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kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Great concept but genuinely a painful read. Two reluctant young adults with prophesised roles end up trying to bring down a space tyrant while in search for the FMC's sister.
It was just so painfully repetitive at times and the characters didn't feel fleshed out enough. The friendships and relationships felt rushed but the prophecy was so long drawn out as if to hammer home that there was a prophecy (just in case by the 100th page you were unaware). Parts of the plot felt like they had been forgotten about at timesQala shows up, tells Obi he has 3 weeks to make a decision and then returns what feels like a month and a half later in the story's timeline. I also really just didn't understand the relevance of the 1812 storyline other than it being a romance subplot for the majority, it just felt out of place.
The editing process needed to be more thorough, too. This book could have been like 100-150 pages shorter, and was just riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. Also, as much as I love a book with long chapters when done correctly, this made the long chapters FEEL longer.
Felt like DNFing after 50 pages but stuck with it for the rest of the book just to see where it got me. Found family trope was introduced well, good concept and creativity, great introduction to a series albeit a bit long. But generally speaking, this one wasn't for me.
It was just so painfully repetitive at times and the characters didn't feel fleshed out enough. The friendships and relationships felt rushed but the prophecy was so long drawn out as if to hammer home that there was a prophecy (just in case by the 100th page you were unaware). Parts of the plot felt like they had been forgotten about at times
The editing process needed to be more thorough, too. This book could have been like 100-150 pages shorter, and was just riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. Also, as much as I love a book with long chapters when done correctly, this made the long chapters FEEL longer.
Felt like DNFing after 50 pages but stuck with it for the rest of the book just to see where it got me. Found family trope was introduced well, good concept and creativity, great introduction to a series albeit a bit long. But generally speaking, this one wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Death of parent, Addiction, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Torture
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Blood, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
pvbobrien's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide, Trafficking, and Slavery
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Classism
Minor: Blood, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Infidelity, War, Mental illness, and Sexual content
emily_journals's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
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
4.5
I really enjoyed this book and I'm very excited to see not only where this series goes, but where this author goes as well.
The characters are really the heart of this story, and I really loved that this was such a character driven story, especially for being a big space opera where I think the emphasis is usually put on the plot. I really loved both of our main characters and they both felt extremely complex and lifelike. All the side characters also very much felt like they were their own people and not just devices of the story which I found really impressive, especially for a debut author. I also think the overall plot was really satisfying, I did see most of the "twists" coming but I don't think the book was necessarily trying to hide the twists from you. It was more wanting to take you on the journey that the characters had to go through experiencing these things, so the plot still felt satisfying even seeing where the story was going. I also generally enjoyed the prose of this book, I think the author had a really beautiful way of selecting and composing the words in this book generally.
I do think there were some craft issues with this book, but most of them were easy for me to gloss over and didn't interrupt my reading experience. I also think all of the craft issues are ones that I would typically expect from a debut author, especially one who started writing this book as a teen. Sometimes there was quite a bit of over explaining and I think this book could have been trimmed down by getting rid of some of the repetition. Also, there were a couple of times that there was head jumping, but it didn't happen often enough or extreme enough to really interrupt my reading experience. There was only one time where I really stopped and was like "wait, who are we focusing on right now?", but all the other couple of times it would just be a brief second of confusion. Also, I really really wish there was a glossary in the back of this book and I'm hoping there will be one in the next book.
Overall, this was a good introduction to this world and a very good debut.
The characters are really the heart of this story, and I really loved that this was such a character driven story, especially for being a big space opera where I think the emphasis is usually put on the plot. I really loved both of our main characters and they both felt extremely complex and lifelike. All the side characters also very much felt like they were their own people and not just devices of the story which I found really impressive, especially for a debut author. I also think the overall plot was really satisfying, I did see most of the "twists" coming but I don't think the book was necessarily trying to hide the twists from you. It was more wanting to take you on the journey that the characters had to go through experiencing these things, so the plot still felt satisfying even seeing where the story was going. I also generally enjoyed the prose of this book, I think the author had a really beautiful way of selecting and composing the words in this book generally.
