The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
dodie_sullivan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The world building was really cool and had a lot of potential, but the MC was an obstacle. She refuses to share her thoughts or feelings with people and this leads to her pushing people away, then she's surprised when people leave. I understand why her attitude was the way it was, but it was a lot to get through as a reader, and it was frustrating to listen to her internal monologue. I found that the MC was more palatable during action scenes. I would have preferred any other character's POV. That being said, I really enjoyed the world build, lore, and other characters. I've never come across a magic system quite like the one in this book and it was a refreshing idea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Chronic illness
Minor: Medical content, Blood, and Cursing
sssssoup's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Death of parent
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Minor: Bullying
faerlie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Pros:
- A nice found family main cast
- Majority of the main cast are of mixed races
- Majority of main cast are also LGBT
- The worldbuilding is awesome; a mix of magic realism and sci-fi. Large and expansive cyberpunk-esque cities in a futuristic setting with hovercars and robots. The magic system of "maz" is incredibly interesting with magic users being able to pull the magic from the air and "weave" it, and "techwitches" wear cybernetic gloves that allow them to do the same
- Main character is a hacker and the author actually knows what they're talking about - no technobabble or jargon to be seen here
- The mystery around maz-13 is pretty good and I didn't manage to predict the outcome
- Canon gay relationships, yay!
Cons:
- The main character is unbelievably obnoxious and she'll probably anger most readers. Her constant avoidance to talk or do anything to help herself is beyond incomprehensible and you'll be pulling out your hair wondering why she doesn't just say what's on her mind. This is probably the worst thing about the book that really brings it down
- The trauma and darkness of everything is sometimes laid on a little too thick and can get corny or laughable at times
- Lots of Tumblr humor that will get on most people's nerves unless you're 16 years old and still say "hecking pupper"
- Pacing is unbelievably slow in the first half, and then unbelievably fast in the second half. You go a solid 200 pages without knowing the general appearances of 3/4 of the main characters
- I predicted the twist character betrayal from the moment the character was introduced
Overall a 6.5/10. Read it if you're in the mood for some fun shenanigans, an epic world and a nice gay romance but don't expect anything groundbreaking.
- A nice found family main cast
- Majority of the main cast are of mixed races
- Majority of main cast are also LGBT
- The worldbuilding is awesome; a mix of magic realism and sci-fi. Large and expansive cyberpunk-esque cities in a futuristic setting with hovercars and robots. The magic system of "maz" is incredibly interesting with magic users being able to pull the magic from the air and "weave" it, and "techwitches" wear cybernetic gloves that allow them to do the same
- Main character is a hacker and the author actually knows what they're talking about - no technobabble or jargon to be seen here
- The mystery around maz-13 is pretty good and I didn't manage to predict the outcome
- Canon gay relationships, yay!
Cons:
- The main character is unbelievably obnoxious and she'll probably anger most readers. Her constant avoidance to talk or do anything to help herself is beyond incomprehensible and you'll be pulling out your hair wondering why she doesn't just say what's on her mind. This is probably the worst thing about the book that really brings it down
- The trauma and darkness of everything is sometimes laid on a little too thick and can get corny or laughable at times
- Lots of Tumblr humor that will get on most people's nerves unless you're 16 years old and still say "hecking pupper"
- Pacing is unbelievably slow in the first half, and then unbelievably fast in the second half. You go a solid 200 pages without knowing the general appearances of 3/4 of the main characters
- I predicted the twist character betrayal from the moment the character was introduced
Overall a 6.5/10. Read it if you're in the mood for some fun shenanigans, an epic world and a nice gay romance but don't expect anything groundbreaking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Terminal illness
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Cursing and Gun violence
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