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emeelee 's review for:
First Become Ashes
by K.M. Szpara
As with Szpara's debut novel Docile, I found his sophomore work compulsively readable. Unfortunately, this second book also has the same problems as the first-- namely lack of world-building and logic-- and more besides. There are definitely some interesting concepts in First, Become Ashes but those ideas aren't executed well. The tone is all over the place, especially when switching between the multiple POV characters. The plot seemed directionless at times, and I got the idea that the author didn't know what they were trying to accomplish. The ending is ambiguous as far as whether magic actually exists or not, which could be interesting but in this case was just unsatisfying. The scenes of sexual abuse felt completely gratuitous and divorced from the main plotline; they were told in flashbacks from only one of the POV characters, and never addressed in the POV of Lark who is arguably the main character and suffered much of that abuse. I don't object to the presence of the content itself, but in this case it was not adequately explored in the narrative to justify its inclusion, imo.
My overall impression is that this book is a mess with some interesting concepts at its core that could have been executed better. But I vibe with Szpara's writing style so I didn't entirely hate the reading experience. 1.5 stars
Rep: mlm MC, wlw SC, nonbinary SC uses they/them pronouns, East Asian MC
TW: "explicit sadomasochism and sexual content, as well as abuse and consent violations, including rape"(as given by author). I would add: child abuse, grooming and brainwashing, self-harm, hunting and detainment by law enforcement
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!
Spoiler
I think the book would have benefited from ditching Kane's character altogether, and having Lark be a bit more introspective/torn about his past abuse. Deryn's POV was also unnecessary as written, but could have been better utilized to serve the plot and character dynamics.My overall impression is that this book is a mess with some interesting concepts at its core that could have been executed better. But I vibe with Szpara's writing style so I didn't entirely hate the reading experience. 1.5 stars
Rep: mlm MC, wlw SC, nonbinary SC uses they/them pronouns, East Asian MC
TW: "explicit sadomasochism and sexual content, as well as abuse and consent violations, including rape"(as given by author). I would add: child abuse, grooming and brainwashing, self-harm, hunting and detainment by law enforcement
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!