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emtees's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
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? Yes
4.75
The only thing that kept me from rating Once Stolen a 5 is that I didn’t love it quite as much as i loved the previous book set in this world, Our Bloody Pearl. But this was still an amazing read.
With Once Stolen, D.N. Bryn expands this world, one of magic-fueled technology and water-living species who exist alongside humans. This book is set about 40 years after Our Bloody Pearl, and far from the sirens and pirates of the first book. Instead we are in the Murk, a swampy territory where the humans and the local water creatures, a snake-like species called boiuna, live a much more intertwined existence. The boiuna are a fully deaf species who communicate through sign language, and that language has become the dominant language of the region even among humans. Deep in the Murk, humans, boiuna and other species live in harmony, while outside its borders, human criminal cartels rule.
The main character of the story is Cacao (not his real name, you don’t have the right senses to understand that), a young boiuna who was exiled from his home in the Murk for repeatedly stealing ignits, the magical rocks that are the center of technology for this universe. Cacao is the first to insist that he is not a good person; he is selfish and greedy and always does what is best for him. But his situation is actually more complicated; Cacao deals with extreme sensory issues (due to being autistic; that term is not used in the book but the characterization is clear and the author has confirmed it) and the ignits are the only thing that can soothe him. Unfortunately, this has led to an addictive attachment to them that has caused Cacao to betray and endanger the people around him. Once exiled, Cacao has become convinced that he neither wants nor deserves any relationships in his life. But that falls apart when an attempt to steal ignits from Rubem, a feared cartel leader, goes wildly wrong, and Cacao ends up fleeing in the company of a human dancer, Thais.
Cacao and Thais are a great pair right from the beginning. They squabble and insult each other constantly, with the kind of tone that makes it immediately clear this is an enemies-to-lovers story. They protest loudly that they do not want to remain together, yet continually make up reasons why they have to keep traveling together. Thais is the daughter of a famed ignit hunter, who secreted away an enormous stash of the precious gems, one the cartels are now hunting. She agrees to take Cacao to it in exchange for his help escaping. Then she is injured, and the only cure is a green ignit, the rarest kind, one they can very likely only find in Thais’s mother’s stash. And while Cacao continues to insist that he is hunting the stash for his own benefit, it becomes increasingly clear that what he really wants is to save Thais.
In some ways, Once Stolen is very different from Our Bloody Pearl. There is a lot more action and plot in this one, and a lot less time for gentle relationship building. Cacao and Thais form a relationship, and a found family with some friends they make along the way, while dodging one near-death experience after another, and traveling through the complex and fascinating world of the Murk. But this book shares the tone and feel of Our Bloody Pearl, which I love. It is again a world in which, while bad things happen - there is cruelty and violence and, in this case, a lot more conflict and misunderstanding between the main pair - but there is a deep kindness built into the story. Once again, most of the characters, even some who initially seem like bad guys, are fundamentally decent. They want to help each other. Bryn doesn’t scrimp on the characters’ flaws - with Cacao, especially, we see how his addiction really does cause him to hurt those around him - but a path is laid for all of them to do the right thing and they mostly take it. Cacao and Thais have a really fun relationship, and I loved all the secondary characters. I was also pleased that, despite the time jump, we got to see a couple of the characters from Our Bloody Pearl and learn that they were all still doing well.
Once again, this is a very diverse world. Most of the human characters are POC, queerness is casually built into the world and fully accepted, and disability themes remain central. Cacao’s autism and chronic pain, and the way the people around him fail to understand it, are central to the story, and the quest to cure Thais, rather than a disability cure storyline, is actually one to allow her to live with a chronic illness. Other forms of disability appear in the background characters and are all handled well.
With Once Stolen, D.N. Bryn expands this world, one of magic-fueled technology and water-living species who exist alongside humans. This book is set about 40 years after Our Bloody Pearl, and far from the sirens and pirates of the first book. Instead we are in the Murk, a swampy territory where the humans and the local water creatures, a snake-like species called boiuna, live a much more intertwined existence. The boiuna are a fully deaf species who communicate through sign language, and that language has become the dominant language of the region even among humans. Deep in the Murk, humans, boiuna and other species live in harmony, while outside its borders, human criminal cartels rule.
The main character of the story is Cacao (not his real name, you don’t have the right senses to understand that), a young boiuna who was exiled from his home in the Murk for repeatedly stealing ignits, the magical rocks that are the center of technology for this universe. Cacao is the first to insist that he is not a good person; he is selfish and greedy and always does what is best for him. But his situation is actually more complicated; Cacao deals with extreme sensory issues (due to being autistic; that term is not used in the book but the characterization is clear and the author has confirmed it) and the ignits are the only thing that can soothe him. Unfortunately, this has led to an addictive attachment to them that has caused Cacao to betray and endanger the people around him. Once exiled, Cacao has become convinced that he neither wants nor deserves any relationships in his life. But that falls apart when an attempt to steal ignits from Rubem, a feared cartel leader, goes wildly wrong, and Cacao ends up fleeing in the company of a human dancer, Thais.
Cacao and Thais are a great pair right from the beginning. They squabble and insult each other constantly, with the kind of tone that makes it immediately clear this is an enemies-to-lovers story. They protest loudly that they do not want to remain together, yet continually make up reasons why they have to keep traveling together. Thais is the daughter of a famed ignit hunter, who secreted away an enormous stash of the precious gems, one the cartels are now hunting. She agrees to take Cacao to it in exchange for his help escaping. Then she is injured, and the only cure is a green ignit, the rarest kind, one they can very likely only find in Thais’s mother’s stash. And while Cacao continues to insist that he is hunting the stash for his own benefit, it becomes increasingly clear that what he really wants is to save Thais.
In some ways, Once Stolen is very different from Our Bloody Pearl. There is a lot more action and plot in this one, and a lot less time for gentle relationship building. Cacao and Thais form a relationship, and a found family with some friends they make along the way, while dodging one near-death experience after another, and traveling through the complex and fascinating world of the Murk. But this book shares the tone and feel of Our Bloody Pearl, which I love. It is again a world in which, while bad things happen - there is cruelty and violence and, in this case, a lot more conflict and misunderstanding between the main pair - but there is a deep kindness built into the story. Once again, most of the characters, even some who initially seem like bad guys, are fundamentally decent. They want to help each other. Bryn doesn’t scrimp on the characters’ flaws - with Cacao, especially, we see how his addiction really does cause him to hurt those around him - but a path is laid for all of them to do the right thing and they mostly take it. Cacao and Thais have a really fun relationship, and I loved all the secondary characters. I was also pleased that, despite the time jump, we got to see a couple of the characters from Our Bloody Pearl and learn that they were all still doing well.
Once again, this is a very diverse world. Most of the human characters are POC, queerness is casually built into the world and fully accepted, and disability themes remain central. Cacao’s autism and chronic pain, and the way the people around him fail to understand it, are central to the story, and the quest to cure Thais, rather than a disability cure storyline, is actually one to allow her to live with a chronic illness. Other forms of disability appear in the background characters and are all handled well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Addiction, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Ableism
Addiction is one of the themes of the story, presented in a few different ways but always nuanced. A main character experiences ableism from their community, though this is resolved by the end of the story. A character has an illness that causes frequent vomiting.
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