scrow1022's review
5.0
Yay, more adventures in this world! (Some kind of accident turned humans into orcs and elves, woah.) Liked Comet and Buzz, liked how they acknowledged the ridiculousness of the situation and went ahead anyway. Liked the more thorough mapping of the cyber world (continuing on from the first book), curious for more.
storytimed's review
4.0
Spoiler
This one is very much insta-love, but I almost didn't mind? Like, Allmon could have done with maybe extending the SIX HOURS it took for these two people to fall for each other into at least like, a week or so
But the characters are fun and he sets up very cool iddy scenarios, which is all I'm really looking for here
Comet Wu is a genetically engineered supersoldier who works for orc leader Duke! He's the best friend of JT from the previous novel, but had no idea about the whole heist backstory
Buzz is the guy who had kind of a thing with JT during the previous novel. He's a super-sweet hacker who yearns for adrenaline. I really wanted more fallout or at least like, an acknowledgement? of JT and Buzz's non-relationship, but, you know, when all you have is six hours...
Tbh Comet is way cooler and more interesting than Buzz, even though Buzz gets the bulk of the emotional arc (kind of makes sense that he'd fall in love in six hours. This guy's a black hole of neediness)
Like, Comet's relationship with his boss Duke is that he was super-loyal to Duke as a hired soldier, then one day he got into a fatal motorcycle accident where he actually died. Duke had him airlifted to his private doctor, revived and totally genetically rewritten to Duke's personal preferences. (Don Allmon considers this very kinky, which, like, I cannot disagree with, I guess.) They're not in a romantic relationship, but Duke really likes to watch him fuck and sets up meet cutes for Comet so this can happen
This is how Comet meets JT, his bff who's been hiding his past as part of the best heist crew in the world!
ALL THESE RELATIONSHIPS are way more interesting than Comet and Buzz, who have known each other for six hours.
I think Allmon agrees, because one of the climactic sex scenes between Comet and Buzz can't stop mentioning how, by the way, this body that Buzz is sleeping with was genetically redesigned by Comet's EMPLOYER, who made Comet's cum taste like apple pie. This is an insane detail that should have been further explored, but was not.
But, you know, it's fun to see them race across a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk United States. Arizona is now ruled by Orcs and called Greentown! The Midwest was taken over by druids who are healing it from nuclear fallout using the fun environmentalist trick of human sacrifice!
Allmon is actually quite good at melding the ridiculousness with actual emotion. There's this one scene..........
Comet's backstory is that he used to be in the military, where he studied under a beloved mentor who taught him how to use qigong. Then he was kicked out and lost his mentor, and when he had his fatal motorcycle accident, the cyborg modifications that saved his life made it impossible for him to use it anymore. But in his most dire moment, fueled by the need to keep Buzz safe, he takes his hand and together, they fly. It's genuinely lovely and there are explosions going off in the background.
Anyway, I'm very excited to read the conclusion of the trilogy, where all our protagonists pull off One Last Heist (for real this time) to free the AI version of JT's ex's sister. I am already low-key shipping the AI with JT's surly young protege, a teen girl with attitude who hates all of his boyfriends
pam_h's review
3.0
New couple, same cyberpunk/urban fantasy world, but the relationship development has some serious weak spots in this one. The first couple is more reluctant second-chance that still has no resolution after Book 1, and this one is warp speed/insta. The action plot didn't hold up quite as well either, but I still enjoyed this overall.
see_sadie_read's review
4.0
3.5
Honestly, I didn't love this one like I did The Glamour Thieves. I liked it just fine, but there was no love. I still got a thrill out of Allmon's world and there is a lot of humor in the book that tickled me and I really like the writing style, but the romance literally goes from gun-to-the-head-of-a-stranger to in love, in less than six hours. There is just no way to make that work for me, even if the two go through some heavy stuff together. Almost especially if they go through a storm together, because then you have to sort what feelings are just leftover from the experience and what is real. The book doesn't even touch on that little psychological reality.
Plus, the book just never stops. There are no rest points in the narrative and I, personally, needed them. And lastly, JT and Austin are hardly in the book and I missed them.
Having said all that, I'll still be on board for book three. This might not have shown like the star book one was, but it is still a fun read and I look forward to more of Allmon's work.
Honestly, I didn't love this one like I did The Glamour Thieves. I liked it just fine, but there was no love. I still got a thrill out of Allmon's world and there is a lot of humor in the book that tickled me and I really like the writing style, but the romance literally goes from gun-to-the-head-of-a-stranger to in love, in less than six hours. There is just no way to make that work for me, even if the two go through some heavy stuff together. Almost especially if they go through a storm together, because then you have to sort what feelings are just leftover from the experience and what is real. The book doesn't even touch on that little psychological reality.
Plus, the book just never stops. There are no rest points in the narrative and I, personally, needed them. And lastly, JT and Austin are hardly in the book and I missed them.
Having said all that, I'll still be on board for book three. This might not have shown like the star book one was, but it is still a fun read and I look forward to more of Allmon's work.
marinakruk's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I almost didn't buy this book. While I enjoyed the first part of the series, it didn't really intrigue me. The pacing felt a little off and I would've liked to learn more about its main characters and the world they live in.
Now I'm glad I gave it a try. Buzz was one of my favourites in the first book and Comet, the new character and love interest, only needed a couple of sentences to worm his way into my heart. I also loved the slowly shifting dynamic between those two, fun to read and very heart-warming.
I needed roughly two weeks for the first book, this one I read in one day. Now I'm looking forward to part three.
Now I'm glad I gave it a try. Buzz was one of my favourites in the first book and Comet, the new character and love interest, only needed a couple of sentences to worm his way into my heart. I also loved the slowly shifting dynamic between those two, fun to read and very heart-warming.
I needed roughly two weeks for the first book, this one I read in one day. Now I'm looking forward to part three.
terriaminute's review
5.0
I read these out of order. But! Despite my less-than-stellar memory, leaving #2 until last just means events in #3 have realigned a little - and this illustrates Don Allmon's talent. Each of these novels can be read alone, if you don't mind leaving elements hanging, or if you don't mind not quite grasping some of the solutions in #3 until you've filled in some backstory. It's a wild, bizarre, gritty and sexy race to the end. This trilogy is VERY highly recommended.
I look forward to reading these in order, some day when I've forgotten enough about them. It'll be awhile.
I look forward to reading these in order, some day when I've forgotten enough about them. It'll be awhile.
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