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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
amazingracerose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
4.5
Really well done coming out/self discovery scene for our aroace character!
tasiachaos's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tomnoor's review against another edition
4.0
aely's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
I loved this book! Eliza's badassery, Anna's horniness, and Nathaniel's preciousness were beautiful and engaging. My favorite parts were when Eliza started to realize how emotionally abusive the Commissioner is to Nathaniel and started fantasizing his murder (imagine how she'd react if she knew the physical side of things) and when she taught Nathaniel what aroace is. This is a super cute story that I recommend to anyone who likes YA sci-fi and the found family trope. 5 stars <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content, Blood, and Colonisation
Minor: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, and Pregnancy
grhuberg's review
3.0
The romantic subplot had no payoff, chemistry, or really…anything? There was more chemistry and tension between Eliza and her past lover, for christ’s sake. It also was needlessly hostile towards the sapphic characters while constantly reminding the reader how perfect and harmless the aro/ace character is. Of course, aro/ace characters need representation, but does it have to be at the expense of tearing down other members of the LGBTQ+ community by relying on an old, tired stereotype that lesbians are mean, violent, and downright cruel?
The book itself on a logistical standpoint needs a better editor. There were several spelling and grammatical errors, which took me out of the reading experience. One particularly egregious error was at a point where Anna says something similar to “He must have kept notes somewhere,” for Nathaniel to respond to, and the scene plays out twice on the same page with different responses. It felt like Thorr wrote out two possibilities and forgot to delete the one they didn’t choose.
All that to say, with all its thorns, it was a fun read. I enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick sci fi read for the summer. But if you go into it under the note that it’s sapphic, you may not find what you’re looking for.
The book itself on a logistical standpoint needs a better editor. There were several spelling and grammatical errors, which took me out of the reading experience. One particularly egregious error was at a point where Anna says something similar to “He must have kept notes somewhere,” for Nathaniel to respond to, and the scene plays out twice on the same page with different responses. It felt like Thorr wrote out two possibilities and forgot to delete the one they didn’t choose.
All that to say, with all its thorns, it was a fun read. I enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick sci fi read for the summer. But if you go into it under the note that it’s sapphic, you may not find what you’re looking for.