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yuckyfruitcake's review against another edition
4.0
The characters and the world grew on me as the book went on~ I'm very excited to read the next one
shespeakslyrics's review against another edition
4.0
Unique! really original story elements. Looking forward to seeing where it ends up going.
hualianr's review against another edition
5.0
i absolutely loved this book!! it feels like it has been so long since i've read such a good fantasy; one that had me hooked right from the first chapter, and so i absolutely devoured this novel.
this book ticked all the right boxes for me; great world building, fantastic plot, good pacing, and interesting characters. i'm honestly surprised by how good this was!
the never tilting world is essentially exactly what it sounds like - the world does not turn. caused by a ritual gone wrong, aeon is a world divided by desert land and icy plains. in the book we follow lan and odessa from the cold-climated aranth and arjun and haidee from the sun scorched golden city as they make their way to the abyss (essentially the middle of the world).
my favourites of the four were absolutely arjun and haidee; because how could i possibly resist enemies to lovers and sunshine x grumpy. i also loved arjun's character development and his eventual softening thanks to haidee (they were so cute!!). i also enjoyed this half of the world more - the dolugongs deserve a special mention.
whilst lan and odessa left me feeling a little disappointed (which was sad as i originally picked this up because it had sapphic rep) because their relationship just didn't hit it for me. this is probably personal preference but as their relationship was sort-of-half-established before the book began i just found it hard to connect to their relationship, and some of their interactions felt a little toxic at times. the only time i felt a positive emotion about these two was the bath scene.
regardless, i still found the plot enthralling and ultimately me not shipping (or caring..) for these two did not impact my reading in the slightest.
i'm really excited to see where the next novel takes this story and i can't wait to pick it up!
this book ticked all the right boxes for me; great world building, fantastic plot, good pacing, and interesting characters. i'm honestly surprised by how good this was!
the never tilting world is essentially exactly what it sounds like - the world does not turn. caused by a ritual gone wrong, aeon is a world divided by desert land and icy plains. in the book we follow lan and odessa from the cold-climated aranth and arjun and haidee from the sun scorched golden city as they make their way to the abyss (essentially the middle of the world).
my favourites of the four were absolutely arjun and haidee; because how could i possibly resist enemies to lovers and sunshine x grumpy. i also loved arjun's character development and his eventual softening thanks to haidee (they were so cute!!). i also enjoyed this half of the world more - the dolugongs deserve a special mention.
whilst lan and odessa left me feeling a little disappointed (which was sad as i originally picked this up because it had sapphic rep) because their relationship just didn't hit it for me. this is probably personal preference but as their relationship was sort-of-half-established before the book began i just found it hard to connect to their relationship, and some of their interactions felt a little toxic at times. the only time i felt a positive emotion about these two was the bath scene.
regardless, i still found the plot enthralling and ultimately me not shipping (or caring..) for these two did not impact my reading in the slightest.
i'm really excited to see where the next novel takes this story and i can't wait to pick it up!
rachaeljay13's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible mythology. I can't wait for the next one!
quirkey_turtle's review against another edition
4.0
A bit slow in parts but good work building and character development. Will definitely read again.
shinesalot's review against another edition
4.0
It's been a minute since I've fallen fully into a fantasy world and really enjoyed the experience. Not saying I would WANT to be stuck in the "never tilting world"!!! Great characters, great plot! Twin separated at birth destined to either save or destroy the world...both voyaging to the great Abyss to see if the prophecies are true. Loads of adventure, deceit, love, and loss. All the things at a break-neck, page turning pace. Enjoy!!
aliete's review against another edition
5.0
Oooooh, I loved this. Yes, the world building gets a little dense at the beginning, but once you get that initial info, this book is glorious.
Love the magic system, love the world, love all the characters. Really enjoyed watching all the pieces come together at the end. I also loved the changing chapter titles!
So pleased with this book, can't wait to get my hands on the next one!
Love the magic system, love the world, love all the characters. Really enjoyed watching all the pieces come together at the end. I also loved the changing chapter titles!
