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halieghkai's review against another edition
4.0
***This Review contains light spoilers***
Deathless Divide is a Brutally Honest, yet beautiful love letter to the Black American Old West. Justina Ireland, as always, does a brilliant job on social commentary with historical references (the interesting perspective on when Chinese immigrated to San Francisco and how the social hierarchy impacted Black Americans) into this universe which always serves as an opportunity to educate oneself even if it is uncomfortable, history never was. I always take notes to learn something new—a quality I adore in Justina's writing, especially as someone from the Caribbean.
"Folks are, at their heart, selfish, and anything they tell you is more often than not designed to meet their own goals. I know, because I ain’t any different." — Jane
Jane becomes more brutal and vengeful in this one. And what makes her even more deadly is her self-awareness in knowing the consequences of her actions and still, pushing towards vengeance.
There were times I couldn't resist the solace in her rage— the type those who were born on the margins are familiar with. But my solace is limited by observing the cruel transformation of Jane's character, and how reckless she becomes. My heart broke a thousand times whenever she projects her inner turmoil onto those who genuinely care for her and the willingness to lose anyone who steps in her way.
But is it worth it?
The first chapter picks up from the last events in Dread Nation, where we reunite with Jane, Katherine, Lily, Jackson, and somewhat interesting side characters.
But before I continue, I need to point out Jane's terrible taste in men... my goodness.
If I am being fully honest, I couldn't picture Jackson as Jane's love interest. I didn't feel the chemistry in that regard so it became burdensome to read Jane's grief over and over about their relationship (I don't even know if to call it that)
This grief stretched onto more chapters and was heightened with the revelation that Jackson had a whole wife with child! I was legit screaming, "Jane stand up girl!" So imagine my frustrations when his apparitions made frequent appearances throughout the book...
Another critique is the lack of reconciliation between Lily and Jane. There wasn't much dialogue between both characters which to me was a huge miss. It would've been nice for them to set aside their contempt for each other and healthily grieve Jackson together. After all, Jackson's apparition did threaten Jane to look after his sister, which felt forgotten by part two of the book.
As much as I grew frustrated with Jane, I can't help but extend grace to her. She's a young woman trying to navigate a life that constantly reminds her that the dead are not the only threat in this world of systemic oppression.
"There are always going to be bad men in this world, men who trample everyone in their path for whatever their foolish heart desires. But you cannot kill them all, Jane." — Katherine
Katherine is a beacon of light to Jane's dark state of mind, a yin and yang effect that perfectly balances out each other. I was very excited to read through her perspective on Jane, and it felt like a warm embrace to quell my rage within constant misfortunes.
I appreciate the author for not making Katherine center her entire identity on being Jane's mistress in shiny corsets, as Katherine has goals and ambitions of her own. Not to mention her being an Aro-ace character established in book one! Tangent but, I especially adored the parts where Kate revealed the reason behind her tight corsets used as a coping mechanism for her anxiety! It's the little details like this that add depth to the characters, and I fall in love every time!
Katherine's concerns about Jane didn't feel like a burden to read or to bear. The way she humanized Jane portrayed her authentically and allowed the reader to do the same. It was very emotional to witness the evolution of their friendship from foe to friend. I laugh and cried a few times, which is something I don't often do with books, so kudos to Justina!
To conclude, the plot was very predictable but at the same time, I'm not mad about it because the plot is real—based on the dark history of white men inflicting deadly experiments on black-colored folks in the name of "science."
I'm happy that my favourite side characters got their version of a happy and ambiguous ending that I'm hoping would be continued into a trilogy. I bid adieu to Kate and Jane in hopes that they find their happy place in their universe.
By closing this review, I'll end it with one of my favorite lines from this book;
"This world may hate the Negro, but that is who I am. I do not care about the story my skin tells. I am a colored woman, and I will not let them make me hate myself."
Deathless Divide is a Brutally Honest, yet beautiful love letter to the Black American Old West. Justina Ireland, as always, does a brilliant job on social commentary with historical references (the interesting perspective on when Chinese immigrated to San Francisco and how the social hierarchy impacted Black Americans) into this universe which always serves as an opportunity to educate oneself even if it is uncomfortable, history never was. I always take notes to learn something new—a quality I adore in Justina's writing, especially as someone from the Caribbean.
