A review by armontheroad
Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this space opera well enough. However, the Black rep and the Latino rep is so bad! If I had not been told before starting my read that Gal was Latino, I would not have been able to tell. He is written like a 'tan' white character. The way Ettian talks about having "darker than average skin" made me fucking sick. This white woman really added her internalized biases in without even realizing it. I'm glad she got a Black narrator for the audiobook, has hired Black/Latino sensitivity readers for her two following books in this series, and has hired artists of color for her following book covers. Although this did not undo the harm this rep caused, it is a good step in the right direction. If she had written the rep well, or even had made the characters white, I would have rated this five stars. I adored the relationship between Ettian and Gal, I loved the introduction of Wren, the polital intrigue was SO good, and the ending left me in a state of shock.