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A review by readundancies
Earthflown by Frances Wren
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
I am full of SO MANY FEELINGS upon finally finishing this eARC that I genuinely can't contain myself. Like, I'm not entirely sure I can be properly coherent in this review but I'mma try my gosh-darned best.
This debut novel was pretty much everything I could've asked from it considering I have been longing for it's release for literal years. I checked the annals of my Goodreads account and I added this way back in 2021, but with the pandemic it feels like I've been waiting for this release for at least a decade. Because I never forgot about it despite it taking a bit a longer than normal to become a fully-fledged published novel instead of remaining as this wonderful little intangible tale that's always niggled at my brain.
And it's totally been worth the wait.
I've come to the conclusion that when I really anticipate a story and emotionally commit to it's entirety, I have the habit of extending the reading experience as long as possible. For someone that has a tendency to fear the unknown, not completing a book that I am thoroughly enjoying and have this emotional connection to in a timely fashion is an action I frequently default to because I just don't want that feeling of excitement and anticipation to dissipate.
So, of course I've had this eARC since February and it's basically mid April now because I've been delaying and delaying and delaying but now this review is due and I need to wax poetic about it because it DESERVES that.
(I'm rambling, but in my defense, I feel a need to explain my neuroses to justify my emotions here because they still don't even make sense to me.
Also, now seems like a good time to state that in spite of me receiving a copy of this ARC for free, I had already planned to purchase a physical copy of my own before receiving it and have already pre-ordered the paperback and did so prior to finishing the eARC; it was maybe a quarter of the way through and even though I could tell I wasn't really in the mood for an urban dystopian SFF read, I was hooked anyways.)
To start, I do believe that this story lends itself well to a single sit down reading experience. Obviously, I did not follow that decree myself but in hindsight, I do wish that I had just sat down and ploughed it out because every time I picked this story up I was immediately suckered back into this alternate universe London where water is worth more of it's weight in gold, magic runs rampantly deep with prejudice, and the politics are just the depraved inclinations of the rich. The world-building was fantastic; descriptive, layered and very reminiscent of the world we live in today when it comes to capitalism and social class. It was not force-fed to the reader, it felt like I was learning about a new culture and there was never any expectation that I should know or understand everything that was going on or the implications of some characters thoughts, beliefs or actions because it felt like a fully-established world that I was a guest in. Upon finishing I still have all of these questions and absolutely no answers in sight when it comes to the magical elements of this story because there was no rhyme or reason to it and yet I adored it all anyways.
And I think it has much to do with the plot advancement and pacing. Wren has this delightful mastery of driving the story along by balancing the character development with that of the plot; you really get a good sense of the characters and their motivations and actually get to see their reactions and interactions then affect the plot which drives story forwards. It's very effortless and easy and it's paced very effectively so that 400+ pages doesn't feel slow or like a slog. There's quite a few plot lines that are interwoven with another and almost all of them conclude satisfyingly and those that don't are intentionally vague and open-ended because they were designed that way. And since this was once a standalone tale that is now a part of a series, The Anatomy of Water, even though Ethan and Jav are not meant to be a main focus in the next instalment, we are still going to be able to see more of them which is exactly what the healer ordered.
And the characters? I didn't get along with certain characters at first and those impressions stuck (I'm looking at you, Ollie, you irritatingly persistent man). I also changed my opinion of others by the end (read: Corinna "Rina" Arden who went from an epic BAMF to ungratefully selfish twin and currently sits somewhere in between the two because she like everyone else in this novel is exquisitely imperfect.) But Jav and Ethan were always endgame for me; Jav for his sweet sincerity and soft boi interior and Ethan for his protectively staunch nature and inherent grumpiness. I loved them together, loved reading about them together and loved how the political backdrop to their relationship kept slowly building into this impending doom of a climax and yet at no point was I worried that they would lose one another or break it off with one another. They weren't perfect, in fact, outside of their relationship with one another they each were wildly flawed (as seen by virtually all of their other relationships) and within their relationship their start was not exactly genuine. But they really brought out the best in one another and it was so refreshing to see a couple actually COMMUNICATE, especially with the implications of Jav's secret. Their romance was a joy to read and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel because I need to know how they're doing and what the consequences of their actions end up bringing about, especially post newspaper article release courtesy of everyone's least favourite character, Ollie, (the brilliantly manipulative little bastard that he is) that was the bombshell ending that left so many questions burning in my mind.
I think if you've read A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland and enjoyed the relationship dynamics of the main characters there with the strong political machinations that framed it, as well as Liar City by Allie Therin for the world-building of an alternate-universe Seattle with a murder mystery and similar but extreme grumpy x sunshine vibes alongside a political climate that has a strong prejudice against empaths, then behold, Earthflown by Frances Wren should be your next read.
It's an impressive debut, an even better alternate universe urban dystopia with an intriguing plot and delightfully aggravating characters and has the sweetest queer romance to boot. It's absolutely one of my favourite reads of the year.
