A review by himalaya
Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by S.M. Pearce

4.0

I liked this! It’s very much like. typical YA-NA fake royalty/heist/competition kind of narrative BUT without romance, which honestly I can get behind. 

It’s a bit messy in places - especially the start and end where it’s not within the main fake-royalty-heist plot. It very much starts with an almost suicide attempt, and she talks him down, and then they’re friends and thieving together. It’s not quite apparent how long has passed until later when it mentions they’ve been friends for two years. I think it would have been much better to just start the book in the present and then flashback to that scene at some other point. Also, the POVs are quite inconsistent - Blythe has most of the POV (maybe 2/3), Kalen just has it every now and then when it’s plot relevant. Which makes starting the book on his POV feel odd. I did appreciate their he/they pronouns also, though it took me a couple pages to realise it was intentional!

It definitely skips over action or pivotal moments, and I’m like wait what happened there? Like. so many times, for so many significant parts of the plot. (If you’re looking for a heist in here, most of the plot is the faking royalty in the enemy palace & gathering info part of the heist but the Actual Heist is pretty much off page) 

I feel like I could have gotten to know some of the other royalty/contestants a little more? as well as worldbuilding re: gods and the minor magic abilities some people have. Why was the assassin who clearly knows everything about being royal not the one pretending to be royal, rather than Blythe, a poor girl who has to be taught it all? This is even asked in the book and not really answered (I guess, its that she’s the protagonist) Some of the politics felt a bit like just filling out background details rather than being solidly built, idk. There’s a peasants revolt which is relevant insofar as it helps them but doesn’t come up any other time. I did find the resolution to the politics/competition interesting though! Also Kalen’s addiction and suicidality feels……not fully handled? There’s a lot of areas that could have been improved, I guess. 

Their QPR is pretty tell not show but I didn’t mind it too much - I mean again; basically what you expect from the central relationship of this kind of book if it were a romance. Though at some point she’s like, wait, you actually are my friend and not just hanging around out of debt? and it’s like…..two years? and you thought that? lmao? It could have used some more development in places. 

BUT like overall I did enjoy this - and as I said I do appreciate This Sort Of Story But It Doesn’t Have Romance a lot! And an aromantic MC! I think I didn’t have the highest expectations for this, but I ended up having a good time.