growintogardens's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It was ok, but it was never able to really pull me into the world and the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Blood, Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
tigger89's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
4.5
This was a wonderful, heartbreaking book that wasn't at all about what I thought it would be! I didn't like it in the early chapters, but as the protective layers started to peel off our seemingly hard-boiled protagonist I realized that I was looking at the book all wrong. Rather than being a convenient plot device to raise the tension, her medical condition and why she continued to allow it to worsen were really the heart of the book. And I can't tell you why without spoiling things.
The tone — from the social chaos of planning the buyers' summit to the frenetic race to contain rampaging creatures and the emotional gut-wrench of the final pages — is very unique, but for me it hit the exact same chord that Connie Willis's series about the time traveling historians did. It's chaotic and funny but also you're going to cry at the end, right? Because this isn't a mystery novel, it's a novel about how humans deal with loss, both experienced and potential.
Something I didn't know going in was that this book had quite a bit of queer representation. There's transgender and nonbinary characters, as well as a sapphic relationship. Overall the characters were fine, but one thing that struck me as odd was that the way some themes — gender and race come to mind — were described in the narration brought me out of the future and straight back into 2023. It wasn't that there was anything that was a problem, it just broke my immersion because it didn't feel like how I imagined people would interact with those things in the future. Still, that's a fairly small quibble. Overall I enjoyed it.
Did the creatures die? I can't even write that sentence properly without spoilers, so into the tag we go.
The tone — from the social chaos of planning the buyers' summit to the frenetic race to contain rampaging creatures and the emotional gut-wrench of the final pages — is very unique, but for me it hit the exact same chord that Connie Willis's series about the time traveling historians did. It's chaotic and funny but also you're going to cry at the end, right? Because this isn't a mystery novel, it's a novel about how humans deal with loss, both experienced and potential.
Something I didn't know going in was that this book had quite a bit of queer representation. There's transgender and nonbinary characters, as well as a sapphic relationship. Overall the characters were fine, but one thing that struck me as odd was that the way some themes — gender and race come to mind — were described in the narration brought me out of the future and straight back into 2023. It wasn't that there was anything that was a problem, it just broke my immersion because it didn't feel like how I imagined people would interact with those things in the future. Still, that's a fairly small quibble. Overall I enjoyed it.
Did the creatures die? I can't even write that sentence properly without spoilers, so into the tag we go.
Spoiler
There are raptors running around the hotel through much of the plot. It makes sense in context, I promise. At least one of them is killed in the course of attempting to contain them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death, Animal death, Blood, and Violence
thrabenvaliant's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.5
Time travel and quantum shenanigans are extremely hard to write well. This author does excellent at the genre. I'm still unsure of the ending, but I can't think of a better one, given the cast of players. I loved the FMC. She's strong, and she's also fighting the universe as she just tries to keep her family safe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
chondritesandchondrites's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a delightful fusion of sci-fi, crime fiction, and murder mystery. While the main character wasn’t necessarily likeable, I loved seeing her put the puzzle pieces together and grow as a person. I found the use of time travel really unique in this book, and I would love to see more stories like this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Added context for content warnings: Gore:Spoiler
the worst two instances are where a character is killed via dinosaur bite and the wound is described. There is an instance where a gun death is described. And another instance where a fatal knife wound is described.)Spoiler
there are several deaths that occur in the book. Some are accidental and others are intentional. Given that this is a sci-fi murder mystery book— the murders that occurred felt (at least to me) to be what’s expected of the genreSpoiler
near the end of the book a character views a suicide attempt they had had a child. The child attempt suicide via pills. Taking the pills is described, but the following scene is not.Spoiler
the main character experiences suicidal thoughts throughout the book. These thoughts seem to stem from grief. She makes no attempts on her own life, but she does allow (and even lean into) her unrelated medical condition worsening.Spoiler
the main character takes a (fictional) medication to help with her (fictional) condition. She is not careful with the number of pills she takes per day. (See suicidal thoughts) another character is described as having candies with something in them. I believe it was alluded to be cannabisSpoiler
the main character is sapphic and before the events of the book her girlfriend dies. Many of the main character’s actions stem from her grief, causing her to be irritable and often mean to the people she is around. Ultimately, her character development through the book is, in part, accepting her grief and learning how to deal with itSpoiler
cw: main character deathunboxedjack's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
leaflit's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
Enjoyed it but the ending felt rushed. Lots of queer rep: wlw, trans woman, non-binary character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Blood, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Transphobia, Grief, Murder, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
Minor: War, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Confinement, and Dysphoria
andloveistoolong's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Grief, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Dementia, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia
Minor: Gore, War, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
readingrainbeau's review
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
The decision to replace the role of the young ingeue with a questionably sentient robot is just one of the ways that this book manages to delightfully surprise the reader.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Medical content, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Gaslighting
The concept and depiction of those unstuck by time has associated symptoms similar to chronic conditions with cognitive deteriorationobviousthings's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Murder, and Racism
Minor: Vomit, Confinement, Dysphoria, Cultural appropriation, Antisemitism, and War
bluejayreads's review against another edition
My tolerance for characters making stupid decisions in books is very low. January, our protagonist, is rude, violent, and completely capable of exercising self-control (she actually does once to prove it) but simply chooses not to. It's like the whole book was designed to see how willing I am to tolerate characters being stupid to read about interesting ideas. Because the ideas are interesting. Set in a hotel that's basically the airport hotel of a time travel airport, this book sets up some very interesting plot hooks: January can see the future but can't remember what she saw. There's a murder victim only she can see. Someone is tampering with hotel security videos. All the clues point towards a literally invisible assassin trying to arrange their assassinations to look like accidents. And the entire concept of time seems to have stopped working. All extremely interesting ideas. And yet for all that setup, it's very slow. In the first 44%, we've set up a bunch of ideas but all January has done is piss everyone off, get on the bad side of some very important people by insisting on making bad decisions, and make an utter fool of herself in public multiple times. I'm interested in the plot and ideas, but utterly fed up with January.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Unreality, romantic partner death