So make sure to pick this one up when it's released, you won't regret it.
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This debut novel was pretty much everything I could've asked from it considering I have been longing for it's release for literal years. I checked the annals of my Goodreads account and I added this way back in 2021, but with the pandemic it feels like I've been waiting for this release for at least a decade. Because I never forgot about it despite it taking a bit a longer than normal to become a fully-fledged published novel instead of remaining as this wonderful little intangible tale that's always niggled at my brain.
And it's totally been worth the wait.
I've come to the conclusion that when I really anticipate a story and emotionally commit to it's entirety, I have the habit of extending the reading experience as long as possible. For someone that has a tendency to fear the unknown, not completing a book that I am thoroughly enjoying and have this emotional connection to in a timely fashion is an action I frequently default to because I just don't want that feeling of excitement and anticipation to dissipate.
So, of course I've had this eARC since February and it's basically mid April now because I've been delaying and delaying and delaying but now this review is due and I need to wax poetic about it because it DESERVES that.
(I'm rambling, but in my defense, I feel a need to explain my neuroses to justify my emotions here because they still don't even make sense to me.
Also, now seems like a good time to state that in spite of me receiving a copy of this ARC for free, I had already planned to purchase a physical copy of my own before receiving it and have already pre-ordered the paperback and did so prior to finishing the eARC; it was maybe a quarter of the way through and even though I could tell I wasn't really in the mood for an urban dystopian SFF read, I was hooked anyways.)
To start, I do believe that this story lends itself well to a single sit down reading experience. Obviously, I did not follow that decree myself but in hindsight, I do wish that I had just sat down and ploughed it out because every time I picked this story up I was immediately suckered back into this alternate universe London where water is worth more of it's weight in gold, magic runs rampantly deep with prejudice, and the politics are just the depraved inclinations of the rich. The world-building was fantastic; descriptive, layered and very reminiscent of the world we live in today when it comes to capitalism and social class. It was not force-fed to the reader, it felt like I was learning about a new culture and there was never any expectation that I should know or understand everything that was going on or the implications of some characters thoughts, beliefs or actions because it felt like a fully-established world that I was a guest in. Upon finishing I still have all of these questions and absolutely no answers in sight when it comes to the magical elements of this story because there was no rhyme or reason to it and yet I adored it all anyways.
And I think it has much to do with the plot advancement and pacing. Wren has this delightful mastery of driving the story along by balancing the character development with that of the plot; you really get a good sense of the characters and their motivations and actually get to see their reactions and interactions then affect the plot which drives story forwards. It's very effortless and easy and it's paced very effectively so that 400+ pages doesn't feel slow or like a slog. There's quite a few plot lines that are interwoven with another and almost all of them conclude satisfyingly and those that don't are intentionally vague and open-ended because they were designed that way. And since this was once a standalone tale that is now a part of a series, The Anatomy of Water, even though Ethan and Jav are not meant to be a main focus in the next instalment, we are still going to be able to see more of them which is exactly what the healer ordered.
And the characters? I didn't get along with certain characters at first and those impressions stuck (I'm looking at you, Ollie, you irritatingly persistent man). I also changed my opinion of others by the end (read: Corinna "Rina" Arden who went from an epic BAMF to ungratefully selfish twin and currently sits somewhere in between the two because she like everyone else in this novel is exquisitely imperfect.) But Jav and Ethan were always endgame for me; Jav for his sweet sincerity and soft boi interior and Ethan for his protectively staunch nature and inherent grumpiness. I loved them together, loved reading about them together and loved how the political backdrop to their relationship kept slowly building into this impending doom of a climax and yet at no point was I worried that they would lose one another or break it off with one another. They weren't perfect, in fact, outside of their relationship with one another they each were wildly flawed (as seen by virtually all of their other relationships) and within their relationship their start was not exactly genuine. But they really brought out the best in one another and it was so refreshing to see a couple actually COMMUNICATE, especially with the implications of Jav's secret. Their romance was a joy to read and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel because I need to know how they're doing and what the consequences of their actions end up bringing about, especially post newspaper article release courtesy of everyone's least favourite character, Ollie, (the brilliantly manipulative little bastard that he is) that was the bombshell ending that left so many questions burning in my mind.
I think if you've read A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland and enjoyed the relationship dynamics of the main characters there with the strong political machinations that framed it, as well as Liar City by Allie Therin for the world-building of an alternate-universe Seattle with a murder mystery and similar but extreme grumpy x sunshine vibes alongside a political climate that has a strong prejudice against empaths, then behold, Earthflown by Frances Wren should be your next read.
It's an impressive debut, an even better alternate universe urban dystopia with an intriguing plot and delightfully aggravating characters and has the sweetest queer romance to boot. It's absolutely one of my favourite reads of the year.
So make sure to pick this one up when it's released, you won't regret it.
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.