nytephoenyx's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Despite the promise of slow romance and intriguing character building, This Shattered World brought a lot of romance. So much, in fact, that the flirting got in the way of the plot and as a reader I found Lee spent more time staring into Flynn’s eyes than she did being a military captain.
Selling young adult characters as military brass is difficult, even in a science fiction setting. Fiction, especially science fiction, gives authors so much space to build their own worlds and systems. As far as I could tell, the military in This Shattered World closely resembled the United States military, and Lee’s behavior would have gotten her court marshaled the first time… let alone the fact she so easily rose in the ranks to Captain. There’s no sense of discipline outside of Lee’s thoughts that she shouldn’t be doing a thing because she’d get in trouble with her commanding officer (which she almost never does). On Lee’s end alone, we have a character with an unbelievable status and background.
Then take Flynn. According to the book description, Flynn is the leader of the rebellion on Avon. Not only is this untrue in the context of the book, but Flynn says more than once that he has no desire to be a leader. This claim fools the reader into expecting something that isn’t actually in the book – it’s a different dynamic. Flynn’s background is nearly as dark as Lee’s, but his character is less dimensional. There are a couple opportunities in the book where he could have been fleshed out more, but these are either shared abstractly, or the interesting character is gone a scene later.
All this to say… if you like a sci-fi romance with a sort of Star Wars spin, you’ll probably like this. Think: Padme falls in love Anakin after he goes to the dark side and as a result he softens and leaves the Order and she resigns her queenship and they live happily ever after. It’s sappy in its best moments and frustrating in its worst, but only because it’s cover and description scream “sci-fi with a little romance” when this is “romance with a little sci-fi”. That kind of manipulative marketing bothers me so much.
Putting all of this together… I’m essentially leaving the same review for This Shattered World as I left for These Shattered Stars. The only difference is that the world building I found so intriguing in These Shattered Stars is non-existent in This Shattered World. In most trilogies, this wouldn’t be a big deal because book one is about the world building and book two furthers the plot… but in this case, book two is on an entirely different planet featuring two different characters. It’s a different type of trilogy and the world building should have been as vibrant as the first book.
And there’s the plot, the plot that took up 20% or less of the words while the romance engulfed the rest.
Unless you are a specific kind reader, the kind of reader that loves romance in any setting and doesn’t care about realism or probability… this book will appeal to you. And there are lots of readers out there that love just this. Dystopias like Matched paved the way for romance in the guise of science fiction, and these books have been incredibly successful. They’re just rarely books I enjoy. So if you’re into that kind of thing, pick up this series and roll with it! If not, you can skip this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: War
Minor: Suicide
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