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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-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
Made me laugh, made me cry, made me swear angrily at certain characters.
(All my homies hate *redacted*)
I didn't quite know what to expect, since I don't read a lot of books in this genre.
I decided to buy it anyway since I've been following the author on Twitter for quite a while and knew that I would probably enjoy their writing.
I was pleasantly suprised by a book that I couldn't put down and that had me at the edge of my seat for a majority of it's length.
It's end had me anxiously waiting for more and also weeping, but that might just be me being emotional about cool characters.
One of my favourite things was the portrayal of the mc mental health and the reaction of other characters towards her. Felt very humanising
(All my homies hate *redacted*)
I didn't quite know what to expect, since I don't read a lot of books in this genre.
I decided to buy it anyway since I've been following the author on Twitter for quite a while and knew that I would probably enjoy their writing.
I was pleasantly suprised by a book that I couldn't put down and that had me at the edge of my seat for a majority of it's length.
It's end had me anxiously waiting for more and also weeping, but that might just be me being emotional about cool characters.
One of my favourite things was the portrayal of the mc mental health and the reaction of other characters towards her. Felt very humanising
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Murder
Minor: Alcohol
kinda like barely lethal and aftg
shes pretty badass i think shes aroace or smth. but like she spent half the book sick so great
love daragh and mortimor and grace and leo and emma
i acc still lkke micheal tbh
there was absl no point of them ro die?? liek absolutely no point? coz like she has no one else. and idc but she’s responsible for their deaths im negl
i liked micheal he had potential but ofc he was a villain
idk emmas death wasnt as shocking as jt shouldve been. as well as graces. i think their friendship was pretty underdeveloped
i feel bad for leo ofc
shes v badass and v v smart but like the book was ok. great premise but?? eh idk it was alright
i liked the end where she dyes her hair kinda lole a tribute to emma
love the parallel between emma and christopher
didnt rlly get attacged to the characters so mayhe thats why i didnt like it v much
shes pretty badass i think shes aroace or smth. but like she spent half the book sick so great
love daragh and mortimor and grace and leo and emma
i acc still lkke micheal tbh
there was absl no point of them ro die?? liek absolutely no point? coz like she has no one else. and idc but she’s responsible for their deaths im negl
i liked micheal he had potential but ofc he was a villain
idk emmas death wasnt as shocking as jt shouldve been. as well as graces. i think their friendship was pretty underdeveloped
i feel bad for leo ofc
shes v badass and v v smart but like the book was ok. great premise but?? eh idk it was alright
i liked the end where she dyes her hair kinda lole a tribute to emma
love the parallel between emma and christopher
didnt rlly get attacged to the characters so mayhe thats why i didnt like it v much
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the characters and setting of this book. I definitely enjoyed the premise. But I struggled with the plot. I found it moved too slowly for my liking and seemed inconsequential at times. As one storyline was wrapped up I was thinking - so will it end now? - and then another would start up again. This made it feel as though things were dragging on a little. That doesn’t negate the fact that I enjoyed the book itself. I might not have picked it up if I had of known it would move so slowly, but I’m glad that I have read this book all the same.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Cancer
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
well overall it kept me reading, so that's a success!
pros:
- the writing is good, tight and punchy, and keeps the story flowing. I didn't anticipate Michael being a double agent, though it made a lot of sense.
- I liked the use of Esperanto a lot, it's really interesting to read and see how it relates to English, and I hadn't heard of it before Longman talked about it because of this book. The city of Espere is also rly cool and I enjoyed reading the author notes about it all, and the research Longman did. I'm honestly not surprised the UK is still meeting to trade weapons - compared to America, we seem good in terms of guns and violence, but we've got an awful, bloody history and we still supply a lot of weapons, its shitty.
- I do think I liked the early set of the book best, and I like the worldbuilding with Comma and Hummingbird. I didn't quite feel we got to know everything about the Guilds and why they are as they are, but I'm mightily intrigued to know more.
- I also liked how the range of characters (the names were handled well, so I didn't get confused even though there was a lot of them) showed all the different possible responses to the situation. Toni's reluctant compliance and private defiance, Darragh's compliance to an extent, Michael caving and being consumed by them but wounded by it, Mortimer's quiet and unobtrusive disagreement, Emma's youthful and innocent idealism, etc. All of the characters showed a different path within the world and it's cool to see that when Isabel is bouncing between them, unable to commit to any of them.
