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amanda_bookdragon's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mostlyvoidpartiallystars's review
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is like if Cinder had better disability politics. The mix of sci fi and fairy tale adventure elements blends seamlessly, and there's a much better understanding of disability woven through the plot. The language around sexuality feels a little clunky at times - as if the author is using the story to explain queerness to the audience - but that's not unforgivable, especially since this book is YA. It's a very fun, exciting read.
The one thing about the ending that keeps this book from being a full 5 stars isI cannot fathom why the council makes Nathaniel the new Commissioner. The fact we're just told this happened makes the ending feel abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying; the ending would have been much stronger if we'd gotten an actual view into how they responded and why they put Nathaniel in charge after everything.
The one thing about the ending that keeps this book from being a full 5 stars is
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, and Car accident
sophiesmallhands's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
gsas's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
brownwall268's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
I loved this book! Aromantic and Asexual representation is really important to me so having that meant a lot!! Also I love a good steampunk feel to my books and the idea of a mechanical heart was so cool! This one made me cry and FEEL EMOTIONS but it’s easily one of my new favs
nellocrayola's review
medium-paced
- 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
2.5
readabookortwo's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
"I used to be a lot of things before I was me"
I really enjoyed this book! I honestly didn't know a lot about it going in but it had me hooked from the first chapter. I really liked the world and thought it was a really interesting take on what the future could look like and what we could continue to do to the world with technology! I do think when you hit a certain point in the book, everything moves very fast. There is a moment that happens where it feels like the tone completely shifts and then everything happens so fast to the point where this cpuld honestly be 50-100 pages longer just to stretch it out. Same with the romance, I absolutely did like the romance but it again felt rushed and needed to be more fleshed out if it was going to get everyone on board.
"That was the thing about loss: Death could rip love from life, but those memories stayed behind, burning a hole through the heart"
I really loved the three main characters. Anna was the one I got on with the least, especially at the start I found her chapter not as interesting as the others and sometimes I found how impulsive and unwilling to listen she was really annoying especially because they turned to have such intense consequences but I liked her more and more throughout the book and really liked her character by the end!
Eliza was a character I loved from her first introduction. I thought the author did a really good job towards the end writing Eliza's struggle between being the person shes been working towards her whole life and the person she really wants to be. However, again, I think that she could have benefitted from that extra 50-100 pages so we could really feel that struggle and relate to her more. But, I really loved her overall!
My favourite character was Nathaniel oh my goodness I loved him so much. My heart absolutely broke for him so many times, the way hes constantly fighting for the love and approval of his father whilst dealing with the fact his father is abusive, loss and his whole world being turned upside down. And the conversation between him and Eliza about being aroace absolutely made me bawl my eyes out, it was so beautiful. I just loved him so much and feel like his development was really good.
"You can be both, or neither, or different levels of each. The truly beautiful part is you have the rest of your life to decide and if you never know or change your mind, that's alright"
Overall, I really liked this book and I'm really happy I finally got to it. When I picked it up, I didnt want to put it down and just found it so engaging. I definitely think it cpuld have done with a little more, some extra pages and chapters but I did genuinely enjoy my reading experience. Also, didnt love the fact it tried to make us feel sorry for an abuser gross. But overall, a solid YA scifi that I'll happily recommend!
I really enjoyed this book! I honestly didn't know a lot about it going in but it had me hooked from the first chapter. I really liked the world and thought it was a really interesting take on what the future could look like and what we could continue to do to the world with technology! I do think when you hit a certain point in the book, everything moves very fast. There is a moment that happens where it feels like the tone completely shifts and then everything happens so fast to the point where this cpuld honestly be 50-100 pages longer just to stretch it out. Same with the romance, I absolutely did like the romance but it again felt rushed and needed to be more fleshed out if it was going to get everyone on board.
"That was the thing about loss: Death could rip love from life, but those memories stayed behind, burning a hole through the heart"
I really loved the three main characters. Anna was the one I got on with the least, especially at the start I found her chapter not as interesting as the others and sometimes I found how impulsive and unwilling to listen she was really annoying especially because they turned to have such intense consequences but I liked her more and more throughout the book and really liked her character by the end!
Eliza was a character I loved from her first introduction. I thought the author did a really good job towards the end writing Eliza's struggle between being the person shes been working towards her whole life and the person she really wants to be. However, again, I think that she could have benefitted from that extra 50-100 pages so we could really feel that struggle and relate to her more. But, I really loved her overall!
My favourite character was Nathaniel oh my goodness I loved him so much. My heart absolutely broke for him so many times, the way hes constantly fighting for the love and approval of his father whilst dealing with the fact his father is abusive, loss and his whole world being turned upside down. And the conversation between him and Eliza about being aroace absolutely made me bawl my eyes out, it was so beautiful. I just loved him so much and feel like his development was really good.
"You can be both, or neither, or different levels of each. The truly beautiful part is you have the rest of your life to decide and if you never know or change your mind, that's alright"
Overall, I really liked this book and I'm really happy I finally got to it. When I picked it up, I didnt want to put it down and just found it so engaging. I definitely think it cpuld have done with a little more, some extra pages and chapters but I did genuinely enjoy my reading experience. Also, didnt love the fact it tried to make us feel sorry for an abuser gross. But overall, a solid YA scifi that I'll happily recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
mags83509's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Aro-ace rep! Cool concept- Earth was destroyed by technology, so folks are colonizing Earth Adjacent and banning technology… but Earth adjacent is poisoning some people and resulting in the need for tech hearts, making them outlaws.
mllocy's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75