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madscientistcat'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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Murder, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Toxic relationship
essjayeffsea's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
So glad to have found and inhaled this ya fantasy romance novel. It is queer, trans, and poly in such a thoughtful and realistic way. It is so inclusive and queer. A true YA romance fantasy novel, it may be a little disappointing to some that it's not a very smutty book, but truly that's what made it so thoughtful and inclusive, I think everyone who enjoys YA fantasy would love this book. The characters are relatable and well-written.
Bravo to Kacen Callender! I cannot wait to read more from them!
Bravo to Kacen Callender! I cannot wait to read more from them!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Bullying
thoughtsontomes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
This YA story has the dark academia twist with a mystery to find a book of legend. And there’s also polyamory! But yet again, it’s a depiction of a triad which is actually polyamory on hard mode and not as common as media would have people think, so I would have preferred to see a different depiction. I’ll still take what I can get though! Because of that, the romantic elements do feel a bit rushed for the intimacy required for that level of relationship. And the book does end with a hint that it could be a series as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Death of parent
grownmoss's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual content
Minor: Bullying and Animal death
hedonsgaybookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.
I was impressed by the large critical themes taken on by this YA book - structural class/religious oppression, relationship anarchy, gender fluidity and dysphoria. I really enjoyed MC Ash, who’s brash rejection of authority is clearly informed by a lifetime of class oppression. Raised by a single mother in a low-income neighborhood, he never had access to education or the privilege to practice alchemy that he so deeply craved. The MCs are all of similar age, yet at wildly different statuses due to family background, wealth, politics, and education, and it’s interesting to watch Ash grapple with both his resentment and attraction for Ramsay and Callum. I also love love love a polyamorous endgame, and really resonated with Callum’s rejection of the inherent limits of monogamy and openness to the infinite nature of love. House Lune represents organized religion in the novel, and the messaging is pretty explicit about religion as a control strategy and it’s leaders as deceitful hypocrites - I personally am here for it. I would have liked more attention to race, as we only know that Callum has “dark brown skin” and then I don’t believe this is never mentioned again. I also would have liked a clearer explanation of Ramsay’s gender fluidity and how the MCs knew when to switch Ramsay’s pronouns, as this was a major through-line but only briefly mentioned. I think the book did a nice job of explicitly detailing Ash’s gender dysphoria, both generally and during intimacy, which will be relatable for trans teen readers. The cliffhanger at the end felt just a little rushed, but overall I’m excited to read a sequel to this book!
I was impressed by the large critical themes taken on by this YA book - structural class/religious oppression, relationship anarchy, gender fluidity and dysphoria. I really enjoyed MC Ash, who’s brash rejection of authority is clearly informed by a lifetime of class oppression. Raised by a single mother in a low-income neighborhood, he never had access to education or the privilege to practice alchemy that he so deeply craved. The MCs are all of similar age, yet at wildly different statuses due to family background, wealth, politics, and education, and it’s interesting to watch Ash grapple with both his resentment and attraction for Ramsay and Callum. I also love love love a polyamorous endgame, and really resonated with Callum’s rejection of the inherent limits of monogamy and openness to the infinite nature of love. House Lune represents organized religion in the novel, and the messaging is pretty explicit about religion as a control strategy and it’s leaders as deceitful hypocrites - I personally am here for it. I would have liked more attention to race, as we only know that Callum has “dark brown skin” and then I don’t believe this is never mentioned again. I also would have liked a clearer explanation of Ramsay’s gender fluidity and how the MCs knew when to switch Ramsay’s pronouns, as this was a major through-line but only briefly mentioned. I think the book did a nice job of explicitly detailing Ash’s gender dysphoria, both generally and during intimacy, which will be relatable for trans teen readers. The cliffhanger at the end felt just a little rushed, but overall I’m excited to read a sequel to this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Emotional abuse, Gore, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual content
vemiline's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“We’re all selfish, Ash. You’re just brave enough to see it.”
So I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group in exchange for a review, so thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!
“Why go back to his body, to this illusion he had created, to a world where desires that would never be filled were slowly killing him, where he couldn’t escape his own wants and thoughts and fears?”
