Reviews

In the Vanisher's Palace by Aliette de Bodard

acecatlady's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

So few people shoot for science fantasy, I always get a bit exited anytime people go there. And SE Asian coded too?! Adorable. Love it. Totally here for it. A bit short, but a novella is going to novella, and so is the original Beauty and the Beast, so makes sense!

darkfuckedgelord's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 ⭐
⭐ Perfect book for sapphic monster lovers
⭐ Diverse (non-binary) characters, inclusive language

kokechii's review against another edition

2.0

Didn't know how to rate this at all. One of the reviews said: not caring about a book is a much worse feeling than not liking it. I'd have to agree.

miss_majuu's review against another edition

2.0

*2.5/5

This didn't work for me because, while the concept is super amazing, this book was way too short.
I think it would've been way better of this was a regular sized book. With that the plot and especially the relationship would've been more developed and what I wanted from this

rosatulipan's review against another edition

The concept of the vanishers is really good

consumed_by_mold's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.0

A post-apocalyptic world, left broken by alien invaders, in which words are magic and being useful is the only way to survive.

I found this while looking for sapphic human x dragon romances - with, you know, an actual dragon. Vu Côn did not disappoint, she has a dragon and a human form, but uses them both frequently. 

Though I'm usually not a fan of insta-lust, here it aided the otherworldliness of the dragon. Still, I wish their relationship had been more fleshed out and given more depth, the romance was definitely lacking. There's also one fade-to-black sex scene. 

The descriptions for the world were both beautiful and confusing, done so very much on purpose. I wouldn't last a single day in that palace, just imagining it gives me a headache.

I really liked the children and their story, though all together the book did feel somewhat unfinished. It's a very unique retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" and an interesting take on post-colonialism - just a bit short is all. 

ainsi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.0

youshouldreadthisif's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

theangrystackrat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

2.5

This was a odd little tale of a teacher who is sold off to a dragon. Yen's world is broken, left in tatters after a race known as the vanisher's destroyed it for their own pleasure. When her healer mother calls on the dragon to heal the head villager's daughter - the dragon does but there is a cost. Yen is given to the dragon to die or to serve and yet what she finds in the palace is not what she expects. I needed a bit more plot in this story and better pacing. It's not awful just needed more polishing.

mitabird's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5