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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was alright, the queerness was heavily over exaggerated, I thought it was actually a queer book but it features one chaste kiss and no further elaboration on feelings or sexuality.
Was very Confused about why Grace took Katsu. Was it just jealousy of Mori and Thaniel’s relationship?
Was very Confused about why Grace took Katsu. Was it just jealousy of Mori and Thaniel’s relationship?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation
funny
lighthearted
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:
No
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Pros:
A charming if strange intercultural queer love story. Fascinating to see Anglo-Japanese culture in 1880s London. Excellent use of multiple settings. Nice to see a female Oxford physicist. Really interesting mix of clockwork, magic, and clairvoyance. Universally interesting characters. Some really nice language.
Cons:
Very much a first novel. The major characters' various motivations were unclear, in large part due to the confusing structure. The villain's motives were utterly nonsensical.
Queer interest tag for the above mentioned m/m love story. Also what I can only guess is bi-phobia as a plot point.
Disability tag for the female protagonist's generally despised disabled mother, who then dies and isn't grieved. Meanwhile other characters miraculously survive multiple injuries and never show any lingering effects.
A charming if strange intercultural queer love story. Fascinating to see Anglo-Japanese culture in 1880s London. Excellent use of multiple settings. Nice to see a female Oxford physicist. Really interesting mix of clockwork, magic, and clairvoyance. Universally interesting characters. Some really nice language.
Cons:
Very much a first novel. The major characters' various motivations were unclear, in large part due to the confusing structure. The villain's motives were utterly nonsensical.
Queer interest tag for the above mentioned m/m love story. Also what I can only guess is bi-phobia as a plot point.
Disability tag for the female protagonist's generally despised disabled mother, who then dies and isn't grieved. Meanwhile other characters miraculously survive multiple injuries and never show any lingering effects.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really loved this book at the beginning but I felt like the ending was kind of rushed. And the whole grace deciding to create a bomb to frame Mori seemed so out of left field. Idek why she was annoyed at Thaniel anyways when she knew it was a sham marriage for both of their gain?? But that choice also seemed rushed and random as well. The second half of the book did kind of feel like 3 characters just lying to each other and manipulating each other?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Wonderful! I was hooked from the beginning and kept happily curious until the very end. All I can think is: Natasha Pulley, please write more books!
3,5 ⭐️
Quote:
Een licht briesje ritselde langs de lampionnen en de muziek die nog steeds op de standaard stond. Er was niemand meer. Hij wist zeker dat er al meer dan drie minuten waren verstreken. Nog steeds geen explosie en verder wees ook niets er op dat er iets te gebeuren stond…
Quote:
Een licht briesje ritselde langs de lampionnen en de muziek die nog steeds op de standaard stond. Er was niemand meer. Hij wist zeker dat er al meer dan drie minuten waren verstreken. Nog steeds geen explosie en verder wees ook niets er op dat er iets te gebeuren stond…
4,5 stars. After months of reading 3 star books, finally one I could not put down. I really loved the way the atmosphere and characters were brought to live, with beautiful writing and clever, sometimes unusual, observations. Feeling a suffocating late Victorian London. And yes, there is a sort of whodunnit and tensions between cultural groups, with associated misunderstandings and prejudices. But it was the people, and one machine, who stole my heart.
Well. I spent three hours on this breezy Sunday afternoon whipping through the last half of this book, so my understanding and response are a bit . . . . unformed, still. However:
--I loved the writing style and the plot in general. There's a lot to challenge one's brain. Even the COVER of the version I got at our library book sale is gorgeous!
--The characters are fascinating and unpredictable. It's hard to tell who Pulley wants us to root for and who against, until the end.
--There is a big Grace section at the end that I thought was poorly structured: a sudden flashback crammed in to explain plot. Not Pulley's finest hour.
--I wonder if this would be a fun audio, or if my eyes would be crossed and my brain mush in two minutes. Time travel: that's tricky.
--I do love the idea of Japanese culture as something functional and understandable, as well as the idea of beauty and whimsy being as valuable--more valuable?--than science and experimentation.
--I am curious about why Grace is such an unsympathetic character. Suffrage is not shown well, even though Grace's limited, powerless situation is certainly worthy of our sympathy. Interesting.
Go read it, though! It's really good!
--I loved the writing style and the plot in general. There's a lot to challenge one's brain. Even the COVER of the version I got at our library book sale is gorgeous!
--The characters are fascinating and unpredictable. It's hard to tell who Pulley wants us to root for and who against, until the end.
--There is a big Grace section at the end that I thought was poorly structured: a sudden flashback crammed in to explain plot. Not Pulley's finest hour.
--I wonder if this would be a fun audio, or if my eyes would be crossed and my brain mush in two minutes. Time travel: that's tricky.
--I do love the idea of Japanese culture as something functional and understandable, as well as the idea of beauty and whimsy being as valuable--more valuable?--than science and experimentation.
--I am curious about why Grace is such an unsympathetic character. Suffrage is not shown well, even though Grace's limited, powerless situation is certainly worthy of our sympathy. Interesting.
Go read it, though! It's really good!