A review by kaa
Local Star by Aimee Ogden
There is the start of a fun story here, but I think the length was too short to fully capture all of the elements the author was trying to include - family relationships, romantic relationships, an investigation, and some action sequences, plus all the world building. There was so much going on that no single aspect got the attention it needed, so it was hard to feel as connected or deeply invested as I would have liked. I also felt that many aspects were uneven or inconsistent over the course of the story.
One of the most frustrating things, for me, was that I was really looking forward to a queer polyamorous romance, but (while it is certainly plenty queer) neither the existing relationship between Triz, Casne, and (especially) Nan, nor the previous relationship between Triz and Kalo was explored fully enough for me to understand the relationship dynamics and feel the chemistry between the characters. This is especially disappointing because I learned after finishing the book that it's meant to be inspired by Much Ado About Nothing (my favorite Shakespeare), but Triz and Kalo's relationship had none of that humor or spark, nor did Triz feel particularly Beatrice-like.
I also think in general I was expecting something a bit lighter and more humorous, and the fact that some parts did seem to be headed in that direction made the parts that were heavier (some of the family dynamics, Triz's insecurities, Triz's prejudices around body mods) feel a bit jarring. I think it would have been possible to navigate between a lighter tone and these weightier topics, but not at this length with so much else going on. The prejudice around body mods was especially hard to swallow, because of the ableism in this attitude, which I didn't feel was sufficiently examined - this aspect could have been left out, and still kept the larger discussion of the different attitudes towards tech, which was much more interesting.
The lack of commitment to being either a light adventure or a heavier story also made a lot of the plot hard to accept - there were a number of elements that I could have gone along with if I didn't have to take them seriously or if the world-building was grittier to justify them. However, what the story gave me was a generally pleasant world where many of the events felt overly dramatic and things were Very Bad as convenient to the plot, which constantly challenged my suspension of disbelief.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book.
One of the most frustrating things, for me, was that I was really looking forward to a queer polyamorous romance, but (while it is certainly plenty queer) neither the existing relationship between Triz, Casne, and (especially) Nan, nor the previous relationship between Triz and Kalo was explored fully enough for me to understand the relationship dynamics and feel the chemistry between the characters. This is especially disappointing because I learned after finishing the book that it's meant to be inspired by Much Ado About Nothing (my favorite Shakespeare), but Triz and Kalo's relationship had none of that humor or spark, nor did Triz feel particularly Beatrice-like.
I also think in general I was expecting something a bit lighter and more humorous, and the fact that some parts did seem to be headed in that direction made the parts that were heavier (some of the family dynamics, Triz's insecurities, Triz's prejudices around body mods) feel a bit jarring. I think it would have been possible to navigate between a lighter tone and these weightier topics, but not at this length with so much else going on. The prejudice around body mods was especially hard to swallow, because of the ableism in this attitude, which I didn't feel was sufficiently examined - this aspect could have been left out, and still kept the larger discussion of the different attitudes towards tech, which was much more interesting.
The lack of commitment to being either a light adventure or a heavier story also made a lot of the plot hard to accept - there were a number of elements that I could have gone along with if I didn't have to take them seriously or if the world-building was grittier to justify them. However, what the story gave me was a generally pleasant world where many of the events felt overly dramatic and things were Very Bad as convenient to the plot, which constantly challenged my suspension of disbelief.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book.