A review by lady_moon
The Red Threads of Fortune by Neon Yang

3.75

“The machine was a complex thing, and like all complex things, it was despairingly hard to fix once broken.”

Rep: Asian-inspired setting & characters, queer-normative world, queer MC with PTSD, nonbinary love interest, achillean side characters, sapphic side characters

This book doesn't manage to live up to its predecessor but that's alright. Few things can top The Black Tides of Heaven.

While I enjoyed this book at certain times, I was a bit struggling here and there. Especially the first chapter - I see a cool quote in the first paragraph and then I had to stop two times while reading because I wasn't engaged at all. To be fair, for the first bit of the book I missed Akeha there. In the end of the day, I'm just a sucker for siblings' dynamic.

I must admit, I wasn't that interested in Mokoya. In all fairness, Mokoya in itself is more interesting character that Akeha - but to Akeha happens more interesting things. As a whole, The Black Tides of Heaven is the better book, as plot, intrigue and structure. I admit, after The Red Threads of Fortune I came to appreciate Mokoya's character more. Towards the end especially. Overall, the second part of the book is more intriguing than the first.

Now, I wana address something I have seen. Apparently, the first and second book in the Tensorate series are 'twin' books and because of that I have seen people saying you can read either of them first and it wouldn't matter. And this is just a BLATANT LIE! I'm stunned someone would say that if they have read both books. The only way this to be even remotely possible is if someone wants to treat The Black Tides of Heaven like a prequel to The Red Threads of Fortune (I mean, why would anyone want to do that?)

I have heard that the author apparently wrote Red Threads before Black Tides or something and I mean? Even if that's really the case, Black Tides is very clearly adapted to be the first in the series, it would be unwise to read Red Threads first. For god's sake, in the first book we meet Akeha and Mokoya as they're born and in here they're 39 years old. It's beyond me how anyone would say it's fine to read either first. I am sorry if Neon Yang themself said that's fine but. Sorry dude, I heavily disagree.