This book…. was something I completely did not expect from it. There was a problem, yet there were so many layers to it, it was pretty interesting. I was expecting just magic and adventure and hoorah, but what I got were very thought provoking messages and an adventure that went on a lot longer than I thought it would.
“Maybe it wasn’t death that Ash feared, but the idea of dying with regret, thinking in his last moments everything he failed to achieve.”
I really appreciated the diversity. I loved that moment of realization that Ash was in the LGBTQ+ community and that there were even gender-fluid aspects in here too. I think that there needs to be more transgendered protagonists, and more insight to their thoughts and struggles about being born in the wrong body. There was also another… type of relationship between the characters and I thought that it was good to see because we don’t see it enough. I know a lot of people are probably gonna be against this aspect though.
“Magic. The word implied universes unknown and adventures undiscovered, power unfulfilled and possibilities that were endless.”
I think it was interesting to understand the world building and all that. I was worried it was going to be really confusing, and with all the different houses it was at first, but I just bookmarked the page that had all the houses and kept referring to it until the relevant houses stuck to my mind. I think I might need to reread this book again, but with the knowledge of how the world is like in this book. I didn’t hate it, but I also didn’t love it. I’m honestly not even sure how I’d even improve it though, so that’s a whole other conversation.
“But Gresham again was a hypocrite. Weren’t all the great men?”
I did see that this is going to be a series, and while I know this wasn’t my favourite, becoming my favourite series is a very hard thing to do anyways, I think I want to keep up with this series. I appreciate that there was an ending to this book (sorry if that’s a spoiler….let me know if it’s too spoiler-y) and I hope Kacen Callender brings more of Ash Woods for me :)
So I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group in exchange for a review, so thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!
“Why go back to his body, to this illusion he had created, to a world where desires that would never be filled were slowly killing him, where he couldn’t escape his own wants and thoughts and fears?”
This book…. was something I completely did not expect from it. There was a problem, yet there were so many layers to it, it was pretty interesting. I was expecting just magic and adventure and hoorah, but what I got were very thought provoking messages and an adventure that went on a lot longer than I thought it would.
“Maybe it wasn’t death that Ash feared, but the idea of dying with regret, thinking in his last moments everything he failed to achieve.”
I really appreciated the diversity. I loved that moment of realization that Ash was in the LGBTQ+ community and that there were even gender-fluid aspects in here too. I think that there needs to be more transgendered protagonists, and more insight to their thoughts and struggles about being born in the wrong body. There was also another… type of relationship between the characters and I thought that it was good to see because we don’t see it enough. I know a lot of people are probably gonna be against this aspect though.
“Magic. The word implied universes unknown and adventures undiscovered, power unfulfilled and possibilities that were endless.”
I think it was interesting to understand the world building and all that. I was worried it was going to be really confusing, and with all the different houses it was at first, but I just bookmarked the page that had all the houses and kept referring to it until the relevant houses stuck to my mind. I think I might need to reread this book again, but with the knowledge of how the world is like in this book. I didn’t hate it, but I also didn’t love it. I’m honestly not even sure how I’d even improve it though, so that’s a whole other conversation.
“But Gresham again was a hypocrite. Weren’t all the great men?”
I did see that this is going to be a series, and while I know this wasn’t my favourite, becoming my favourite series is a very hard thing to do anyways, I think I want to keep up with this series. I appreciate that there was an ending to this book (sorry if that’s a spoiler….let me know if it’s too spoiler-y) and I hope Kacen Callender brings more of Ash Woods for me :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Murder and Death of parent
vagaybond's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Murder, Torture, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Violence, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Abandonment, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, and Sexual assault
dionsaur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Sexual content, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Death of parent and Terminal illness
Minor: Child abuse
blackorchids's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The world building is great, kind of a divergent-meets-harry potter kind of vibe, lots of frank discussions about systemic classism with regards to both jobs/living situations as well as education which is a main theme, all of the main characters are lgbt+, the poly discussions felt pretty realistic. Ending seemed rushed somehow? Unclear if there will be a sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Minor: Bullying
Multiple POVs made the story feel choppy at times, and I wish more people were on the “good” side.seekittyread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Classism, Genocide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse