jouan87's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
shauna_n's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.5
longlostreader's review
adventurous
challenging
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
4.75
skm2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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
anonymous_blobfish's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
If I’m being totally honest, I almost DNF’d this book around the halfway mark. But I’m really glad I pushed through because the last 100-150 pages contained some truly excellent storytelling!
What I didn’t like…
Once again, I had a really rough time with Voya’s family. I think most of this comes down to different cultural backgrounds and experiences but I just hated them so fucking much that I almost quit.
Perhaps for this very reason (ne being hyper focused on hating everyone), I didn’t feel like I was able to really emotionally connect to a lot of characters. Big love for Aqua and Keisha but even that went only so far.
The writing was oftentimes overly descriptive. Chapters were spent on a single day, describing the minutiae of every single thing Voya and co did. It was exhausting sometimes and meant that this book was at least 100 pages longer than it should have been (an issue I also had with book 1).
My final criticism I have to deliver with an acknowledgment that it isn’t a bad thing, just something that I personally found disappointing: I guessed literally every single “plot twist” that happened. Like well in advance. Without exception. Again, not a bad thing, I just like being surprised sometimes.
Enough negativity, what did I like…
Despite the intense hate they made me feel, or maybe because of it, I found the characters in this book (esp Voya’s fam) to be so incredibly real. I loved that Voya had mad growth from the first book and that it came from herself as well as others.
I love love LOVE the insanely cool world building. It’s a super fun sci-fi addition to a really cool story concept and it all worked so well.
Without stating specifics, that ending!! It came together so freaking well and I personally loved all of the outcomes (it might be too neat for some but it worked for me). The was a cohesiveness to the last 100 or so pages that the rest of the book didn’t quite achieve and it really showed in how engaged I became with the story (esp considering how close I was to simply moving on).
Overall, I found this to be a kind of mixed bag but I do think it ended up being an decent conclusion to the duology. Do I recommend it? That’s complicated because the answer is both yes and no for all the reasons listed above and in my review for Blood Like Magic. I think I’ll say I cautiously recommend if only because the world building and character writing is too good not to experience.
What I didn’t like…
Once again, I had a really rough time with Voya’s family. I think most of this comes down to different cultural backgrounds and experiences but I just hated them so fucking much that I almost quit.
Perhaps for this very reason (ne being hyper focused on hating everyone), I didn’t feel like I was able to really emotionally connect to a lot of characters. Big love for Aqua and Keisha but even that went only so far.
The writing was oftentimes overly descriptive. Chapters were spent on a single day, describing the minutiae of every single thing Voya and co did. It was exhausting sometimes and meant that this book was at least 100 pages longer than it should have been (an issue I also had with book 1).
My final criticism I have to deliver with an acknowledgment that it isn’t a bad thing, just something that I personally found disappointing: I guessed literally every single “plot twist” that happened. Like well in advance. Without exception. Again, not a bad thing, I just like being surprised sometimes.
Enough negativity, what did I like…
Despite the intense hate they made me feel, or maybe because of it, I found the characters in this book (esp Voya’s fam) to be so incredibly real. I loved that Voya had mad growth from the first book and that it came from herself as well as others.
I love love LOVE the insanely cool world building. It’s a super fun sci-fi addition to a really cool story concept and it all worked so well.
Without stating specifics, that ending!! It came together so freaking well and I personally loved all of the outcomes (it might be too neat for some but it worked for me). The was a cohesiveness to the last 100 or so pages that the rest of the book didn’t quite achieve and it really showed in how engaged I became with the story (esp considering how close I was to simply moving on).
Overall, I found this to be a kind of mixed bag but I do think it ended up being an decent conclusion to the duology. Do I recommend it? That’s complicated because the answer is both yes and no for all the reasons listed above and in my review for Blood Like Magic. I think I’ll say I cautiously recommend if only because the world building and character writing is too good not to experience.
brittkory's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
reader_of_books88's review
dark
emotional
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
4.75
charlenejx's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
sashacamille's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
such a perfect way to finish the duology. the twists and turns throughout the book were so well thought out, and perfect in the sense that if you paid attention and thought about it while reading, when you got to the twists they made perfect sense (they were not plot twists for the sake of having a plot twist). i think liselle sambury writes so beautifully about grief and family and loss and love. i would very much enjoy a movie version of these books, as long as the author is 100% involved in the making of it.