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kennedylynn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? N/A
5.0
I was lucky enough to be provided an eARC and I am so glad I was able to read it. The book is filled with amazing characters that made me cry, laugh, and feel so many other emotions. I loved the world the author built especially as the inhabitants gifts are based on astrology. Casper, originally from Earth is labeled as Novilem’s Telos and taken to a new world where he meets Helix. As Casper trains his abilities he is also slowly uncovering Noveilem’s injustices and falling in love with Helix, the grandson of the women who is charge. I can’t say it enough but I absolutely loved this book and I can’t wait until the second one. The plot is insane, the characters are unique, and the romance is absolutely adorable. I will also say that the world building is amazing!!!! The author managed to explain everything in a way that wasn’t super repetitive and yet everything made sense. Recommend this books for anybody that loves sci-fi queer novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Animal death, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, and Outing
Moderate: Suicide, Drug use, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit and Injury/Injury detail
tacoshark's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? No
3.5
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Overall, I thought the world building was really well done and the magic system was creative and interesting and in general, I found the book very compelling. That said, the plot was extremely confusing and the writing lacked clarity, which contributed to the confusion. I found the main characters surprisingly underdeveloped - three POV characters might have been one too many. I liked a lot of the elements here, but it didn’t quite come together as strongly as I wish it had. I’ll be keeping an eye on this author and his future work, though. (This is the first book of a duology, though I think it works just fine as a stand-alone.)
Overall, I thought the world building was really well done and the magic system was creative and interesting and in general, I found the book very compelling. That said, the plot was extremely confusing and the writing lacked clarity, which contributed to the confusion. I found the main characters surprisingly underdeveloped - three POV characters might have been one too many. I liked a lot of the elements here, but it didn’t quite come together as strongly as I wish it had. I’ll be keeping an eye on this author and his future work, though. (This is the first book of a duology, though I think it works just fine as a stand-alone.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Abandonment, Violence, Outing, and War
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Death
rld_8's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I was provided an Advance Readers Copy of this book from BookFunnel in exchange for leaving my honest opinion in a review.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, queer, sci-fi story with interesting characters and complex issues. I did have a couple of issues with it though. My main issue is probably how passive Casper (the main character) is for at least the first half of the book. I was never sure why his chapters were so boring to me compared to the other main character'sHelix' and Talleah chapters but it is because they are constantly making choices and reacting to things whereas Casper just kind of has stuff happen to him.
I was also a little confused because the first 4% of this book made me so so so emotional, and I did not get the same attachment throughout the rest of the book. The main couple, Casper and Helix, get together very quickly with little build up and a lot of their romantic conversations on the surface felt forced and awkward . Aside from that, their causal interactions were fun a friendly and I loved reading them.
For me, it was only about 24% into the book where I actually started getting interested in the plot which isn't great for me because I usually only give books to about 20% before I decide to dnf them. Once we got past that point, things began to pick up, but Casper's chapters were the last ones to get interesting considering he's the main main character.
I really loved how complex the issues that were dealt with were and how characters have to really think about their own sense of self and moral.
As for the ending,there were definitely a couple hints dropped as to what could come next, but it did not feel like part one of a series. Ngl after about 80%ish ever chapter felt like it could have reasonably been the end of the book and then the second book would deal with the cliff hanger and then the fallout of what happens .
I would definitely recommend reading this book is queer sci-fi is what you are into, but have patience.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, queer, sci-fi story with interesting characters and complex issues. I did have a couple of issues with it though. My main issue is probably how passive Casper (the main character) is for at least the first half of the book. I was never sure why his chapters were so boring to me compared to the other main character's
I was also a little confused because the first 4% of this book made me so so so emotional, and I did not get the same attachment throughout the rest of the book.
For me, it was only about 24% into the book where I actually started getting interested in the plot which isn't great for me because I usually only give books to about 20% before I decide to dnf them. Once we got past that point, things began to pick up, but Casper's chapters were the last ones to get interesting considering he's the main main character.
I really loved how complex the issues that were dealt with were and how characters have to really think about their own sense of self and moral.
As for the ending,
I would definitely recommend reading this book is queer sci-fi is what you are into, but have patience.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Child abuse
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