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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
No me sentà conectada con ninguno de los personajes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really enjoyable, fast-paced read (got through it in a day and ended up staying up till 4 am to finish it!)
I loved a good adventure with a sprinkling of romance, the sci-fi, fantasy, and slightly steampunk (?) vibes make the genre a little hard to pinpoint. Similar kind of hard to quantify genre as the Wolf Tower books lol. It's got similar vibes to Atlantis, Treasure Planet... And even The Mummy a little bit! It definitely nails the scholarly adventure, rag-tag team, witty banter from our FMC and MMC. Not really a true enemies to lovers, more like an intense dislike to mutual understanding to deeper connection and I'm here for it.
The world building is pretty good and you're left wanting to know way more about the different cultures and history. The characters are all interesting but can be pretty one dimensional - it's fine for this type of book though. Sometimes the dialogue felt a little forced/badly written (if you're bothered by creative sweating substitutions, maybe this one isn't for you XD), but for the most part I was able to get past it. There are a few cool twists along the way that were fun to predict! They definitely leave you excited for the sequel.
I loved a good adventure with a sprinkling of romance, the sci-fi, fantasy, and slightly steampunk (?) vibes make the genre a little hard to pinpoint. Similar kind of hard to quantify genre as the Wolf Tower books lol. It's got similar vibes to Atlantis, Treasure Planet... And even The Mummy a little bit! It definitely nails the scholarly adventure, rag-tag team, witty banter from our FMC and MMC. Not really a true enemies to lovers, more like an intense dislike to mutual understanding to deeper connection and I'm here for it.
The world building is pretty good and you're left wanting to know way more about the different cultures and history. The characters are all interesting but can be pretty one dimensional - it's fine for this type of book though. Sometimes the dialogue felt a little forced/badly written (if you're bothered by creative sweating substitutions, maybe this one isn't for you XD), but for the most part I was able to get past it. There are a few cool twists along the way that were fun to predict! They definitely leave you excited for the sequel.
First and foremost, I loved the world of Yalvara! The people of Jayde, the Cerls, and the mysterious Yalvs were all captivating and immersive. I constantly wanted to know more about each culture and the complex relationships between them. The added context of First Earth and the historic settling of Yalvara by humans from Earth gave everything a sci-fi feel.
Speaking of, if you're trying to figure out if Cities of Smoke & Starlight is sci-fi, or fantasy, or steampunk, let me just stop you there. It is a unique, captivating mix of all three, with hoverships, electricity, victorian-esque high society, and dragons. Yep, you heard that right. Dragons do make an appearance in the story. (!!)
One of my favorite parts of this epic tale was how it had a similar quest vibe to the Disney movie Atlantis. I don't like to make comparisons usually, but I love that movie, and this book had all the same vibes in my mind.
I loved the ever-thickening plot and all the pieces that I know will come together at some point. I will say that it took me a bit to get into the story, but once the mission to find the Yalvs was established, I was hooked! Through all the obstacles and unfamiliar lands, the crew of the Eudora Jayde had my spellbound attention.
Hallie was my favorite character. She was awkward, clumsy, brash, and headstrong, but she also has a deeply caring heart and will fight to hold onto hope. I can't wait to see her grow! Kase, on the other hand, got on my nerves for the first half (ish?) of the book. I found him waaaay too easily irritated and angry, but he grew on me over time, especially as his past trauma was revealed. I am hoping to see more growth from him in the next book - I could see him becoming another favorite! The rest of the crew - Zeke, Ebba, and Ben - were great additions with their own motives, desires, and strengths.
And that ending! Whew. I did not see those emotional scenes coming, and I was basically unaware of life while I sped through that last 30% of the book. One of the main plot twists revealed in this portion I was able to guess from the first hint way back when (though it is more complex than it seems), but all the other mysteries revealed are so compelling that I am itching to get my hands on the next book!
As far as qualms, I'm just going to dump them here because I enjoyed the story too much to linger: sometimes the crew felt immature, I wanted more worldbuilding (it's very strong, but there are some aspects I am still confused on, like the Essences), and Jove's part of the ending was abrupt.
Overall, I am thrilled to have found Cities of Smoke & Starlight and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here!
Speaking of, if you're trying to figure out if Cities of Smoke & Starlight is sci-fi, or fantasy, or steampunk, let me just stop you there. It is a unique, captivating mix of all three, with hoverships, electricity, victorian-esque high society, and dragons. Yep, you heard that right. Dragons do make an appearance in the story. (!!)
One of my favorite parts of this epic tale was how it had a similar quest vibe to the Disney movie Atlantis. I don't like to make comparisons usually, but I love that movie, and this book had all the same vibes in my mind.
I loved the ever-thickening plot and all the pieces that I know will come together at some point. I will say that it took me a bit to get into the story, but once the mission to find the Yalvs was established, I was hooked! Through all the obstacles and unfamiliar lands, the crew of the Eudora Jayde had my spellbound attention.
Hallie was my favorite character. She was awkward, clumsy, brash, and headstrong, but she also has a deeply caring heart and will fight to hold onto hope. I can't wait to see her grow! Kase, on the other hand, got on my nerves for the first half (ish?) of the book. I found him waaaay too easily irritated and angry, but he grew on me over time, especially as his past trauma was revealed. I am hoping to see more growth from him in the next book - I could see him becoming another favorite! The rest of the crew - Zeke, Ebba, and Ben - were great additions with their own motives, desires, and strengths.
And that ending! Whew. I did not see those emotional scenes coming, and I was basically unaware of life while I sped through that last 30% of the book. One of the main plot twists revealed in this portion I was able to guess from the first hint way back when (though it is more complex than it seems), but all the other mysteries revealed are so compelling that I am itching to get my hands on the next book!
As far as qualms, I'm just going to dump them here because I enjoyed the story too much to linger: sometimes the crew felt immature, I wanted more worldbuilding (it's very strong, but there are some aspects I am still confused on, like the Essences), and Jove's part of the ending was abrupt.
Overall, I am thrilled to have found Cities of Smoke & Starlight and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here!
adventurous
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This reminds me of the rag tag group on an adventure to find Atlantis with some similar steam punk elements. The idea is fun and I'll read the next one to see what happens, but the writing feels amateur. "Twinkling" is one of their curse words and there was too much description in some places and not enough in others so I felt a little lost even 2/3 of the way through the story. The bad guys are pretty obvious. The other characters have some jumps in development that defy logic and other places where you think they should be past this particular flaw. I see potential
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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