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A review by danaichristopoulou
That Slow Awakening by Laurel Beckley
5.0
4,5 stars, rounded up. A fascinating mix of sci-fi and fantasy!
Second books in trilogies are notoriously hard, but Beckley has done a great job with this one: That Slow Awakening is a very different book from That Distant Dream, taking place almost exclusively on Satura and exploring the planet's unique lore and mythology... that may just be coming to life. The vibes are significantly different, as this is a low-tech world, where magic is real and so are... several magical creatures. The pacing is a bit slower at first but picks up significantly, and the world-building and backstory just opens up so much... It was fascinating to read!
Btw, Melin is still a POV character, although I must admit I didn't feel the same connection to her as I felt in the first book. Despite being the one so much of the plot happens *to*, she kind of takes a step back as we're introduced to Khelek, who is a fascinating soft nerd too precious for this world (I loved him so much!) and Secara, who is not a POV character but damn, I really want her to be in Book 3.
Two years ago, when I reviewed That Distant Dream, I had said, "I can't wait for the next book." That Slow Awakening definitely did not disappoint—but since this one also ended on a cliffhanger, my problem remains: I need to wait for the next one!!
Second books in trilogies are notoriously hard, but Beckley has done a great job with this one: That Slow Awakening is a very different book from That Distant Dream, taking place almost exclusively on Satura and exploring the planet's unique lore and mythology... that may just be coming to life. The vibes are significantly different, as this is a low-tech world, where magic is real and so are... several magical creatures. The pacing is a bit slower at first but picks up significantly, and the world-building and backstory just opens up so much... It was fascinating to read!
Btw, Melin is still a POV character, although I must admit I didn't feel the same connection to her as I felt in the first book. Despite being the one so much of the plot happens *to*, she kind of takes a step back as we're introduced to Khelek, who is a fascinating soft nerd too precious for this world (I loved him so much!) and Secara, who is not a POV character but damn, I really want her to be in Book 3.
Two years ago, when I reviewed That Distant Dream, I had said, "I can't wait for the next book." That Slow Awakening definitely did not disappoint—but since this one also ended on a cliffhanger, my problem remains: I need to wait for the next one!!