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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
No
3.75 rounded up! A little more detail would’ve been good, but overall a good read
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Charming, creative and very interesting and engaging, but a little uneven in spots. If this is your genre I'd definitely recommend it, but if not, then this talented author probably has other options for you.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I very much enjoyed the mix of science-fiction and fantasy undergirding the book, as well as the protagonists. My only real complaint is that a significant part of the plot hinges on legalities that seem incredibly regressive for a society that made it space and was there long enough for an empire to collapse before this story even started.
The only reason this gets a single star is due to Ashley Eckstein’s narration otherwise a truly horrible novel. Big contender for the worst read of the year. The characters were infuriating, the pacing felt legitimately fast forwarded, the plot predictable, and the world building far too complex for such a short novel. The “magic” system was ever really explained. It seems like this may become a series and I will absolutely not be continuing.
All of that could be somewhat looked passed if this was just a fun, silly space journey. But the MULTIPLE forced pregnancies (legitimately SA at times), the love interests being fake woke where they didn’t *technically* force the mc to get pregnant they gave her a *choice* so they must be saints. I don’t know how we were supposed to find them likable at all. The discussions around food consumption were icky too. Def some TW across the board that felt like trauma just for the shock value. I felt sick multiple times listening to this one
All of that could be somewhat looked passed if this was just a fun, silly space journey. But the MULTIPLE forced pregnancies (legitimately SA at times), the love interests being fake woke where they didn’t *technically* force the mc to get pregnant they gave her a *choice* so they must be saints. I don’t know how we were supposed to find them likable at all. The discussions around food consumption were icky too. Def some TW across the board that felt like trauma just for the shock value. I felt sick multiple times listening to this one
i can’t tell you a single thing about this book except the main character can change genetic code. also that the book handled some very serious topics in a very flimsy way
EK Johnston is very good at what she does, and what she does is write soft books with iron backbones of strength, populate them with impossibly wonderful characters who are similarly made up of softness and strength, and fill in the gaps with cleverness and hope. From the unquestioned queer rep to the fascinating magic, from the deep digs into abuse and the value of human life to the importance laid on choosing your family, this book touched on all my favorite things.
Aetherbound is practically perfect and my heart is full.
Edit: Don't worry, I checked: it's still good.
Aetherbound is practically perfect and my heart is full.
Edit: Don't worry, I checked: it's still good.