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angelicat's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
cassiesnextchapter's review against another edition
4.0
A great post-apocalyptic fantasy novel with Ace/Aro representation, empowerment, loss, and self-reflection! I really enjoyed the audiobook - Rosie Jones nailed the voices!
jecinwv's review
3.0
I wanted to like this book more than I did. Set in a dystopian world where a virus claims the lives of many, a young girl works to spread technical organs that save the lives of people. That girl, Anna spends the book trying to year down the government that treats tech as a crime. Along the way she meets Nathaniel and Eliza who both are part of the government and betrothed. They all make a coup.
Pros:
Nathaniel is aromantic
Eliza and Anna are lesbians
The world is well fleshed out
Cons:
The plot comes off as cheesy at times.
The heavy hitting death scenes and confessions didn't feel legit or intense. Everything seemed a bit too cheery for a book full of intense stuff.
Pros:
Nathaniel is aromantic
Eliza and Anna are lesbians
The world is well fleshed out
Cons:
The plot comes off as cheesy at times.
The heavy hitting death scenes and confessions didn't feel legit or intense. Everything seemed a bit too cheery for a book full of intense stuff.
cukrowyelf's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.0
shewwimonster's review
3.0
I liked this and I definitely think it's worth a read, but I'm not sure it wowed me.
Things I really liked:
+ Queer! Plus Aro/Ace rep
+ I really loved Nathanial and Anna.
+ General premise and the writing style
Things that were on the meh side of like:
+ Worldbuilding felt a little messy
+ I know I'm supposed to like Eliza, but I never did
+ Ending was super abrupt
+ We're supposed to believe that the three MCs have this really strong bond, but they've barely spent any time together, and it's hard to see that chemistry building in the time they do have together because of rapidly shifting POVs (and it being rather unclear how many days have actually passed). I believe it a little more from Nathanial because of his backstory, but it was hard. The back half of this book was just rushed.
+ Why tf are we giving sympathy points to someone who beats his child?
Things I really liked:
+ Queer! Plus Aro/Ace rep
+ I really loved Nathanial and Anna.
+ General premise and the writing style
Things that were on the meh side of like:
+ Worldbuilding felt a little messy
+ I know I'm supposed to like Eliza, but I never did
+ Ending was super abrupt
+ We're supposed to believe that the three MCs have this really strong bond, but they've barely spent any time together, and it's hard to see that chemistry building in the time they do have together because of rapidly shifting POVs (and it being rather unclear how many days have actually passed). I believe it a little more from Nathanial because of his backstory, but it was hard. The back half of this book was just rushed.
+ Why tf are we giving sympathy points to someone who beats his child?
bibliobrittish's review against another edition
5.0
I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. I loved it so much that it took me months to write this review, fearing it could never accurately explain how utterly perfect it was. Because it WAS utterly perfect. Rosiee Thor writes beautifully, every line quotable, except that if I quoted every line, you'd be better off just reading the book. So I guess what I'm saying is... read this book. It's queer and fabulous and steampunky science-fantasy that will have you swooning one moment and on the edge of your seat the next. It's the kind of book that speaks to your soul and helps you discover yourself in its characters. Plus it deals with identity and healthcare systems and all sorts of political fun in a very approachable way.
8/28/19: This book. I wanted to highlight everything.
8/28/19: This book. I wanted to highlight everything.
mmeganm's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
broncoannee's review
3.0
While I liked the lessons of this book and some of the activities, the “twists” were more confusing than twisty and a lot of things felt unanswered.
“It does not make you weak, nor does it make you strong. You make yourself one or the other through the choices you make.”
“It does not make you weak, nor does it make you strong. You make yourself one or the other through the choices you make.”
rwxtd's review
5.0
Steampunk aesthetic?? In space?? With an ace/aro main character?? And a wonderful f/f romance?? And lots of wonderful platonic relationships?? It’s everything I’ve ever wanted!!!!!
I actually *loved* this book. Eliza is a total badass and I love her so much, Anna is so smart and defiant and also kind and I love her too, and Nathaniel is so sweet and so naive even though he means well. I just love them all so much. The story was really compelling, and I didn’t really feel like there were any dull moments or loose ends. If anything, I wished it was a bit longer, because there were a few moments that didn’t pack the emotional punch that I feel like they could have if there had been more buildup or if we had seen more interactions between the characters.
It was a bit darker than I was expecting- I read reviews that mentioned that people do, in fact, die in this book, but I guess I just kind of forgot about them? Because I was surprised by that, even though I probably shouldn’t have been.
This book also had some really wonderful platonic relationships that I absolutely adored. Nathaniel making friends? Learning that he’s not alone? 10/10 would recommend. Some of the other inter-character relationships could have used more screen time, though, like I wish we’d gotten to see more of Anna’s relationship with her grandfather. The relationships between the three main characters, though, are all great.
I’d say the one main fault of this book was that there were too many characters with complicated relationships, and it couldn’t fully communicate the depth of *all* of those complicated relationships between so many different characters in the time it had. It does an excellent job with about half of them, and the rest could probably be better if the book was longer. This is probably why I felt like some of the emotional moments didn’t pack the punch I felt like they should’ve.
Ultimately I gave this book five stars because I loved it. Is it very good? Definitely!! Is it the greatest book ever written? Probably not. But it is *exactly* what I wanted when I picked it up. I had so much fun reading it, it went by really quickly, I was never bored with the story or frustrated with the characters, and generally I just had such a good time. I read the whole thing in like a day and it was a really great day because I just loved reading this book. It definitely felt a lot shorter than it probably actually was. Anyway, this book made me really happy, so if you’re also a fan of steampunk, ace/aro characters, and wonderful platonic relationships, then I would highly recommend!!!
I actually *loved* this book. Eliza is a total badass and I love her so much, Anna is so smart and defiant and also kind and I love her too, and Nathaniel is so sweet and so naive even though he means well. I just love them all so much. The story was really compelling, and I didn’t really feel like there were any dull moments or loose ends. If anything, I wished it was a bit longer, because there were a few moments that didn’t pack the emotional punch that I feel like they could have if there had been more buildup or if we had seen more interactions between the characters.
It was a bit darker than I was expecting- I read reviews that mentioned that people do, in fact, die in this book, but I guess I just kind of forgot about them? Because I was surprised by that, even though I probably shouldn’t have been.
This book also had some really wonderful platonic relationships that I absolutely adored. Nathaniel making friends? Learning that he’s not alone? 10/10 would recommend. Some of the other inter-character relationships could have used more screen time, though, like I wish we’d gotten to see more of Anna’s relationship with her grandfather. The relationships between the three main characters, though, are all great.
I’d say the one main fault of this book was that there were too many characters with complicated relationships, and it couldn’t fully communicate the depth of *all* of those complicated relationships between so many different characters in the time it had. It does an excellent job with about half of them, and the rest could probably be better if the book was longer. This is probably why I felt like some of the emotional moments didn’t pack the punch I felt like they should’ve.
Ultimately I gave this book five stars because I loved it. Is it very good? Definitely!! Is it the greatest book ever written? Probably not. But it is *exactly* what I wanted when I picked it up. I had so much fun reading it, it went by really quickly, I was never bored with the story or frustrated with the characters, and generally I just had such a good time. I read the whole thing in like a day and it was a really great day because I just loved reading this book. It definitely felt a lot shorter than it probably actually was. Anyway, this book made me really happy, so if you’re also a fan of steampunk, ace/aro characters, and wonderful platonic relationships, then I would highly recommend!!!