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amsu's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I really enjoyed this one. The world building is fantastic and very weird ( in a good way)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Gore, Genocide, and Violence
explicit description of internal organs, a lot of squishinessamandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
This was very off putting at first with the intense descriptions of living inside an animal and interacting with its body systems. But the intricate, robust world building and engaging characters fascinated me! By the halfway point, I was completely invested in the story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Body horror
Minor: Sexism and Vomit
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The gist 📚: Surviving inside of space beasts is not easy, especially when you're a member of the working class and risk your life every day to make life on the beast possible in the first place. Seske is the heir to the noble bloodline that rules her people. She has to play her cards carefully if she wants to take over in a few years. When she discovers a fatal secret within the beast, everything changes.
For readers looking for 💕: Vivid sci-fi worlds, complex friendships, assassination and espionage, creative survivalist societies, something a bit dark, bipoc characters, powerful women, and LGBTQ characters.
My thoughts ðŸ’: I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the lives of royal Seske and her best friend (and crush) Nyla. The world building in this book is incredibly vivid as well. Maybe not the best read for fairly squeamish people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Chronic illness, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, and Gaslighting
Death of a siblingdominicangirl's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Violence
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was fascinating. I love the way that it unfolded. The worldbuilding was imaginative and engaging. My only complaint is that there were some moments where the author did more telling than showing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Miscarriage, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual content, Death of parent, Vomit, Genocide, Child death, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Drug use
Minor: Sexism, Racism, and Racial slurs
jennikreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Seske is set to become the next matriarch to a spacefaring clan living inside a beast they have restructured for their own survival. Seske is thrust into leadership at a tumultuous time for the clan when everything seems to be deteriorating quickly.
I think I have an unpopular opinion on this one. I missed the content warning about body horror and that is something I am absolutely NOT into, so I should have DNFed it when I realized that the majority of this book was just one body horror scene after another. It can get very graphic, so be warned if that is not your thing.
That said, the characters and the setting of this book are quite imaginative. I also thought the political/social system was well developed and those aspects are what kept me engaged in the story. It’s full of diverse and intersectional characters, which I love to see.
However, I get really frustrated when characters are constantly given choices to make and without fail choose the worst one every time. It’s just not realistic. Even someone who is completely devoid of rational thinking would accidentally make a good choice at some point. Seske and Adalla are both written as smart, clearly rational thinking, capable women, so it just did not track for me that they made so many poor choices constantly.
I was still hanging in there, again because of the world building and characters, but the ending. THE ENDING. If I hadn’t been listening to an audiobook, I would have genuinely thrown this book across the room. IT TOOK A TURN. And no, you absolutely could not have predicted that turn because WHAT?!
Needless to say, I won’t be reading the second book. If you’re in to bizarre science fiction with a heavy dose of body horror and looking for a diverse cast of interesting characters in a well developed political/social world, then this one might be for you. But if you don’t like weird or body horror... do yourself a favor and pass.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Child death
ohlhauc's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Vivid, imaginative world building that made it easy to imagine yourself within the body of the Zenzee/beast the society was living in (note: If you dislike graphic depictions of bodily functions and organs, this is not for you). The development of the physical environment was hands-down the best part. Unfortunately, we didn't get as much detail on the social structure and culture of the society itself, and I would have liked more discussion of this to better understand the actions of several plot points.
The character development was hit or miss for me. I adored the characters of Adalla and Laisze, and felt their growth, motivations, and reactions were clear and well done. They were also two of the only characters who seemed to think ofother characters whereas the others were more selfish, which made the others hard to root for. The other characters were either highly unlikable or underdeveloped.
Another thing that didn't work for me is that it felt some scenes were rushed over, especially the plot which went by so quick. I would've liked to see a slower pace and more detail into the psychologies of the characters so it felt like what was happening had more consequences and impact.
The character development was hit or miss for me. I adored the characters of Adalla and Laisze, and felt their growth, motivations, and reactions were clear and well done. They were also two of the only characters who seemed to think of
Another thing that didn't work for me is that it felt some scenes were rushed over, especially the plot which went by so quick. I would've liked to see a slower pace and more detail into the psychologies of the characters so it felt like what was happening had more consequences and impact.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Slavery
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