bewitched14's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
4.5
brokenrecord's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. Not bad, I just never got into it. There wasn't enough time or development for me to really get invested in any of the characters due to the length. I loved the premise — a hippo cowboy recruiting a team for a caper! — but I needed more than that to feel invested in the story, and I never got it. I also think I tend to prefer capers in visual mediums (movies, TV) than in books, so I could see me enjoying this story a lot more if it were made into a movie. It wasn't terrible, and I can see why some people would be super into it, but I just felt kind of meh about it in the end. Although I will say that it was great that there was a non-binary love interest and the amount of reviews complaining about how confusing the singular "they" pronoun was (it really wasn't confusing at all for me) or why there had to be a non-binary person because there was no "point" to it (non-binary people exist — that's reason enough!) or that they should've just been a gay or trans male (??? So basically the character should've just been a completely different character???) is utterly maddening to me.
sheccabaw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
awallock's review against another edition
2.0
While the characters were intriguing and the concept was cool, the overall narrative was poorly executed.
telemarker16's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
teagwood's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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? No
3.75
ginnikin's review against another edition
3.0
It was an enjoyable read. Although WTF was that ending?!
katkfern's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
caedocyon's review against another edition
3.0
This was sillier and more anachronistic than I expected, but still fun and a quick read. Satisfying on the alternate-history front as far as hippos and local politics goes, but the very chill attitudes towards not-straight and not-married sexuality, gender (including nonbinary people and BAMF women), and race are not explained.
I will probably read the next one, but I don't feel like I need to keep owning this book---will be passing it on to friends once Sam reads it.
Reread, October 2021, because I got #2 from the library and couldn't remember #1: still more lightweight than I wanted it to be. Oh well.
I will probably read the next one, but I don't feel like I need to keep owning this book---will be passing it on to friends once Sam reads it.
Reread, October 2021, because I got #2 from the library and couldn't remember #1: still more lightweight than I wanted it to be. Oh well.
harperdrive's review against another edition
2.0
While the premise of the book is interesting, there’s little depth to the characters. Most descriptions stick with a character’s 10 adjectives and nothing more. Also, I was ver confused when a twist was revealed near the end, because hadn’t that been an established and obvious fact? If it wasn’t known to the characters, several of their decisions make no sense!