Scan barcode
slaysian97's review against another edition
5.0
This book was phenomenal! I had lost touch with reading, and yet I tore through the chapters as if I were starving and they jumbo-sized bag of animal crackers. I thought the setting of the story was original and fresh, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing LGBTQ+ rep in the main characters. I can't wait to read the next book in this duo!
bookwyrmjulia's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. It wasn't for me. I didn't really understand what was going on with the plot most of the time, and the characters' actions didn't always seem consistent with their personalities. It was an interesting premise, but it didn't meet my expectations.
lookingforamandaa's review against another edition
4.0
Hi, I loved this. That’s it. That’s the review.
Just kidding, but I do for some reason I find it harder to review books that I liked over books I didn’t.
I’ll start with the world. I was fascinated with this world. The concept of the Breaking and how it happened was a mystery that pulled me through the story. The need to know more about how this world came to be how it is was and how it might be fixed. I thought the world-building was so well done. This is a fantasy world, but I could still picture the places so vividly in my mind (which is something I’m usually pretty bad at). Chupeco has done such a great job describing this broken world.
The characters were certainly an interesting bunch. Let’s start with the twins, Haidee and Odessa. I really liked Haidee. She’s on the sun side of the world and wants to make positive changes, but her controlling mother doesn’t really make that easy. She meets Arjun and they go off on a dangerous mission together to learn more about how they might fix the world. I liked that they started off bickering and we got to see them learn to admire one another and then have that turn into more. I thought their relationship progressed naturally and not too fast. Odessa is a character I have mixed feelings about. I liked her at first, the sheltered goddess who loves someone she shouldn’t. But as they travel toward The Abyss she kind of loses her shit. She is influenced by gifts she’s given and changes dramatically. I really didn’t like her as she became more ruthless and paranoid. I did like that she pulled it together and did the right thing. But I didn’t like her for most of the book. Odessa is one half of a female/female romance. The other half is Lan. I liked Lan a lot. She’s damaged, but still very strong. I enjoyed seeing her overcome her past and working through it via talk therapy with a friend of hers. I liked the romance between Odessa and Lan at the start but stopped shipping them when Odessa started losing it.
The last thing I want to mention is the magic. The magic in this world was bizarre but also really well explained, which I always appreciate. It had limits and purposes. There were different kinds of Magic’s and I completely understood the gates and that part, I didn’t totally know everything about the abilities of The Devoted. It seemed like they all have different extents of abilities, but I don’t know if I missed it or if it just wasn’t talked about.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. I thought it was beautifully written. The mysteries were suspenseful and very intriguing. The characters were ones I cared about and felt strongly about (whether good or bad). The world was so well built and described. I will forever scream about Chupeco’s work because she is an incredible author and this book is just another great example of that.
Just kidding, but I do for some reason I find it harder to review books that I liked over books I didn’t.
I’ll start with the world. I was fascinated with this world. The concept of the Breaking and how it happened was a mystery that pulled me through the story. The need to know more about how this world came to be how it is was and how it might be fixed. I thought the world-building was so well done. This is a fantasy world, but I could still picture the places so vividly in my mind (which is something I’m usually pretty bad at). Chupeco has done such a great job describing this broken world.
The characters were certainly an interesting bunch. Let’s start with the twins, Haidee and Odessa. I really liked Haidee. She’s on the sun side of the world and wants to make positive changes, but her controlling mother doesn’t really make that easy. She meets Arjun and they go off on a dangerous mission together to learn more about how they might fix the world. I liked that they started off bickering and we got to see them learn to admire one another and then have that turn into more. I thought their relationship progressed naturally and not too fast. Odessa is a character I have mixed feelings about. I liked her at first, the sheltered goddess who loves someone she shouldn’t. But as they travel toward The Abyss she kind of loses her shit. She is influenced by gifts she’s given and changes dramatically. I really didn’t like her as she became more ruthless and paranoid. I did like that she pulled it together and did the right thing. But I didn’t like her for most of the book. Odessa is one half of a female/female romance. The other half is Lan. I liked Lan a lot. She’s damaged, but still very strong. I enjoyed seeing her overcome her past and working through it via talk therapy with a friend of hers. I liked the romance between Odessa and Lan at the start but stopped shipping them when Odessa started losing it.
The last thing I want to mention is the magic. The magic in this world was bizarre but also really well explained, which I always appreciate. It had limits and purposes. There were different kinds of Magic’s and I completely understood the gates and that part, I didn’t totally know everything about the abilities of The Devoted. It seemed like they all have different extents of abilities, but I don’t know if I missed it or if it just wasn’t talked about.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. I thought it was beautifully written. The mysteries were suspenseful and very intriguing. The characters were ones I cared about and felt strongly about (whether good or bad). The world was so well built and described. I will forever scream about Chupeco’s work because she is an incredible author and this book is just another great example of that.
abs91jc's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.75
cookiemonstaly's review against another edition
Loved Rin’s other fantasy-aligned novels, but I couldn’t get into this one. It’s very climate sci-fi. The writing is rich as per usual and the characters easy to get used to, but the story felt kinda dragged out.
sjburton127's review against another edition
2.0
I think my problem with this book was that I had so little interest in one half of the story it just bored me. The only thing that kept me going was Arjun, what an absolute legend. I looked forward to the chapters with him in and I enjoyed the development of his and Haidee’s relationship but I honestly didn’t care for the main plot or the other characters- Odessa and Tianlan were SO annoying (is it bad that I lowkey hoped they died on their journey)? Anyway I will not be reading the second one and was quite disappointed because the bone witch series was so good.
loreleifae's review against another edition
3.0
At the beginning I found it quite interesting and the characters quite compelling. But throughout the book I felt myself becoming less compelled with each passing chapter. It really felt like by the end the characters were losing their individuality and becoming somewhat homogeneous. And there are only Plot Reasons for one character to be having dramatic personality changes.
heather71460's review against another edition
Too many POVs and I was just confused the whole time.
shriti_sunshine's review against another edition
4.0
4.2/5
“We’re chasing a dying sea under an endless sun that kills us with a thousand little cuts every day. There will be nothing left soon. Nothing but sand and bone.”
How do you see this tweet , read the book blurb and not dive head-first into this fantasy fiction duology that has LGBTQ+ representation, romance tropes (read 'steamy romance'), and warns about climate-change disasters?
There's only 1 option.. YOU DO, and then immediately get your hands on the sequel!!!!
“We’re chasing a dying sea under an endless sun that kills us with a thousand little cuts every day. There will be nothing left soon. Nothing but sand and bone.”
How do you see this tweet , read the book blurb and not dive head-first into this fantasy fiction duology that has LGBTQ+ representation, romance tropes (read 'steamy romance'), and warns about climate-change disasters?
There's only 1 option.. YOU DO, and then immediately get your hands on the sequel!!!!