Another reviewer said they had heart/head conflicts when reviewing this, and good grief did I identify with that.
My experience, a timeline: - Oh, huhAnother reviewer said they had heart/head conflicts when reviewing this, and good grief did I identify with that.
My experience, a timeline: - Oh, huh, I don't remember putting this on hold. - p. 1: This had better not be like The Magicians. *profanity-laden opinion of The Magicians shared with coworker* - p.5: Still skeptical, but I am definitely laughing a lot. Unlike The Magicians *more profanity as I consider how deeply I disliked that book* - p. 50: Ok, I'm invested. -p.100: OH MY GOD LUKE. PINING. PAIN. ANGST. I LOVE YOU. -p. 150: I CAN'T STOP READING. LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE. -p. 200: I have a gigantic assignment to turn in. I will just read it while I eat dinner, I've been at work all day, I'm allowed to take a little break to read. p. 215: Oh executive function skills that I used to think I had. Goodbye. I am five million percent invested in this book and these people. pp. 300-406: INCOHERENT YELLING AT BOOK. SHAKING IT. Why isn't anyone reading this book with me in real time right now? I can't handle this shit! Texting friends things like "PINING AHHHH" and "THIS IS UNBEARABLE" and "WHY AREN'T YOU READING THIS NOW". Desperate hope that there will be a happy ending -- the ending I want -- but not entirely certain I can trust the author. End of book - now: Very late at night. Past my bedtime. Paper not written. Feelings. More feelings. Occasional groans. More texting. "Take this book. It has problems. Very polarizing. So much angst. Very long. Please take it. Please text me WHILE you read."
If you do not like the slowest of slow burns, angst, near-unbearable pining, clueless MCs, and characters with big feelings who don't know how to talk to each other (so they have to learn), avoid this book.
My reviewing head thinks you should know that this book:
- could def use more editing and tightening.
- is really white.
- has some flat characters.
- includes an MC who acts like a jerk (for trauma reasons, but still) and arguably does not grovel sufficiently or step up enough to deserve his eventual romance.
- there was really not enough Luke. (Please fix this, fic writers. Please write me lots about Luke and his feelings. Backstory, futurefic, AUs, retold from his POV, I'll take it all.)
My heart would like to point out that:
- I was so invested emotionally by a third of the way through that none of that mattered enough to make me stop reading at any point even though I desperately needed to be doing other things.
- the queerness throughout is very satisfying.
- Elliot really grew on me and I eventually forgave him for being an asshole because he was a hot mess but genuinely cared and worked hard for his people. I'm glad I stuck with him.
- the tone was delightful: snarky and funny without ever turning into the nihilistic assholery of The Magicians.
- Also on tone: it felt a lot like fic in its voice but did not struggle with worldbuilding in the way that fic-to-orig-fantasy often does. I think the decision to basically eliminate magic from the equation was smart: all the fun of playing with fantasy-world and portal tropes but without getting mired in "but why can't you solve this problem with magic" details.
- I laughed out loud a LOT. That's not unusual for me. But also, I did literally talk back to the pages. I moaned. I "arrrghhhhh"ed. I shook the book around. At a few points I yelled characters' names. I shrieked. It was flat-out ridiculous and I couldn't help it. My reactions were just too big for my body. *That* level of reaction *is* pretty unusual for me.
If you like a fresh, snarky tone that has the contemporary, casual feel of fic; lovable cinnamon rolls; prickly antiheroes; humor; portal fantasies; and angst, and... ... if you're willing to put aside the fact that all these characters need a lot of therapy, and... ... your level of enjoyment for pining and angst is already high, and you want to push yourself to the limit... give this one a try. If you hate it, you'll really hate it. But if you love it, please text me while you read?...more
I didn't love as much as book 1, but still a solidly enjoyable read!
Our main character heroine is 1) a dragon shifter, 2) a soldier, 3) pragmatic, 4)I didn't love as much as book 1, but still a solidly enjoyable read!
Our main character heroine is 1) a dragon shifter, 2) a soldier, 3) pragmatic, 4) the love interest's bodyguard, 5) older (like a hundred years old? middle-aged even in dragon years), 6) bi, 7) plainspoken, and 8) angst-free.
Our hero love interest is 1) also practical, 2) highly respectful and appreciative of everything about the heroine, 3) smart and skilled in doing his magic thing, 4) also older (also basically middle-aged even in his not-all-the-way-mortal years, younger than the heroine but proportionally about the same age), and 5) an excellent and thoughtful lover. The only dragon-shifter drama he has is a concern that she's magnificent and he can't really compare.
Conflict in the plot is pretty minimal, and even the hiccups on the way are far from agonizing... they're kind of like, well, it would be a shame if this didn't work out because we're clearly really well-suited to each other in lots of ways, but we're grownups and we'll be ok no matter what happens. It wasn't quite enough conflict to keep me emotionally hooked throughout, but it was restful and and satisfying.
