girlreading's review against another edition
4.0
A brilliantly fun read that's equal parts a romantic, universe hopping, 'we need to save multiple planets from doom and also, hey humans are kinda awful and great' sci-fi, and an astute exploration of racism, colonialism, oppression and class.
Alechia Dow has such a talent for creating characters and relationships you root for with your entire being. I adored Joy and Felix. They were charming, wholesome, flawed and their different perspectives were great to follow. The side characters were lovable and well developed and the casual, inclusive and accepting language surrounding the queer characters? 10/10.
The pop culture references were also so much fun and I really hope authors take note of the subtle way Alechia acknowledged the pandemic as a part of Earth's story but without without being too jarring.
My only qualm with this book was the fatphobia and the narrative surrounding Joy's fatness. Whilst representing fatphobia, both internal and external, is absolutely valid, I didn't feel as though it added much to this story. There was no growth or real challenging of any of Joy's hateful thoughts about her body or her dieting, nor were there repercussions for those who made negative comments about it. Instead, her self-hate just somewhat fizzled out without any undoing of any of the potentially triggering comments made from herself and others.
That being said, all in all, this was another exciting and multilayered story from Dow. I thought the way she intertwined this with The Sound of Stars was inspired and I really, really hope she revisits this universe and its characters again in the future.
TW: fatphobia and body shaming (internal and external), racism, xenophobia, colonialism
Alechia Dow has such a talent for creating characters and relationships you root for with your entire being. I adored Joy and Felix. They were charming, wholesome, flawed and their different perspectives were great to follow. The side characters were lovable and well developed and the casual, inclusive and accepting language surrounding the queer characters? 10/10.
The pop culture references were also so much fun and I really hope authors take note of the subtle way Alechia acknowledged the pandemic as a part of Earth's story but without without being too jarring.
My only qualm with this book was the fatphobia and the narrative surrounding Joy's fatness. Whilst representing fatphobia, both internal and external, is absolutely valid, I didn't feel as though it added much to this story. There was no growth or real challenging of any of Joy's hateful thoughts about her body or her dieting, nor were there repercussions for those who made negative comments about it. Instead, her self-hate just somewhat fizzled out without any undoing of any of the potentially triggering comments made from herself and others.
That being said, all in all, this was another exciting and multilayered story from Dow. I thought the way she intertwined this with The Sound of Stars was inspired and I really, really hope she revisits this universe and its characters again in the future.
TW: fatphobia and body shaming (internal and external), racism, xenophobia, colonialism
irisnail's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
akoala's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I didn't hate it but I found myself feeling quite blah most of the time. I liked both of the main characters but found the story they were in to be often times uncompelling for some reason
poppy31's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
becandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger warnings:
A science-fiction novel that builds a society that is attempting to address the gaps in socioeconomics with mind bonds. This book builds off a fascinating concept - from birth a duke and a commoner are bonded through mind-pairing, growing up together in an inescapable way. Duke Felix, however, as been warned to limit this relationship. He has expectations and an image - despite his every attempt to shun all responsibility placed on him. But when the royal family is attacked and both become suspects, they flee their home planets to save themselves and each other.
This was a fantastic book to read, with themes of class, race, patriarchy, responsibility and differences woven into a meaningful but fun story. The plot is fast-paced and interesting. Both main characters offer a lot to the story, despite Felix being a incredibly obnoxious character at times. The storyline itself was pretty straight forward and nothing mind-bending, but overall Dow has created a fantastic and enjoyable young adult science-fiction, with obligatory romance tropes thrown in. Something that a lot of readers are going to love.
Spoiler
murder, death, captivity, poverty, blood depiction, physical injury, mind control & loss of autonomy, alcohol consumption, body-shaming & fatmisia, poverty themes, kidnapping, torture, war themesA science-fiction novel that builds a society that is attempting to address the gaps in socioeconomics with mind bonds. This book builds off a fascinating concept - from birth a duke and a commoner are bonded through mind-pairing, growing up together in an inescapable way. Duke Felix, however, as been warned to limit this relationship. He has expectations and an image - despite his every attempt to shun all responsibility placed on him. But when the royal family is attacked and both become suspects, they flee their home planets to save themselves and each other.
This was a fantastic book to read, with themes of class, race, patriarchy, responsibility and differences woven into a meaningful but fun story. The plot is fast-paced and interesting. Both main characters offer a lot to the story, despite Felix being a incredibly obnoxious character at times. The storyline itself was pretty straight forward and nothing mind-bending, but overall Dow has created a fantastic and enjoyable young adult science-fiction, with obligatory romance tropes thrown in. Something that a lot of readers are going to love.
Note: Review copy received from NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.
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Happy reading! ❤
gillytee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
annathesockaholic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? No
3.0
mora55's review against another edition
5.0
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i was iffy on whether i wanted to read this but i just heard it has mind to mind connections and i am an absolute sucker for that trope so now it is definitely going on the tbr jfkdjf
sammieelynn's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
ktkooy2's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75