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2.62 AVERAGE
2.62 AVERAGE
I liked the concept and was very excited to read a steampunk, bisexual love triangle story. That said, the writing was disappointing. There was a lot of telling, bad lines and metaphors, unnecessary repetition, and plot points that felt more convenient than probable.
overall okay but it did feel like the author was constantly trying to give us a payoff that was never built up so it just always fell flat? plot wise a lot happened but it ended up feeling like nothing happened at all throughout the book because it never felt like the stakes were raised in any way for the characters
also the relationships were so rushed? suddenly Gwen had been dating both Bastian and Rora but at that point they'd maybe only kissed once ?? it didn't make sense and it led to it feeling really flat whenever Gwen kept in to rescue either of them.
another problem I had whilst reading is the speed at which they had new plans or changed plans etc. and the speed at which these plans were resolved - every plot point was over in maybe a page followed by pages of what felt like unnecessary exposition or Gwen thinking things that felt a bit strange for the character and her position.
I will say that the premise is super intriguing but I think the author tried to put too much into one book (what was the point of the dragon?) which meant that it fell flat. the writing style however was very fluid and easy to follow and I do enjoy the characters - I just wish we got something more in depth about them
also the relationships were so rushed? suddenly Gwen had been dating both Bastian and Rora but at that point they'd maybe only kissed once ?? it didn't make sense and it led to it feeling really flat whenever Gwen kept in to rescue either of them.
another problem I had whilst reading is the speed at which they had new plans or changed plans etc. and the speed at which these plans were resolved - every plot point was over in maybe a page followed by pages of what felt like unnecessary exposition or Gwen thinking things that felt a bit strange for the character and her position.
I will say that the premise is super intriguing but I think the author tried to put too much into one book (what was the point of the dragon?) which meant that it fell flat. the writing style however was very fluid and easy to follow and I do enjoy the characters - I just wish we got something more in depth about them
THIS BOOK HAS EVERYTHING!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1xS-hPLbiA
Finger banging in an alley, cyborgs, polyamory, eating disorders, DRAGONS, weird science and deflated tits for sails... and NONE of it works. That's why I give it 1 star.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1xS-hPLbiA
Finger banging in an alley, cyborgs, polyamory, eating disorders, DRAGONS, weird science and deflated tits for sails... and NONE of it works. That's why I give it 1 star.
I will start off with the positives. The cover art is amazing. I was immediately drawn in by the steampunk world, the idea of ships flying across the galaxy and the illegal cyborgs was definitely an interesting concept. However, I wish we saw more of it, or were at least given more information, the setting felt like it was just there rather than an integral part of the story.
I enjoyed Meg’s writing style and the plot was interesting enough to finish the book. The characters all had distinct voices and I had no problem differentiating which character was speaking.
Spoilers Below
Now for the parts I didn’t enjoy. I am not a fan of romance, when I originally pre-ordered the book Meg was promoting it as a Sci-Fi Action with some Romance. It was clearly mis-genred, as the romance is the driving force of the novel. I watched some of her videos after reading it she admits she didn’t realize it fell so heavily into the Romance genre, but has since re-genred it. I personally didn’t feel the romance and in one case, insta-love, was enough of a driving force for the protagonist, the motivation for me was just lacking.
I almost DNF’d it when the Deadly Challenge trope appeared out of nowhere. I am not a fan of this particular style of plot. And for being a Deadly Challenge I thought it was a bit light on the violence. Other than some mentions of blood and light details of the extractions, there really wasn’t as graphic gore as there was graphic sex. And, spoiler alert, all our main characters survive. Other than having some cyborg parts damaged and a few characters being shot, they all make it through unscathed.
The text felt more YA than adult, other than the explicit sex scenes I didn’t feel like the themes or situations reflected an adult audience. I was hoping for more of the cutthroat politics within the circus. I wish we saw more of the inner workings, the show management was mentioned a few times but never developed any further. It would have been great to see the circus function at least normally once before completely crumbling into disarray.
There is little description of the larger world and how the new rules of Cyborg Prohibition came to be. I genuinely thought this was going to be a case of the elites all having Cyborg parts so they could live longer, hence the extractions, while condemning the poor and less fortunate Cyborgs. Instead we get a convoluted plot to murder the Emperor who openly invited them to his city, despite being the one who enacted the law in the first place. The emperor’s motivation and the villain’s motivation both felt a bit weak. Also, the villain gives up too easily, after going to such extreme lengths and murdering innocent people she just gives up when Gwen tells her they need to leave? I might need a re-read to see if I missed something. Gwen was ready to sabotage and leave Abercon and his crew to fight for their lives on Jinx, so why not leave behind the person who literally forced her to maim and murder innocent cyborgs?