Rec'd for those who like no angst, nice fantasy adventure with some bonus steamy bits, and competence on all sides. ...more
Wow. That was... really intense, and also phenomenal. Definitely a crossover for non-superhero readers, as well as for superhero readers who might othWow. That was... really intense, and also phenomenal. Definitely a crossover for non-superhero readers, as well as for superhero readers who might otherwise not be up for engaging with pretty deep YA / realistic fiction. Highly recommended. ...more
PSA: there are a LOT more non-mammal shifter books out there by authors of color than I realized, and I'm#rippedbodicebingo square: non-mammal shifter
PSA: there are a LOT more non-mammal shifter books out there by authors of color than I realized, and I'm now totally embarrassed that the only one I could think of before was Nalini Singh. To be fair, I never read paranormal romance and I couldn't think of any non-mammal shifters at all by any authors, but once I started looking harder I realized how totally ignorant I was of the genre and all the authors out there. Another day, another chance to thank www.wocinromance.com!...more
four stars may be a little much -- and the negative reviews are all correct re editing, instalove rather than actual character development, and the unfour stars may be a little much -- and the negative reviews are all correct re editing, instalove rather than actual character development, and the unlikeliness of her actually abolishing the system of slavery in his village -- but honestly this crazysauce viking time travel book was hilarious and delightful. I gasped, I laughed out loud, I super enjoyed the experience of reading it. and with the exception of one particularly nonsensical moment ("WHAT. her friends will be worried sick!") I ADORED the end. is this a Viking time travel trope? no idea! the only other viking time travel book I've read took itself way too seriously and was significantly less satisfying on all counts.
also, it kept coming close to moments that made me super nervous in terms of problematic and squicky territory, and then managing to avoid them at the last second. (me: uhhh, wait, slavery? hard no. author: np, they're not getting it on until she's successfully abolished that system. me: still unsure but gosh that's a solution.)
tl;dr : I totally enjoyed it and will definitely try more more Koko Brown!...more
What an interesting concept in terms of worldbuilding! The author's note said that initially this was much, much longer and that it was significantly What an interesting concept in terms of worldbuilding! The author's note said that initially this was much, much longer and that it was significantly edited down... while I like the impulse to let the reader dive right in and puzzle it all out, I think some some more length and focus on character development and padding out the worldbuilding would have given me a greater emotional investment in the plot. I'll be keeping an eye out for this author....more
A fun premise but a little disjointed in its execution -maybe could have benefited from having tighter editing or more space to explore the worldbuildA fun premise but a little disjointed in its execution -maybe could have benefited from having tighter editing or more space to explore the worldbuilding? I loved the humor, the concept, and the characters' potential. ...more
The good: Good hook for booktalking, smooth and engaging storytelling, a narrative voice that I really eRec'd by a 6th-grade patron and a quick read.
The good: Good hook for booktalking, smooth and engaging storytelling, a narrative voice that I really enjoyed. Def fits that solidly middle-grade and young teen enjoyment of a "what's the right thing to do? -- oh it's definitely this" moral story. Adults who are far from perfect AND far from omnipotent but very much doing their best and using the tools at their disposal to help their kids. They couldn't solve the problems for the main characters, but they had tools that helped and they used them.
It's interesting to me that there's relatively little focus on the bullies - they're not really flat or rounded, they're almost tangential. Which, honestly, I think was a good narrative choice... similar to the one that Judy Blume made in Blubber, actually. One thing that bothers me about books like Wonder and Out of My Mind is that there is so much focus on the villainous bullies. In those books, one gets the sense that if the horrible bullies weren't horrible and if good kids spoke up about the victimized students, there wouldn't be any issues - and in middle school and high school, that's less than a complete picture, to say the least. This was a slightly more nuanced perspective, not because the bullies are sympathetic characters but because depression and other elements play a role as well. The removal of the specific horrible bullying behavior made a huge change in Francis's life -- realistic -- but it wasn't what fixed the situation. Part of his ongoing anxiety and depression from being gender-nonconforming came from small daily wearing-down, fear of others' censure, etc, and, conversely, what made it better wasn't simply the bully seeing the light and stopping his behavior. It was also friendship, self-acceptance, time, confidence, a different school climate, feeling safer in general, etc.
The URGH: The fat character gets lots of exercise and loses weight. The tomboy/short/stubby girl character becomes conventionally femme. They weren't the only transformative moments, nor were they the *reason* for the HEA, but it was central enough to make me more than a little grouchy. If it weren't for those parts, this would have been a solidly 4.5 star rec for me.
Maybe my hopes were too high, but... sigh. Def didn't love this, despite the SF setting and the queer storylines. It felt more didactic than characterMaybe my hopes were too high, but... sigh. Def didn't love this, despite the SF setting and the queer storylines. It felt more didactic than character-driven, and the insta-love was hard to buy into. ...more
I loved the premise and the worldbuilding! The character development and pacing weren't to my taste, which meant that took me ages to finish. Will defI loved the premise and the worldbuilding! The character development and pacing weren't to my taste, which meant that took me ages to finish. Will def end up including this on rec lists, though. ...more
truly, only read this if you've read the others in the series. for me, I think it was much stronger than Conspiracy of Kings but not as amazing as Thetruly, only read this if you've read the others in the series. for me, I think it was much stronger than Conspiracy of Kings but not as amazing as The Queen of Attolia.
I would really like 1) other readers to confirm that this was DEFINITELY a slow burn romance and 2) a whole lot of fic from the (rumored-to-be-devoted-and-productive) fandom....more
A more well-thought-out review coming. Highlights: it took a serious chunk of time for me to be fully invested in thQueer Desi werewolves! WHAT. WOW.
A more well-thought-out review coming. Highlights: it took a serious chunk of time for me to be fully invested in the story, as I found Fenrir's POV to be stylistically frustrating and unpleasant to engage with. Once that section was over, however, Cyrah's narrative drew me in immediately. I think it took me three days to get through the first section and less than three hours for the rest.
I loved the threads of bisexuality that spun throughout, the consideration of gender, the lack of victim-blaming, and the absolute certainty of Cyrah's rape (as in, there is never any question in her mind or the other characters' whether her forced agreement is actually consent).
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