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monstroustea's review
3.0
I had been looking forward to this since I read the summary for the first time. Nonbinary protagonist, an Egyptian school setting... Too good to be true.
Teka is a wonderful character and I loved xem immediately, but all the more for how xey just went for it to get what xey wanted. I love shy characters since I can so sincerely relate, but it is wonderful to have a character who is willing to seize a chance and damn the consequences.
The world is a little disorienting. I had no idea what they were talking about at first with the rats and, this being the first book I've read that uses xe pronouns, I did admittedly stumble a bit the first few pages. I was trying to kick my brain into gear with the pronouns while also trying to figure out what was going on with the magic they were using. And it certainly made sense down the road, but I was thrown for a loop with the magic at first...
As for the romance, I loved every moment between Teka and both of the twins. When the inevitable truth came out, it really was heartbreaking. I felt so badly for all three of them. Even knowing how things would work out, I felt Teka's sadness so well; it wasn't just what xey were losing but that xey had hurt both Manu and Mosi.
I really, truly wish there was more at the end than just the sex scene. I am glad they are all going to be together and certainly things seemed to work out in the bedroom, but I would love to see how things go for them in the future. Or, maybe, I'm just an extra soft touch for Mosi and want to see more of him having little moments of happiness because he has both the love he thought lost and the new love he found and he is just Too Cute.
I enjoyed this a lot, overall. My biggest complaint would only be, as ever, that I could do with more mushy moments of flirting and romance and a bit less of all the lust and sex... But that's just me.
Teka is a wonderful character and I loved xem immediately, but all the more for how xey just went for it to get what xey wanted. I love shy characters since I can so sincerely relate, but it is wonderful to have a character who is willing to seize a chance and damn the consequences.
The world is a little disorienting. I had no idea what they were talking about at first with the rats and, this being the first book I've read that uses xe pronouns, I did admittedly stumble a bit the first few pages. I was trying to kick my brain into gear with the pronouns while also trying to figure out what was going on with the magic they were using. And it certainly made sense down the road, but I was thrown for a loop with the magic at first...
As for the romance, I loved every moment between Teka and both of the twins. When the inevitable truth came out, it really was heartbreaking. I felt so badly for all three of them. Even knowing how things would work out, I felt Teka's sadness so well; it wasn't just what xey were losing but that xey had hurt both Manu and Mosi.
I really, truly wish there was more at the end than just the sex scene. I am glad they are all going to be together and certainly things seemed to work out in the bedroom, but I would love to see how things go for them in the future. Or, maybe, I'm just an extra soft touch for Mosi and want to see more of him having little moments of happiness because he has both the love he thought lost and the new love he found and he is just Too Cute.
I enjoyed this a lot, overall. My biggest complaint would only be, as ever, that I could do with more mushy moments of flirting and romance and a bit less of all the lust and sex... But that's just me.
bookfever's review
2.0
So... don't get me wrong. It wasn't a bad book but I just thought, personally, it was just okay. To start, I was a little bit confused with the gender neutral pronouns (am I getting this right?) that were used with Teka because I had never heard of something like it. I looked it up. So yeah I was confused about it. This doesn't mean that I didn't think it was good or even original using these but for a few moments I didn't know what I was reading there. But anyway, slowly the story unraveled and Teka got explained more about who he/she is. At this point I started liking it more but even so it wasn't the best story I have ever read. I also didn't care for Hasani. I don't want to give too much away but I was just thinking "eh" when things about him got revealed. So I was left a bit too confused and underwhelmed, in my opinion. But I do hope others will like it more.
hartd's review
4.0
An enjoyable erotic novel! This wasn't my first time reading about a genderqueer character, but it was my first time reading fiction featuring non-traditional pronouns. I admit that I was curious about how it would read, but it's all very natural, thanks to the author's deft hand. There was a good amount of character development for such a short book, without which the plot twist wouldn't have worked at all. The twist was pretty far-fetched, but the point-of-view character, Teka, reacted to the situation in what I felt was a realistic way. The love story side of things was surprisingly romantic, and the sex scenes were hot. As a sidenote, Teka's friendship with Maek helped add depth to Teka's character and gave the book a few humorous moments. There isn't a ton of world-building, but there's enough to give these characters context. Overall, this was a well-told tale. I look forward to reading more of J.K. Pendragon's work.
jobwoge's review
1.0
I didn't like it. First of all the story was short to fully introduce the characters. Secondly, the most confusing part most people would agree with is how Teka is referred as Xe and Xer, that will get you confused until much later in the book. Lastly it covers a topic that I am not so comfortable with it, but I had just to finish. Thanks it was short.
morebookspleaseblog's review
4.0
Teka is a student at Kemet Academy where Teka is studying magical science. Teka is gender neutral and has quite the crush on the graduate student/TA, Hasani, who's a bit uptight and strict. Both Teka and Hasani have a bit of a troubled past with family and how their families perceive them, what the family wants them to be and do. One night Teka encounters Hasani in the library and it's like he's a completely different person. He's flirty and laid back. And then the plot thickens. Given the title, it should be fairly easy to figure out the plot twist. I'm not saying it's an obvious plot twist, but it definitely makes the title fit.
While the description had me from the beginning, as you're reading the book... it could get a bit confusing as it is narrated through Teka, the main character. It was a very interesting read and I'm glad I was able to. The gender neutral pronouns do take some getting used to, but it definitely gave me an education (to which I am grateful for.) Overall, I enjoyed it.
While the description had me from the beginning, as you're reading the book... it could get a bit confusing as it is narrated through Teka, the main character. It was a very interesting read and I'm glad I was able to. The gender neutral pronouns do take some getting used to, but it definitely gave me an education (to which I am grateful for.) Overall, I enjoyed it.
bookfever's review against another edition
2.0
So... don't get me wrong. It wasn't a bad book but I just thought, personally, it was just okay. To start, I was a little bit confused with the gender neutral pronouns (am I getting this right?) that were used with Teka because I had never heard of something like it. I looked it up. So yeah I was confused about it. This doesn't mean that I didn't think it was good or even original using these but for a few moments I didn't know what I was reading there. But anyway, slowly the story unraveled and Teka got explained more about who he/she is. At this point I started liking it more but even so it wasn't the best story I have ever read. I also didn't care for Hasani. I don't want to give too much away but I was just thinking "eh" when things about him got revealed. So I was left a bit too confused and underwhelmed, in my opinion. But I do hope others will like it more.
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