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becka6131's review
5.0
This was such a treat. I've been waiting for Kez's story after he appeared in the New Guy because he was just so grumpy with Maggie and protective of Ro that I wanted to see how the author would make him into a sympathetic hero. The answer is that Kez is painfully insecure about himself - his race, what he has to offer, his place in the new world his people have settled in. He thinks it's easier to keep to himself than to try and form connections because he's always been shunned and ignored by others and he's afraid of getting hurt. But his next door neighbour Bia isn't afraid of getting in his face to try and make him connect with her because she's convinced they belong together, which is where the story begins.
Watching these two develop a real relationship was completely wonderful. Kez is so reluctant at first but due to a combination of circumstances he ends up enveloped in Bia's company, and once he starts really paying attention to her he sees all the things about her that there are to fall in love with - she's bubbly and sweet and kind even when people aren't kind to her, she's beautiful, and she sees good qualities in him that he can't see himself. Kez starts off thinking of their relationship as a kind of practice run where he's teaching her stuff about how to be a mate and how to live in the human world, but he ends up learning just as much from her. He's oblivious to his own feelings for so long (one of my favourite Emotionally Unavailable Hero traits) but it makes sense because his personality is based around his intense insecurities and the fact that he keeps them a secret from everyone, which encourages the belief that he doesn't deserve to be with someone good. He tries hard to believe that he doesn't want to be with Bia for her own sake and many of the book's funniest or sweetest moments stem from his inability to admit that he's falling in love with her. Watching him overcome the emotional obstacles that are stopping him from having that relationship is very satisfying.
Bia herself is a real sweetheart and I didn't get that thing that you sometimes get with single POV romances where you feel disconnected from the other central character, perhaps because Bia almost always says exactly what she's thinking, but also I think because Kez himself is always thinking about her and making observations about her, even when he thinks he's not interested (I'm telling you, it's dynamite).
As usual, the more I read of this series the more interested I am in the Teissian cultures of the different alien species - I particularly loved all the detail in this one about how much the Balor and Balin love colours and the almost hypnotic effect it has on them. I just thought that was so funny and cute. I have also lost track of how many times I've read The New Guy so I was DELIGHTED by every mention of Maggie and Ro, and there's one extended scene with them and Bia and Kez at dinner where I was just screenshotting every page and sending it to my friend because every character was on top form and I was rolling around with glee.
I respect VC Lancaster's candour in the afterword about her experience with getting a sensitivity reader on this book. I didn't really see the problems with Kez's biracial identity while I was reading the book but then again I am white and have not had that experience and ultimately was probably being a dope about it. I can see how the representation would come across as negative and Lancaster is very upfront about that issue in the afterword. All I can say is that I loved the book and I can't be sorry she published it; it's one of my favourites in this series so I recommend it on that basis.
Watching these two develop a real relationship was completely wonderful. Kez is so reluctant at first but due to a combination of circumstances he ends up enveloped in Bia's company, and once he starts really paying attention to her he sees all the things about her that there are to fall in love with - she's bubbly and sweet and kind even when people aren't kind to her, she's beautiful, and she sees good qualities in him that he can't see himself. Kez starts off thinking of their relationship as a kind of practice run where he's teaching her stuff about how to be a mate and how to live in the human world, but he ends up learning just as much from her. He's oblivious to his own feelings for so long (one of my favourite Emotionally Unavailable Hero traits) but it makes sense because his personality is based around his intense insecurities and the fact that he keeps them a secret from everyone, which encourages the belief that he doesn't deserve to be with someone good. He tries hard to believe that he doesn't want to be with Bia for her own sake and many of the book's funniest or sweetest moments stem from his inability to admit that he's falling in love with her. Watching him overcome the emotional obstacles that are stopping him from having that relationship is very satisfying.
Bia herself is a real sweetheart and I didn't get that thing that you sometimes get with single POV romances where you feel disconnected from the other central character, perhaps because Bia almost always says exactly what she's thinking, but also I think because Kez himself is always thinking about her and making observations about her, even when he thinks he's not interested (I'm telling you, it's dynamite).
As usual, the more I read of this series the more interested I am in the Teissian cultures of the different alien species - I particularly loved all the detail in this one about how much the Balor and Balin love colours and the almost hypnotic effect it has on them. I just thought that was so funny and cute. I have also lost track of how many times I've read The New Guy so I was DELIGHTED by every mention of Maggie and Ro, and there's one extended scene with them and Bia and Kez at dinner where I was just screenshotting every page and sending it to my friend because every character was on top form and I was rolling around with glee.
