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hellavaral's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
smasson13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I think the writing is easy but the novel is trying to do too much. As a result, nothing was as fleshed out as I wanted it to be. The main plot was interesting, but predictable. The inclusion of the boarding games felt wildly unnecessary in this one, much more than the first novel.
And while the glimpses of character development, relationships, and romance were enticing, nothing was ever emotional and it felt difficult to connect to any of the characters.
I just wanted less of the random plot additions and lengthy and unnecessary events, and instead a more clear and meaningful story.
Minor: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mtaylor270's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol
caseythereader's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
zober's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
I'll start with plot:
The plot points seemed less believable - I like to think that the intelligence agency of the NeoG can come up with a plan less likely to blow up in their face than they did, but I guess that wouldn't have made for a very good plot. But that means that I found some of the plot points unrealistic. And it's always frustrating to me when the plot revolves around poor communication or miscommunication, which was the case for the first half of the book. That's a plot crutch imo, and not the sort of drama I enjoy reading about. And lastly, the plot wrapped up so quickly. I noticed that there wasn't much of a conclusion in the first book, but it was worse here. It would be so easy to just include another chapter of wrap-up, where you show the effects on the main characters, how their relationships have evolved, whatever. But there is no falling action here - the climax of the book is the end of the book.
And now for the treatment of trans characters:
In the last book, I thought it was weird when the narration introduced a side character by referring to them as "a trans woman". Wagers does that again in Hold Fast through the Fire - not just once, but FOUR TIMES. I love that there are trans characters! Having characters (especially main characters) outside of cis & binary gender norms is a big part of why I like these books. I love a queer-normative world. Which is why it feels so backwards to be othering the trans characters like Wagers is doing. Just introduce the character as a woman! They don't identify other binary-gendered side characters as "cis women", or "cis men", just as men or women (or they don't specify gender but just give pronouns).
Examples:
She blinked again at the gorgeous trans woman in front of her, not quite sure she was seeing who she was seeing.
The trans man behind Jenks shook his head with a roll of his eyes. "Hi Chae, Atlas Nash. Welcome to the NeoG."
Commander Alice Trine of Avenging Heroes was facing off with Commander Janelle Pham of Sol Rising. The tiny trans woman was barely taller than Jenks, but Max already knew she hit like an asteroid and right now she stared up at Alice with her hands open but fury in her eyes.
One of the TLF soldiers, a slender trans man by the name of Ro, choked back a laugh at Jenks's grin. "I like you already," he said, pointing a finger across the table.
I love that there are nonbinary MCs, but given that these trans side characters had no important plot relevance, it felt like they were just included so that the author can say "look my book has (non-enby) trans characters!"
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Suicidal thoughts
lettuce_read's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
bcbirrer's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
jennikreads's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Blood and Gaslighting
e_flah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Hold Fast Through the Fire is a character-driven story that had a bit more of a significant external conflict than its predecessor. I found the smuggling plot line interesting though was frustrated with the fact that
That said, I love the crew of Zuma's Ghost, especially Max and Jenks, so I would happily read about them doing anything for 400 pages. Hold Fast Through the Fire was a satisfying sequel and I hope we get more NeoG novels.
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicidal thoughts