This really didn't need to be so long or packed; the primary reason I even made it to the end was because I'd already invested in the series and I knew I was close to the end. (I know, I know, sunk cost fallacy. But still.)

Plot-wise I guess it was satisfying enough? I didn't like the multiple timeskips — it seemed like there was one at the end of every chapter for the first few chapters. And relative to the first two books, parts of the plot seemed to come out of nowhere, which probably added to how much was stuffed into this book. There were so many subplots that it felt fragmented, like certain arcs were put on hold until they were useful again, and it really only came together at the very end.

I felt like the characters were flatter than ever. And initially I was excited to see that an LGBTQIA+ major character had been introduced, but I didn't like the way their gender and sexual identity was portrayed:

Spoiler

like it all came from being raised without a gender identity (so all Madagascans are genderqueer and pansexual), and it was a matter of simply choosing to be male or female based on the weather, and that being bi/pan comes from a rejection of the gender binary

. It probably bothers me even more because they're the only non-cishet character that we meet, so their identity is our only insight into how it's viewed in this world.

Also, the romances still felt like an afterthought.

[review to be continued]

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CONVERSION: 5.5 / 15 = 2 stars

Prose: 3 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 4 / 10
Emotional Impact: 2 / 10
Development / Flow: 4 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 2 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 1 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: 1 / 5
Memorability: N/A