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sunbathingturtle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
What! A! Book!
Female assassins! Spunky characters! Conflicting accounts! Mystery! World building that doesn’t interrupt the plot! Really, what more could you ask for?
I almost abandoned the book in the first chapter because of the hyperbolic teenage narration, but sticking it out was more than worth it.
The only reason this is not 5 stars is becausethe ending disappointed me. Was it realistic? Sure. But if it had to end like that, then I wanted more about the character’s motivations, specifically Emma’s motivations. Plus, I thought it was nonsensical that Wendy and the mercenaries tortured Sarah. Why would they waste valuable time in a coup to do that, when there was no information to steal? That seemed completely implausible to me. Unless Sarah imagined it? Which also seems doubtful. That entire little bit seemed like a plot hole to me. Also, if you’re not okay with unanswered questions in your books, this one might frustrate you (conflicting accounts and unreliable narration abound). You also have to be onboard with superpowers and interdimensional evil and robots and the like. But if you do like that stuff, you’ll love this! I see some reviews complaining that the depiction of women by a male author veered on caricature. I can see where they’re coming from, but I think that was simply the style of the book irrespective of gender. Characters were riffs on common archetypes (rebellious teen, Type A revenge-seeker, universally loved boy-next-door) but they went deep. They never felt one-note to me. Campy? Sure. Over-the-top? Of course! The same way a well-loved pop culture supervillain might be. They were characters that could weather many canon arcs (should that ever be required of them). I did not find them trite or hastily-fastened.
Also, the audiobook narration was 10/10. Highly recommend.
This book scratched so many thematic itches. The prose was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Simply a delight.
Female assassins! Spunky characters! Conflicting accounts! Mystery! World building that doesn’t interrupt the plot! Really, what more could you ask for?
I almost abandoned the book in the first chapter because of the hyperbolic teenage narration, but sticking it out was more than worth it.
The only reason this is not 5 stars is because
Also, the audiobook narration was 10/10. Highly recommend.
This book scratched so many thematic itches. The prose was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Simply a delight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Rape
wolfthorn's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I had such hopes for this book. Superheroes and secret offices all sounded exactly like my sort of thing. Bonus points for the focus on super-powered women too. However, after a decent chunk of the book, it loses its way - not that it had much of one to start off with - and just becomes ramblings about nothing much at all.
The main chapters are split between the main characters: Rose and Sarah. Sarah works in the Regional Office and Rose is part of the attack force. That's all fine. There's also some chapters - which aren't actually included as part of the chapter list for some reason - which give the history of the Regional Office and the two people who established it. Okay, that's three points of view now. Still manageable. The chapters for Rose and Sarah alternate between different times. At one point, there was a chapter on Rose during the attack, followed by a chapter with Rose's training, followed by a chapter on how Rose was recruited. And then back to Rose during the attack. None of the chapters had any indication as to which time period it was in so it was only obvious once I'd started reading it. It's just too much jumping about on top of a plot-line that's confusing enough already. You don't find out who attacked the Regional Office and why until the very last few pages, but by that point, I didn't really care any more.
The main chapters are split between the main characters: Rose and Sarah. Sarah works in the Regional Office and Rose is part of the attack force. That's all fine. There's also some chapters - which aren't actually included as part of the chapter list for some reason - which give the history of the Regional Office and the two people who established it. Okay, that's three points of view now. Still manageable. The chapters for Rose and Sarah alternate between different times. At one point, there was a chapter on Rose during the attack, followed by a chapter with Rose's training, followed by a chapter on how Rose was recruited. And then back to Rose during the attack. None of the chapters had any indication as to which time period it was in so it was only obvious once I'd started reading it. It's just too much jumping about on top of a plot-line that's confusing enough already. You don't find out who attacked the Regional Office and why until the very last few pages, but by that point, I didn't really care any more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, and Gun violence
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