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whatjasread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
- and it's sapphic
- I think the book was too long for what it was, not a lot happened in 400 pages, it could easily have been shorter
- the found family element was great
- i liked the dystopian rebellion vibes, although i do think i needed more vitriol throughout
- i don't think i'd personally pick up the second book, just because i don't think it'll hold my interest, but this was a solid book
TWs: child abuse, blood, torture, vomiting, explosion, violence, gun use, fire, injury, death of child, death of parents (before book)
Tropes/themes/rep: rebellion, sapphic cyberpunk (bi+ FMCs and secondary FC), found family
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Blood, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
emsim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War
gothbaby's review
- 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
Let me start by saying that the writing was beautiful. The introspective bits were so well done, so thoughtful, and so lyrical I stopped to reread several lines more than once. To me, the writing alone could have elevated this book to an adult category because it did such a great job at eliciting emotions in the reader that matched the characters’. Sona and Eris were such rich characters and their respective thoughts and emotions matched the sci-fi setting and war laden world. I loved the author’s acknowledgement at the end where she described her own book as a rom-com that happened to have robots. Sona’s and Eris’s relationship was tender and loving and I loved having Sona’s perspective throughout the book.
One of the things that fell short for me was the setting. Considering the genre and the uniqueness of the plot, I expected the world-building to have been more detailed and extensive. For some reason I felt like I was reading a book where I got to pick my own setting since very little described where or how things were supposed to be. Overall I felt there weren’t enough paragraphs that focused on the setting and setting alone.
Along with the descriptions, I was properly confused about the time passage. I could not tell you how much time passed throughout the book. Because I couldn’t pinpoint the time and any sort of progression, I started to feel like Sona and Eris weren’t connecting in a way that was realistic. I wanted a slow burn budding romance and I can’t say I know whether or not I got that!
The last five chapters were very engaging (and worth picking the book back up) but again: I didn’t understand enough about the Academy, the setting, the Phoenixes and Archangels and other robots to appreciate the action enough.
I will absolutely read its sequel because I know the author loved her characters and so did I.
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Torture
moonytoast's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
i think the worldbuilding really falls flat, especially the introduction of this 'religion' around the Windups and then it means absolutely nothing to the consequences of the universe other than one (1) vaguely pseudo-religious holiday that is more about a nation celebrating its might than anything.... also there are certain things that make it feel not at ALL centuries removed from our current culture. it's difficult for me to believe that this story takes place in a war-torn world where there's one all-powerful governing force that decimated its enemies, hundreds of years removed from our own time, while having the characters speak and behave like modern kids/teens while drinking hot chocolate and reading old romance novels (because i guess there aren't books anymore?).
additionally, i had several issues with the characters. i really feel like this tries to lay on the found family dynamic a bit thick, with a level of annoying hijinks that eventually lose their comedy and become bland and repetitive. milo was especially disappointing, because i was hoping for a much more nuanced reaction to eris' return to camp with sona in tow.... that did not happen at all. his reaction and the way his character is treated in the narration felt weirdly overzealous and then set up an entirely predictable subplot for this character, who becomes reduced to a two-dimensional draco malfoy-esque nuisance (my sincerest apologies for the hp reference, it was the only thing that came to mind to describe how i felt about this character and how he was framed by the story). he could have been sidelined so much better than he was in order to make way for the relationship between eris and sona. all the other characters, even eris and sona in some ways, suffer similar fates to being not fully-realized and complex characters. SPOILER INCOMING: i can't remember which kid it was, but one of them dies and i didn't really care at all or apparently even remember the kid's name. maybe he was the one that sat on the top of the bookshelf? who's to say? i shouldn't need to say this, but killing off a member of a found family group in something that is supposed to be a dramatic and pivotal moment should elicit more emotion than just, "oh. that sucks."
all in all, this book reminds me far too much of legend by marie lu, which i think is the much better story when it comes to both worldbuilding and character work.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, and Murder
kell_xavi's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Gun violence
Minor: Misogyny
daniellestarredpages's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Murder, War, Death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Torture
salamander317's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Torture
jay_da_bookworm's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, and Cursing
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
relin's review
4.75
Graphic: Torture, Medical trauma, Medical content, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Grief, Child abuse, Gore, War, Cursing, and Bullying
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Vomit
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Rep: Asian bisexual female MC, Asian lesbian female MC with an eye implant, Asian genius female side character, queer normative world.
CWs: Blood, body horror, child death, death, fire/fire injury, gore, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content and unconsented medical experimentation, murder, torture, violence, war. Moderate: Car accident, colonisation, confinement, cursing, death of parent, emotional abuse, genocide, medical trauma, mental illness (anxiety and PTSD), police brutality, physical abuse, self-harm, toxic relationship, xenophobia. Minor: Panic attacks, vomit.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Grief, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Car accident, Cursing, Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Genocide
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit