A review by qualitypretzels
Mother of Learning by Domagoj Kurmaić, nobody103

4.0

Good read! The action stays interesting, the twists are very fun, and Zorian really does grow on you over time (ALTHOUGH! in the beginning it's very fun to enjoy annoying him via every side character). Also, I was truly impressed that pretty much every string of plot was neatly wrapped up at the end. A few key criticisms: there were no real powerful female protagonists and that felt strange? Like maybe the matriarch but she’s not even human, and all the other women were very faulty/emotional (Imaya is hapless, Silverlake is evil + weak in battle + makes bad, annoying deals just to be overtaken down by herself, even Ilsa we see struggling with the loop, the priestess shows up twice and barely talks even though she’s a useful plot device, Zach and Zorian just consider the other girls on a scale of datability or usefulness, even Taiven isn’t that strong and has a meltdown when Zorian’s existence challenges her self esteem, not to mention Kirielle and Zorian’s mom - Rea’s cool but a total minor character and we know very little of her) meanwhile the men were superbly talented and good leaders even if they have muddied ethical choices in their pasts. Similar vein, no one was queer and it wasn’t homophobic, but there were light gay jokes about Zach and Zorian throughout and I do think the whole thing would be more fun if they explored their love (platonic or romantic) for each other after being stuck together for like a decade… It definitely gives me vibes of “this was written by a very slavic man” and you know that’s gonna get on my nerves even if the humor, plot, and character development is all cool and interesting.

And on the plus side I won’t be against time-loop stories in the future because that aspect of this wasn’t bad at all!