alouette's Reviews (258)

another charming, complex, emotional addition to the grishaverse. i may have gripes with some of the romance, or with the ending that suggested another book, but i wholly appreciate the adventure, the near-perfectly crafted plot, and the character progression :)

all hail the ravkan queen, and the fjerdan prince and princess

 jainan is an introverted perfectionist with a guilt complex, kiam is a charming and hyperactive bi disaster- and they both deserve all the love in the world. this book, from these and other rounded characters to the thrilling political plot, was a masterpiece. it's a space opera that doesn't overload you with exposition while still immersing you in its world. it's a romance that is fully developed, that explores the flaws of kiam and jainan as well as their relationships with others (especially bel, my queen!), and how their bond turns them both into healthier and happier people. it's a mystery that entices you to keep reading, giving you just enough clues to guess at the big reveal but making sure you're still surprised when that point is reached. and it's an adventure that i absolutely fell in love with :) especially that ending!

 

okay, so this was gorgeous, huh? absolutely breathtaking. i loved the simple things, like the relatively short chapter lengths and the representation and the magic system being loose, undefined and dreamy. and then i loved the epic, more complex things like the love and the gender feels and the pirating and the balance of darkness and softness and moral ambiguity. and of course, that ending (holy sh*t, that ending!!!)

the characters felt like i met them, the plot felt like i was living it, the intensity of emotion felt like a tidal wave wrought by the Sea herself. seriously, i'm obsessed with the beauty of how the world can bring two souls together and also tear them apart, but how broken hearts are not a destiny and love finds its ways. and then the themes of colonization and imperialism and storytelling and what it's like to live when you're not free?

can't say it enough, this book is spectacular.

this book was fairly fun, but for me it was in a "shut down your brain" kind of way. the characters were very underdeveloped, and so were the fantastical elements of what surprised me by being an urban fantasy. it was like that particular genre of film where you watch for the magic and explosions but are otherwise not invested in the plot or what should be emotional moments. it even has similar plot holes...

though i was invested in disliking brighton!! what an ass! and i also spent the time thinking that emil deserved much better than what he got.

i wanted to love this book so badly, because the themes of assimilation, of existing in the space between two cultures, spoke to me on a personal level. the poetic nature of the writing was beautiful as well. but ultimately i couldn't find myself connecting with the characters, who were likable but lacked real depth. nor could i connect with the multitude of plot lines, which were hard to sort out to the point where i didn't feel invested in any of them.  maybe it would've helped my investment if Lsel Station was an actual setting and not just a memory that Mahit occasionally dwelled on. 

also, the fact that the whole plot took pace over only 5 days?! there was no time to understand most of the characters' motivations. storygraph user 'annebonny' explains this much better than i can, so you can go read their review of this book for more insight.

it felt like scratching the surface of this sci-fi world (and the world-building was good, even if also confusing) and knowing with certainty that i would never understand its truths and not even being sure if i cared to. 

i know the intrigue of "what was he involved in?" was a big plot point, but i can't help thinking Yskandr would've made a better protagonist, even if it meant a different plot...

honestly, i wanted to like this book more than i did, which is part of why i read it in one day. the other part is from it being truly dreamy and engaging! but even if i couldn't put it down, i still felt it lacking in some respects. notably, the characters, who all blurred together for me. even though i was invested in the revelations, the reflections on how we are accountable for the sins of generations before us, i was not particularly moved by the grief, love, or other emotions that the characters felt. especially because none of them, aside from Fel, got an introductory interaction- just a jumble of names to be cemented by one or two scenes where their personality mattered, and many where it didn't. 

i also know little of the language of flowers or flower identification, so i felt a disconnect from that theme too. same for the themes of Christianity and the Latine connections/background. the immigration one i felt, but even that is because i come from an immigrant family, not because the writing made me feel much heart-wrenching emotion. i know it's a book of magical realism, but i wish it had been a little less abstract in exploring the themes and instead offered concrete foundations to make them more accessible. i understand that such a story as this comes from a writer writing for themself, and i admire that, but it wouldn't take much to bring in the context that would make this book touch the heart of even the least empathetic reader.

ouch! what a rollercoaster. i had a hard time getting into at first, confused by the rush of new terms and places in a city i obviously wasn't familiar with, but as the book went on the jade city, and by extension the entire intricate world that the book is set in, became easier to understand. seriously, once i got into it the worldbuilding was so immersive that i felt loath to leave. it was just so descriptive, allowing me to visualize every scene. the characters became easier to understand as well. they all have their flaws and intricacies, which could be equal parts frustrating and lovable- just like any real person.

the shock and anger i felt at lan-jen's death was quite visceral because of that.

also, i can't forget to mention that the action sequences were thrilling, keeping the book fast-paced, and the descriptions of the magic system were breathtaking. though i'll definitely need a break before diving into book 2, i'm excited to see where this high fantasy goes next. 

0.25 stars off but only because i wasn't really on board with the writing style in the first few chapters, and the introduction confused me because it threw the reader right in. other than that? amazing, show-stopping, awe-inspiring, etc. 

seriously, this is a very important and very good novel. the characters felt very real- honest and messy and full of depth and wonderfully queer. i especially loved the dialogue on how labels can feel restraining, but can also lead you to the validation of being able to put an experience that connects you with a whole group of people into words. the character interaction dialogue in general was very flirty and funny as well :)

and that ending was so incredibly cute. loved it. idc if it's cheesy queer people deserve happy endings too. also best friends to lovers trope better than enemies to lovers trope, confirmed? hehe

it might take me awhile to sort out my feelings about this book in a legible way, so for now here's a quick list:

make sure to check content warnings before you read this!!

finally got through this book, even if a lot of things came up in between. i loved the range of emotions and settings that it covered, and the focus on people of colour. i also liked how many of the stories left the characters' sexualities ambiguous, because a label isn't necessary to feel love and to be queer. i think my only gripe would the lack of pronouns outside the gender binary, both in the stories themselves and among the array of authors. hope the sequel brings in a bit more of that. 

my favourite story was 'the dresser and the chambermaid' by robin talley, because i like such happy endings :)