booksonmars's Reviews (670)

the plot and characters felt a little empty(?) at first, particularly rue whenever we were in eli's pov; she came off as way more detached than in her own pov. however i did grow to like their relationship and how down bad eli was. their love confession had me tearing up a little. i love the stem environment that ali hazelwood invites and educates us to, but i do prefer her more romcom-ish books than this type.

tldr: don't judge a book by his cover (derogatory)

the worldbuilding was truly this book's saving grace. tiankawi, one of the remaining havens for humans and fathomfolk in this ever-sinking world, is described as this beautiful and sprawling city, rich with colours and smells that make it burst with life off the page. it's used as a tool to paint the picture of this fictional society: humans at the top, in their shining metropolitan buildings, and fathomfolk scraping by in the slums. it's the background, the injustice of the ways of life, that brews the tension that simmers to a boiling point between these two communities. 

in the midst of this, we follow our main characters, beginning with mira: a half-siren who is promoted to captain of the city guard. i really enjoyed reading mira's pov, i admired her resilience and determination to chip away at the corruption and help the downtrodden fathomfolk. her partner kai, has similar ideals, as a water dragon and an ambassador to the fathomfolk, albeit his goals seem more passive and watered down than the action mira takes. to be honest, kai himself seemed more of a prop at the beginning, a barely there character in mira's pov, but he grew more prominent towards the latter half of the book,

which is why i absolutely hate that they killed him off, but more on that later

. 

another character i liked was cordelia, a sea witch who uses her powers for her own gain. hers was an interesting plot to follow, particularly after finding out

that she is serena, the other pov that is the wife of a prominent minister

. one thing about me is i will always support an ambitious morally grey mother! 

now, onto my least favourite character: nami, kai's younger sister, who is exiled to tiankawi after attempted theft of public property. at the beginning she's depicted as this fearless young woman who is determined to pursue justice and equality for fathomfolk, but as the book progresses none of that actually appears after her first chapter. she's immediately prejudiced to mira, and doesn't apologise to her or kai. it seems like she can't grasp that fathomfolk are being oppressed or why? the thing that bothered me the most is how wishy-washy her mindset was. she'd swing back and forth constantly between being with or against the drawbacks (the fathomfolk freedom fighters of this city). this is shown through her relationship with firth, which i felt was obvious manipulation: constantly she'd think his methods were too violent, both to humans and sometimes even to herself, but when going to confront him she'd somehow forget and fall back into his arms. the way the book ended makes me think that this whole back and forth between them is going to be a focus point in the net book. i also didn't like how nami's pov completely dominated the book, particularly in the middle part, even through an event that was particularly traumatic for mira (

her mother going missing during a riot

).

and the way this book ended? it was so discombobulating and unnecessary,

kai's death aside. i hatedddd how he was killed off t

and after reading a few reviews i do agree with the ending making it seem like the author was trying to find an easy way to end the oppression and inequality. the writing itself overall was also confusing, so many details in the plot was lost to me, i think because the author sacrificed clarity for this vague poetic vibe that did not work. a lot of the time i had to reread a few paragraphs because something abrupt would happen or be revealed and i'd think i missed out on some buildup when no, it was patched awkwardly. 

i'm definitely not picking up the next book on account of not being interested enough in the majority of these characters or where it will lead, after a thrown in hint of a 'bigger bad' towards the end, and i think nami will play an even bigger role, which i will not force myself to read.

for a random pick in the library based solely on the fact it revolves around my birthday, this was brilliant. it was beautifully and poetically written, weaving a song about family and the things you inherit, like curses and grief and loneliness. i loved that the mc was a librarian which involved him researching the book he’s stumbled on, and the magical realism of his family’s past. this is why i love libraries free books can bring so much unexpected joy!! 

i love morrigan crow and her adventures with her found family (my favourite trope!! ever!! in case you didn't know!!). i felt so bad for her in the latter half of the book, i wanted to wrap her in a blanket with an endless cup of hot chocolate, she does not deserve this much stress! she's only thirteen :(
jessica townsend doesn't fail to deliver the very definition of whimsy in her detailed description of nevermoor and the colourful characters and stories that we get to witness. i do think this book did drag a little, with a ending that had me scratching my head like oh, that's it? i'm so excited though for the next book that comes out this year! i need more morrigan and unit 919 and jack and jupiter and hotel deucalion, and i am desperate to find out the 'mystery of morrigan crow'!

i love a book that shows the colossal amount of research the author has to go through. keefe makes it effortless, particularly in his way of making non fiction more readable for those who prefer fiction, even with a book as huge as this one. a non-fiction book that does its job is one that makes you want to read more on the topic, and this delivers.

a light summer read, but there was more showing than telling and the main character sometimes acted too immature for her age. 

not much sci-fi aspects involved in the book, but it was an interesting multimedia book, and i enjoyed the twists the plot gave. i think it was used to set up a more sci-fi focus in the next books in the series, which i'm unsure whether to continue.  

emily henry is allergic to not writing a book with impeccable chemistry and banter between the main characters, complex but tender and raw familial relationships, a stunning small town backdrop with colourful and fleshed out side characters, and a dark haired love interest who raises my standards impossibly higher. 

SIMON JIMENEZ YOU ARE SICK.

things about human nature that time and space cannot change: its capacity to love, to inflict pain, to find beauty in each other and around us, to grow for the better and the worst, to betray, to use one another in pursuit of a goal, and to hope. this book is the most astute example of that. 

recommended from tiktok which is surprising considering how old this book is, and it was really good! the banter and chemistry between the romantic mcs were a joy to read and a much needed respite from a slump.