So pleased with this book, can't wait to get my hands on the next one!
sidneyellwood's review against another edition
4.0
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I knew I had to read The Never Tilting World when I read the synopsis. I'd read The Bone Witch and loved it, and the premise to this book just sounded on point. I was not disappointed. The Never Tilting World is definitely one of the most creative fantasies I've read in a long time, full of action and adventure.
We have four main characters: Lan, Arjun, Odessa, and Haidee, two goddesses and two companions. The book opens with Lan punching someone in the face, which I have to say instantly drew me in. I thought for sure Lan was going to be my favourite character, but I came to like all four of our heroes. The narrative didn't put any above the other: I felt like all four were fairly equally developed, and I really got to know them while I was reading. I actually really liked both the romance subplots in The Never Tilting World. One of the couples (Lan/Odessa) is F/F and had me on my toes the whole book with their will-they-won't-they, and they had so much chemistry, but Arjun/Haidee was enemies-to-lovers and also soft, two of my guiltiest pleasure romance tropes, I found myself liking it anyways.
Lan is a definite tough girl, keeping her head up and trekking onwards no matter what, but she also struggles with post-traumatic stress throughout the book. Seeing her face up to her past and realize what she needs to do to heal was honestly so powerful, and it was written in a way you don't really see in genre fiction? I feel like a lot of the time there's no help for characters dealing with mental health issues in fantasy, so seeing Lan have a good support system--including what basically amounts to a therapist--was so refreshing to me. Can we have more of this in fantasy? Lan's love interest, Odessa, is the goddess within the eternal night of Aeon, and I loved her character arc. Odessa goes from a sheltered girl to a leader, and it was so empowering to watch, but also terrifying. It's through Odessa you see why the goddesses are called goddesses. Arjun starts out as grumpy, but he learns a lot from Haidee, who is just so soft and adorable. I found Arjun and Haidee complemented each other so well.
All four perspectives are in first person, which initially worried me--I am normally not great at dealing with multiple first-person perspectives, much less four in one book--but each character's voice was distinct, and I had no problem figuring out who was narrating. I did find that the pacing stuttered in the middle--there was a very strong opening, and a very strong latter third, but I found my attention waning in the middle, where some of the weaker subplots took precedence over the journey of both characters.
The worldbuilding in The Never Tilting World was just so immensely cool, and though it's definitely fantasy through and through, there's a sci-fi vibe throughout, especially during Arjun and Haidee's scenes. Because The Never Tilting World uses a lot of different terminology than your typical fantasy, it does take a little bit to get used to, and there's a lot of lore surrounding the goddesses that had me flipping back and forth to get the story straight in my head.
The creatures that roam the world of Aeon, too, were unlike anything I've seen before. There's horrifying monsters--some which I recognized were based off mythology and some which I'd never heard of. There's also friendly creatures (that Haidee names and gets attached to, which in turn made me attached to them). The environment--one side of eternal night, and one of eternal day--was also interesting. I love it when genre fiction messes with climate, and The Never Tilting World provides a picture of how people adapt to the most extreme conditions. In a way, it points to a testament of survival and the need to do good, two groups of people fighting to live and heal the world.
The Never Tilting World has four memorable characters, a world that's full of life despite all odds, and a rich lore behind it. I very much enjoyed The Never Tilting World and would definitely recommend it to fantasy fans.
content warnings | death
representation | characters of color, ptsd, amputee, f/f
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy!
I knew I had to read The Never Tilting World when I read the synopsis. I'd read The Bone Witch and loved it, and the premise to this book just sounded on point. I was not disappointed. The Never Tilting World is definitely one of the most creative fantasies I've read in a long time, full of action and adventure.
We have four main characters: Lan, Arjun, Odessa, and Haidee, two goddesses and two companions. The book opens with Lan punching someone in the face, which I have to say instantly drew me in. I thought for sure Lan was going to be my favourite character, but I came to like all four of our heroes. The narrative didn't put any above the other: I felt like all four were fairly equally developed, and I really got to know them while I was reading. I actually really liked both the romance subplots in The Never Tilting World. One of the couples (Lan/Odessa) is F/F and had me on my toes the whole book with their will-they-won't-they, and they had so much chemistry, but Arjun/Haidee was enemies-to-lovers and also soft, two of my guiltiest pleasure romance tropes, I found myself liking it anyways.