I respect VC Lancaster's candour in the afterword about her experience with getting a sensitivity reader on this book. I didn't really see the problems with Kez's biracial identity while I was reading the book but then again I am white and have not had that experience and ultimately was probably being a dope about it. I can see how the representation would come across as negative and Lancaster is very upfront about that issue in the afterword. All I can say is that I loved the book and I can't be sorry she published it; it's one of my favourites in this series so I recommend it on that basis.
greystory's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I'm torn about how to rate this.
I feel bad for giving this a low rating. The biggest reason for my displeasure with the book has to do with pure personal preference: I find age gaps, especially ones right around the ages in this book, to be off-putting. To be honest, I started skimming the book rather than reading and entirely skipped all of the spice scenes.
I enjoyed getting to see Kez's point of view since we saw him as a character in book 2, the New Guy, even though this book breaks from the mold by having the book from Kez's point of view as the male 'love interest' instead of from the female main character's point of view. It was interesting to get to see more about what makes Kez tick and be the way he is (I mean, he was kinda basically a drug dealer in book 2?) and why he's friends with Ro or why he disliked Maggie so much. I enjoyed seeing that private, hidden, dark side of his life.
Bia, the female main character, I liked her - on her own. I was happy to see her getting out, making friends, learning new things, seeing the world a bit (just one building apparently). She was a sweet kid but therein lies the problem - kid. She's described as being naive and innocent repeatedly, as having a childish excitement about her, of being immature and overly idealistic. Kez himself thinks she's way too young for him and Bia's current guardian acknowledges the age gap but thinks Bia needs a mentor (which, socially and culturally, she does). There's a big difference between a mentor and a romantic/sexual partner, though.
Bia was orphaned and taken in by an older Balin woman. On her 2 year journey to Earth, she was not classified as an adult yet. It's unclear how long she's been on Earth or Kez's neighbor but she's only just now getting her GED on Earth, so I'm going to guess her to be like 18-20ish in Earth time. (Kez himself gives a rough estimate of 21) That means she was an adolescent who went through the trauma of losing her family, being taken in by a race of people who hated her, losing her entire world (literally) and being evacuated to a different planet, and then hanging on every word of the much older man living next door who shows her the slightest kindness by not hating her.
Kez doesn't give his own age either but does say he feels too old and can't remember his own age. He mentally thinks of himself as an old man (though clearly not elderly). Bia's guardian says Kez isn't old enough to be Bia's father (which Kez also disliked as being the cutoff) so I'm guessing Kez is at least 10-15 years older, possibly more. To me, that age gap in particular is just not it. I can't do it for personal reasons and negative personal experiences. I can do them under some circumstances - like if the youngest is at least mid-20s or the age gap is less severe, or if they're both older then the age gap can also be larger and I wouldn't care (like 30s vs 60s or 23 vs 12,000 or whatever).
Bia clearly needs mentorship and more good role models in her life. She can absolutely use friends and some adults in her life to guide her. I'm not on board with an older man engaging in a romantic/sexual relationship with a barely legal young woman who is very impressionable, very isolated, and desperate for someone to accept and love her. I've been that young woman and it is not pretty.
There's also lines that just specifically gave me the ick. Like: "I’m growing up as fast as I can. I just want to be good enough for you now." Bia says to Kez. This is probably supposed to be romantic or sweet but this just made me grimace and shudder. She goes on to describe how she views Kez as this magical hero to her sad story, that sweeps her off of her feet, and makes everything better again. Again, I get the feeling it's supposed to be sweet but I can't shake the feeling it's more youthful hero worship and an idealistic fairytale, not a realistic foundation for a healthy, stable relationship.
If you want to be flip about it, you could say they both have daddy issues (Kez especially) so I guess this is how things worked out. To be fair, Kez does get some life lessons of his own along the way and has to learn to be a little vulnerable himself, but again, I personally don't feel like that has to be or completely appropriate as a romantic/sexual relationship with someone considerably younger.
My plan is to read the Christmas special that is Book 5, the whole reason I decided to read this series now, but I might end up skipping Bia and Kez's.
