cleo_reads's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars? It’s not a terrible book but I just could NOT suspend disbelief enough to get past the plot holes, unbelievable characters and lackluster world building to enjoy the action sequences.
Reading it, I was alternately annoyed with and baffled by the actions of the narrator, Ettian. I kept hoping there was some big plot twist coming to upend everything and make it all make sense. And then the big plot twist came and it didn’t explain anything and it just made me really mad at the author.
Other reviewers have mentioned the Poe/Finn vibe. There are significant differences between Star Wars and this book but also similarities. It’s about two fighter pilots in a universe with rebels and empires and ginormous spaceships. The details about the empire and rebels are quite different. And there are no sentient species besides humans, no cantina scenes and no cute robots.
The biggest similarity to the most recent Star Wars movies is that it’s full of action and spectacle but it doesn’t make a lot of sense if you think about it too much. (I say that as a huge fan of the Star Wars movies.) I was a little more forgiving of that in the movies than I am in this book.
Reading it, I was alternately annoyed with and baffled by the actions of the narrator, Ettian. I kept hoping there was some big plot twist coming to upend everything and make it all make sense. And then the big plot twist came and it didn’t explain anything and it just made me really mad at the author.
Other reviewers have mentioned the Poe/Finn vibe. There are significant differences between Star Wars and this book but also similarities. It’s about two fighter pilots in a universe with rebels and empires and ginormous spaceships. The details about the empire and rebels are quite different. And there are no sentient species besides humans, no cantina scenes and no cute robots.
The biggest similarity to the most recent Star Wars movies is that it’s full of action and spectacle but it doesn’t make a lot of sense if you think about it too much. (I say that as a huge fan of the Star Wars movies.) I was a little more forgiving of that in the movies than I am in this book.
xyzosha's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book sooooo much! Bi pilots on a spaceship and one of them is prince (but nobody knows)?!? Sign me up for this! I read it in two days but at the end I was kinda of disappointed.
There are a couple good romantic moments but I just couldn't get behind some of the characters. Ettian frustrated me at times like, dear. I get that you're confused and all but I really wanted to smash your pretty head against a wall throughout the book. It was just so frustrating reading through his POV and seeing him struggling with shit like, dude, just stop being an asshole and talk it out with him. I haven't left home for the past 52 days and I so can't handle this shit right now.
Also, Wen Iffen. I feel like her character could have been so much better! She's supposed to be in the main trio but she just doesn't show up that much? And when she does she has some badass moments but that's it. She has her background story and all, but it felt like she was there just to boost up Ettian's character development, just to be talked to when he was in a slump.
And the ending.... You could just... see it coming? I mean, I guessed the thing that happens at the end pretty early into the book, though I liked how the author eventually played the whole thing out.
I'll definitely read the sequel, though, because I want to see how the thing plays out.
There are a couple good romantic moments but I just couldn't get behind some of the characters. Ettian frustrated me at times like, dear. I get that you're confused and all but I really wanted to smash your pretty head against a wall throughout the book. It was just so frustrating reading through his POV and seeing him struggling with shit like, dude, just stop being an asshole and talk it out with him. I haven't left home for the past 52 days and I so can't handle this shit right now.
Also, Wen Iffen. I feel like her character could have been so much better! She's supposed to be in the main trio but she just doesn't show up that much? And when she does she has some badass moments but that's it. She has her background story and all, but it felt like she was there just to boost up Ettian's character development, just to be talked to when he was in a slump.
And the ending.... You could just... see it coming? I mean, I guessed the thing that happens at the end pretty early into the book, though I liked how the author eventually played the whole thing out.
I'll definitely read the sequel, though, because I want to see how the thing plays out.
breadwitchery's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol and Blood
esseastri's review against another edition
5.0
EMILY SKRUTSKIE COULD NOT HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK THAT WAS MORE MY JAM IF SHE'D TRIED. THIS BOOK IS EXTREMELY MY SHIT AND I AM GOING TO BE INTERNALLY SHRIEKING ABOUT IT FOR THE NEXT YEAR I S2G
This book is extremely full of all my favorite things, and I cannot put into words my glee at every single page turn leading to MORE of my favorite things. They were roommates! There was only one bed! He's royalty! It's forbidden! They fake date! They pine! They kiss in the pilot's chair! Oh yeah, also there is REVOLUTION! And space battles! Chases and escapes! Revenge!
There is nothing about this book that I don't like; I've been thinking about it CONSTANTLY since finishing it, and I cannot WAIT to get my hot little hands on the sequel.
This book is extremely full of all my favorite things, and I cannot put into words my glee at every single page turn leading to MORE of my favorite things. They were roommates! There was only one bed! He's royalty! It's forbidden! They fake date! They pine! They kiss in the pilot's chair! Oh yeah, also there is REVOLUTION! And space battles! Chases and escapes! Revenge!
