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princess_link 's review for:
Heavenbreaker
by Sara Wolf
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a pretty intense experience.
If you, like me, do a lot of putzing around in the romance genre, just know this is very light romance subplot, and not a focus, by any means. Could be a slow burn ready to bloom, we will have to wait and see.
But I do love the heavy sci-fi influences.
Medieval steampunk with gestalt intelligence trope is right about where this is nestled. The whole story revolves around a space-knight tournament where they ride inside mech suits filled with a gel that connects body and mind to "steed".
The politics and interpersonal drama are wholly intertwined with the matches and the plot thickens in the aftermath of each bout, so there is more than ample tension steeping every chapter. If constant high stakes aren't your jam, turn back now, but I think fans of the Hunger Games will appreciate the sacrifices expected of riders.
And the FMC is most certainly a Katniss Everdeen. She's bitter, traumatized, and she has no concept of the depths of the waters she's wading into, nor what caliber of monsters lurk within. But she has no fear of death, welcoming it if she can die knowing the members of the ruling class that murdered her mother will never be able to hurt anyone ever again.
Some readers describe the FMC as unlikable, but it's relevant that her experience is an uncomfortable one. A bastard of a powerful man of the ruling class, she's smart, but she is a gritty lead, full of rage and despair over the assassination of her mother, barely escaping her own assassination attempt, and afterwards scrapes a living in a brothel so she can get closer to truth of why they were targeted. Living in her head might not be "pleasant", but it is compelling and if you find yourself able to empathize with her despair and determination, you will reap the benefits of the vengeance she and her benefactor wreak on her prideful, murderous family. Their demise a symbol of the overture of the chaos coming to the throne itself.
Her lance has more than just her hand upon it, poised to pierce the very heart of the kingdom.
If you, like me, do a lot of putzing around in the romance genre, just know this is very light romance subplot, and not a focus, by any means. Could be a slow burn ready to bloom, we will have to wait and see.
But I do love the heavy sci-fi influences.
Medieval steampunk with gestalt intelligence trope is right about where this is nestled. The whole story revolves around a space-knight tournament where they ride inside mech suits filled with a gel that connects body and mind to "steed".
The politics and interpersonal drama are wholly intertwined with the matches and the plot thickens in the aftermath of each bout, so there is more than ample tension steeping every chapter. If constant high stakes aren't your jam, turn back now, but I think fans of the Hunger Games will appreciate the sacrifices expected of riders.
And the FMC is most certainly a Katniss Everdeen. She's bitter, traumatized, and she has no concept of the depths of the waters she's wading into, nor what caliber of monsters lurk within. But she has no fear of death, welcoming it if she can die knowing the members of the ruling class that murdered her mother will never be able to hurt anyone ever again.
Some readers describe the FMC as unlikable, but it's relevant that her experience is an uncomfortable one. A bastard of a powerful man of the ruling class, she's smart, but she is a gritty lead, full of rage and despair over the assassination of her mother, barely escaping her own assassination attempt, and afterwards scrapes a living in a brothel so she can get closer to truth of why they were targeted. Living in her head might not be "pleasant", but it is compelling and if you find yourself able to empathize with her despair and determination, you will reap the benefits of the vengeance she and her benefactor wreak on her prideful, murderous family. Their demise a symbol of the overture of the chaos coming to the throne itself.
Her lance has more than just her hand upon it, poised to pierce the very heart of the kingdom.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail