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philibin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.0
(4.0 Stars)
This was very good, even better than the first of the series. The character growth is excellent and the world is realistic and believable.
I can't wait for the next book in the series.
The Narration was done well too.
This was very good, even better than the first of the series. The character growth is excellent and the world is realistic and believable.
I can't wait for the next book in the series.
The Narration was done well too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
gracekitty's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
paperd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
notbambi's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.0
I love Kaveh Taherian as a podcaster, but man, he is not a great audiobook narrator. He reminds me of my high school students reading aloud for the class. Luckily, Stephanie Willis and Abigail Thorn are great.
This book rakes Cora and Ampersand through the coals emotionally. Cora is dealing with PTSD, and she self-harms a few times in the book. Early on, the focus is on the pair having very different perspectives on relationships and mental health, which was a very cool and effective way of exploring how alien Ampersand really is.
Later in the book, the emphasis shifts to new characters, Kaveh and Nikola, who have a similar getting-to-know-you arc as Cora and Ampersand in book one, although less antagonistic to start. It also shifts to the broader political debate around whether aliens should be extended human rights.
I like the way that this book explores the idea of just how alien an alien can be while still being somewhat relateable and knowable to humans. I like how it argues that the way people treat the aliens is a reflection of our worst impulses and fears being used to justify the stripping of rights in the real world.
I really liked a lot about this book, but it wasn't a five star for me. For me, some of the writing got a little cringey. The pop culture/meme references were a bit much and didn't always feel natural. This book is quite long and I can't help but feel like some of the subplots could have been trimmed. I didn't need Kaveh and Cora's date at the club.
This book rakes Cora and Ampersand through the coals emotionally. Cora is dealing with PTSD, and she self-harms a few times in the book. Early on, the focus is on the pair having very different perspectives on relationships and mental health, which was a very cool and effective way of exploring how alien Ampersand really is.
Later in the book, the emphasis shifts to new characters, Kaveh and Nikola, who have a similar getting-to-know-you arc as Cora and Ampersand in book one, although less antagonistic to start. It also shifts to the broader political debate around whether aliens should be extended human rights.
I like the way that this book explores the idea of just how alien an alien can be while still being somewhat relateable and knowable to humans. I like how it argues that the way people treat the aliens is a reflection of our worst impulses and fears being used to justify the stripping of rights in the real world.
I really liked a lot about this book, but it wasn't a five star for me. For me, some of the writing got a little cringey. The pop culture/meme references were a bit much and didn't always feel natural. This book is quite long and I can't help but feel like some of the subplots could have been trimmed. I didn't need Kaveh and Cora's date at the club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Police brutality
jenny_d's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt
aglimpseinto's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The story goes into some dark spots and it led me on a spiral regarding humanity and our worth. Not recommended to someone who might be struggling with their mental health but it's an engaging story that kept me wanting to know what would occur next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Alcoholism and Bullying
sandreline's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
"Really, wasn't she the problem for having a problem?"
Hey, don't skip the author's content note. Take it seriously and take care of yourself. This is a wildly different book than Axiom's End. It is about PTSD and suicidal ideation. It is a primary focus of the story. I love this series, I have read it before, and I still had to take a break halfway through.
Hey, don't skip the author's content note. Take it seriously and take care of yourself. This is a wildly different book than Axiom's End. It is about PTSD and suicidal ideation. It is a primary focus of the story. I love this series, I have read it before, and I still had to take a break halfway through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Islamophobia
cyanelle's review against another edition
dark
tense
0.25
Full review pending because this book was such a disappointment that I actually feel compelled to write one for once.
---
Review (contains spoilers):
I don't tend to write reviews for books. I'm not a particularly analytical reader, I read because I like to and I read specifically for stories and characters that I'll enjoy. I'm generally pretty forgiving of a book's flaws as long as I'm enjoying the story being told. This book, however, was deeply disappointing.
The way we as readers interact with and enjoy books is heavily informed by our personal experiences, therefore I feel it is important here to say that I am an asexual woman with a severe anxiety disorder. These things were a major factor in how this series reads for me as an individual.
I loved Axiom's End. I loved the dynamic between Cora and Ampersand so very much, I loved that we got to see them slowly gain trust in each other, build a friendship, and even have the beginnings of romantic feelings for each other. I loved that their relationship wasn't a sexual one, that it grew solely out of their getting to know each other. The newness and weirdness of feeling affection for an alien (for both of them) was so delightful to read, and Truth of the Divine ruined all of that buildup in the very first chapters.