There is nothing about this book that I don't like; I've been thinking about it CONSTANTLY since finishing it, and I cannot WAIT to get my hot little hands on the sequel.
seraphimgt's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I LOVE the world building. Literally all of the stars come from that and the ending. That being said, I hate the relationship between Gal and Ettian. It took me months to get through this book but the last 60 or so pages went by quickly. I just didn't mesh with the writing style. I already own the sequel because I ended up accidentally picking it up before this book and I'll read it for sure but it's not something I'm dying to do.
pepperpentangle's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
srlemons42's review
5.0
This was a super fun read full of interesting characters and surprises. I thought the ending was pretty abrupt but it didn't throw me off too much and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel soon!
conceitedprince's review against another edition
5.0
This book ruined me. I honestly did not think it would become one of my favorites but the last few chapters had me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait for the next one!
nuevecuervos's review against another edition
4.0
A few months ago in my stories group, we had the thread about books where you're a fandom of one, and my dearest Courtney was like 'OMFG Bonds of mfking Brass, would you people just get on my damn level'. I felt like a bad friend for not having taken this advice before, so I used an Audible credit and I listened whilst sewing and I couldn't put the damned thing down.
Imagine a romance between two idiots who are like NO WE ARE SO NOT IN LOVE EXCEPT FOR HOW WE TOTALLY ARE, only in a scifi colonization scenario, and beyond the level of "i'm a rescued street rat from a conquered empire and he's a spoiled child of someone who's clearly high up in the conquering empire", there are a lot of really good, thoughtful questions of 'where is my loyalty', and 'what kind of people are we really' and 'how do you know you know someone' AND 'how much does blood count for anyway' and 'whose side are you on when your empire has been conquered for
so long that you've just given up but then here it fucking is?'.
There are a couple of big reveals that are telegraphed so purposefully that the drama is in 'holy shit, when is this gonna get revealed?!' more than 'from whence did this overly skilled street rat come, praytell?!', which is a fresh twist for the 'all the secrets that keep us apart genre' as far as I'm concerned. The cross, double-cross, and 'is he actually gonna do this double-cross' were just *chefkiss*.
I also *love* that the author is a nerd like us, and uses phrases and visuals that we recognize immediately, but uses them only as a sweet nod as opposed to copying people and/or things wholesale (at some point we meet someone twirling a rainbow umbrella under a ship, and later someone else exhorts our pilot to "fly casual", yet neither character is who you might be tempted to imagine from just those references).
Now, is Ettian a waffling asshole who should really have told Gal the truth a while back rather than go along with Wen's crazy plan? Probably. Is Gal a self-absorbed asshole who really should have stopped to think about what he was asking Ettian to do save his royal ass? Also Probably. Is Wen the best murderous cinnamon roll that has ever existed? hell yes.
I did have to put it down at one point because I could not handle the anxiety load. And the end! holy shit. I immediately smashed the 'acquire the sequel' button.
Anyway, recommended for you scifi nerds who want kissing books that are rife with moral dilemmas and really didn't need that heart right at the moment, thanks.
Imagine a romance between two idiots who are like NO WE ARE SO NOT IN LOVE EXCEPT FOR HOW WE TOTALLY ARE, only in a scifi colonization scenario, and beyond the level of "i'm a rescued street rat from a conquered empire and he's a spoiled child of someone who's clearly high up in the conquering empire", there are a lot of really good, thoughtful questions of 'where is my loyalty', and 'what kind of people are we really' and 'how do you know you know someone' AND 'how much does blood count for anyway' and 'whose side are you on when your empire has been conquered for
so long that you've just given up but then here it fucking is?'.
There are a couple of big reveals that are telegraphed so purposefully that the drama is in 'holy shit, when is this gonna get revealed?!' more than 'from whence did this overly skilled street rat come, praytell?!', which is a fresh twist for the 'all the secrets that keep us apart genre' as far as I'm concerned. The cross, double-cross, and 'is he actually gonna do this double-cross' were just *chefkiss*.
I also *love* that the author is a nerd like us, and uses phrases and visuals that we recognize immediately, but uses them only as a sweet nod as opposed to copying people and/or things wholesale (at some point we meet someone twirling a rainbow umbrella under a ship, and later someone else exhorts our pilot to "fly casual", yet neither character is who you might be tempted to imagine from just those references).
Now, is Ettian a waffling asshole who should really have told Gal the truth a while back rather than go along with Wen's crazy plan? Probably. Is Gal a self-absorbed asshole who really should have stopped to think about what he was asking Ettian to do save his royal ass? Also Probably. Is Wen the best murderous cinnamon roll that has ever existed? hell yes.
I did have to put it down at one point because I could not handle the anxiety load. And the end! holy shit. I immediately smashed the 'acquire the sequel' button.
Anyway, recommended for you scifi nerds who want kissing books that are rife with moral dilemmas and really didn't need that heart right at the moment, thanks.