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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cities of Smoke and Starlight was a fun page turner. It’s a character driven science fantasy that mixes elements of gaslamp and steampunk with a dash of magic.
It’s set in the distant future on an earth-like planet, where the humans share a past with Earth’s humans. They have a few extra resources, like a special metal called zuprium, and share the planet with other humanoid races hailing from other earth-like planets.
The plot centers around Kase Shackley, a phenomenal hover pilot who is also a privileged yet perpetual screwup, and Hallie Walker, a student of ancient races and languages who, due to her poor time keeping, loses her job at a bookstore. They’re thrown together with a rag-tag crew on a mission to make contact with an ancient, magic wielding race for political purposes. There’s hover ships, electro pistols, and some references to Shakespearian literature that make both the characters and the world unique.
Kase and Hallie, coming from vastly different backgrounds, clash from the first meeting. Unfortunately, I found this enemies to lovers trope forced and underwhelming, but I connected with both characters enough to root for them. It was barely a romance subplot, as the two end up more friends united by their experiences than lovers.
I loved both main characters. Kase didn’t quite nail the privileged socialite, but brought his own brand of third child that gets away with almost everything. Hallie totally nailed the unexpectedly brave scholar. Both were refreshing and strong yet weak in their own ways, making both good and bad choices.
I did get tired of their exclamations over and over. So many Shocks! Stars! And Blasts! A little variety, or cutting back on the exclamations, would have cut out the repetition.
I didn’t like that the plot was rather predictable. There wasn’t any part where I thought “I never expected that to happen!” The couple of twists were too obvious to be effective.
Despite all that, the story still grabbed me and, as character driven novels often do, I connected so well with the MCs that I couldn’t put it down.
It’s set in the distant future on an earth-like planet, where the humans share a past with Earth’s humans. They have a few extra resources, like a special metal called zuprium, and share the planet with other humanoid races hailing from other earth-like planets.
The plot centers around Kase Shackley, a phenomenal hover pilot who is also a privileged yet perpetual screwup, and Hallie Walker, a student of ancient races and languages who, due to her poor time keeping, loses her job at a bookstore. They’re thrown together with a rag-tag crew on a mission to make contact with an ancient, magic wielding race for political purposes. There’s hover ships, electro pistols, and some references to Shakespearian literature that make both the characters and the world unique.
Kase and Hallie, coming from vastly different backgrounds, clash from the first meeting. Unfortunately, I found this enemies to lovers trope forced and underwhelming, but I connected with both characters enough to root for them. It was barely a romance subplot, as the two end up more friends united by their experiences than lovers.
I loved both main characters. Kase didn’t quite nail the privileged socialite, but brought his own brand of third child that gets away with almost everything. Hallie totally nailed the unexpectedly brave scholar. Both were refreshing and strong yet weak in their own ways, making both good and bad choices.
I did get tired of their exclamations over and over. So many Shocks! Stars! And Blasts! A little variety, or cutting back on the exclamations, would have cut out the repetition.
I didn’t like that the plot was rather predictable. There wasn’t any part where I thought “I never expected that to happen!” The couple of twists were too obvious to be effective.
Despite all that, the story still grabbed me and, as character driven novels often do, I connected so well with the MCs that I couldn’t put it down.
Just wasn't interested, and that's OK. Maybe I'll get back to it in the future
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The story was difficult to get into but once i did i could not put the book down. I really like Kase and Hallie together and i will immediately start reading the next book :)) It was also such a slowburn like i don’t think i have read one that was this slow, but i didn’t really mind it as their banter was so good
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
