Reviews

The Cerulean by Amy Ewing

protovulcan's review against another edition

kind of boring, i don't care for sera and dont like the main guy character. writing is kind of weird at times. creating a polyam lesbian alien culture and that not being the focus of the book is insane tbh

bizzybee429's review against another edition

1.0

read this book for kicks this past week and it's just as bad as everyone says and I can't say anything that hasn't been said already, but this book was so terrible and tone-deaf that I thought I was hallucinating or some shit.

Legitimately I would not have been surprised if I got to the end and the last paragraph said "wouldn't it be fucked up if this was real? I'm rod sterling and you're watching the twilight zone"

Would not recommend this book to anyone unless you're a cishet author trying to write good LGBT rep and want an example of everything you shouldn't do, or idk if you're gay and want to feel like what your brain feels like when you eat an edible and watch the cats (2019) trailer but without the weed and the terrifying cgi cats.

jadebooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

juju8j's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

fletchergross's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

emtees's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.0

Sera Lighthaven is a Cerulean, magical beings who live in a City in the sky, linked to the planet below by a tether.  It is the nature of the City that eventually it will detach itself from the planet and move on to a new home, and when the time comes for that to happen, Sera is chosen to throw herself from the City to break the tether, a sacrifice that will mean her death.  Despite her reluctance, Sera is willing to give up her life to help her people - but instead of dying, she finds herself stranded on the planet below, a prisoner of Xavier McLellan, who believes he can use the magic in her blood to make himself rich.  Sera’s only hope for survival and getting home is in her mysterious magic, and in the friendship of Xavier’s daughter, Agnes, a rebel who dreams of being a scientist.  Meanwhile, Agnes’s brother, Leo, is torn between his desire to impress his stern father and the pull he feels towards Sera, and back in the City, Sera’s friend Leela uncovers a conspiracy that may explain why Sera survived and what she is really meant to do.

There are three things that really work about this book.  One is the world - it is unique and full of cool concepts, from the City in the Sky to magic of the Ceruleans to the creatures Sera finds on the planet.  The connection between the City and the various cultures of the planet is slowly teased out over this story, though a lot of questions are left open for the sequel.  The second strength is that, while the characters, relationships and plot beats are not wildly original, they are all executed very well.  Sera is a likable heroine, Leo as the obvious love interest is on a strong character journey, and I really loved both Agnes, the nerdy scientist determined to break away from the sexist strictures of her world, and Leela, Sera’s friend who takes up the job of figuring out the City’s mysteries because Sera is gone and there’s no one else to do it.  And then the third is the friendships: while there are romances brewing in the background in this book, the best connections are the platonic ones, whether it’s the devotion between Leela and Sera or the prickly sibling relationship between Leo and Agnes.  I really liked a fantasy book that emphasized the importance of these other relationships.

There were a couple things that were a little… odd, I thought.  Not bad at all, but I’m not sure they really worked for me and I’m waiting for the sequel to be sure.  Particularly the handling of sexuality and queerness in these books

The City has an all-female population (they reproduce asexually, though there is some mystery around that) and the social norm is for women to form romantic triads.  Sera feels like an outsider because she’s never been attracted to anyone - but when she lands on the planet and meets boys for the first time, she discovers that the weird thing about her is that… she’s straight.  So it’s basically a coming out type story, but for a straight girl.  I have to admit, while I get what the author was going for with this reversal, it wouldn’t have worked for me if the story didn’t also have Agnes, a lesbian in a more familiar environment who is going through her own journey.

 

This book is the first half of a duology and it very much feels like one.  Though it has a nice climax, it’s not really a full story on its own and very little is resolved or explained.  You definitely want to pick up both books so you can go on the second one immediately.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism

mempereur's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

strangelyfey's review against another edition

I originally was enjoying the book, because I found the ceruleans race to be so interesting, but then they did that weird “reverse oppression” trope, or at least an attempt at one. If the author wanted her to fall in love with one of the kaolins couldnt she have fallen for Agnes instead? It made zero sense for this alien from an all female race, to fall in love with a man. I just wanted to read a queer fantasy, instead I was yanked into a weird attempt at a reverse oppression narrative.  I donated the book and will not be attempting to read it again.

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Content Warnings

queer-baiting unpleasant

aurinkotuulia's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

laurenwessels's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0