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booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
NIGHT SHINE is a story about being strange, in-between, and not quite fitting in, in a way that explicitly includes queerness but is not limited to it. It felt a bit muddled because although the Sorceress Who Eats Girls fits this in-between state and doesn’t mess well with society, a significant part of why she doesn’t fit in is that she eats girls (and not just in a fun way). Nothing asks her to not eat/kill girls anymore and the sorceress is willing to do this for her, but I think there should’ve been a higher bar than "please don’t be a murderer anymore". The sorceress keeps bringing up that the girls consented to what happens, but the very first chapter shows one of these instances and I don't think the the girls are agreeing to what the sorceress ends up doing. This also shows up in the way Kirin is portrayed. It slowly becomes clear that he is willing to be manipulative and disregard other people's desires in order to get what he wants. There’s also the implication that Nothing forgives him pretty easily.
The first part of the book is a really cool quest narrative, with vibrant and interesting characters. I like the early dynamic between Nothing, Kirin, and Sky. There's also a lot of fun wordplay with Nothing's name in the first half. I think Sky might actually be my favorite character, he gets more attention in the narrative than Kirin does because he’s present for more of the story. The Sorceress Who Eats Girls is a really compelling villain, but I didn’t totally buy the switch into a love interest for Nothing. There's a huge age gap between Nothing and the Sorceress, but it's not played with as a power differential. Nothing doesn’t really get a chance to decide that she might like something other than being with Kirin or with the sorceress. The ending was somewhat frustrating, but mostly because I wouldn't have made the choices Nothing does and so it was harder to believe the ending. That's not necessarily a problem, but it seemed like the ending prioritized continued friendship over addressing the boundaries which were crossed.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I think overall, I do recommend it, but I’m not sure what point it’s making in the way that it plays with villainy and otherness. I'm intrigued enough to read the sequel, and I like that this book is unafraid to have messy and imperfect queer characters.
The first part of the book is a really cool quest narrative, with vibrant and interesting characters. I like the early dynamic between Nothing, Kirin, and Sky. There's also a lot of fun wordplay with Nothing's name in the first half. I think Sky might actually be my favorite character, he gets more attention in the narrative than Kirin does because he’s present for more of the story. The Sorceress Who Eats Girls is a really compelling villain, but I didn’t totally buy the switch into a love interest for Nothing. There's a huge age gap between Nothing and the Sorceress, but it's not played with as a power differential. Nothing doesn’t really get a chance to decide that she might like something other than being with Kirin or with the sorceress. The ending was somewhat frustrating, but mostly because I wouldn't have made the choices Nothing does and so it was harder to believe the ending. That's not necessarily a problem, but it seemed like the ending prioritized continued friendship over addressing the boundaries which were crossed.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I think overall, I do recommend it, but I’m not sure what point it’s making in the way that it plays with villainy and otherness. I'm intrigued enough to read the sequel, and I like that this book is unafraid to have messy and imperfect queer characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Dysphoria
Minor: Child death, Self harm, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Excrement
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The characters, setting, and themes of this book were brilliant. This is all about change and finding yourself and all those spaces between hard binaries that we impose on ourselves and others. This is Tessa Gratton, so of course she explores gender, but there's also a lot of talk about morality not just being black and white in this book as well. There's also just such a beautiful and deep exploration of relationships. I loved and hated the characters in turn, and I wanted to see them all happy.
But the book also had several shifts in the plot, and not all of them worked for me. And the ending itself was a huge let down. Spoilers below for details why, but it just didn't quite sit well.
For one, I didn't love the shift to Kirin being a more raditional villain. I think it was supposed to be more complex and nuanced than it ended up. As for the ending, it just ended up a little too happy. I think something a little more bitter would have been more fitting, and a lot of better endings (for my taste) presented themselves along the way Shine tied to the mountain and unable to leave, or banned from the palace by Moon and unable to return, or giving up her heart for Shadows. And I can't believe Sky just accepted Kirin after everything he did! I know their relationship wasn't the focus, but Kirin was a dick.
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 10/10
General Appeal: 9/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Ending: 5/10
But the book also had several shifts in the plot, and not all of them worked for me. And the ending itself was a huge let down. Spoilers below for details why, but it just didn't quite sit well.
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 10/10
General Appeal: 9/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Ending: 5/10
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Torture
caidyn's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
I received an ARC from an ARC fairy and this is my honest review!
CW: some casual transphobia/lack of understanding about trans identities (challenged and the new way is learned), kidnapping, action scenes, mentions of kidnapped and killed children, and internalized self-doubt
Ever since I read Gratton's Strange Grace, I've been a fan of her work and have been eagerly awaiting her next YA book. And I'm so glad that it's this one. I will say, it took me a while to sink into. I actually had to restart it once because it wasn't what I expected in some ways. It's like a fairytale and I really loved the language of it. Rather than it being written in our vernacular with our sort of things, it honestly felt like I was reading a classic fairytale. That took me a second to get used to (hence the restart) and I'm glad that I did that rather than pushing on.