I quickly pivoted from excitement about reading more of their story together to disappointment as their dynamic took a backseat, which eventually turned to disgust as Cora developed a sexual relationship with Kaveh. It made my skin crawl. It felt predatory. It read so much like my previous relationships as an ace woman, forcing myself into situations I didn't actually want and that were not at all good for my mental health or psyche, because I felt broken, and because I wanted to feel normal, and because I thought that I wasn't loveable otherwise. Because I was lonely. Every single sexual encounter she has with Kaveh, while not exactly nonconsensual, read as uncomfortable, forced, and creepy. They're in a strange gray area. I spent each of these chapters wondering if there was a critique in here somewhere about how sex doesn't heal trauma, but I couldn't help but read them as an earnest message that sex is magic and healing. Even as Kaveh acknowledges to himself a few times that this is not healthy, he continues the relationship and eventually things between them become... Fine? I guess? I find this incredibly damaging. This sort of mentality leads to toxic relationships for so many people (ace or not) and it was so disappointing to see it coming from this author.
On a related note, Lindsay Ellis had previously posted an author's note (no idea if it's still up) for Axiom's End that Luciana is asexual (maybe it was demisexual. Either way.), and I have to say: I don't know what she thought she was doing with this, but it is a piss poor excuse for representation, especially when the one sexual relationship so far in the series reads like *this* one does.
This was honestly the point at which I had to put the book down for several days. Not the suicide attempt, or the panic attacks, but the deeply troubling relationship between Cora and Kaveh that is somehow, still, being presented as a positive. I don't know that I can forgive it.
The tone shift from the first installment is jarring as well. I don't mind reading difficult topics, but after reading the authors note at the beginning I was immediately wary. There are books that I feel cover heavy topics such as those listed in the note quite well. This book is not among them. It tries so hard to be an exploration of trauma and mental health and it utterly fails. I think Lindsay has gone a little too far into the need to write things as they would "really happen" (this extends to the geopolitical aspects as well). This is just too bleak. It's hopeless, helpless, and few readers will enjoy that level of bleakness for very long. Certainly not this long.
I've never actually been angry with an author I had previously liked after finishing a new book, until now.
---
Review (contains spoilers):
The way we as readers interact with and enjoy books is heavily informed by our personal experiences, therefore I feel it is important here to say that I am an asexual woman with a severe anxiety disorder. These things were a major factor in how this series reads for me as an individual.
I loved Axiom's End. I loved the dynamic between Cora and Ampersand so very much, I loved that we got to see them slowly gain trust in each other, build a friendship, and even have the beginnings of romantic feelings for each other. I loved that their relationship wasn't a sexual one, that it grew solely out of their getting to know each other. The newness and weirdness of feeling affection for an alien (for both of them) was so delightful to read, and Truth of the Divine ruined all of that buildup in the very first chapters.
I quickly pivoted from excitement about reading more of their story together to disappointment as their dynamic took a backseat, which eventually turned to disgust as Cora developed a sexual relationship with Kaveh. It made my skin crawl. It felt predatory. It read so much like my previous relationships as an ace woman, forcing myself into situations I didn't actually want and that were not at all good for my mental health or psyche, because I felt broken, and because I wanted to feel normal, and because I thought that I wasn't loveable otherwise. Because I was lonely. Every single sexual encounter she has with Kaveh, while not exactly nonconsensual, read as uncomfortable, forced, and creepy. They're in a strange gray area. I spent each of these chapters wondering if there was a critique in here somewhere about how sex doesn't heal trauma, but I couldn't help but read them as an earnest message that sex is magic and healing. Even as Kaveh acknowledges to himself a few times that this is not healthy, he continues the relationship and eventually things between them become... Fine? I guess? I find this incredibly damaging. This sort of mentality leads to toxic relationships for so many people (ace or not) and it was so disappointing to see it coming from this author.
On a related note, Lindsay Ellis had previously posted an author's note (no idea if it's still up) for Axiom's End that Luciana is asexual (maybe it was demisexual. Either way.), and I have to say: I don't know what she thought she was doing with this, but it is a piss poor excuse for representation, especially when the one sexual relationship so far in the series reads like *this* one does.
This was honestly the point at which I had to put the book down for several days. Not the suicide attempt, or the panic attacks, but the deeply troubling relationship between Cora and Kaveh that is somehow, still, being presented as a positive. I don't know that I can forgive it.
The tone shift from the first installment is jarring as well. I don't mind reading difficult topics, but after reading the authors note at the beginning I was immediately wary. There are books that I feel cover heavy topics such as those listed in the note quite well. This book is not among them. It tries so hard to be an exploration of trauma and mental health and it utterly fails. I think Lindsay has gone a little too far into the need to write things as they would "really happen" (this extends to the geopolitical aspects as well). This is just too bleak. It's hopeless, helpless, and few readers will enjoy that level of bleakness for very long. Certainly not this long.
I've never actually been angry with an author I had previously liked after finishing a new book, until now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
geekmom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was interesting and ended on a strong note. However, it had some issues, many of which I think come from it being the second book in a trilogy exploring some very complex and difficult legal, moral and philosophical issues, and others which are likely the byproduct of trying to write about a character with serious mental health challenges without ending up with a book nobody would want to read. I’m glad I finished this book, and I’ll read the third one, but I hope it’s less uneven.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Murder
fifth_magpie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Self harm
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Antisemitism
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, and Islamophobia