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pearldpk'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
4.5
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Death of parent
orchidlilly'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? No
4.25
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Colonisation
silly_little_clown'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? It's complicated
4.75
I don’t think I’ve ever read any historical fiction written in the modern times that felt so much like I was reading about people that were actually living in that era. Even the parts that were set in Japan, I felt totally immersed into the world. The author has such a way of building up atmosphere and creating dialogues that just makes everything feel so realistic despite the fact that there are some magical realism aspects to it. I also love the work that has gone into researching all the politics at the time. It’s very interesting to have a glimpse of the international power struggles in the past.
One weird thing that I really appreciate about this book is the casual racism that were expressed by multiple characters. As a POC, while I do not condone and tolerate racism, I think it’s important to acknowledge that those were the norm in those days and they usually went on unchallenged. We are growing to evolve out of it, can’t say the same about everyone, but racism is definitely not cool now. It’s not to say that the POC characters just silently takes it, I loved it when Mori casually refuted the police’s own logic when he was confronted at the end. But I’m glad that the author decided to include those things in the story, even though it might be difficult to read for some people. It made the story all the more real, and I think as readers with critical minds, we should be well equipped to understand that depiction of a horrible thing does not mean condoning of said thing.
I love Thaniel and Mori’s dynamic so much!! They’re not the kind of couple that has a lot of tension going on, but I think that made them even more lovable. The simmering longing that is just bubbling under the surface. That’s how I would describe their pining of each other. It’s especially angsty for Mori because
I must say I’m not a fan of Grace. Her
To end this review with a positive note, I can’t wait to read to spin-off and sequel! :D
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Murder and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and War
blubbn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
biobeetle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Blood
tinkeringcheck's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
As for the characters, the concepts were fantastic and bursting with not-quite-realized potential. I adored every little bit of information we got about the talented and mysterious Mr. Mori, but I felt that much of Thaniel's character was left between the lines to the point of him becoming quite boring as things went on. (How this was managed despite having unique narration tics with his synesthesia, I've no idea). And while I found the drag-wearing, anti-suffragette physicist Grace quite fun and offbeat in the beginning - especially her banter with Matsumoto, the dandy friend who lets her raid his closet - she had an abrupt change of priorities and comprehensibility halfway through the book that left me disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing
But what soured what had still been an enjoyable read for me was when I figured out where the final act was going. I nearly threw my phone at the wall. I almost DNF'd with just chapters left. I only skimmed through to the end to see if
There's also an honestly uncomfortable amount of casual racism and xenophobia from the white characters' perspectives. It's clearly meant to be period-typical and reflect the society they grew up in because it disappears in the POV chapters set in Japan, but it still felt excessive. Japanese and Japanese-British characters (including Mori) are constantly referred to as small and delicate and juvenile, and they're described by these racialized features exponentially more often than the white characters, even late into the story. For example, Thaniel's grey eyes and other physical descriptors are mentioned offhandedly, meanwhile each time Mori is described physically - like his tanned skin or short height or small hands - it's always tacked on with some remark inexplicably tying it up with him being Japanese. (Matsumoto, being a tall man, is described as being 'English-raised' instead.) At some point I was just desperate for ANY descriptor for these characters that wasn't racialized and was left disappointed.
Overall, I wanted to fully love this book (and nearly did for awhile!) but the overall execution and the plot choices in the climax unfortunately killed a lot of my enjoyment. I did love the premise of a mysterious, talented-beyond-his-time clockwork maker in his wondrous workshop - and I felt the middle portion of the story was the strongest in part because it focused on unveiling Mori's world. But as the book went on and we were moved from his workshop into the strange 3rd act drama with less compelling characters, I wondered if what I loved about it was more about the possibilities I was imagining for myself than what was on the page. Katsu the adorable clockwork octopus, kind and lonely Mori, and dearly underused Matsumoto were the shining stars for me, though I'm not sure I'll be tuning into the next book to see how they fare.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Stalking, and Classism
Minor: Body horror, Chronic illness, and Grief
Animal death: Personally, even though it's not really graphic andbek_p87'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, and Xenophobia
maddithemoodi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.75
I felt uncomfortable with some of the (probably period-appropriate) racism and East-Asian tokenizing that went unchallenged by the narrative. It was written/referenced/implied constantly that Asian people are smaller than white people. It was so often that it felt like it bordered on fetishizing — Thaniel was constantly thinking about how small Mori (and other Asian characters) was compared to him.
The writing itself was fine, if not a little slow with slightly under-developed characters — though both elements picked up a lot in the last quarter or so. I might read another book from this author, but I’m really hesitant considering a lot of the troubling perspectives or politics that went unchallenged — it just made it frustrating to read.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
there are a number of plot threads in the novel - yard bomb mystery, mori's ability, grace's conundrum - and imo the way they intersect could be improved. there also loose ends to some of the plot points, such as how grace's experiments in oxford end. things should be elucidated more arent, and pulley spotlights the duller stuff instead.
my biggest caveat, however, is how unsatisfying the book is as a whole bc of its dull focus on mori and thaniel. the story's emotional stakes and reader's engagement, as well as emotional payoff at the end could be much greater and fulfilling if thaniel and mori's interactions are shown more. them ending up tgt isnt surprising but how it gets there doesnt rly have any good buildup; more scenes of their down time tgt or deeper bonding could fix that, but it isnt rly shown in the book. that subtle, gently moving scene in the hospital near the end, i want more of that!
nevertheless, the premise is intriguing and the intellectual, technical stuff is intelligent, if a bit of a mindfvck for my kinda dumb self. the setting that mixes victorian london w/ steampunkish elements and japanese culture is quite original too, tho the latter comes off awkwardly at times. i also enjoy mori and thaniel as characters.
tldr: a potentially good read weighed down by its unwieldy execution and lack of focus on the good stuff.
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death
serotonone's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia