Reviews

Sword in the Stars by Cory McCarthy, A.R. Capetta

snowreo's review against another edition

1.0

i dnfed this around 17% and refuse to finish it solely because i refused for my fond memory of the first book and its characters to be tainted.

i don’t know what happened with this book, because i absolutely LOVED the first one. but this one did not have the same magic that “once and future” had. and here are my general grievances.

- the pacing felt super odd and i found myself getting confused a lot
- am i the only one who found it weird 19-year-old gwen married a 13 year old arthur and, knowing this, ari asked if they had ever been intimate? sure this is the Middle Ages and maybe this was less weird then, but ari and gwen are certainly NOT from that time period
- i skimmed most of the rest but?!??? merlin being gwen and kay’s biological son? where did that come from?? it really sucks because it diverges from the lore so much and really makes it feel like the whole found family amongst queer individuals trope i love was erased.

i choose to believe book 1 is the only book to exist

george_and_books's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.75

gsas's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

rolypoliak's review against another edition

5.0

This duology is one of my favorite I've ever read. I laughed and cried, truly! I recommend it for anyone who loves Arthurian stories and LGBTQIA+ life. A wonderful blend of sci-fi and fantasy.

rinorsomething's review against another edition

3.0

It’s odd to me that this book was planned from the beginning because it very often reads like the second season of a TV show that solved it’s premise in the first season because it wasn’t sure it would be renewed and now isn’t sure where to go. The plot twists simply never stop coming. There were times I literally felt dizzy trying to keep up. Some of the charm of the first book shines through in places, especially the final battle, but overall I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as I did Once & Future. If I hadn’t been buddy reading with a friend, I probably wouldn’t even have finished it.

Frankly, between all the time travel convenience, surprise reveals, and a hideously awkward little self reference at the end, it felt more like a long fan faction based on the first book rather than a legitimate sequel.

shadowcay's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

3.5

devs_thevintagechaosbat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

Somehow, the sequel was even better than the first book!

The authors did such a wonderful job with this one, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!!

10/10, will 100% read again

scribe391's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

3.0

Merlin travels through time to stop Nimue’s plan.

gabalodon's review against another edition

3.0

Fun follow-up to the first one. Lots of timey-wimey wibbly-wobbly-ness, which was by turns fun and complicated. The story itself was less of a fun heist than I was anticipating/hoping for based on the summary and the lead-up from the first book. The tone from the first very much carries into this one, which I think is both a good and a meh thing depending on your POV. I thought the Gwen/Ari angst was going to be thoroughly revived and it wasn't, thank goodness, but there were plenty of other things to worry about! The pacing was better than the first book, but like the first book so much content is spent on the stressful, angsty, dark parts of the story and there weren't enough light-hearted moments (at least for me) to properly buoy me through. This is further complicated by the humorous tone of the dialogue, which suggests a lighter story than it ends up being.. Luckily, the stressful angst very clearly peaks and the rest from there is pretty much downhill, and I liked the overall message re heroes and hope and breaking cycles of mistakes.

Overall, I still think this duology would have benefitted from being three books, with some more time spent on the big time jumps and abrupt transitions and more warm-hearted moments to breathe between all the stressful action. Such a strong, fun cast of characters - I want to see them spend more time together!

pinklemon254's review against another edition

3.0

Again, loved the anti-capitalist queer storyline. Moved at a quick pace. Sometimes felts one the nose, but enjoyable.