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exaal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual harassment, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Pedophilia
Minor: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, and Physical abuse
katebird's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Child death, and Genocide
Minor: Rape
literaryintersections's review
- 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
5.0
Y’all get this book. It’s queer. It’s a SPACE OPERA. It’s violent. Some of the best sci fi I’ve read recently. What are you waiting for????
A few things - I think this book does an amazing job of worldbuilding. You are immediately dropped into an Earth type world but have no clue what is going on. And then you are just along for the ride as Tesh slowly feeds you bit after bit about what happened to Earth, who the aliens are, who the villains are. The twists and turns took me by complete surprise. I can't say more without spoiling but that first shift in the story I literally just put the book down and stared into space.
Now I loved Kyr. She is truly a horrible character in the beginning because she is brainwashed. BUT, as she learns, as she explores other people and experiences, as she starts to break away from being a cold robot, she becomes so much more. And she gets challenged in her shitty ways. I think Tesh did a great job of giving us a rough character who we ultimately know is terrible and has other characters tell her that she is terrible. It's not just shitty for the sake of shitty. And I loved Cleo. She was prob my favorite character in the entire book besides Yiso.
There's been a lot of talk about the whole hair part at the end. As a Black person, it didn't bother me. Does it make sense? No. But it didn't take away from the story for me.
It is also important to note that this is sometimes billed as a "sapphic space opera" and imo that is not correct. Queer? 100%. Sapphic? Not 100% clear. There is an inkling of sapphic romance. There is very much queer relationships. But it is not a romance book. Nor does it even have strong romantic elements.
Overall I fucking loved this.
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Violence and Sexual violence
Minor: Sexual harassment
scifi_rat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Prose: 4★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 5★/4.5★
Characters: 4.75★
Worldbuilding: 4.5★
Ending: 4★
Graphic: Sexism, Suicide, Violence, War, Homophobia, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Gore, Outing, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Racism
Minor: Bullying, Blood, Abortion, and Alcohol