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slaapkameractivist's review
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
I got this book as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out next week! I have complicated feelings about this book. It's really well written. Pacing is nice. The story is great. You can see that the author tried to research the trans experience (from what I'm told the author is cis). The talk about hrt and dysphoria are really good. I love the effort. I also really love the trans mc. And it's also consistently trying to be affirming that trans women are women. But it also occasionally misses the boat to the point of unintentional micro aggression, has a random fatphobic remark, and doesn't really explain the magic system/world building. And it uses violent transhate as a plot device and I'm really exhausted by that. Cis people do that as often as cis men use rape as a plot device. As if trans people can't exist outside of trauma. Really good book and I truly applaud the effort, but not necessarily a safe read if you're trans. 3 stars.
rambling_willow's review
I requested this arc as I'm interested in reading more works with trans characters, but where this book did feature a trans character, it wasn't what I thought it would be.
I'm glad the writer added an acknowledgement upfront, where she thanked her editor for helping her and correcting her. But she's still cis. And it shows. In my opinion is this not a true reflection of a trans experience. I also wouldn't be able to write about Krissy's experience, as my life is way different than hers, and neither is the writer.
Instead, we are given the occasional facts. It shows that the author has done the research, but telling the technicalities doesn't make me connect with a character. I don't want to be told that she still has a slight Adam's apple, tucks or takes her HRT. I want to know what her life is like. In fiction, it's rarely mentioned that a character gets their period or takes birth control, as they are just everyday things and they don't define a person. If one wants to write a story featuring a trans character, write about them being a person and the part that does reflect you. Because there are so many parts of being human, and one doesn't have to sum up all the parts of being trans to tell their story.
The story also contains POVs from other characters. In the beginning, I struggled with identifying which ones would be important, and as I continued reading, I found myself skipping certain POVs as I found myself not caring about those stories.
After a while, I started skimming most of the book, and I figured I better save myself the effort and stop reading the book altogether.
Thank you NetGalley and Igni House Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, and Death
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