"Folks are, at their heart, selfish, and anything they tell you is more often than not designed to meet their own goals. I know, because I ain’t any different." — Jane
Jane becomes more brutal and vengeful in this one. And what makes her even more deadly is her self-awareness in knowing the consequences of her actions and still, pushing towards vengeance.
There were times I couldn't resist the solace in her rage— the type those who were born on the margins are familiar with. But my solace is limited by observing the cruel transformation of Jane's character, and how reckless she becomes. My heart broke a thousand times whenever she projects her inner turmoil onto those who genuinely care for her and the willingness to lose anyone who steps in her way.
But is it worth it?
The first chapter picks up from the last events in Dread Nation, where we reunite with Jane, Katherine, Lily, Jackson, and somewhat interesting side characters.
But before I continue, I need to point out Jane's terrible taste in men... my goodness.
If I am being fully honest, I couldn't picture Jackson as Jane's love interest. I didn't feel the chemistry in that regard so it became burdensome to read Jane's grief over and over about their relationship (I don't even know if to call it that)
This grief stretched onto more chapters and was heightened with the revelation that Jackson had a whole wife with child! I was legit screaming, "Jane stand up girl!" So imagine my frustrations when his apparitions made frequent appearances throughout the book...
Another critique is the lack of reconciliation between Lily and Jane. There wasn't much dialogue between both characters which to me was a huge miss. It would've been nice for them to set aside their contempt for each other and healthily grieve Jackson together. After all, Jackson's apparition did threaten Jane to look after his sister, which felt forgotten by part two of the book.
As much as I grew frustrated with Jane, I can't help but extend grace to her. She's a young woman trying to navigate a life that constantly reminds her that the dead are not the only threat in this world of systemic oppression.
"There are always going to be bad men in this world, men who trample everyone in their path for whatever their foolish heart desires. But you cannot kill them all, Jane." — Katherine
Katherine is a beacon of light to Jane's dark state of mind, a yin and yang effect that perfectly balances out each other. I was very excited to read through her perspective on Jane, and it felt like a warm embrace to quell my rage within constant misfortunes.
I appreciate the author for not making Katherine center her entire identity on being Jane's mistress in shiny corsets, as Katherine has goals and ambitions of her own. Not to mention her being an Aro-ace character established in book one! Tangent but, I especially adored the parts where Kate revealed the reason behind her tight corsets used as a coping mechanism for her anxiety! It's the little details like this that add depth to the characters, and I fall in love every time!
Katherine's concerns about Jane didn't feel like a burden to read or to bear. The way she humanized Jane portrayed her authentically and allowed the reader to do the same. It was very emotional to witness the evolution of their friendship from foe to friend. I laugh and cried a few times, which is something I don't often do with books, so kudos to Justina!
To conclude, the plot was very predictable but at the same time, I'm not mad about it because the plot is real—based on the dark history of white men inflicting deadly experiments on black-colored folks in the name of "science."
I'm happy that my favourite side characters got their version of a happy and ambiguous ending that I'm hoping would be continued into a trilogy. I bid adieu to Kate and Jane in hopes that they find their happy place in their universe.
By closing this review, I'll end it with one of my favorite lines from this book;
"This world may hate the Negro, but that is who I am. I do not care about the story my skin tells. I am a colored woman, and I will not let them make me hate myself."
txpamcakers's review against another edition
4.0
The audible for the first book was amazing so I was pleased to hear the sass again!
joblanklee's review against another edition
5.0
A must read for those into suspenseful, post-apocalyptic/zombie thrillers with strong black heroines surviving in 1880s America.
stardust_heidi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
This duology is spectacular.
karostl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
chrissiewithanie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
saraliz15's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
michael_gallipo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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? Yes
5.0
abbyl819's review against another edition
4.0
Although I didn't find this book to be quite as engaging and captivating at Dread Nation, I enjoyed reading it and am glad to have finally read this series. I frequently was annoyed at the many words and phrases that were repeated countless times, likely due to trying to stick with the language of the time period, but I found the repetition a little distracting while reading. I do find that I preferred Jane's perspective, but I am glad that we were able to read from Katherine's pint of view and to keep up with her journey. The ending left a few unanswered questions that I wish had been addresses, but overall I though that it made sense and was a logical ending. There was such a variety of representation in this book, done in ways that didn't seem like representation for the sake of representation. It fi really well into the story and was so immersed with the world that it seemed more like ana Easter egg thing to notice than anything else. I especially enjoyed seeing a character (Katherine) with some anxiety and how that affected her.