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A review by queer_bookwyrm
Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by S.M. Pearce
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, child abuse/abuse in general, cursing, homophobia, misogyny, suicidal ideation, sexual content, attempted rape, vomiting, death of a parent, death of a child, substance use/addiction
Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by S.M. Pierce is an adult dark fantasy that is super queer and has a heist! We get some wonderful found family moments and some great rep as follows: queer platonic relationship between main characters, Kalen uses he/they and is attracted to men, Blythe is alloaro and bi, Frida is a lesbian, and Saihd is (I think) intersex and ace.
We start with Kalen and his suicide attempt and Blythe talking him down. Kalen came from the home of an abusive noble, and Blythe is a poor girl just trying to take care of her ailing father while trying to please her god by being self sacrificing. Kalen is an expert in making bombs, and Blythe has a bestowment (sort like a talent like a Grace in Graceling) that makes it easy for her to hide or go unnoticed. When Kalen convinces Blythe to steal from the rich to feed themselves and pay rent, they are caught by the Governor, and coerced into planning a heist against a rival nation.
Blythe has to pretend to be a noble and go unnoticed in order to pull off the heist while Kalen is a servant, Frida (their roommate) poses as a cook, the Sea captain Saihd posing as an advisor, and the Viper (the governor's ward/indentured servant) poses as Blythe's lady in waiting. Blythe struggles with the need to harm other people as it goes against her self sacrificing way. She's a little too rightous, and it gets her into trouble. Kalen is struggling with the abuse they must endure at the hands of the servant Superior, triggering memories of his abusive father. The Viper must learn that kindness doesn't always come with a cost. Yay found family!
The Fletch King is the worst! He has a bestowment that makes him hard to resist and he gave me the major ick. I loved the relationship between Kalen and Blythe. We do get a bit of a miscommunication trope between them, but in this case it works pretty well, but I still wanted to yell at them to just talk about it. I do wish we had gotten more from Frida and Saihd, but I loved the growth that the Viper, or should I say, Arabella had. Although her arc was predictable, it was satisfying.
I don't know if there is going to be a book two or not, but I would totally read about these characters smuggling "natural Outlaws" (queer people) to safe places. This was super queer and I love the found family. Looking forward to more from this author.
This book releases August 12th, so get your copy!
Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by S.M. Pierce is an adult dark fantasy that is super queer and has a heist! We get some wonderful found family moments and some great rep as follows: queer platonic relationship between main characters, Kalen uses he/they and is attracted to men, Blythe is alloaro and bi, Frida is a lesbian, and Saihd is (I think) intersex and ace.
We start with Kalen and his suicide attempt and Blythe talking him down. Kalen came from the home of an abusive noble, and Blythe is a poor girl just trying to take care of her ailing father while trying to please her god by being self sacrificing. Kalen is an expert in making bombs, and Blythe has a bestowment (sort like a talent like a Grace in Graceling) that makes it easy for her to hide or go unnoticed. When Kalen convinces Blythe to steal from the rich to feed themselves and pay rent, they are caught by the Governor, and coerced into planning a heist against a rival nation.
Blythe has to pretend to be a noble and go unnoticed in order to pull off the heist while Kalen is a servant, Frida (their roommate) poses as a cook, the Sea captain Saihd posing as an advisor, and the Viper (the governor's ward/indentured servant) poses as Blythe's lady in waiting. Blythe struggles with the need to harm other people as it goes against her self sacrificing way. She's a little too rightous, and it gets her into trouble. Kalen is struggling with the abuse they must endure at the hands of the servant Superior, triggering memories of his abusive father. The Viper must learn that kindness doesn't always come with a cost. Yay found family!
The Fletch King is the worst! He has a bestowment that makes him hard to resist and he gave me the major ick. I loved the relationship between Kalen and Blythe. We do get a bit of a miscommunication trope between them, but in this case it works pretty well, but I still wanted to yell at them to just talk about it. I do wish we had gotten more from Frida and Saihd, but I loved the growth that the Viper, or should I say, Arabella had. Although her arc was predictable, it was satisfying.
I don't know if there is going to be a book two or not, but I would totally read about these characters smuggling "natural Outlaws" (queer people) to safe places. This was super queer and I love the found family. Looking forward to more from this author.
This book releases August 12th, so get your copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Homophobia, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing and Vomit