as an independent allied state, Wilhelm still basically gets what he wants despite not really deserving it. After books like Babel and Blood Over Bright Haven that support systemic upheaval for the greater good (and books like Maurice that at least support breaking free from a broken system), this "what if woke but too much" sentiment rings hollow.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the dark atmosphere and insane lesbianism, and I'm glad I chose this as my vacation read.
ETA: Was I on crack when I rated it 4.25 stars? This is literally just "what if the leader of the rebellion blew up a bus full of babies to show how evil they are" but gay and kinda Jewish. Boy, I had those blinders on. I mean, I still had fun, but I really do have to drop my rating. This was not it.
Surprise the first: the waifish "boy" on the cover is a butch woman.
Surprise the second: a Jewish-coded butch woman.
Needless to say, hell yes.
The setting is a fantastical, gender-equal and queernormative version of the early German empire, complete with all the 19th century fashions and former warring states forced to coexist—and a sick water-based magic system to boot. Saft built a world such that she could have women when dueling scars (hot) and gay arranged marriages that go south (lol) while also commenting on the perils of imperialism—the cultures that get erased, the marginalized minorities that get hurt. You feel for the conquered province of Alba nearly forced to give up its unique culture—yet at the same time, you wince when they channel that anger into anti-Yeva discrimination. You feel for Lorelei forced to live in ghettos her whole life, and still kinda hate that it manifests into distrust, anger, and some really stupid decisions towards the end—but really, what else could she have done? Could you really say that you'd be better?
The fairytales and folklore were a nice touch. While occasionally repetitive and inserted into tense scenes in ways that I'm not always sure fit, they themselves still served as great worldbuilding and easter eggs. Plus, tales like "The Yeva in Thorns" served to bespeak just how ingrained antisemitism was in this society, just as it is in real-life European cultures.
Not to mention everything with the Ursprung. Not only do we have a king chasing after fairytales in a desperate attempt to secure his reign, but we have
Funnily enough, the dynamic between Lorelei and Sylvia was both a highlight and a weak point for me. Enemies/rivals-to-lovers isn't my favorite dynamic, so I can't judge too hardly on that, and it's a well done push and pull between the two. There are some stereotypical "masc wears black and is tall, fem wears white (and literally has white hair) and is shorter" things going on, but considering it's lesbians, I'll excuse it bc hrgh tall butch woman go brrrrrr. My only real quibble is that I feel Lorelei did more work in changing her opinion on Sylvia than the other way around, but that night be a function of her being the sole, limited POV. And it does sweeten towards the end, when Sylvia cuts through Lorelei's self-sabotage and sees her as the hurting woman that she is.
The ending has me conflicted. It's not that it's bad or unrealistic, per se—it's just that it's a touch liberal.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the dark atmosphere and insane lesbianism, and I'm glad I chose this as my vacation read.
ETA: Was I on crack when I rated it 4.25 stars? This is literally just "what if the leader of the rebellion blew up a bus full of babies to show how evil they are" but gay and kinda Jewish. Boy, I had those blinders on. I mean, I still had fun, but I really do have to drop my rating. This was not it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
parts of this were really interesting and i liked the two main characters but i did feel like it was lacking something deeper. the political strife and religious discrimination was a big part of the beginning and middle but it felt like at the end it just crumpled into itself - like the king never faced any issues and they just worked for the crown and crushed rebellion with no hope for anything else in favor of living safely? it’s just an interesting choice that was not quite my fav.
- f (may 20)
- f (may 20)
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Idk why this took so long to get through, however I loved the drama and buildup. I did not like the ending as much, I wasn’t really satisfied, so it gets three stars