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A review by astravars
Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie
adventurous
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
5.0
star-crossed lovers, hidden identities, best friends to lovers to enemies, gay pining, space politics, a rainbow umbrella as a weapon - this book has it all
I went into this book expecting a fun little gay space book, I did not expect it to be THIS EMOTIONAL
"Bonds of Brass" follows Ettian, a boy who's lost everything when the Umber Empire conquered, destroyed and remade his home-world, the Archon Empire. Now, seven years later, he's one of the top pilots in an umber military academy and has found himself a best friend (or maybe more than that?) called Gal. But then, because of an assassination attempt on Gal Ettian can barely save him from, his best friend's true identity gets revealed: He's the Umber Heir, prince of the very empire having shattered Ettian's whole world.
The whole book Ettian's top priority is ALWAYS to keep Gal safe, to get him to his parents and on the throne, in the hopes of him changing the empire for the better. Even when circumstances make him question his loyalty, torn between the the pain he feels for losing everything, the rage he feels for his empire's conquerors and his love for Gal. Their love is so sweet and they confess fairly early so the conflict revolves more around the star-crossed lovers dynamic, them not feeling like they CAN be together despite the mutual pining.
As for the space politics... I really loved the portrayal of Ettian's struggles. On one hand, of course he wants to avenge the Archon Empire, but on the other hand he doesn't want the civilians to have to go through another war and he's also aware of what this would mean for the boy he loves.
There are a bunch of well done plot twists that only make their situation more difficult, testing their relationship. I won't tell you any specifics because spoilers but this one plot twist at the very end of the book basically makes everything impossible between Ettian and Gal and it's PAINFUL.
Then there's this girl they meet on their journey: Wen. She's very chaotic and slightly unhinged and i love her so much. Her (very sibling-like) relationship with Ettian was so precious, them understanding each other on a different level through shared trauma. <33
In conclusion, excuse me while I inhale the other two books in the hopes of my beloveds getting a happy ending after all after everything that went down at the end of this book, and please please everyone read bonds of brass I need someone to talk to and scream about this!
I went into this book expecting a fun little gay space book, I did not expect it to be THIS EMOTIONAL
"Bonds of Brass" follows Ettian, a boy who's lost everything when the Umber Empire conquered, destroyed and remade his home-world, the Archon Empire. Now, seven years later, he's one of the top pilots in an umber military academy and has found himself a best friend (or maybe more than that?) called Gal. But then, because of an assassination attempt on Gal Ettian can barely save him from, his best friend's true identity gets revealed: He's the Umber Heir, prince of the very empire having shattered Ettian's whole world.
The whole book Ettian's top priority is ALWAYS to keep Gal safe, to get him to his parents and on the throne, in the hopes of him changing the empire for the better. Even when circumstances make him question his loyalty, torn between the the pain he feels for losing everything, the rage he feels for his empire's conquerors and his love for Gal. Their love is so sweet and they confess fairly early so the conflict revolves more around the star-crossed lovers dynamic, them not feeling like they CAN be together despite the mutual pining.
As for the space politics... I really loved the portrayal of Ettian's struggles. On one hand, of course he wants to avenge the Archon Empire, but on the other hand he doesn't want the civilians to have to go through another war and he's also aware of what this would mean for the boy he loves.
There are a bunch of well done plot twists that only make their situation more difficult, testing their relationship. I won't tell you any specifics because spoilers but this one plot twist at the very end of the book basically makes everything impossible between Ettian and Gal and it's PAINFUL.
Then there's this girl they meet on their journey: Wen. She's very chaotic and slightly unhinged and i love her so much. Her (very sibling-like) relationship with Ettian was so precious, them understanding each other on a different level through shared trauma. <33
In conclusion, excuse me while I inhale the other two books in the hopes of my beloveds getting a happy ending after all after everything that went down at the end of this book, and please please everyone read bonds of brass I need someone to talk to and scream about this!