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elementarymydear's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
4.0
For such a short book, I feel like I experienced an epic reading this!
Set in the distant future, we are thrown into the middle of ongoing battle between human populations on Earth and Mars. Overly complex world-building is one of my least favourite things in a book, and this book had the perfect balance of creating an immersive and intriguing world without overwhelming the reader with information. Aside from one (self-aware) info-dump, the world is skilfully crafted.
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The real hero of this book is the relationship between the two main characters. Itās somehow unexpected and yet inevitable at the same time, and gave the story a very moving emotional arc. It was the kind where you can feel yourself being swept up into the emotion of the story, unable to tear yourself away from the book, and it really made this book for me.
The only downside for me is I felt that the emotional peak was reached a little too soon. I felt like the emotional side of the story was complete before the plot was, and so by the end I felt like I was done with the book even though there were still a chapter or so to go. But this is the only reason this book didnāt get 5 stars from me; itās otherwise an excellent short novel.
Thank you for the author for providing me with a copy for review. All opinions are my own.
Set in the distant future, we are thrown into the middle of ongoing battle between human populations on Earth and Mars. Overly complex world-building is one of my least favourite things in a book, and this book had the perfect balance of creating an immersive and intriguing world without overwhelming the reader with information. Aside from one (self-aware) info-dump, the world is skilfully crafted.
šBlogšYouTubešInstagramš
The real hero of this book is the relationship between the two main characters. Itās somehow unexpected and yet inevitable at the same time, and gave the story a very moving emotional arc. It was the kind where you can feel yourself being swept up into the emotion of the story, unable to tear yourself away from the book, and it really made this book for me.
The only downside for me is I felt that the emotional peak was reached a little too soon. I felt like the emotional side of the story was complete before the plot was, and so by the end I felt like I was done with the book even though there were still a chapter or so to go. But this is the only reason this book didnāt get 5 stars from me; itās otherwise an excellent short novel.
Thank you for the author for providing me with a copy for review. All opinions are my own.
kellymiller_author's review
5.0
Slade was born a terror and narrowly survived a murder attempt as an infant. A kind doctor kept her alive at substantial personal risk to herself.
As an adult, Slade is damaged but powerful, fierce, but hypersensitive, alone, but known to all. She lives in the shadows and frequently is forced to fight for her life with those who hunt her. For she is a highly prized villain and prey. The very utterance of her name is sets off alarms and brings immediate scrutiny.
But Slade might have an ally, if she can bring herself to trust. This is a mesmerizing and entertaining tale of light and dark, evil and good, love and hate, told with finesse and flair by the talented Halo Scot! Donāt miss it!
As an adult, Slade is damaged but powerful, fierce, but hypersensitive, alone, but known to all. She lives in the shadows and frequently is forced to fight for her life with those who hunt her. For she is a highly prized villain and prey. The very utterance of her name is sets off alarms and brings immediate scrutiny.
But Slade might have an ally, if she can bring herself to trust. This is a mesmerizing and entertaining tale of light and dark, evil and good, love and hate, told with finesse and flair by the talented Halo Scot! Donāt miss it!
judeinthestars's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
4.5
Scared of what they could do, Earth exiled starchildren to Mars. Among them is one the worlds fear above all. Slade Hawk. Simply saying her name will trigger alarms and create chaos. Bone Lords hunt her, the Order of the Roses watches over her. When things get out of hand, Koa Brye, a professor at UMars and the leader of the Roses, finally springs into action.
The Heartbeat of a Million Dreams is a sci-fi story about a unique being, a saviour, a superheroine, and also a story of being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world, of masking, trying to adapt, trying to fit in (the authorās daughter is on the autistic spectrum and this firsthand knowledge is reflected in the character). Itās told from both MCsā POVs in alternate chapters. When weāre in Sladeās head, it feels busy. Too much of everything. Overwhelmingly wordy, the effect of which is an echo of what Slade feels in the world: āToo loud, too bright, too close, too muchā. Slade expresses her feelings in images, her senses driving her emotions. When asked how sheās feeling, she answers āpurpleā and it makes complete sense.
Drop me in the middle of a crowd of strangers and my thoughts will sound a lot like Sladeās. Not the monster part, not the hunted part, not the powerful part. I am not close to Slade by any stretch of the imagination but there are parts I can relate to. The sensory overload, for one. The self-preservation strategies. For a very long time, I thought I didnāt care when people hurt. I tend to switch off when others are sad, when they suffer, when theyāre in pain. I understood a few years ago that itās not that I donāt care, itās that I protect myself from caring. Because it hurts and I feel helpless and I donāt know how to react. This paragraph in one of Sladeās chapters resonates almost painfully: āSome think me cold, think me callous, think me numb, but itās a reaction, not an action. Others overload me, overwhelm me with their energy, as Koa does now. Her emotions assault me ā too many and too complex ā so I distance myself to stay afloat. It does not mean I do not care. It does not mean I do not feel. It means I care and feel too much, too close.ā
And so while the story I read was very much sci-fi, it was also very much real. Even though itās only a novella, reading The Heartbeat of a Million Dreams took a lot of energy out of me. I canāt honestly say I enjoyed the experience all the time but it certainly was fascinating.
This review is focused on Slade but Koa, the other MC, is extraordinary too, in a very different way. Her arc speaks of trust and betrayal, of love and courage and sacrifice. Iāll stay away from the secondary characters, it would be too easy to spoil.
As for the worldbuilding, I loved it. Scot doesnāt need to overdo it to transport the reader to a world that mixes sci-fi and fantasy. The line between the two isnāt always obvious and in this book, itās more than blurry, with stars and planets and gods and titans.
Thereās music to Halo Scotās writing. Poetry and rhythm. It should slow down the pace yet it doesnāt. It feeds the fury and the thrill. For a book in which the writing style is so prevalent, it would make a very exciting movie. Apparently, Scotās other books are darker, probably too dark for me, but Iām definitely interested. 4.5āļø
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog: Jude in the Stars
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