adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Annihilation x Murder on the Orient Express x Shadow & Bone's the Fold
adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous hopeful reflective 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: Complicated

The ending of this book really pushed it for me, and I could almost feel what they felt and imagine the emotions as they did them.
The book at the start felt quite slow but around half way it started picking up and I felt the shorter chapters allowed for quicker reading, this in turn I felt matched really well with how fast I believe the events in the book were happening.

I was so hyped by the premise but ouch was it hard to get through. I don't understand how you can fumble such a great concept like that. No plot, super overwritten for some reason, author kept switching between the characters names and their descriptives (the child of the train, the professor, the widow, the cartographer) which was super confusing... also what's the point of having your whole story taking place on a train, when all the exciting stuff happened outside of it??

Overall, I did enjoy this book but I did have some issues with it. I thought the beginning was the best part, getting to know the train and how Siberia has changed in this world. The plot was a little too slow-moving for me, but I did like being able to see events from the different POVs. The writing describing the wasteland was the best part of the book for me and I enjoyed the lush, descriptive sections towards the end. 3.5/5 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.25 stars upgraded because I don't like dragging down an author's ratings.

I enjoyed this, putting this strange world in a historical setting. Some glimmers of the Southern Reach Trilogy. I was able to follow the multiple POVs easily enough.
adventurous dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective 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: Yes

Compelling, otherworldly and chock full of secrets, this story held me captivated on its mysterious journey. I Loved this novel of train trip turned experiment, turned revolution! 
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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