Lan is a definite tough girl, keeping her head up and trekking onwards no matter what, but she also struggles with post-traumatic stress throughout the book. Seeing her face up to her past and realize what she needs to do to heal was honestly so powerful, and it was written in a way you don't really see in genre fiction? I feel like a lot of the time there's no help for characters dealing with mental health issues in fantasy, so seeing Lan have a good support system--including what basically amounts to a therapist--was so refreshing to me. Can we have more of this in fantasy? Lan's love interest, Odessa, is the goddess within the eternal night of Aeon, and I loved her character arc. Odessa goes from a sheltered girl to a leader, and it was so empowering to watch, but also terrifying. It's through Odessa you see why the goddesses are called goddesses. Arjun starts out as grumpy, but he learns a lot from Haidee, who is just so soft and adorable. I found Arjun and Haidee complemented each other so well.
All four perspectives are in first person, which initially worried me--I am normally not great at dealing with multiple first-person perspectives, much less four in one book--but each character's voice was distinct, and I had no problem figuring out who was narrating. I did find that the pacing stuttered in the middle--there was a very strong opening, and a very strong latter third, but I found my attention waning in the middle, where some of the weaker subplots took precedence over the journey of both characters.
The worldbuilding in The Never Tilting World was just so immensely cool, and though it's definitely fantasy through and through, there's a sci-fi vibe throughout, especially during Arjun and Haidee's scenes. Because The Never Tilting World uses a lot of different terminology than your typical fantasy, it does take a little bit to get used to, and there's a lot of lore surrounding the goddesses that had me flipping back and forth to get the story straight in my head.
The creatures that roam the world of Aeon, too, were unlike anything I've seen before. There's horrifying monsters--some which I recognized were based off mythology and some which I'd never heard of. There's also friendly creatures (that Haidee names and gets attached to, which in turn made me attached to them). The environment--one side of eternal night, and one of eternal day--was also interesting. I love it when genre fiction messes with climate, and The Never Tilting World provides a picture of how people adapt to the most extreme conditions. In a way, it points to a testament of survival and the need to do good, two groups of people fighting to live and heal the world.
The Never Tilting World has four memorable characters, a world that's full of life despite all odds, and a rich lore behind it. I very much enjoyed The Never Tilting World and would definitely recommend it to fantasy fans.
content warnings | death
representation | characters of color, ptsd, amputee, f/f
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy!
recordofabibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
The World is broken, so we have Haidee, the Goddess of the Heat and Scorching deserts and we have Odessa the Goddess of the moon and sun.
With mothers who are tough, relentless and conniving, the girls set there own path (or at least Odessa believes it is) and are set to try and change the world, little did they know that they were going to cross paths.
I found Chupeco's writing really easy to read and I think her character-building and world-building was amazing, but there I just didn't find it amazing! I did find the ending super intriguing and I will still read the next book!
3.5/5 stars. It was a good read for me, not a great one.
With mothers who are tough, relentless and conniving, the girls set there own path (or at least Odessa believes it is) and are set to try and change the world, little did they know that they were going to cross paths.
I found Chupeco's writing really easy to read and I think her character-building and world-building was amazing, but there I just didn't find it amazing! I did find the ending super intriguing and I will still read the next book!
3.5/5 stars. It was a good read for me, not a great one.
literarylinds's review against another edition
4.0
Ugh what a good time, it took a while for haidee and arjun to grow on me but by the end I was loving all four povs! I’m very partial to Lan because her combination of power, urge to mask her emotions, plus difficulties reckoning with past trauma and growing concern about odessa’s state really resonated with me. I don’t even think I can voice how much I enjoy being able to put books into my queer,bipoc, and mental health shelves because books I love are nearly always some combination of those because my life and many of my friends’ lives exist with those bounds :,)