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calbowen's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting
This is a fun little cyberpunk fantasy with an interesting take on dragons. Being a fan of dragon fantasy, this was a must read.
This is a fun little cyberpunk fantasy with an interesting take on dragons. Being a fan of dragon fantasy, this was a must read.
jennkei's review against another edition
4.0
I read this a little out-of-timeline and if I'll be honest, it does have minor spoilers for the Heartstrikers series. But it did make me go back to that so...
A little of a slower start but I ended up really loving this series.
A little of a slower start but I ended up really loving this series.
ingread27's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this fantasy novel. Couldn’t put it down, so to speak. Awesome narrator as well. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.
meredithlegare's review against another edition
5.0
Fun urban fantasy
i literally could not stop reading until it was all finished. A super fun, exciting story with a really love-able main character. I highly recommend it!
i literally could not stop reading until it was all finished. A super fun, exciting story with a really love-able main character. I highly recommend it!
mothercrow's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3.75 but I didn’t want to hurt the score. The book was fun to visualize, great locations, and some cool sci fi twists within the magical world. I think it was just a tad bit rushed and the plot was very light. However it was a good ride. I really did enjoy reading it.. but it wasn’t a favorite. Still.. I want to read more.
enchanterheir's review against another edition
5.0
Such an interesting story! I can't wait to read the next in this series!
rebeccazh's review against another edition
i really like rachel aaron's dfz world. they're so fun. this one is set in the same universe as the heartstrikers series but a few years after the end of the last book (i think). the main character is opal, who is risk-taking, kind and resourceful. she flies through life by the seat of her pants.
i liked following her narrative. she starts out in a very tight and desperate spot because she's been from suffering months of bad luck that has left her almost penniless with a debt on her back. so she makes a risky deal and joins with a tough, hardhearted and opportunistic guy, nik, to chase a trail that promises a lot of money. her ultimate goal is to use that money to buy her own freedom, but not at the expanse of others.
along the way, she's put into a bunch of different situations that pit her values against her need for money, with her need for money winning out at first, even though she feels increasingly conflicted. but slowly, her conscience emerges and it was satisfying to see her choose to do the right thing by the end of the novel.
i liked her contrast to nik. he's always only been in things for the money, and it's clear that after years of opportunism at the expense of others, his conscience is making itself known. her 'softness' balanced him out even as he brought factuality and concreteness to her decisions. he was more humanized as the novel went on. i really liked their exchange near the end of the book that revealed as much. i'm very curious about his past, which i'm guessing the second novel will be focused on.
i liked following her narrative. she starts out in a very tight and desperate spot because she's been from suffering months of bad luck that has left her almost penniless with a debt on her back. so she makes a risky deal and joins with a tough, hardhearted and opportunistic guy, nik, to chase a trail that promises a lot of money. her ultimate goal is to use that money to buy her own freedom, but not at the expanse of others.
along the way, she's put into a bunch of different situations that pit her values against her need for money, with her need for money winning out at first, even though she feels increasingly conflicted. but slowly, her conscience emerges and it was satisfying to see her choose to do the right thing by the end of the novel.
i liked her contrast to nik. he's always only been in things for the money, and it's clear that after years of opportunism at the expense of others, his conscience is making itself known. her 'softness' balanced him out even as he brought factuality and concreteness to her decisions. he was more humanized as the novel went on. i really liked their exchange near the end of the book that revealed as much. i'm very curious about his past, which i'm guessing the second novel will be focused on.
katyanaish's review against another edition
3.0
This gets a wibbly-wobbly rating, and review.
I like the world building, and would like to continue on ... but I deeply dislike the FMC. I'm going to be honest, Opal is probably the dumbest FMC I have encountered in a book that didn't make me immediately DNF. I mean, she's stupid on top of stupid, making the worst decision in all cases, flitting around like a brainless teenager who has no idea how to function in the world. And that would be more tolerable if she WAS a brainless teenager who has no idea how to function in the world, but we're told that's not who she is.
Opal was raised as a cosseted rich girl. Her familial relationship is ... complex. She seems to hate them, but without more info it mostly sounds like overdramatic teenaged melodrama. I'm willing to withhold judgement, though, because we got very few details.
So okay, raised as a cosseted rich girl. But she tricked her father into letting her cross the world for college, and then tricked him again into letting her stay after college. For 3 years, she's been surviving on her own, scraping up a living in her work as a Cleaner. She's succeeded at this for 3 years, living in a crap apartment just above the poverty line, working hard every day. Three years after graduating with a masters in magical art history ... so she's got to be 25-26 at least. It is impossible to believe she's this stupid ... and let me tell you, she's utterly TSTL.
We've got Nik, who I like, except for the fact that he seems to inexplicably have a thing for this utter moron. That's a flaw that is almost unredeemable.
I'm going to continue, but I honestly expect to DNF.
I like the world building, and would like to continue on ... but I deeply dislike the FMC. I'm going to be honest, Opal is probably the dumbest FMC I have encountered in a book that didn't make me immediately DNF. I mean, she's stupid on top of stupid, making the worst decision in all cases, flitting around like a brainless teenager who has no idea how to function in the world. And that would be more tolerable if she WAS a brainless teenager who has no idea how to function in the world, but we're told that's not who she is.
Opal was raised as a cosseted rich girl. Her familial relationship is ... complex. She seems to hate them, but without more info it mostly sounds like overdramatic teenaged melodrama. I'm willing to withhold judgement, though, because we got very few details.
So okay, raised as a cosseted rich girl. But she tricked her father into letting her cross the world for college, and then tricked him again into letting her stay after college. For 3 years, she's been surviving on her own, scraping up a living in her work as a Cleaner. She's succeeded at this for 3 years, living in a crap apartment just above the poverty line, working hard every day. Three years after graduating with a masters in magical art history ... so she's got to be 25-26 at least. It is impossible to believe she's this stupid ... and let me tell you, she's utterly TSTL.
We've got Nik, who I like, except for the fact that he seems to inexplicably have a thing for this utter moron. That's a flaw that is almost unredeemable.
I'm going to continue, but I honestly expect to DNF.
ravengrimsbane's review against another edition
4.0
The first installment in a trilogy about a "cleaner" - a person who cleans out abandoned apartments, in the hopes of making a profit out of the stuff left behind, a curse, and, of course, an attractive man who just happens to be there to lend a hand. The story is enjoyable and a bit of fluff, which was just what I needed. This was actually a re-read (re-listen???), and I will get to the next two as time and my huge TBR stack allows.