booksonmars's Reviews (670)

a slow moving book, but it really takes the time to flesh out the characters and the relationships between them instead of advancing the plot. in the end i fell in love with the wayfarer, and i am kinda upset that the next books don’t follow them but i will still check them out. 

a bit of a letdown in terms of a sequel. instead of building on the aftermath of the first book or setting up another 'big bad', the plot is mostly filler and repetitive, used to develop paedyn and kai's relationship. which i didn't mind! the enemies to lovers of it all was really fleshed out, because these two really had solid reasons to hate each other, so it was delicious to watch their push and pull of chemistry. i always prefer kai's perspective because i feel like the author takes more time to build his character more than paedyn. kitt's pov felt very repetitive and meandering, but i held hope that they were building up for him to do something big at the end. it was, however, very anticlimactic, and the epilogue felt so unnecessary, considering the resistance barely have a presence, in this book and the previous i think. i will still tune into the last book but with very, very low expectations. 

more of a study on grief than the other books in this series, and how different the reactions can be when confronting the source of that grief. compelling, tender and heartbreaking.

this debut book is a blend of science fiction and fantasy, following two timelines that at first distinguish our two heroes. the first is a far flung planet called gahraan that houses the female MC asha, one of the millions of human in servitude to a galactic emperor. asha's POV is the one we start with, and the one that intially put me off the book. it goes too deep too soon; the author exerts her poetic prowess so much that it goes on for paragraphs while what is really happening in the first chapter isn't anything other than asha going to and from home and work. it's used to set up the world i presume, but i felt like it was very heavy-handed in explaining the themes that will run throughout the book. it also blindsides me to the immediate 'chosen one events' that occur in the first of asha's chapters, and overall makes her beginning very rushed.

obi, our male protagonist, holds court (quite literally) in the second time of importance: early 19th century london, which serves as his home and anchoring place for obi to return to as a time traveller. i preferred obi's first chapters because for some reason the flowery lyricism is held back to weave the threads of not only obi's character but his romantic relationship  that i think, despite their distance, becomes one of the more developed relationships in the book.

obi is flung into asha's timeline, while george, his partner, is left in the other, and the bulk of this book is the events that occur in both. obi and asha go on a typical sci-fi journey across the stars, picking up a third person in the voyage, and we discover that these three are very important, and have been prophesised with importance for a long time. i really liked the way prophecy was portrayed in this book, almost like a tangible energy, and the weight of this prophecy is made known to us through the excerpts from a mysterious scholar at the beginning of each chapter. however, there is still a lot of vagueness towards the magic that surrounds obi and asha; i felt at times it could with more of an explanation instead of just 'golden light washed over them' and other indeterminate happenings. additionally, the third relationship, with xavier, didn't feel as developed, considering he is supposed to play as big of a part as obi and asha, i never really felt like i understood him or could get a grasp on his character.

a relationship i did enjoy is the begrudging alliance made by george, left with a london vulnerable to a mysterious big bad, and alarick, the father that abandoned obi and also the one who obi had constantly been searching for. there's no real explanation made as to why he shows up immediately after obi's disappearance from this timeline, but it makes way for this puzzling bond between two men with a vested mutual interest, and also shows the hole obi's absence makes in their lives. i loved george's character, how he buckles under the weight of an empire and what it's done to people; the tower of london scene was so needed. the author doesn't hesitate to stand for the Blackness of these characters, in the anguish of this particular scene, while also showing comfort found in obi braiding asha's hair, which i loved so much. you don't really get scenes that you can relate to, especially when obi(?) says that doing your hair requires another person, a community.

despite me enjoying this book more and more, the ending of the book had me thrown between bumping this to a four star. it doesn't feel like anything was set up for the next book, and there's no clear path forward for any of the characters, no hint of what's to come. it just ends rather flatly, which contrasts to the grandiose nature that the author has created. i still eagerly await the next book, and would recommend for anyone either looking for a new series or wanting to step into sci-fi.

yawn i hate a man who is so stubbornly misogynistic 

spoilers for powerless (duh) ahead, and some light spoilers on powerful (just like one plot point)

this novella runs in tandem with the events of powerless, but follows two characters outside of the trials: adena, paedyn's friend she left behind and mak, who also has a loved one in the trials. although short, the plot is still flimsy: mak requires adena's assistance to get into the castle to see hera, his cousin. hera however, although someone we can assume is someone mak cares for, barely makes any sort of presence in the book. we never really get to hear or see her, which is disappointing especially after her death. the reason mak is even in this book is to see hera, but when he fails at this there's not much description and reasoning as to why or what happened, just him being upset about it and adena comforting him. after her death there's not really any depth to mak's grief, and towards the end i realised that hera was more of a plot device than a character, disregarded for the relationship development. 

LR does manage to build what i think is a rather sweet relationship: it's obvious a grumpy-sunshine pairing, which i will always fall for. mak's protectiveness for adena was endearing, and i liked the bubbliness of adena falling in love. for me, LR always seems to be able to flesh out her male characters more than her female MCs, i think it's because for her brooding dark male must have a fleshed out backstory. (but 'hun' for a nickname? really? immediate ick.) adena's optimisim however, did sometimes come off as ignorant at times, especially after hera's death. i do like how we can see how her light has affected both paedyn and mak, and after the sadness of this novella, i hope the two are able to meet and offer comfort to each other. i was hoping against hope there'd be a twist, but alas. still an enjoyable novella, enough to satiate me before the anticipated sequel. 

yeah no the writing and the characters feel very immature and the magic system is so vague even when they’re actually doing the magic i’m so confused 

dnf @ 20%

no reason, just that i'm reading it as an audiobook and haven't had the time or desire to pick it up right now, although the writing is beautiful. maybe later

a short but tender character study on motherhood and the way grief changes motherhood; i loved how the author made elena's parkinson's almost a character of its own, forcing our perspective of the different characters, shaping the story and journey elena takes, both emotionally and physically. as someone who will devour any media that discusses mothers and daughters and grief, i'm glad i picked this one up.