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jackiepreston's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Torture
chinomi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content and Murder
Minor: Suicide
ravenslanding's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This, my friends, is dystopian romance. Now, yes, a subrace of humans with psychic powers, and another of human/animal shapeshifters makes it an urban fantasy/dystopia cross over, but I like that kind of thing. The psy are in an Equilibrium-like society, hammering emotion out of themselves before the end of high school (or else). Sascha, who is psy, has a big dangerous secret that she FEELS.
Most of the sensation part of the story comes from Sascha suppressing, or exploring, or growing into. Also the leopard shifter pack she ends up with are affectionate (not unlike big cats) with kisses and hugs par for the casual interaction.
The book is very tactile.
Anyway, there is mystery, there is romance, there is the uncovering of the dystopia. There is a happy ending.
Honestly, I had to sit to figure out why I didn't gleefully love it, and finally realized it is because it wasn't funny. Just not that kind of book. Which makes it not my most favorite, but I don't think counts as a flaw
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
smallmac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Murder
caitlinemccann's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Forced institutionalization
vivivi's review
- 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
I like the transition that Sasha went through and how she tried to hide her "flaw." Knowing what I know now about the supporting characters makes re-reading the beginning of the series very interesting.
The whole situation with a dominant guy manhandling her that way isn't that interesting, really. Kind of annoying lol. Which I think was the point, but ah well.
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Torture and Murder
rakizaka's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
laysflower's review against another edition
- 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
WoW THIS book was AMAZING, probably one of the best I’ve read.
FRENCH:
WoW CE livre est INCROYABLE, sûrement l’un des meilleurs que j’ai lu
Graphic: Sexual content
friends2lovers's review against another edition
3.5
Through a program called Silence, the Psy are conditioned from birth to eradicate all their feelings. Silence didn’t really work on Sascha and over the years she’s built up mental shields to hide her ‘flawed’ psyche. In the beginning, Sascha is emotionally guarded, wary of affection, and believes herself broken. This is typically where a hero’s arc starts in a M/F romance novel; it’s the heroine who breaks down his walls and encourages him to feel and love. It was refreshing to have this trope reversed; Lucas is more in touch with his feelings and he affectionately provokes Sascha out of her shell.
So later, when Sascha embraces her empath abilities and matures emotionally while Lucas struggles with his emotional control, it was a little disappointing. Their dynamic went from atypical to falling in line with gender norms, albeit with a supernatural twist. As an E-Psy and ‘healer of the mind’, she’s shouldering a lot of emotional labor in her relationship with Lucas as well as with the pack. I hope later books introduce male healers and E-Psy, because I don’t like the idea of these inherent abilities being passed down to females only. The powers that E-Psy possess are really cool, especially the potential to heal the trauma of others! It seems like a bummer, though, to constantly manage the emotions of other people (mainly male shapeshifters with tempers).
Overall, I really enjoyed the romance, I just liked the earlier bits best. The shared dreams were particularly effective at forging a believable connection between them, before either character was ready for that in real life. It’s like a heightened version of the trope where dreaming about another person either makes them realize their attraction to the person or allows them to act on feelings they aren’t supposed to have. Because neither character realizes that they’re dreamingtogether, their subsequent struggle to continue acting normally around each other is especially entertaining. I also liked that the mating bond was not immediately evident and it took time and effort to develop and accept.
I liked the earlier bits of plot and worldbuilding more than the latter, too. The culture of the Psy and the inner workings of the PsyNet were intriguing. Singh’s writing struck a good balance between being concise and descriptive. I never felt like I was drowning in exposition nor was I left wanting more explanations. Unfortunately, because Sascha’s abilities are all mental, the climax of the plot was internal, too. Sascha going into the PsyNet to trap and identify the serial killer was the one part of the book that I found difficult to grasp conceptually. Then the physical confrontation and action occurs off the page with different characters. It was just a bit underwhelming to have an external, high-stakes conflict resolved through internal strategic mental maneuvering.
3.5 stars. The first half is completely engrossing and fast-paced. The second half took me longer to get through as the things I liked about the romance and plot shifted in a different direction. Still, I’m pretty eager to continue the series and am curious about how the overarching plot will progress.
EDIT 04/13/2021: Yesterday, the Heaving Bosoms podcast posted their recap episode for this and I highly recommend checking it out. I wholeheartedly agree with Erin about the changelings' aversion to M/M platonic PDA within the pack, despite having no qualms about M/F PDA. I kid you not, I wrote a paragraph about this in my original review but decided to cut it for length.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and Murder
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail