Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

This book is just as lovely as the first one. I love Dex and Mosscap so much and I hope we get to hear more of their adventures some day. ❤️ And Becky Chambers has done something I didn’t think was possible: she had me crying over a fish.

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mads_jpg's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

I was hesitant to read this since my experience with the first book was so good that I didn't want to potentially taint it with a subpar sequel, but man am I glad Rory convinced me to read it because it absolutely lived up to the first book. It really is just a warm hug.

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xta_07's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This book was like reading a warm hug. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Mosscap’s introduction to humans could not have gone better. I loved how they experienced delight in every new experience they encountered. This author has made a world where human beings have become their best possible selves, and I am here for it.

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kelleykamanda's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Cozy, slow, relaxing, and sweet. Recommended for folks needing a kind and gentle palate cleanser.

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analenegrace's review

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was another great work by Becky Chambers although I preferred the first in this series to this one. As novellas, they encompass a great deal, but this one felt almost incomplete. I felt like I needed like one or two more chapters.

I really enjoy the combination of the religious aspects and the sci-fi aspects in this series; it's something that works so well that it's almost shocking!

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danimacuk's review

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

4.25

Another beautiful novella in the Monk and Robot series. Sometimes this book felt like a warm hug, sometimes it felt like a bittersweet goodbye. I needed this story.

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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted 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? No

4.0

I love how this book really gives language to those of us who feel lost in life. There’s really nothing that can explain why some thing is missing from your life. Sometimes, it’s just simply a feeling and learning the shape of it, and facing it head on with friends, and loved ones is really hard sometimes. finding purpose is not always a straightforward path.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

5.0

As the second book in the series, A PRAYER FOR THE CROWN SHY continues the journey of Mosscap and Sibling Dex, this time meeting people rather than staying in the wilderness. It kind of wraps up things left hanging from the previous book, because Mosscap wanted to meet humans, and so it needed help to meet more humans than just Sibling Dex. The monk had been trying to figure out their life, what to do on a daily basis, and also in terms of a bigger trajectory, if they were no longer going to serve tea.

This is satisfying in a way that means I'm not sure whether there will be more books in the series. It's a story of two entities trying to figure out their lives as individuals and in the context of their communities, as well as exploring what those communities are. The first book was in the wilderness, but this time around there are other people to talk to. There's a mix of opening up new relationships, and reacquainting Sibling Dex with people they already know.

This is a bit calmer than I usually like my stories, but I love books full of dialogue, and most of this is a series of conversations. Finally arriving in civilization, the monk and the robot travel from settlement to settlement while Mosscap asks what people need. It’s a very meditative and philosophical book, with much of the story consisting of the discussion between the main characters (sometimes involving other people). A PRAYER FOR THE CROWN-SHY would mostly make sense to someone who started here without reading the first one, but it has resolutions to questions implied in A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT, and both books are very short. I definitely recommend reading them in order.

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