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raccoonsinatrenchcoat's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
buuboobaby's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
Loved the world building and Kirit's voice. The story kept me completely engrossed, despite some plot quibbles. Kirit solved some of her problems too easily and convenient coincidences helped her a few times too many. Overall, though, this was a great read and I'd love to see a sequel.
Loved the world building and Kirit's voice. The story kept me completely engrossed, despite some plot quibbles. Kirit solved some of her problems too easily and convenient coincidences helped her a few times too many. Overall, though, this was a great read and I'd love to see a sequel.
becasaur27's review
4.0
This book really pulled it out for me in the last quarter. Up until that part I was just kind of along for the ride. It was all right, but nothing really special and I was annoyed with the main character's personality trait of bucking authority seemingly just for the heck of it. I really enjoyed the ending and learning more information about the sky mouths which I have no idea what they look like still! Tentacles and wings and mouth, I guess?
In other news, my dog decided to destroy this book. This is the third physical library book that my pets have damaged in this quarter. None of them have been un-readable, but all of them have been definitely messed up. :(
In other news, my dog decided to destroy this book. This is the third physical library book that my pets have damaged in this quarter. None of them have been un-readable, but all of them have been definitely messed up. :(
bookbeaut's review against another edition
2.0
I almost gave this two stars, but I was actually entranced by the worldbuilding for a lot of the book, so that bumped it up to 3. Overall, an exciting premise and world that contained a story with lots of potential -- however, that potential was never fully realized due to bad pacing and weird plot choices. The tension was so irregular and the story itself took a lot of confusing twists that didn't do much but derail the buildup of whatever had happened before. A frustrating reading experience.
darkestdreamer's review against another edition
2.0
I had so much hope for this book. Even till the last page. I was told this would be a whole new world type of fantasy and it was. But... I wasn't impressed.
I've seen a lot of people praising the worldbuilding in this and I have to wonder if we were reading the same book. The setting was interesting, I won't dispute that. It just wasn't carried out very well. Which was my biggest problem. I never thought I'd say this but this book needed a lot more discriptions in it. Even at the end of the book I still had no idea what their wings looked like. If we go by the cover then that doesn't really make much sense for the kind of maneuvers they were pulling off in the book. And even the flying itself is confusing. It is implied at various points that you can tell what kind of winds are present, how strong they are and even what direction they are headed. It is even mentioned at some point that flying at night is dangerous because you can't see the winds. So they can... see wind?
Another thing is the City itself. It made no sense and the author didn't even try to explain anything. It was like we're just supposed to know how the towers work and look like. And how does everyone survive? They have apples and farms but it's never explained how they even have anything to grow these plants on. And the only homes/tiers explained makes it seem like a tier is small enough to support only one family but how is there even space for farms? And they even have honey. How? There is a mention of rainwater but how exactly do they still get rain if the clouds are below them?
Even though we spend a good deal of time in the spire I still have no idea how everything works and looks like. The more information is given the more confused I get. It's the highest tower but somehow people can see both the council people at the top and the wingbeaters at the bottom. But they still can't see what's below the wingbeaters? And coming to the wingbeaters, do they just stand around all day flapping giant wings to make enough wind for the entire spire??
I have so many questions. The worldbuilding needs so much work.
Moving away from that, let's come to the story. I was expecting some nasty and dark secrets but what I got was... fine I guess. The secret of Nat's father was very underwhelming. The secrets of the Singers were so underwhelming that I was wondering why they were secrets at all.
Finally, I had a problem with our main character Kirit. I don't even know what to say about her. Her character was, I don't know, just all over the place. How she got the attention of the Singers in the first place was just stupid. Why the hell was she outside during migrations? It says she wanted to get a last look at her mother? but she doesn't come off as being that sentimental of a person in the rest of the book. In the beginning she has these big dreams of becoming a trader but out of nowhere she changes her mind and is suddenly all about protecting the city and it's secrets. She has a shouting power but at no point does it get any important use. And where it does get its use doesn't even make sense. What was she even trying to do? Kill everyone?
Kirit is apparently a very special person. Normal people take years, since childhood, before they become real singers but she does it in just months. It took Sellis a year to move around blindfolded but it only takes her a day or so (unless I'm mistaken). It's taken generations for people to get even a few people to stand up to the singers but it takes Kirit the duration of one fight for everyone to realise the oppression of the singers. Everyone who tried before was just blinded by tradition.
Honestly I think Kirit is an idiot or not thought out very well. She makes the most stupid decisions that make absolutely no sense but that the plot demands it. Like staying out during a sky mouth migration. Like flying illegally to the spire for no obvious reason except anger.
I really wanted this to be amazing. The completely original setting was so promising. Unfortunately it didn't work for me.
I've seen a lot of people praising the worldbuilding in this and I have to wonder if we were reading the same book. The setting was interesting, I won't dispute that. It just wasn't carried out very well. Which was my biggest problem. I never thought I'd say this but this book needed a lot more discriptions in it. Even at the end of the book I still had no idea what their wings looked like. If we go by the cover then that doesn't really make much sense for the kind of maneuvers they were pulling off in the book. And even the flying itself is confusing. It is implied at various points that you can tell what kind of winds are present, how strong they are and even what direction they are headed. It is even mentioned at some point that flying at night is dangerous because you can't see the winds. So they can... see wind?
Another thing is the City itself. It made no sense and the author didn't even try to explain anything. It was like we're just supposed to know how the towers work and look like. And how does everyone survive? They have apples and farms but it's never explained how they even have anything to grow these plants on. And the only homes/tiers explained makes it seem like a tier is small enough to support only one family but how is there even space for farms? And they even have honey. How? There is a mention of rainwater but how exactly do they still get rain if the clouds are below them?
