Scan barcode
allisonjpmiller's review against another edition
3.0
So much fun. A well-written sci-fi romp with a lot of Firefly and Star Wars in its blood, but Aguirre's characters are certainly her own. Would've liked more exploration of the concept of grimspace itself, but I suppose there's plenty of time to address that in future installments. I'm glad this is a series (for once!); it's the sort of thing I'd love to see as a TV show. My main qualm was the weird voice changes with March and Jax. Very occasionally, their dialogue (usually in conversations with each other) felt trite in a way that struck me as out-of-character. Otherwise, I enjoyed them and the secondaries – Dina and Vel in particular.
_persephone_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
2.0
Everyone in this book is an asshole. Everyone. And the two main characters, Jax and March, are the biggest assholes of all. So I guess they're perfect for each other in that sense.
melsocool's review against another edition
4.0
The characters were a bit shallow. There was a little too much going on in the story and too little writing to properly flesh the story out. That said, it is compelling. I hope the later books on the series improve.
paradoxically's review against another edition
3.0
I've read Grimspace a couple of times already, and it's a good book. It has a solid main character, as well as an interesting and diverse cast that compliment Jax, and the story, well. It does take a little to get into--not because of Jax (or at least not for me), but mainly because of a few characters that just sort of grate on you and make you want to strangle them. Just a little bit. Um.
The beginning of the book is pretty bumpy. Jax comes off rather harshly, even after all that she has gone through. Very rough, very brash, and kind of broken in various ways. The other characters aren't much better. They rescued Jax from what is pretty much certain death, but they aren't really glad to do it. I think it just bothered me that they planned to use Jax--and for people who plan to use her, they don't really try to ease her into things, or even be all that pleasant to her (well, a few of them, anyway). Granted, they have their own reasons for being as they are, but it never failed to give me prickly, irritated feelings.
I like main characters best, always. It bugs me when people are crap to them without (to me) a really good reason for it. Or even then, aha. This contributes to huge amounts of my feelings towards the beginning of the book, while others would probably think everything is fine and dandy and they're just getting use to each other.
Still, the book does get better and things do smooth out to a much more enjoyable read. The romance is pretty typical alpha, inscrutable male meets and has endless little fights with the main character that ultimately culminate in love and so on. Not going to lie, I'm a sucker for this, so I don't mind the trope at all. The plot is a bit messy and it jumps around rather quickly. You kind of want the author to have a more narrowed focus; or at least have a focus that is a bit tighter than this execution.
The prose is very nice to read though. It's smooth, it's easy, I rather like the writing style. It just feels like the first book an author puts out. Which it is. Rough around the edges, but holds a lot of potential. Overall, a solid start to a series. 3 stars.
The beginning of the book is pretty bumpy. Jax comes off rather harshly, even after all that she has gone through. Very rough, very brash, and kind of broken in various ways. The other characters aren't much better. They rescued Jax from what is pretty much certain death, but they aren't really glad to do it. I think it just bothered me that they planned to use Jax--and for people who plan to use her, they don't really try to ease her into things, or even be all that pleasant to her (well, a few of them, anyway). Granted, they have their own reasons for being as they are, but it never failed to give me prickly, irritated feelings.
I like main characters best, always. It bugs me when people are crap to them without (to me) a really good reason for it. Or even then, aha. This contributes to huge amounts of my feelings towards the beginning of the book, while others would probably think everything is fine and dandy and they're just getting use to each other.
Still, the book does get better and things do smooth out to a much more enjoyable read. The romance is pretty typical alpha, inscrutable male meets and has endless little fights with the main character that ultimately culminate in love and so on. Not going to lie, I'm a sucker for this, so I don't mind the trope at all. The plot is a bit messy and it jumps around rather quickly. You kind of want the author to have a more narrowed focus; or at least have a focus that is a bit tighter than this execution.
The prose is very nice to read though. It's smooth, it's easy, I rather like the writing style. It just feels like the first book an author puts out. Which it is. Rough around the edges, but holds a lot of potential. Overall, a solid start to a series. 3 stars.
orangesyellows's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
3.0
mousegrey's review against another edition
Distracted by other books and not quite in the right headspace. I also want to do a reread of this series (and all the books I own) while taking notes and quotes etc, which means starting from the beginning.