I do think there were some craft issues with this book, but most of them were easy for me to gloss over and didn't interrupt my reading experience. I also think all of the craft issues are ones that I would typically expect from a debut author, especially one who started writing this book as a teen. Sometimes there was quite a bit of over explaining and I think this book could have been trimmed down by getting rid of some of the repetition. Also, there were a couple of times that there was head jumping, but it didn't happen often enough or extreme enough to really interrupt my reading experience. There was only one time where I really stopped and was like "wait, who are we focusing on right now?", but all the other couple of times it would just be a brief second of confusion. Also, I really really wish there was a glossary in the back of this book and I'm hoping there will be one in the next book.
Overall, this was a good introduction to this world and a very good debut.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Genocide, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Slavery, Racism, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Death, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Alcohol, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content
dreareads_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book was very fun and a refreshing read after reading so many heavy books before that. I loved how you can easily identify the stories and worlds that inspired Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson to write this books. You can easily identify the portions that were directly inspired by NK. Jemisin, VE Scwab, Becky Chambers and more. All of the fun Star Wars and Doctor Who references had me pointing at the book like the Leonardo Dicaprio meme. I do think that all of these reference became a little distracting, and at times obscured the authors own unique voice.
I had quite a fun time with all the creativity on the page, as well as the world and the adventures our characters go on. I could not help but fall in love with Asha and Obi and their heartwarming friendship. Although there is quite a lot happening in the book (magical prophecy, tyranical emperor, different timelines, time travel, demons, forbidden loves) what makes this book special is the effortless love that grows between our two main characters. Even at it's shakiest moments, the relationship between Asha and Obi made the story worth it for me. My love for Obi and Asha was cemented when Obi took his time to take care of Asha and do her braids, as any older sibling would do for their younger sibling. That small familial act was the best representation of the main idea of the story. It is a story about family, the ups and downs that come with it, and the peace we experience when we finally find our home.
Despite how fun the book is, I must say that it is simply doing too much. There are too many set pieces introduced (especially in the 6066 timeline) and too little time spent slowing down and building the relationships between the characters (except for Asha and Obi). The biggest example of this to me is the time Asha and Obi joined a scavenger crew ship. Asha claims these are the best days of her life, and that she has found a new family, except there are not many moments that actualy SHOW this. Except for her time with Xavior, we do not see any interactions between Asha and the rest of the crew, but we are TOLD that relationships are being built.
This lack of space to build emtional moments happens over and over again. There is SO much that the book wants to say, SO many pieces that need to be put into place that at time it is the characters and emotional moments that suffer the most.
Despite all of this I cannot help but really like the book. It is a gran adventure, with two lovable main characters, and enough action to keep you invested. I really cannot wait for book 2!
I had quite a fun time with all the creativity on the page, as well as the world and the adventures our characters go on. I could not help but fall in love with Asha and Obi and their heartwarming friendship. Although there is quite a lot happening in the book (magical prophecy, tyranical emperor, different timelines, time travel, demons, forbidden loves) what makes this book special is the effortless love that grows between our two main characters. Even at it's shakiest moments, the relationship between Asha and Obi made the story worth it for me. My love for Obi and Asha was cemented when Obi took his time to take care of Asha and do her braids, as any older sibling would do for their younger sibling. That small familial act was the best representation of the main idea of the story. It is a story about family, the ups and downs that come with it, and the peace we experience when we finally find our home.
Despite how fun the book is, I must say that it is simply doing too much. There are too many set pieces introduced (especially in the 6066 timeline) and too little time spent slowing down and building the relationships between the characters (except for Asha and Obi). The biggest example of this to me is the time Asha and Obi joined a scavenger crew ship. Asha claims these are the best days of her life, and that she has found a new family, except there are not many moments that actualy SHOW this. Except for her time with Xavior, we do not see any interactions between Asha and the rest of the crew, but we are TOLD that relationships are being built.
This lack of space to build emtional moments happens over and over again. There is SO much that the book wants to say, SO many pieces that need to be put into place that at time it is the characters and emotional moments that suffer the most.