Anyway, I enjoyed Ro and Kez arguing about the Balin way to mimic flicking someone off since they only have 3 fingers instead of 5 and they can't agree on which finger counts as 'THE finger' to give. (pg 175 if you don't want to read the whole book) I enjoyed the very ending and epilogue. And finally, I appreciated the author's note about racism, representing the struggles of biracial identity, and owning up to failures as a writer.
I feel bad for giving this a low rating. The biggest reason for my displeasure with the book has to do with pure personal preference: I find age gaps, especially ones right around the ages in this book, to be off-putting. To be honest, I started skimming the book rather than reading and entirely skipped all of the spice scenes.
I enjoyed getting to see Kez's point of view since we saw him as a character in book 2, the New Guy, even though this book breaks from the mold by having the book from Kez's point of view as the male 'love interest' instead of from the female main character's point of view. It was interesting to get to see more about what makes Kez tick and be the way he is (I mean, he was kinda basically a drug dealer in book 2?) and why he's friends with Ro or why he disliked Maggie so much. I enjoyed seeing that private, hidden, dark side of his life.
Bia, the female main character, I liked her - on her own. I was happy to see her getting out, making friends, learning new things, seeing the world a bit (just one building apparently). She was a sweet kid but therein lies the problem - kid. She's described as being naive and innocent repeatedly, as having a childish excitement about her, of being immature and overly idealistic. Kez himself thinks she's way too young for him and Bia's current guardian acknowledges the age gap but thinks Bia needs a mentor (which, socially and culturally, she does). There's a big difference between a mentor and a romantic/sexual partner, though.
Bia was orphaned and taken in by an older Balin woman. On her 2 year journey to Earth, she was not classified as an adult yet. It's unclear how long she's been on Earth or Kez's neighbor but she's only just now getting her GED on Earth, so I'm going to guess her to be like 18-20ish in Earth time. (Kez himself gives a rough estimate of 21) That means she was an adolescent who went through the trauma of losing her family, being taken in by a race of people who hated her, losing her entire world (literally) and being evacuated to a different planet, and then hanging on every word of the much older man living next door who shows her the slightest kindness by not hating her.
Kez doesn't give his own age either but does say he feels too old and can't remember his own age. He mentally thinks of himself as an old man (though clearly not elderly). Bia's guardian says Kez isn't old enough to be Bia's father (which Kez also disliked as being the cutoff) so I'm guessing Kez is at least 10-15 years older, possibly more. To me, that age gap in particular is just not it. I can't do it for personal reasons and negative personal experiences. I can do them under some circumstances - like if the youngest is at least mid-20s or the age gap is less severe, or if they're both older then the age gap can also be larger and I wouldn't care (like 30s vs 60s or 23 vs 12,000 or whatever).
Bia clearly needs mentorship and more good role models in her life. She can absolutely use friends and some adults in her life to guide her. I'm not on board with an older man engaging in a romantic/sexual relationship with a barely legal young woman who is very impressionable, very isolated, and desperate for someone to accept and love her. I've been that young woman and it is not pretty.
There's also lines that just specifically gave me the ick. Like: "I’m growing up as fast as I can. I just want to be good enough for you now." Bia says to Kez. This is probably supposed to be romantic or sweet but this just made me grimace and shudder. She goes on to describe how she views Kez as this magical hero to her sad story, that sweeps her off of her feet, and makes everything better again. Again, I get the feeling it's supposed to be sweet but I can't shake the feeling it's more youthful hero worship and an idealistic fairytale, not a realistic foundation for a healthy, stable relationship.
If you want to be flip about it, you could say they both have daddy issues (Kez especially) so I guess this is how things worked out. To be fair, Kez does get some life lessons of his own along the way and has to learn to be a little vulnerable himself, but again, I personally don't feel like that has to be or completely appropriate as a romantic/sexual relationship with someone considerably younger.
My plan is to read the Christmas special that is Book 5, the whole reason I decided to read this series now, but I might end up skipping Bia and Kez's.
Anyway, I enjoyed Ro and Kez arguing about the Balin way to mimic flicking someone off since they only have 3 fingers instead of 5 and they can't agree on which finger counts as 'THE finger' to give. (pg 175 if you don't want to read the whole book) I enjoyed the very ending and epilogue. And finally, I appreciated the author's note about racism, representing the struggles of biracial identity, and owning up to failures as a writer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Slavery
oddsoul's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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