skudiklier's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? No
5.0
I really liked this! After getting into it I sped through most of the book in one day. I was super engaged with the characters, their relationships, all the mystery/problems of the plot, everything. I would definitely read more by this author. And I loved all the queer representation! (I'm genderfluid and experience that way differently than Claire/Claude does in this book, but I still really loved having a genderfluid main character.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Murder, Xenophobia, Slavery, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, and Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Stalking, Cursing, Alcohol, Grief, and Classism
general bigotry, also lots of police/police corruption (though no police brutality so I didn't flag that)amynbell's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-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
I don't know how I stumbled upon this or why I bought it. After all, witchy magical fiction isn't my usual genre. I think someone had labeled it as cozy fantasy, but I definitely wouldn't call it that despite one of the main settings being in a French-Canadian bakery. There was too much shooting and tension for it to feel remotely cozy.
By night, Claire is a masked thief. But she steals exocores for ethical reasons. By day, s/he's a baker named Claude. On one of Adele's first nights in the city, a masked Claire brazenly steals an exocore from her and the next morning serves her croissants at the local bakery. Their lives become even more intertwined as Adele is tasked with solving the exocore thefts across the city as her first assignment in her new police role. Eventually, Adele and Claire end up working together toward the same goal.
Wrapped up in this story is a history of a world where witches have been exploited for powers. So, there's an element of otherness-prejudice that exists to overcome. As the relationship between Claire and Adele develops into one of mutual caring, Claire seeks for Adele to understand her specific identity needs as a gender-fluid, aromantic witch. She likes people in her life, but she likes to have her own separate life so that she doesn't feel stifled. So, having Adele accept all of her differences without overstepping boundaries is important.
While I have several friends who self-identify in various ways, I really don't see it in the books I read, which is odd. It's interesting to read the inner dialogue of an aromantic who is interested in having a relationship but needing it to not be confining or overwhelming. I've known people like this, but they didn't have a label for themselves. They just always lived apart from their significant others if they had one. They've been dating for 20 years or their husband live 1000 miles away or whatever.
Anyhow, I vacillate between being completely enamored with this book and finding it a chore to read toward the end. There is definitely a depth of ideas to explore here. I think I was more interested in the dynamics between the characters than the action story that was unfolding with a race to save siblings and exocores. My 4 stars is really 4.5 stars. I can think of people to whom I would highly recommend this, but it's not for everyone. (less)
By night, Claire is a masked thief. But she steals exocores for ethical reasons. By day, s/he's a baker named Claude. On one of Adele's first nights in the city, a masked Claire brazenly steals an exocore from her and the next morning serves her croissants at the local bakery. Their lives become even more intertwined as Adele is tasked with solving the exocore thefts across the city as her first assignment in her new police role. Eventually, Adele and Claire end up working together toward the same goal.
Wrapped up in this story is a history of a world where witches have been exploited for powers. So, there's an element of otherness-prejudice that exists to overcome. As the relationship between Claire and Adele develops into one of mutual caring, Claire seeks for Adele to understand her specific identity needs as a gender-fluid, aromantic witch. She likes people in her life, but she likes to have her own separate life so that she doesn't feel stifled. So, having Adele accept all of her differences without overstepping boundaries is important.
While I have several friends who self-identify in various ways, I really don't see it in the books I read, which is odd. It's interesting to read the inner dialogue of an aromantic who is interested in having a relationship but needing it to not be confining or overwhelming. I've known people like this, but they didn't have a label for themselves. They just always lived apart from their significant others if they had one. They've been dating for 20 years or their husband live 1000 miles away or whatever.
Anyhow, I vacillate between being completely enamored with this book and finding it a chore to read toward the end. There is definitely a depth of ideas to explore here. I think I was more interested in the dynamics between the characters than the action story that was unfolding with a race to save siblings and exocores. My 4 stars is really 4.5 stars. I can think of people to whom I would highly recommend this, but it's not for everyone. (less)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Slavery, Blood, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, and Police brutality
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