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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley.
sometimes I am reminded of how many books I read and how forgetful I am in a "fun" way. case in point. I saw this on netgalley. I thought, Claudia Gray, that name is familiar, I must have read some of her books, didn't she write the star wars one? I didn't hate it. COMPLETELY forgetting that she also wrote the firebird trilogy, a series of books which I progressively loathed more with each new book. I read so many books that I sometimes vaguely recognize author names but can't identify their corpus before I go ahead and start reading a new one. sigh. this is the whole point of goodreads - so that I can look them up first. total fail on my part.
all that said this can be filed more under the "not terrible" category of that star wars one I read. or even the first firebird book before my complete disgust of the "heroine" took over.
things which were fun: space gates, space ships, Virginia, and Abel.
things which were less fun: paint by numbers storytelling, primarily dull romance (I understand it's hard when one half of it is a robot and the other half is Abel. ba dum ching. that's funny see because of how Noemi is pretty wooden throughout and yet Abel is the actual robot. but actually, yes, Abel is totally robotic a lot of the time too due to his programming and you know honestly these were two people who were going to have a tough time emoting a convincing relationship to the reader no matter what. you tried, honey, but your initial mistake was creating (figuratively) lead hearted heroes).
it's a first book in a series so the semi boring set up exposition is maybe to be expected. the introduction of several characters and then their departure from the storyline might mean they're coming back and not just that they were meaningless filler. time will tell. but I probably won't because unless I forget who she is again - (quite likely) - i have no real intention of reading the sequel.
it wasn't terrible. it just wasn't for me. if you liked firebird you'll most likely love it.
my review of firebird 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1186496944
firebird 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1549787885
firebird 3 where my language gets dirty: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1593656026
that star wars one I read: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1516834995
sometimes I am reminded of how many books I read and how forgetful I am in a "fun" way. case in point. I saw this on netgalley. I thought, Claudia Gray, that name is familiar, I must have read some of her books, didn't she write the star wars one? I didn't hate it. COMPLETELY forgetting that she also wrote the firebird trilogy, a series of books which I progressively loathed more with each new book. I read so many books that I sometimes vaguely recognize author names but can't identify their corpus before I go ahead and start reading a new one. sigh. this is the whole point of goodreads - so that I can look them up first. total fail on my part.
all that said this can be filed more under the "not terrible" category of that star wars one I read. or even the first firebird book before my complete disgust of the "heroine" took over.
things which were fun: space gates, space ships, Virginia, and Abel.
things which were less fun: paint by numbers storytelling, primarily dull romance (I understand it's hard when one half of it is a robot and the other half is Abel. ba dum ching. that's funny see because of how Noemi is pretty wooden throughout and yet Abel is the actual robot. but actually, yes, Abel is totally robotic a lot of the time too due to his programming and you know honestly these were two people who were going to have a tough time emoting a convincing relationship to the reader no matter what. you tried, honey, but your initial mistake was creating (figuratively) lead hearted heroes).
it's a first book in a series so the semi boring set up exposition is maybe to be expected. the introduction of several characters and then their departure from the storyline might mean they're coming back and not just that they were meaningless filler. time will tell. but I probably won't because unless I forget who she is again - (quite likely) - i have no real intention of reading the sequel.
it wasn't terrible. it just wasn't for me. if you liked firebird you'll most likely love it.
my review of firebird 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1186496944
firebird 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1549787885
firebird 3 where my language gets dirty: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1593656026
that star wars one I read: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1516834995
adventurous
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:
N/A
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A very readable with great characterizations and a really nuanced look at artificial intelligence. I didn't love the ending, but now that I see it's the first in a series it makes a little more sense. This reminded me a tiny bit of Tin Star and it might even be a decent read alike for Cinder even though there's no fairytale element.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was really good, took me forever to finish it because I kept starting other books, but its definitely one of the best sci-fi books I've read. The world building was so cool, all the different planets and the way the mechs work was really cool, and Abel is making his way up the list of my favourite characters, he's just such a unique, not person(because he isn't), being I guess? I'm excited to see how he develops in the next books as he was already zooming in this one. This book was also really good at having a philosophical and moral side without becoming what could be overwhelming or boring to some readers, and it explained and worked these ideas really well. Would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for an easy to read ya sci-fi that also has a dash of something unique and extra
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A solid 4.5/5 for me. I adore Claudia Gray, and her Firebird trilogy remains one of my all-time favorite series. This one was super interesting and I loved a lot of the world building.
The one thing that keeps me from giving it that last half a star is that I didn’t connect to Noemi as much as I initially thought I would, though I admired her greatly for what she was willing to do.
The world the Gray set up will definitely be entertaining for the rest of the series, so I do look forward to continuing and seeing where it all goes.
Also. The ending really made me want to get my hands on the next book ASAP. Absolutely cannot wait.
The one thing that keeps me from giving it that last half a star is that I didn’t connect to Noemi as much as I initially thought I would, though I admired her greatly for what she was willing to do.
The world the Gray set up will definitely be entertaining for the rest of the series, so I do look forward to continuing and seeing where it all goes.
Also. The ending really made me want to get my hands on the next book ASAP. Absolutely cannot wait.
This was an entertaining book. I enjoyed the characters, the humour, the pacing and it's attempt to show multiple sides of a conflict as morally grey in a YA novel.
Where the book breaks down however is in the developing romantic relationship between the two main characters. Do I believe they came to care for each other in the course of the story? Yes. Do I believe Noemi grew to see Abel as a fully-realized being by the end of the book? Yes. Did Noemi and Abel have any kind of interaction that supports them (or at least Abel) coming to see each other in a romantic light? No. There just wasn't enough space dedicated to them getting to know each other on an individual level, beyond Noemi and Noemi learning Abel was more than just a sufficiently advanced machine.
The extent to which we're shown hints of Abel developing attraction to Noemi isThat's not believable romantic development, nor do I think they could realistically fallen in love in the 20 days they knew each other in the course of this book.
Had the book ended withI would have enjoyed it much more. And it seems this is part of a series, so why not slowly develop their relationship over the course of next books?
Also I totally called the twist with Mansfield.
Where the book breaks down however is in the developing romantic relationship between the two main characters. Do I believe they came to care for each other in the course of the story? Yes. Do I believe Noemi grew to see Abel as a fully-realized being by the end of the book? Yes. Did Noemi and Abel have any kind of interaction that supports them (or at least Abel) coming to see each other in a romantic light? No. There just wasn't enough space dedicated to them getting to know each other on an individual level, beyond Noemi
Spoiler
laying out that she needs to blow up a wormhole to stop a suicide run her planet is doing (something she doesn't even explain to Abel until at least half-way thru the book)The extent to which we're shown hints of Abel developing attraction to Noemi is
Spoiler
him noticing she's pretty a couple times, them watching Casablanca and Abel being disappointed Noemi didn't take him up on his offer of stress-relieving sex, and Abel running his hand through her hair once.Had the book ended with
Spoiler
Abel defying his programming because Noemi had become his friend, and Abel coming to truly believe in the cause she was championing for,Also I totally called the twist with Mansfield.
So I just finished this for the second time and whilst reading it, I was reminded of why I loved it so much the first time I'd read it! I love the characters in the book and I seriously love Abel so much and I loved that he saw Noemi in a different light than everybody else just like Noemi's friend who died in the beginning of the book. I'm now up to chapter 3 of Defy The Worlds and I'm really enjoying it so far!