The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
emily_mh'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
3.25
Rep: sapphic MC, lesbian (word not used even though there were opportunities to use it, and words like aromantic and asexual exist) MC, aroace MC
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Gun violence, Classism, and Pregnancy
Moderate: imprisonment, loss of a loved one, fainting Minor: sick loved one, blackmail, theft, capital punishment, child birthpunkrobots's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Classism, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse
kait_sixcrowsbooks's review
Moderate: Medical content, Blood, and Emotional abuse
animaepanda's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Colonisation
Moderate: Grief and Terminal illness
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia and Lesbophobia
The ace/arophobia is internalized ace/arophobia.tinysierra'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
3.75
This book lacked intensity and build up. Everything felt too convent and happened too easily, even when things went wrong it still worked out somehow.
Rowanâs
Also they were able to subdueÂ
Eliza was my favorite character. I love sneaky and strong female characters.
The discussion about aro and ace identity and labels⊠brb crying /pos
-Discussions about ableism and disability
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy
dari'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: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
mandaoof's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
However- the aroace scene? This aroace fucking loved it. Took a picture of it to send to some friends who are ace because I was just going 'yessss!!!!'. I just found it very ironic that the romance plot made me go 'ew' because of my small romance repulsion lmao. So if you are aromantic and reading this to see if you want to read it, don't if you experience romance repulsion to a decent degree. To be fair, it is a YA novel. I knew what I was risking.
Overall, it is a good read. I am going to be passing the book on to a friend whose reading tastes fits more so with this genre. I would also buy this book for any young teens in my life to read.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
elwirax'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
3.5
The blend of fantasy and Sc-fi in "Tarnished Are the Stars" was done really well and I adored the overall concept and atmosphere.I loved the sapphic romance (albeit the betrayal annoyed me) but what stole my heart was the Aro-Ace representation. I rarely see good Aro-Ace portrayals in media so it was great seeing a character I could relate to (Nathaniel was an absolute sweetheart).Â
However, the story started off quite strongly but was watered down as it progressed. Although there was definitely some good world building, it lacked a wee bit and left me with many questions surrounding the "adjacent Earth" and the workings of the TICCERS. There also didn't seem to be a lot of stakes, the characters trusted eachother too quickly and parts were a bit too convenient.Â
It's evident this is a debut with the many inconsistencies, yet, as a whole it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death and Blood
Minor: Medical content
meganlilyflower's review
3.5
The Good:
- Ace/aro rep: especially in moments of that characters POV when we are observing the romantic couple in the story.Â
- The queer couple are not the focus of the story but it doesnât feel like instalove either. They arenât just suddenly a couple, instead we get them becoming friends who trust each other while we the reader know that they have an observable connection and are attracted to each other. I love that one is clearly gay and one seems to be bi!
- The sci-fi elements: the clock tech especially was super cool to me. Some steampunk aesthetic without some of the steampunk tropes and without going all in on the style.Â
- I felt there was a lot of missed opportunity for those clock hearts to be the heart of the story. It felt like we forgot about the clock heart component and Nathanielâs ânever having maintenanceâ when that couldâve been usedÂ
- The climax felt rushed to me. Maybe it was because my last read was adult and almost 500 pages but I felt this couldâve been longer and given me more mundane interactions within the manor that added world building and gave us more tender moments with our queer couple
- The queer couple isnât the center of the story and I wish theyâd come into focus more often. It just was happening in the background (literally as we got the thought in the back of characters minds) The set up had some enemies to lovers potential and I wouldâve liked the see that pushed harder and followed through.Â
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Ableism and Medical content
mxfahrenheit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Blood and Medical content