- I liked Mortimer and Michael especially. Mortimer's suspicions at the start, and how they morph into fierce desire to help, and how he puts Isabel first when no-one else does (not even Emma, because she has her own shit going on). Michael is completely different but also fascinating, with him first seeming so cowardly but growing into what seems like a friend, and then flipping completely into a villain. and then at the end, he's just sad, and suicidal in visiting Isabel. honestly his death was the one I felt saddest at, because he could've had a neat redemption arc.
cons:
- sometimes the writing went on too long and felt gratuitous in its descriptions of despair. The book sagged a bit in the middle for me, because there wasn't a lot of plot except for 'Isabel is poisoned and dying', and it didn't pick up again till a bit later. I did guess early on that Emma was gonna die and honestly I didn't really care. And neither did I about Grace. I just felt I wasn't given enough to love them, Grace we barely knew and Emma was too goody-two-shoes and a bit 2D for me
- Isabel's murdery-ness didn't seem too realistic to me. She was fretting over emotions and bonding easily to people, and then just killed the kid and Nick (who's never brought up again, pretty much). Michael hasn't done half as much shit as her and yet she wipes him out. I know it probably shows that being a survivor is selfish and her ability to compartmentalise and her trauma, but it just didn't feel coherant, like there was a real reason she was doing it. Her character felt too... flyaway? inexplicable? unbelievable? I don't know, but I didn't really care much for her.
overall! a good, quick read to get me through a long journey and it was addictive reading and had some interesting world building. But it did drag for me in the middle and didn't evoke much in the way of emotions.
pros:
- the writing is good, tight and punchy, and keeps the story flowing.
- I liked the use of Esperanto a lot, it's really interesting to read and see how it relates to English, and I hadn't heard of it before Longman talked about it because of this book. The city of Espere is also rly cool and I enjoyed reading the author notes about it all, and the research Longman did. I'm honestly not surprised the UK is still meeting to trade weapons - compared to America, we seem good in terms of guns and violence, but we've got an awful, bloody history and we still supply a lot of weapons, its shitty.
- I do think I liked the early set of the book best, and I like the worldbuilding with Comma and Hummingbird. I didn't quite feel we got to know everything about the Guilds and why they are as they are, but I'm mightily intrigued to know more.
- I also liked how the range of characters (the names were handled well, so I didn't get confused even though there was a lot of them) showed all the different possible responses to the situation. Toni's reluctant compliance and private defiance, Darragh's compliance to an extent, Michael caving and being consumed by them but wounded by it, Mortimer's quiet and unobtrusive disagreement, Emma's youthful and innocent idealism, etc. All of the characters showed a different path within the world and it's cool to see that when Isabel is bouncing between them, unable to commit to any of them.
- I liked Mortimer and Michael especially. Mortimer's suspicions at the start, and how they morph into fierce desire to help, and how he puts Isabel first when no-one else does (not even Emma, because she has her own shit going on). Michael is completely different but also fascinating, with him first seeming so cowardly but growing into what seems like a friend, and then flipping completely into a villain. and then at the end, he's just sad, and suicidal in visiting Isabel. honestly his death was the one I felt saddest at, because he could've had a neat redemption arc.
cons:
- sometimes the writing went on too long and felt gratuitous in its descriptions of despair. The book sagged a bit in the middle for me, because there wasn't a lot of plot except for 'Isabel is poisoned and dying', and it didn't pick up again till a bit later.
- Isabel's murdery-ness didn't seem too realistic to me. She was fretting over emotions and bonding easily to people, and then just killed the kid and Nick (who's never brought up again, pretty much). Michael hasn't done half as much shit as her and yet she wipes him out. I know it probably shows that being a survivor is selfish and her ability to compartmentalise and her trauma, but it just didn't feel coherant, like there was a real reason she was doing it. Her character felt too... flyaway? inexplicable? unbelievable? I don't know, but I didn't really care much for her.
overall! a good, quick read to get me through a long journey and it was addictive reading and had some interesting world building. But it did drag for me in the middle and didn't evoke much in the way of emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated