Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Soulstar

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Soulstar by C.L. Polk

22 reviews

alphabetseeds's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? No

4.0

If I thought Stormsong were fast, Soulstar was a blur. A lot is packed into this story, focused on Robin Thorpe. She tackles so many projects and plots, it's amazing she has time for any of it.

Two things I wanted from this book: more time with Miles and Grace, and a more thorough explanation of the cause of the storms, which felt like it had been mostly abandoned for the political revolution plotline. This makes sense as Robin is not a windweaver, but the storms were a major player in both the previous books, so getting a very brief explanation felt too rushed.

However, I'm happy I finished this trilogy and overall enjoyed them quite a bit.

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sparklefarm's review

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adventurous medium-paced

3.75

A series-level review: Witchmark is still the best of the three. Soulstar is a pretty decent second, though. (Reading as opposed to listening helped, for whatever reason.) Robin is a great character and I loved the look into the clans in Riverside. Some really excellent action sequences spiced up the political storyline 😂 Honestly though, I just want more books about Miles and Tristan doing gay little investigations together. Ah well, I did enjoy this.

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multiplyoctopi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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raptorq's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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meganpbell's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

This was probably my favorite of the trilogy! The grassroots political action and the politics and challenges of activism, an expanded view of Aeland’s less privileged and much more interesting echelons, the non-binary and polyamory rep, renewable energy, I could go on!

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novella42's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

My favorite of the Kingston Cycle! This book picked up momentum and was the most exciting and satisfying of the three for me.

I feel like CL Polk wrote the other books in order to get to the story she really wanted to tell: the revolution. I think that's where Polk's heart has been this whole time, and while they want their characters to be well-rounded, while they want to balance mystery with romance, at the core their story focuses on what it takes for people to transform a nation and reckon with the ghosts of their past. I think the mystery and romance aspects of the story aren't as well-rounded as they could be sometimes, but the elements that she did include felt good and real to me. (I'm taking away a half star for that, partly because I kept coming out of the story when I expected Robin to orient herself towards her love interest and she just... sort of dissociated right back into the work she had to do. It was understandable, and it was addressed in the book with a delightful example of healthy communication, and... I guess I should redirect my frustration at the book cover since it builds expectations for a romance when it's more of a political urban fantasy with some romantic elements.) As I said, the mystery and romance elements were good when they took center stage, it's just that these were eclipsed by the greater love story of revolution—the work we do for people we care about because we want a more just world for them.

This might be a bit of a tangent, but I feel like the progression of this series, particularly the last two books, would be especially satisfying for an Enneagram 1. Or for any person who cares very deeply about what it means to be a good person, and how we all struggle with right and wrong, and the story of convincing others and making an imperfect world a better place for us all.

(Also, hooray, respectful representation for BIPOC, queer, gender non-conforming, and polyamorous characters!)

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therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

I really enjoyed the last installment in this queer trilogy. The characters are fun and the action is continuous as political unreast over the sudden loss of electricity (among other things) reaches a boiling point. Great genderqueer and BIPOC rep. I might have even enjoyed this book more than the first two, and look forward to reading more by Polk soon!

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