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misssusan's review against another edition
3.0
two metamours must work together to rescue their boyfriend from magically induced dire straits. very enjoyable! it's more about the characters then the plot, the leads gather a series of macguffins while bickering their way to a better understanding of each other. lots of family vibes. 3.5 stars
jessrock's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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
sonni89's review against another edition
5.0
Oh man, this novella was SUCH an utter joy and a delight.
Set in a contemporary fantasy London, two queer poly people, Layla and Nat, who don't even really like each other at first and have nothing in common except for having the same chaos magician boyfriend have to go on a quest through parts of England to save him before time runs out, after a magic spell goes disastrously wrong.
This was so fun and funny and charming. I loved loved loved how Layla and Nat warmed up to each other in the course of the novella, I loved the entire section where they had to pretend to want to get married to each other in order to get access to a church, and I loved all the relationships in the book -- from Layla's marriage to Katrina, to both Layla and Nat's relationships with Meraud, to Nat's friendships with Ari and Kay. It's all wonderful and so delightfully and effortlessly queer.
It's a quick read and I highly recommend it.
Set in a contemporary fantasy London, two queer poly people, Layla and Nat, who don't even really like each other at first and have nothing in common except for having the same chaos magician boyfriend have to go on a quest through parts of England to save him before time runs out, after a magic spell goes disastrously wrong.
This was so fun and funny and charming. I loved loved loved how Layla and Nat warmed up to each other in the course of the novella, I loved the entire section where they had to pretend to want to get married to each other in order to get access to a church, and I loved all the relationships in the book -- from Layla's marriage to Katrina, to both Layla and Nat's relationships with Meraud, to Nat's friendships with Ari and Kay. It's all wonderful and so delightfully and effortlessly queer.
It's a quick read and I highly recommend it.
frogy927's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this and yet, there was something just not quite right for me. I picked it up after it was rec'd on the Be the Serpent podcast. On that same episode they were talking about classifying things by the portal world axises from Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway (which I loved), and I wish that was as common as the sorting hat, because honestly I think this book was too nonsense for me. It was the same problem I had with Space Opera by Catherynne Valente where I could recognize that it was good, but nothing made enough sense for me to really enjoy it. I like my magic/magical worlds to be like Fillroy from The Magician's where there is no such thing as too many rules or too much logic.
tronella's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. Definitely read this in December if you can.
aportablemagic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
This is what Rivers of London used to be/could have been but...isn't. Quite.
anachronistique's review
This suffered from the usual curse of novellas - just not long enough for me, and lots of things peeking around the edges I wanted to know more about - but it was still a fun read, and it was great spending time with such a thoroughly queer cast of characters.
(Full disclosure: I am friends with one of the authors.)
Spoiler
I do share another reviewer's feeling that it's a little hard to care about Meraud - the main reason any of this happens - when he's such a cipher, and especially to understand his current relationship with Layla. It really feels more like he's just her childhood friend and not her current anything, which again might be an issue of balance given the shorter length.(Full disclosure: I am friends with one of the authors.)
eemms's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely beautiful story. Not a romance-genre romance but love and those we love is so central to the heart of the story. It's *so* queer, so good, and also the magic felt so real that when I finished reading it I was half convinced I could've done a spell right then.