The general plot of the book follows Nothing, an orphaned girl who doesn't know much of her past. She's bound to the heir to the throne, Kirin, and kills him. But it isn't him. It's an imposter. Nothing sets off with Kirin's bodyguard (and perhaps something more than that), Sky, to capture him from the sorceress that took him. Except the sorceress is well-known by her name, the Sorceress Who Eats Girls. This sorceress only captures girls and eats their hearts, so why would she take Kirin?
One of the things I loved in this book is the importance of names. For one, I loved it because the naming system really brought me back to the names monarchs were given. Examples of that are Aethelred the Unready or William the Conquerer or Edward the Confessor. I know these are Ango-centric, but it was all across different courts. And what I really loved about this book was how the names changed, how important they were to the characters, yet how they were malleable as they learned about themselves and grew as characters. It was beautifully done.
Now, it's well-known that this book has a genderfluid character and I've already hinted at it. Kirin is that character. The book referred to Kirin basically with only male pronouns -- although, it's mentioned that in the past Kirin lived as a woman/wife with someone for a short span of time and was seen as that -- so I'm going to also use male pronouns for him. But, I loved it. There's been a lot of talk recently about ownvoices, but I also believe that cis authors should write trans side characters. And this was a GREAT example of that. I absolutely adored Kirin and he's definitely one of my favorite characters I've read this year. He was so sweet in it.
Another thing I loved in this were the relationships, both platonic and romantic. Like, how soft the friendships were and were very close (nearly queer platonic, if you ask me). Sky and Nothing were great, as were Kirin and Nothing. Then the romances. I really loved Sky and Kirin together, as well as the dark sapphic relationship that crops up between Nothing and another character. There was such a great build to it all and it was all so wonderfully queer.
Overall, check this book out. It's the queer, dark fairytale I definitely needed. There's also a preorder campaign going on with stickers for the book! I'm definitely going to have to get my copy because I need this on my shelf next to Strange Grace.
CW: some casual transphobia/lack of understanding about trans identities (challenged and the new way is learned), kidnapping, action scenes, mentions of kidnapped and killed children, and internalized self-doubt
Ever since I read Gratton's Strange Grace, I've been a fan of her work and have been eagerly awaiting her next YA book. And I'm so glad that it's this one. I will say, it took me a while to sink into. I actually had to restart it once because it wasn't what I expected in some ways. It's like a fairytale and I really loved the language of it. Rather than it being written in our vernacular with our sort of things, it honestly felt like I was reading a classic fairytale. That took me a second to get used to (hence the restart) and I'm glad that I did that rather than pushing on.
The general plot of the book follows Nothing, an orphaned girl who doesn't know much of her past. She's bound to the heir to the throne, Kirin, and kills him. But it isn't him. It's an imposter. Nothing sets off with Kirin's bodyguard (and perhaps something more than that), Sky, to capture him from the sorceress that took him. Except the sorceress is well-known by her name, the Sorceress Who Eats Girls. This sorceress only captures girls and eats their hearts, so why would she take Kirin?
One of the things I loved in this book is the importance of names. For one, I loved it because the naming system really brought me back to the names monarchs were given. Examples of that are Aethelred the Unready or William the Conquerer or Edward the Confessor. I know these are Ango-centric, but it was all across different courts. And what I really loved about this book was how the names changed, how important they were to the characters, yet how they were malleable as they learned about themselves and grew as characters. It was beautifully done.
Now, it's well-known that this book has a genderfluid character and I've already hinted at it. Kirin is that character. The book referred to Kirin basically with only male pronouns -- although, it's mentioned that in the past Kirin lived as a woman/wife with someone for a short span of time and was seen as that -- so I'm going to also use male pronouns for him. But, I loved it. There's been a lot of talk recently about ownvoices, but I also believe that cis authors should write trans side characters. And this was a GREAT example of that. I absolutely adored Kirin and he's definitely one of my favorite characters I've read this year. He was so sweet in it.
Another thing I loved in this were the relationships, both platonic and romantic. Like, how soft the friendships were and were very close (nearly queer platonic, if you ask me). Sky and Nothing were great, as were Kirin and Nothing. Then the romances. I really loved Sky and Kirin together, as well as the dark sapphic relationship that crops up between Nothing and another character. There was such a great build to it all and it was all so wonderfully queer.
Overall, check this book out. It's the queer, dark fairytale I definitely needed. There's also a preorder campaign going on with stickers for the book! I'm definitely going to have to get my copy because I need this on my shelf next to Strange Grace.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Transphobia, Blood, and Murder