Despite all of this I cannot help but really like the book. It is a gran adventure, with two lovable main characters, and enough action to keep you invested. I really cannot wait for book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Racism, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Sexual violence, Genocide, Slavery, Gore, Addiction, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Suicide, Rape, and Murder
ruthhelizabeth's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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
I received an e-arc of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved our main characters, and their flawed, courageous warmth. It was a genuine joy to see their character development throughout their building adventure. I'm not normally a fan of books with British royalty in, but I loved how many parts of this faced up to the most problematic elements of having a prince tied up in colonialism interact with a commoner.I look forward to seeing how this is developed in the sequel.
I don't read a lot of epic fantasy or sci-fi and at times I was a little lost in all the detail. However, the strong characterisation kept me invested and moving through the bits I was a bit unsure in.
I would echo another reviewer and raise a word of caution around characterising a ruling class as anything similar to a lizard. I felt like if they had been portrayed on screen, this could have been fleshed out more so it was clear they were not similar to antisemitic tropes. However with so much left to the reader's imagination and in the place they held in the society, I felt this might have benefitted from an amendment.
Overall, this was a satisfying and epic tale, and I can imagine myself picking it up again before the sequel comes out.
I loved our main characters, and their flawed, courageous warmth. It was a genuine joy to see their character development throughout their building adventure. I'm not normally a fan of books with British royalty in, but I loved how many parts of this faced up to the most problematic elements of having a prince tied up in colonialism interact with a commoner.
I don't read a lot of epic fantasy or sci-fi and at times I was a little lost in all the detail. However, the strong characterisation kept me invested and moving through the bits I was a bit unsure in.
I would echo another reviewer and raise a word of caution around characterising a ruling class as anything similar to a lizard. I felt like if they had been portrayed on screen, this could have been fleshed out more so it was clear they were not similar to antisemitic tropes. However with so much left to the reader's imagination and in the place they held in the society, I felt this might have benefitted from an amendment.
Overall, this was a satisfying and epic tale, and I can imagine myself picking it up again before the sequel comes out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Death, War, Suicide, Abandonment, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Drug use, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Genocide, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia
Minor: Gore and Death of parent
blacksphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.5
I agree with two things I've seen in other reviews:
1. The author wrote this book between the ages of 16 and 18, and you can tell.
2. Marketing this as an adult book is a massive mistake, and it should have be aimed at a teen audience.
This is not to say that the book is bad. I applaud the young author for her genre smashing approach, wanting to create a time traveling space opera that is also an epic fantasy and a gay regency romance. It's also a blisteringly fast-paced book with little meandering and downtime. I think if I was a teenager I would have really enjoyed it. But wow, having an ill-defined prophesy the characters must all follow really fills this book with insta-found family and insta-love. Some characters that are supposed to be educated, wise adults come off as extremely childish (see: the commentary on the prophecy we get sometimes at the end of chapters that no academic would have written in such a casual tone). I think there's potential here, and I'm curious if she keeps writing after this series is finished.
I just can't get past looking at the King George IV, known womanizer and extravagant spender, and going "what if he was a progressive, anti-imperialist gay man with a Black lover?" I can't do it. It is so hilarious it makes my brain shut down.
1. The author wrote this book between the ages of 16 and 18, and you can tell.
2. Marketing this as an adult book is a massive mistake, and it should have be aimed at a teen audience.
This is not to say that the book is bad. I applaud the young author for her genre smashing approach, wanting to create a time traveling space opera that is also an epic fantasy and a gay regency romance. It's also a blisteringly fast-paced book with little meandering and downtime. I think if I was a teenager I would have really enjoyed it. But wow, having an ill-defined prophesy the characters must all follow really fills this book with insta-found family and insta-love. Some characters that are supposed to be educated, wise adults come off as extremely childish (see: the commentary on the prophecy we get sometimes at the end of chapters that no academic would have written in such a casual tone). I think there's potential here, and I'm curious if she keeps writing after this series is finished.
I just can't get past looking at the King George IV, known womanizer and extravagant spender, and going "what if he was a progressive, anti-imperialist gay man with a Black lover?" I can't do it. It is so hilarious it makes my brain shut down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Death, Addiction, Slavery, and Drug use
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Confinement, Gun violence, Genocide, Blood, Classism, and Vomit
Minor: Medical content, Police brutality, Torture, Trafficking, and War
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