rbz39's review
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.0
An enjoyable desert adventure in the vein of Mad Max. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the difficulty of the quest Delta finds herself thrust into. The story kept my attention throughout and I enjoyed how things turned out. Make sure to have water on hand, this story is patched!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Slavery
howlinglibraries's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Considering how much I've loved most of the other Erin Bowman books I've read and how incredible the premise of this book is, I had very high hopes that Dustborn would be a new favorite; unfortunately, though, it fell short for me in a lot of ways. Despite a lot happening in the first half of the book, it dragged by, and the second half, while being substantially more action-packed, was still hard to connect with.
Delta's a protagonist who should have worked well for me in theory (she's grouchy, pragmatic, and yet her maternal urges are overwhelming - all of these are typically ingredients for a main character I can root for), but somehow, I never was able to emotionally invest in her, and I think part of that may be due to this being a stand-alone.
While I love an SFF stand-alone as much as the next person does on occasion, this is a story that I personally feel would have lived up to its potential so much more if it'd been further embellished upon and split into a duology. I would've had a chance to grow to genuinely love these characters, and so the stakes would have felt higher, but as it was, none of the risky moments of action ever struck a chord because I simply didn't care what happened to anyone (other than Bay and Rune - and frankly, I could knock off an entire star just for how furious I was over that scene with Rune).
The romance was lackluster, the twist was very interesting (and surprising) but ultimately not enough to save the story leading up to that point, and the ending felt anti-climactic and strange. Again, I sound like a broken record here but I truly believe that splitting this book into two installments would have gone a long way to allow it to live up to the tremendous amount of potential the synopsis held.
I'm excited to read more from Erin Bowman because I know what she's capable of, but Dustborn was disappointing and unmemorable, and I strongly recommend that people who are new to Erin's work start with Contagion or Vengeance Road instead.
✨ Representation: BIPOC side characters; queer side characters; multiple side characters have disabilities (including missing eyes and prosthetic limbs); the main character and love interest are heavily scarred
Delta's a protagonist who should have worked well for me in theory (she's grouchy, pragmatic, and yet her maternal urges are overwhelming - all of these are typically ingredients for a main character I can root for), but somehow, I never was able to emotionally invest in her, and I think part of that may be due to this being a stand-alone.
While I love an SFF stand-alone as much as the next person does on occasion, this is a story that I personally feel would have lived up to its potential so much more if it'd been further embellished upon and split into a duology. I would've had a chance to grow to genuinely love these characters, and so the stakes would have felt higher, but as it was, none of the risky moments of action ever struck a chord because I simply didn't care what happened to anyone (other than Bay and Rune - and frankly, I could knock off an entire star just for how furious I was over that scene with Rune).
The romance was lackluster, the twist was very interesting (and surprising) but ultimately not enough to save the story leading up to that point, and the ending felt anti-climactic and strange. Again, I sound like a broken record here but I truly believe that splitting this book into two installments would have gone a long way to allow it to live up to the tremendous amount of potential the synopsis held.
I'm excited to read more from Erin Bowman because I know what she's capable of, but Dustborn was disappointing and unmemorable, and I strongly recommend that people who are new to Erin's work start with Contagion or Vengeance Road instead.
✨ Representation: BIPOC side characters; queer side characters; multiple side characters have disabilities (including missing eyes and prosthetic limbs); the main character and love interest are heavily scarred
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Drug use, Pregnancy, Murder, War, Death of parent, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Gore and Animal death
Minor: Sexual harassment
mypatronusisajedi's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Slavery, Animal death, Pregnancy, Blood, and Gun violence
Minor: Grief
aoifestardust's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
sarahholliday's review
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A smart, thrilling YA dystopian/sci-fi novel. I really enjoyed watching Delta learn to navigate the world and relationships with others, slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that her "I'm better on my own" mentality isn't doing her any favors.
The pacing of the book is a bit off. Certain sections in the first half of the book seemed to drag on, while the ending felt incredibly rushed.
Overall though, a solid YA novel for fans of The Hunger Games and The Giver.
The pacing of the book is a bit off. Certain sections in the first half of the book seemed to drag on, while the ending felt incredibly rushed.
Overall though, a solid YA novel for fans of The Hunger Games and The Giver.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Death
siobhanisreading's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Drug use
Drug is fictionalSpoiler
Drug used as a means to control/numb captured people working in the fieldsoverleaf's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Readers who enjoy YA fiction in its survivalist, post-apocalyptic vein should enjoy this story, though it has some shortcomings.
I found the setting and world-building to be engaging enough but perhaps overly familiar. Bleak landscape, desperate people scratching out a living, vicious raiders, power-hungry warlords, and rumors of a far-off Sanctuary. Pretty standard stuff. Part of the fun of this type of story is seeing how the relics of the old world (both physical and intellectual) survive and fit into the grim new world, but in this book the "old" is almost gone, including literacy. Interesting, how could it have gotten so bad? Luckily the author throws a fine curve-ball later in the story, so all is not quite as it seems.
The hero, Delta, is everything you could want for this trying environment: tough, tenacious, an loyal to her family. She wants to stand for what is right, but in this harsh world making the right choice is not easy. Central to the story are themes of trust and faith (not overtly religious). The ending was mostly satisfying but, to offer a non-spoiling spoiler,.
-- purchased at Google Play
I found the setting and world-building to be engaging enough but perhaps overly familiar. Bleak landscape, desperate people scratching out a living, vicious raiders, power-hungry warlords, and rumors of a far-off Sanctuary. Pretty standard stuff. Part of the fun of this type of story is seeing how the relics of the old world (both physical and intellectual) survive and fit into the grim new world, but in this book the "old" is almost gone, including literacy. Interesting, how could it have gotten so bad? Luckily the author throws a fine curve-ball later in the story, so all is not quite as it seems.
The hero, Delta, is everything you could want for this trying environment: tough, tenacious, an loyal to her family. She wants to stand for what is right, but in this harsh world making the right choice is not easy. Central to the story are themes of trust and faith (not overtly religious). The ending was mostly satisfying but, to offer a non-spoiling spoiler,
Spoiler
the final conflict was a tad too easy and pat, given the rest of the story's dark trials-- purchased at Google Play
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
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