Scan barcode
A review by silky_octopus
Sparks Fly by Llinos Cathryn Thomas
5.0
Well, that was an absolute delight. This is a short but lovely romance story set against a backdrop of teaching and performing in a school dedicated to teaching a fictional performing art, Z-GAD on a space station. Z-GAD itself feels like a cross between ballet and an art performance put on by Cai Guo-Qiang, and feels like a natural artistic development for a society that's comfortably integrated space travel as something normal, while being different enough to be fun and original. I've never studied at an arts school or ballet theatre, but the story captured a mood and background that meshed nicely with what I'd imagined, and I can definitely empathise with all the struggles that go with putting on a series of performances while teaching.
The two protagonists in this novella are very much my sort of character - both of them are experienced professionals in their respective fields, and - much to my great satisfaction - have been doing what they love or wanted to do (or both) for thirty years. I possibly sound grumpy and old as I say that, but it's great to have a nice romance story that doesn't involve teens or people in their twenties, but rather people who've lived enough to be sure of who they are and what they want to do with their lives. I particularly appreciated the fact that this is a romance story where neither of them had to give up what they love doing by the end of the novel.
Although the initial rivarly between the characters was relatively quickly resolved, it felt genuine and sympathetic in its origins; it also made seeing the two protagonists working together as they resolved things that much more entertaining. I can honestly say I greatly enjoyed watching an established and corrosive system of patronage getting the boot, too. All in all, this was a lovely read.
Now I just need the crossover fanfic between this and Pacific Rim where it turns out that the best Z-GAD pairs make excellent Jaeger pilots.
The two protagonists in this novella are very much my sort of character - both of them are experienced professionals in their respective fields, and - much to my great satisfaction - have been doing what they love or wanted to do (or both) for thirty years. I possibly sound grumpy and old as I say that, but it's great to have a nice romance story that doesn't involve teens or people in their twenties, but rather people who've lived enough to be sure of who they are and what they want to do with their lives. I particularly appreciated the fact that this is a romance story where neither of them had to give up what they love doing by the end of the novel.
Although the initial rivarly between the characters was relatively quickly resolved, it felt genuine and sympathetic in its origins; it also made seeing the two protagonists working together as they resolved things that much more entertaining. I can honestly say I greatly enjoyed watching an established and corrosive system of patronage getting the boot, too. All in all, this was a lovely read.
Now I just need the crossover fanfic between this and Pacific Rim where it turns out that the best Z-GAD pairs make excellent Jaeger pilots.