Reviews

Where Peace Is Lost by Valerie Valdes

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danielles_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

4.5

I really enjoyed this!! At its heart it's a straightforward quest story, but the detailed world building, quirky and virtuous characters with cute dynamics, and the little twists and turns made it unique.

I really liked Kel as a character. She is a truly ethical person, and it was great to see someone advocate for using violence as a last resort while still training for the possibility. Lunna was absolutely adorable, and I loved their sweet naiviety that seemed very realistic for someone of their background (though I did picture them as a lot younger than they apparently are). Dare was a great quintessential gruffy character, and Savvy was charmingly funny. I loved the four of them together as a motley crew, and their hilarious banter. I absolutely adored

Kel and Dare's romance! They were so adorably awkward together in the first half in such a natural and realistic way. When they admitted feelings for each other, it really felt earned. I'm rooting for them!!

The world building for this was really interesting and leaves a lot of room for potential sequel(s) or even prequel(s) in the future. I'm actually really interested to learn more about the galactic politics between the Pale empire and the Order, plus the other groups like the Defiants. But I was definitely satisfied to stay on one little seemingly insignificant planet, because that made this story unique. Loth is a great example of a communal society where everyone's needs are met and everyone has their own say, but some people are still left unsatisfied. I love that Lothians place a huge importance on protecting nature to the point that they will inconvenience themselves (the crabs everywhere!). I love the idea of hair braids and ribbon colors telling people what village you come from and what your pronouns are, though I wish that was expanded upon a bit! Basically every chapter started out with a description of the planet, and it really felt like a real place.

The overall plot was simple enough, but it was fun to follow along. Mostly what kept me going was learning more about Kel's background and seeing the fun character dynamics. I was surprised that Valdes had

Kel run away from the Demolisher when it seemed to be killing Dare and Savvy (and I would have liked to have seen them actually defeat the thing), but I really like how she was able to save the day by giving herself up to the Pale and then by killing the bandits. I kind of zoned out during the battle scenes at the end but she really is a badass (and Dare too!). One thing that bothered me is that she seems to be pretty much invincible in her armor and with her insane training, so how exactly did the Order fall to the Pale???

I would love to know that story, but it doesn't seem like any other books in this universe are in the cards at the moment, according to Valdes' newsletter.

Also I kinda loved Kel's little mantras to herself, that reminded her to always prioritize peace. I also really liked her character development overall, as she learns that she shouldn't hide away to keep herself safe, and has a duty to help people.

Savvy yelling at her saying she wasted five years was really harsh at the time but it was definitely something that Kel needed to hear to get out of her rut.

Lastly, the audiobook narrator was fantastic with her variety of character voices! Each character was so distinct to the point that when I think of the things they said, I can hear the narrator's exact voice in my head saying them. But while the narrator excelled at dialogue, she had kind of a clunky rhythm in her narration of the prose and descriptive text. She randomly paused between phrases enough for me to notice it occasionally, but not enough for me to want to give up on the audiobook.

While this book didn't wow me enough to be 5 stars, it was a lot of fun and a great listening experience. I'd definitely recommend it for people who like Becky Chambers, but with no aliens and more plot.

bridgett's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

3.75

notably_bookish's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

rosie_reads_7's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

myhomeisalibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

4.75

babymoomoocow's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

2.75

This is an extremely forgettable sci-fi book. The characters and culture made up for this book were cool and interesting but again. The idea that nature has equal rights to people on this planet was neat and something that should have been explored more. I also like how the native people used their hair as indicators about themselves. And I liked how people used they/them pronouns and it was never really mentioned. However I felt like I was pulled out of the story when they mentioned they were all humans but never mentioned earth or anything like that? I dunno. In my head they weren't human, they were humanoids. On top of that there were words like "earthquake', but again no earth previously mentioned.

The romance was eh. I wanted to DNF but I was already over half way through. I'm glad I did finish it though. Kel was cool in the end.

Cool book but overall forgettable.