I believe the high concept of the novel was fantastic but the novel needed more character development, more worldbuilding, and either aged up into adult themes and situations or down into YA with less explicit sex.
I will still consider reading the second novel as I think Meg has a lot of potential as an author. I did enjoy her writing style, if not this book in particular.
I enjoyed Meg’s writing style and the plot was interesting enough to finish the book. The characters all had distinct voices and I had no problem differentiating which character was speaking.
Spoilers Below
Now for the parts I didn’t enjoy. I am not a fan of romance, when I originally pre-ordered the book Meg was promoting it as a Sci-Fi Action with some Romance. It was clearly mis-genred, as the romance is the driving force of the novel. I watched some of her videos after reading it she admits she didn’t realize it fell so heavily into the Romance genre, but has since re-genred it. I personally didn’t feel the romance and in one case, insta-love, was enough of a driving force for the protagonist, the motivation for me was just lacking.
I almost DNF’d it when the Deadly Challenge trope appeared out of nowhere. I am not a fan of this particular style of plot. And for being a Deadly Challenge I thought it was a bit light on the violence. Other than some mentions of blood and light details of the extractions, there really wasn’t as graphic gore as there was graphic sex. And, spoiler alert, all our main characters survive. Other than having some cyborg parts damaged and a few characters being shot, they all make it through unscathed.
The text felt more YA than adult, other than the explicit sex scenes I didn’t feel like the themes or situations reflected an adult audience. I was hoping for more of the cutthroat politics within the circus. I wish we saw more of the inner workings, the show management was mentioned a few times but never developed any further. It would have been great to see the circus function at least normally once before completely crumbling into disarray.
There is little description of the larger world and how the new rules of Cyborg Prohibition came to be. I genuinely thought this was going to be a case of the elites all having Cyborg parts so they could live longer, hence the extractions, while condemning the poor and less fortunate Cyborgs. Instead we get a convoluted plot to murder the Emperor who openly invited them to his city, despite being the one who enacted the law in the first place. The emperor’s motivation and the villain’s motivation both felt a bit weak. Also, the villain gives up too easily, after going to such extreme lengths and murdering innocent people she just gives up when Gwen tells her they need to leave? I might need a re-read to see if I missed something. Gwen was ready to sabotage and leave Abercon and his crew to fight for their lives on Jinx, so why not leave behind the person who literally forced her to maim and murder innocent cyborgs?
I believe the high concept of the novel was fantastic but the novel needed more character development, more worldbuilding, and either aged up into adult themes and situations or down into YA with less explicit sex.
As their ship soared atop atmospheric waves, sails blossoming in the solar winds, she realized she didn’t fear what was to come.
I will still consider reading the second novel as I think Meg has a lot of potential as an author. I did enjoy her writing style, if not this book in particular.
I’m sorry this book didn’t do it for me. I have two stars for effort.
2.5 stars.
This felt like a YA book disguised as adult fiction. Which isn’t a terrible thing as I think that could hook a lot of older readers. But it was way too trope-y for me. Chosen one, instalove, a lot of psychological trauma that wasn’t handled properly, and the sex was juvenile despite being… sex.
I ultimately liked the universe and the overarching plot. This book definitely has some merit but it’s not something I would go immediately recommending.
This felt like a YA book disguised as adult fiction. Which isn’t a terrible thing as I think that could hook a lot of older readers. But it was way too trope-y for me. Chosen one, instalove, a lot of psychological trauma that wasn’t handled properly, and the sex was juvenile despite being… sex.
I ultimately liked the universe and the overarching plot. This book definitely has some merit but it’s not something I would go immediately recommending.
I’ve spent the past few minutes humming and hawing about which rating I would give The Cyborg Tinkerer. I ended up deciding it was closer to three star than four but I’d probably give it a 6.5 or 7/10.
I love the setting but it really needed more world building. I felt like I was told the barest bones but there was no exploration of what that meant or really how any structures worked.
The main characters are great and are fleshed out. I really like Gwen, Rora and Bastien. The love triangle was quite lopsided though. One was insta-love and the second was a romance born from a budding friendship. I knew why the characters were great but I didn’t feel like they had time to know that.
Having said that, it’s a refreshing triangle with little toxicity. I like that.
I think this debut novel’s real let down is that it tries to do too much. There’s a high stakes story, high stakes romance and fascinating setting. You really can only flesh out two of these without the book suffering.
I don’t want to seem too down on the book because I did enjoy it and do recommend it for steampunk and science fantasy lovers.
