Scan barcode
river24's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3/5
I really wanted to love this, it sounded incredible, but unfortunately it missed the mark for me.
Thank you Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Let's start with the positives: the world was amazing. It's so vibrant and alive, it's fascinating and such a unique sci-fi universe. I would have absolutely loved it if we were able to explore it more.
It's also sapphic galore! So when I heard the words 'sapphic space opera' I couldn't help but want to read it, but it was quite disappointing. What's so annoying about not liking this book is that I can see all of its potential.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't connect with the characters at all. By the end of the book, I could not have cared less what happened to them (and that is never a good sign). Again, we start off with such a great premise but it's just let down by quite a plain story and boring characters. (I'm sorry for being harsh, but I didn't enjoy this book very much.)
The romance, too, (which was a huge selling point for me) felt disjointed and very instant. It was a little bit all over the place and not in a fun way. I definitely thought, especially in the circumstances of this story, that the romance would be slow-paced and intricately handled, but we're shoved into it head-first out of nowhere. I felt this way about a lot of the parts of this story; they felt random and too fast.
We never seem to make much progress in the book and I think it could've been helped if the book was a little longer and we were allowed more time to sit with each scene and properly explore it. It constantly felt like we were taking one step forward and two steps back. I honestly don't think much really changed from beginning to end and it was all just a little stale.
I'm also not sure the politics of the world and the way in which it was relayed to us throughout the story was very effective. It wasn't fully fleshed out enough and we weren't seeing a lot of it firsthand, but only being told about it afterwards. (It's hard to phrase this in a way without spoilers, but it was an incredibly unsatisfying way of reading about the world politics.)
I'm upset I didn't like this as I truly did want to, but I guess some things just aren't meant to be. However it is quite a short book and we all have wildly different tastes and opinions, so if it sounds like the kind of thing you'd love, don't let me put you off too much. This just sadly wasn't the book for me.
I really wanted to love this, it sounded incredible, but unfortunately it missed the mark for me.
Thank you Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Let's start with the positives: the world was amazing. It's so vibrant and alive, it's fascinating and such a unique sci-fi universe. I would have absolutely loved it if we were able to explore it more.
It's also sapphic galore! So when I heard the words 'sapphic space opera' I couldn't help but want to read it, but it was quite disappointing. What's so annoying about not liking this book is that I can see all of its potential.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't connect with the characters at all. By the end of the book, I could not have cared less what happened to them (and that is never a good sign). Again, we start off with such a great premise but it's just let down by quite a plain story and boring characters. (I'm sorry for being harsh, but I didn't enjoy this book very much.)
The romance, too, (which was a huge selling point for me) felt disjointed and very instant. It was a little bit all over the place and not in a fun way. I definitely thought, especially in the circumstances of this story, that the romance would be slow-paced and intricately handled, but we're shoved into it head-first out of nowhere. I felt this way about a lot of the parts of this story; they felt random and too fast.
We never seem to make much progress in the book and I think it could've been helped if the book was a little longer and we were allowed more time to sit with each scene and properly explore it. It constantly felt like we were taking one step forward and two steps back. I honestly don't think much really changed from beginning to end and it was all just a little stale.
I'm also not sure the politics of the world and the way in which it was relayed to us throughout the story was very effective. It wasn't fully fleshed out enough and we weren't seeing a lot of it firsthand, but only being told about it afterwards. (It's hard to phrase this in a way without spoilers, but it was an incredibly unsatisfying way of reading about the world politics.)
I'm upset I didn't like this as I truly did want to, but I guess some things just aren't meant to be. However it is quite a short book and we all have wildly different tastes and opinions, so if it sounds like the kind of thing you'd love, don't let me put you off too much. This just sadly wasn't the book for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Rape, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, and Violence
More...