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marsican's review against another edition
hopeful
slow-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? It's complicated
2.5
numberoneblind's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
This should be labeled as LBGTQ+, which is a plus for this book.
World building was good but story structure was hard to follow. Loved the descriptions and details but was hard to follow the story, I thought I missed something in the beginning but based off other reviews I'm not alone.
World building was good but story structure was hard to follow. Loved the descriptions and details but was hard to follow the story, I thought I missed something in the beginning but based off other reviews I'm not alone.
lsparrow's review
2.0
I can tell that the world in this story is so real to the author - they know it so clearly. I found I did not really understand it and so found myself lost in trying to figure out the world and thus could not focus on the story. I did like the different queer relationships and the use of non gendered pronouns for some of the characters.
gperna01's review
2.0
DNF-Ed at 30%. Truthfully this book made no sense. The timeline was weird the introduction of characters was poor if there was any. I had no idea what was going on the whole time. Not sure why the book is 500 pages and what the plot was but it was dragging. Not my style.
ceciohad11's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
himalaya's review
3.5
This has super interesting worldbuilding!! the writing didn’t quite work for me though.
The arrangement of sentences made it quite hard for me to follow a lot of the time. I think it worked for Awa’s POV, being quite dreamlike and wandering, but for the other being more complex and political it just didn’t work for me.
I did actually notice later on when they’re both talking - there was a mention of them switching languages, and I noticed the sentence structure was way easier to follow? So I can see this being an intentional choice mirroring how different languages structure things. But unfortunately doesn’t change the fact that I personally felt it was hard to follow in some parts. I don’t think I would have made it through not on audio.
I definitely enjoyed Awa more as a character, watching her grow and learn, her bee friends, and the sweet sapphic romance she had. And I liked the animal POVs, and use of music as magic, the whole smokelands thing….there’s definitely lots of good stuff in here also!
erinlouise78's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
sioois's review
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.5
I wanted to love this book - compelling characters and concept, but often very hard to follow given the meandering writing style and complex world. I made it through but it was a slog.
shellbellbell's review against another edition
DNF halfway through. I really wanted to like this book, so it is with a heavy heart that I have to give up on it. Two things:
When I first put this book on my TBR, I think it was because it may have been marketed as "hopeful". And there are a few genuine moments of happiness and queer found family in the beginning of the book that I enjoyed. I loved seeing the casual queerness and gender diversity in the society outsiders. The outsider society was also rooted in traditional griot culture, and had strong African-futurist vibes. We need more of that in fantasy, so I was happy to see it.
However, the world itself is just brutal (see content warnings below for more details). Maybe it gets hopeful at the end. But I just couldn't watch one of the main characters continue to go through trauma after trauma. It just got to the point I wasn't enjoying it anymore.
The other thing is the author's writing style. There were some moments of beauty, for sure, but overall, it just didn't appeal to me. It's a little disjointed and back and forth. Paragraphs usually end with a non-sequitor or are just kind of a jumble of statements. It was confusing. I found myself having to go back and re-read passages to understand what was going on, and was often left confused when a character just... DID something without explanation. It didn't flow smoothly. I can see how the style could speak to other readers! It's unique, for sure! I could totally read poetry or a short story by this author. But when the book was already difficult to read because of the content, this was kinda the nail in the coffin.
Sadly, not for me.
Representation notes: Society is based in (west?) African tradition, so most characters, and those in power, are PoC. Characters exist that are explicitly a member of a gender outside the male/female binary with their own pronouns. Queer romance with the main character, and between the third-gender folks. Author is a Black woman.
Content warnings: The world includes a patriarchal society that practices human trafficking, slavery, and is discriminatory against women and third-gender folks. Content includes brutal gender-based (and what could be read as transphobic) violence, gore, and torture.
When I first put this book on my TBR, I think it was because it may have been marketed as "hopeful". And there are a few genuine moments of happiness and queer found family in the beginning of the book that I enjoyed. I loved seeing the casual queerness and gender diversity in the society outsiders. The outsider society was also rooted in traditional griot culture, and had strong African-futurist vibes. We need more of that in fantasy, so I was happy to see it.
However, the world itself is just brutal (see content warnings below for more details). Maybe it gets hopeful at the end. But I just couldn't watch one of the main characters continue to go through trauma after trauma. It just got to the point I wasn't enjoying it anymore.
The other thing is the author's writing style. There were some moments of beauty, for sure, but overall, it just didn't appeal to me. It's a little disjointed and back and forth. Paragraphs usually end with a non-sequitor or are just kind of a jumble of statements. It was confusing. I found myself having to go back and re-read passages to understand what was going on, and was often left confused when a character just... DID something without explanation. It didn't flow smoothly. I can see how the style could speak to other readers! It's unique, for sure! I could totally read poetry or a short story by this author. But when the book was already difficult to read because of the content, this was kinda the nail in the coffin.
Sadly, not for me.
Representation notes: Society is based in (west?) African tradition, so most characters, and those in power, are PoC. Characters exist that are explicitly a member of a gender outside the male/female binary with their own pronouns. Queer romance with the main character, and between the third-gender folks. Author is a Black woman.
Content warnings: The world includes a patriarchal society that practices human trafficking, slavery, and is discriminatory against women and third-gender folks. Content includes brutal gender-based (and what could be read as transphobic) violence, gore, and torture.
drl1's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25