Even though we spend a good deal of time in the spire I still have no idea how everything works and looks like. The more information is given the more confused I get. It's the highest tower but somehow people can see both the council people at the top and the wingbeaters at the bottom. But they still can't see what's below the wingbeaters? And coming to the wingbeaters, do they just stand around all day flapping giant wings to make enough wind for the entire spire??
I have so many questions. The worldbuilding needs so much work.
Moving away from that, let's come to the story. I was expecting some nasty and dark secrets but what I got was... fine I guess. The secret of Nat's father was very underwhelming. The secrets of the Singers were so underwhelming that I was wondering why they were secrets at all.
Finally, I had a problem with our main character Kirit. I don't even know what to say about her. Her character was, I don't know, just all over the place. How she got the attention of the Singers in the first place was just stupid. Why the hell was she outside during migrations? It says she wanted to get a last look at her mother? but she doesn't come off as being that sentimental of a person in the rest of the book. In the beginning she has these big dreams of becoming a trader but out of nowhere she changes her mind and is suddenly all about protecting the city and it's secrets. She has a shouting power but at no point does it get any important use. And where it does get its use doesn't even make sense. What was she even trying to do? Kill everyone?
Kirit is apparently a very special person. Normal people take years, since childhood, before they become real singers but she does it in just months. It took Sellis a year to move around blindfolded but it only takes her a day or so (unless I'm mistaken). It's taken generations for people to get even a few people to stand up to the singers but it takes Kirit the duration of one fight for everyone to realise the oppression of the singers. Everyone who tried before was just blinded by tradition.
Honestly I think Kirit is an idiot or not thought out very well. She makes the most stupid decisions that make absolutely no sense but that the plot demands it. Like staying out during a sky mouth migration. Like flying illegally to the spire for no obvious reason except anger.
I really wanted this to be amazing. The completely original setting was so promising. Unfortunately it didn't work for me.
lauralauralaura's review against another edition
3.0
This book has a lot of plot, but some of the underlying world building (human powered flight, living architecture, a corrupt and hierarchical society) and character development (a protagonist who never honors boundaries, rules, or social norms ever somehow overcomes?) were just self-caricatures.
bookaneer's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 31% since I found out that this is a
Spoiler
post apocalyptic fantasy. I want my fantasy novel stays bloody fantasy, dammit! stay the f out from sci-fi, no more frickin dystopian nonsense!raygina's review against another edition
4.0
This wasn't anything like what I thought it would be. I really liked it. The twists and turns make it one that you don't want to read in bits. This is a sit down and read it through book.
etoiline's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't five-starred many books this year, but I feel like this one deserves it, especially for the latter half of the book. The beginning is pretty standard "throw the reader in the deep end" fantasy--except this takes place in the clouds, not the water. The second part, though, I couldn't read fast enough.
Can you imagine living in a place where you couldn't see the ground? Where every house is made of bone? Where everyone dreams of flying but actually has the means to do it? There are no angels here, but there are invisible monsters (which I didn't actually cotton on to until later in the book, but that could just be me. Besides, how do you describe something you can't see?). You'll read about flying, and it's so well described that it feels right. Sometimes the flying passages get a little bogged down in the physics of things, but the point is that the author did her research.
I loved the setting. There are still questions, like "why are all these people living in the sky, and what sort of animal is providing this ever-living bone?" but you should be able to picture the characters homes, or tiers, very well. The beginning is a little slow, with setting up the story and all, but the action ramps up once our heroine Kirit is forced to join the Spire--the home of those who keep the Laws and punish those who break them. It's a harsh world, but it's not so unrelentingly bleak as the post-apocalyptic settings that everyone seems to love nowadays. Obviously something happened to this world to make its people flee to the sky, but it's been long enough that they have adapted and aren't scrounging for every morsel of food. Unless you break the Laws, that is.
There are plenty of reversals and betrayals here, so fans of interesting conflict will like it. The action sequences are believable and fantastic at the same time, and actually serve to advance the plot in this world where flying means freedom--but carries its own ominous consequences. Readers will root for Kirit as she learns and becomes a woman. She makes choices that change her, and we don't know if it's for the better.
I was so pleased to find a debut author who wrote such a great story. I'm definitely interested in seeing what she's got in store for us next.
Received as a free digital ARC via Netgalley and the publisher.
Can you imagine living in a place where you couldn't see the ground? Where every house is made of bone? Where everyone dreams of flying but actually has the means to do it? There are no angels here, but there are invisible monsters (which I didn't actually cotton on to until later in the book, but that could just be me. Besides, how do you describe something you can't see?). You'll read about flying, and it's so well described that it feels right. Sometimes the flying passages get a little bogged down in the physics of things, but the point is that the author did her research.
I loved the setting. There are still questions, like "why are all these people living in the sky, and what sort of animal is providing this ever-living bone?" but you should be able to picture the characters homes, or tiers, very well. The beginning is a little slow, with setting up the story and all, but the action ramps up once our heroine Kirit is forced to join the Spire--the home of those who keep the Laws and punish those who break them. It's a harsh world, but it's not so unrelentingly bleak as the post-apocalyptic settings that everyone seems to love nowadays. Obviously something happened to this world to make its people flee to the sky, but it's been long enough that they have adapted and aren't scrounging for every morsel of food. Unless you break the Laws, that is.
There are plenty of reversals and betrayals here, so fans of interesting conflict will like it. The action sequences are believable and fantastic at the same time, and actually serve to advance the plot in this world where flying means freedom--but carries its own ominous consequences. Readers will root for Kirit as she learns and becomes a woman. She makes choices that change her, and we don't know if it's for the better.
I was so pleased to find a debut author who wrote such a great story. I'm definitely interested in seeing what she's got in store for us next.
Received as a free digital ARC via Netgalley and the publisher.
littletiramisu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5