I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

It’s honestly taken me an absurdly long time to find the words to review this book, because I just loved it so so much. Natasha Pulley was always an author that I saw around everywhere but never thought was necessarily for me, because I’d never really read much historical fiction before, whether it be fantasy, romance, or just plain historical. But something about her books is just so magical, with The Bedlam Stacks being the first to open my eyes.

The Half Life of Valery K feels a lot different to the other Pulley books I’ve now read, leaning a bit more scientific rather than whimsical, but it still has the same strong core of characters and their complex relationships with one another that I’ve found in the other Pulley books I’ve read. You’re so quickly engrossed in these characters’ inner selves and the trials they're currently going through, and Valery was such a good example of this. I fell for him as a character so quickly, and there were so many moments where I just wanted to steal him away and wrap him in the warmest, fluffiest blanket I could find and push a cup of warm hot cocoa in his hands. He is such a soft character in such a harsh world, yet he is still so incredibly brilliant. We often see scientist characters written so coldly, and while Valery can sometimes come across as harsh or brash, we get to see how he truly doesn’t mean any of it, and how much he truly cares for all the people around him.

This book was heartbreaking on so many levels, and I honestly just don’t have the words for how much some scenes in this book moved me. I loved that there was always this bright light among all the darkness, and that there was still so much joy to be found in this book full of suffering and heartbreak. It really ran me through a whole range of emotions, and I can still feel my heart clench thinking back to some scenes in this book.

While I loved The Bedlam Stacks, this is the book that fully pulled me into Pulley’s writing, and I’ve spent the few months since trying to gather as many of the missing works of hers as I can! I can’t wait to read even more, and I highly recommend this one!