Thank you Meg LaTorre for the copy of The Cyborg Tinkerer that I was provided in exchange for an honest review.
I love the setting but it really needed more world building. I felt like I was told the barest bones but there was no exploration of what that meant or really how any structures worked.
The main characters are great and are fleshed out. I really like Gwen, Rora and Bastien. The love triangle was quite lopsided though. One was insta-love and the second was a romance born from a budding friendship. I knew why the characters were great but I didn’t feel like they had time to know that.
Having said that, it’s a refreshing triangle with little toxicity. I like that.
I think this debut novel’s real let down is that it tries to do too much. There’s a high stakes story, high stakes romance and fascinating setting. You really can only flesh out two of these without the book suffering.
I don’t want to seem too down on the book because I did enjoy it and do recommend it for steampunk and science fantasy lovers.
Thank you Meg LaTorre for the copy of The Cyborg Tinkerer that I was provided in exchange for an honest review.
If Gideon the Ninth (from the book by Tamsyn Muir) decided to write a polyamorous, steampunk romance set in space, the end result would probably be something like The Cyborg Tinkerer. While certainly not a perfect book, this debut novel is fun, fast paced, brutal, irreverent, steamy, and will probably hold your attention.
Gwndolyn Grimm is dying from a brain tumor because advanced surgery and cyborg implants are illegal. In her final days she plans to drink, hook up with men and women, and attend a highly contested cyborg circus. Then she gets an offer she can't refuse- get a life saving surgery in exchange for a years-long contract working with the circus. Gwendolyn reminds me a lot of Gideon (excessive swearing, irreverent, devil may care attitude)... She has saccharine moments that I didn't find particularly believable, but I think she's intended to be a sort of rakess with a heart of gold.
I won't go into too much detail for the rest, but overall I think the world was interesting and the book was certainly action packed. The romance...didn't really work for me on an emotional level. I believed everyone was attracted to each other, but in love? Ehh....maybe not. I think part of the problem is this book is trying to be two things at once- both a polyamorous romance and a sci-fi action adventure. There isn't space to adequately do both, so we end up with a romance that feels too-quickly forced (especially with three characters and only two with perspectives) and an action plot that skips over important moments and information. I wish this had picked one and done it really well, probably the action portion with a slight romantic subplot perhaps that didn't need to end with a believe-able, intact relationship.
That said, I moved through this pretty quickly and generally had a good time with it. As a self-published debut it's reasonably strong and I think if you go in with the right expectations, you will probably enjoy it, if this is your thing. I did receive an advance copy of this book from the author for review. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings include a lot of language, violence, blood, torture, violence toward animals, mind-control, emotional manipulation, mentions of eating disorders, death, bodily injury.
Gwndolyn Grimm is dying from a brain tumor because advanced surgery and cyborg implants are illegal. In her final days she plans to drink, hook up with men and women, and attend a highly contested cyborg circus. Then she gets an offer she can't refuse- get a life saving surgery in exchange for a years-long contract working with the circus. Gwendolyn reminds me a lot of Gideon (excessive swearing, irreverent, devil may care attitude)... She has saccharine moments that I didn't find particularly believable, but I think she's intended to be a sort of rakess with a heart of gold.
I won't go into too much detail for the rest, but overall I think the world was interesting and the book was certainly action packed. The romance...didn't really work for me on an emotional level. I believed everyone was attracted to each other, but in love? Ehh....maybe not. I think part of the problem is this book is trying to be two things at once- both a polyamorous romance and a sci-fi action adventure. There isn't space to adequately do both, so we end up with a romance that feels too-quickly forced (especially with three characters and only two with perspectives) and an action plot that skips over important moments and information. I wish this had picked one and done it really well, probably the action portion with a slight romantic subplot perhaps that didn't need to end with a believe-able, intact relationship.
That said, I moved through this pretty quickly and generally had a good time with it. As a self-published debut it's reasonably strong and I think if you go in with the right expectations, you will probably enjoy it, if this is your thing. I did receive an advance copy of this book from the author for review. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings include a lot of language, violence, blood, torture, violence toward animals, mind-control, emotional manipulation, mentions of eating disorders, death, bodily injury.
This is a luscious, sultry science fiction, steampunk fairytale mash up to die for. Gwen, the protagonist is a sassy badass who knows what she’s wants and will fight to get it. If you love romance, in particular polyamory, this book is for you. It’s hard to choose which character to love more, Gwen, Bastian or Rora. *whispers team Bastian* LaTorre builds a rich world with terrifying obstacles Gwen must face in order to save those she cares about, all building to a hot, steamy, climax... pun intended. A fantastic start to a series I cannot wait to read more of.