“But if you were determined to want the impossible, there was a better way to get it. Zhu thought with amused defiance: Change the world, and make it possible.”

This was rough.

I've been trying to think of how to review this and I don't think I can? My thoughts/feelings are incredibly conflicted and I'm not entirely sure how to corral them into something coherent, much less a concise review. This is one of those three star reads that could have earned a different rating at any point of my reading experience.

Attempting brevity, this was - in many ways - a really good sequel. The writing style and Shelley Parker-Chan's grasp on character work remain phenomenal. As with book 1, there were moments - specific lines, thoughts, dialogue - that felt like a kick to the gut in the best way possibly. So much of this book focuses on the way societal expectations/prejudice harms the society overall and I thought these aspects were handled really well.

At the same time? I really struggled reading this. I kept finding myself checking to see how much I had left of the book, which was something I never worried about with book 1. Part of that is because (tonally) this book is really heavy. There is almost no levity between the moments of darkness and devastation. The other thing is that this book (particular in the middle) started to feel really repetitive.

I saw other reviewers criticizing just how many sexual scenes there were in this book and the fact almost none of them were healthy experiences. I agree, but only up to a certain point. The sexual scenes were not wasted or included merely for shock value. Every single scene had a purpose, even just revealing the POV characters mentality/view of the world.

With that being said, there was a point where it started feeling like too much. I'm not criticizing the author for including the scenes. As I said, I believe they were (mostly) important. However, I do think it bears mentioning if you're someone that prefers to stay away from books with explicit content.

I want to be clear: (in my opinion) none of the sexual scenes in this book constitute as spice/steam. They all happen for a myriad of reasons, between a myriad of people. A lot of these scenes/experiences operate as conduits for an examination of the society or the characters' relationships with themselves. Much of this book revolves around internalized shame or women having no option in society that doesn't include wielding sex as a weapon; subjects that are extremely important but can be difficult to read, especially when you're in the mind of the person having the negative thoughts.

Similarly, the self harm in this book is almost romanticized (though I don't believe that's the intention) as it is the only way for a particular character to feel as though they can function in their body. This is an adult book and I'm not worried about people being influenced, but I do believe it could be triggering for someone that has struggled with S/H before.

Beyond that, I did struggle with a lot of the events that took place in this book. Some things happened a bit too conveniently or felt included just for the sake of including them. I can't say much without spoilers, but I guess I just wanted Zhu particularly to develop a bit more than the narrative/plot allowed her. She almost felt... larger than life in this book, even in her own perspective.

Overall, I do think this is a well-crafted book. I know the majority of this review focused on my critiques and that makes it sound like I had a bad time, but I didn't. There were parts where this was a difficult read, but for the most part it was intensely readable. I did care for the characters, even at their most twisted and dark, even when every time I thought they wouldn't go lower, they found a new low lol.

If you're someone that can handle the intense subject matter, I do recommend this duology. Shelley Parker-Chan is an incredibly gifted author and I can't wait to read whatever they write in the future - especially if it's anywhere near as impactful as even a few of the lines in this series.

This may have fallen a bit flat for me, but I still consider this a really good duology and I know I'll think about it for a long time.

“I thought about how the world can be anything and how sad it is that it's this.”

You know when someone recommends a book for fans of the Hunger Games but then you read it and the only similarities to THG are a trial setting (usually poorly formed) and a love triangle (usually also poorly formed) and you realize that the person that recommended you the book apparently ignored all of the themes of the Hunger Games?

This is like the opposite of that experience.

This book is hauntingly brutal, with moments that make this dystopian society feel as though it is not that far away. Drawing parallels between what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen if we don't make radical changes. Parts of this novel can read as an almost satirical look at society's acceptance of violence, through the eyes of spectators of these events.

There were also times when this book felt a bit too... on the nose, I guess, with how it was handling certain topics. As if it didn't trust the reader to come to the correct conclusions on their own. That's a personal critique and to be fair... maybe that was a necessary inclusion for some people.

It's a criticism of the prison system. It's a look at the fascination with and dehumanization of anyone that society deems 'other'. It's an accusation of complacency and all of the forms that it can take. It's also about love and sacrifice and what it means to be human.

Also, I was struggling a bit to read this until I switched to the audiobook. The audiobook is fantastic. I especially loved the fact that one of the narrators actually sang the songs his character was singing.

Overall, this definitely deserves the hype. It may not bring anything new to the conversation around these topics, but it repackages them in a way that is incredibly impactful. I highly recommend to anyone that can handle such a bleak story. 

“I’ve only ever known myself in song, between notes, in that place where language won’t suffice but the drums might, might speak for us, might speak for what is on our hearts.”

I liked this quite a bit less than Open Water but that definitely doesn't mean it was bad.

The writing style felt a bit more redundant and convoluted in this book, though I still found myself completely affected by so many of the sentences in here. Caleb Azumah Nelson has a way of writing emotions in an almost stream-of-conscious way that is incredibly poignant.

It's a beautiful, raw look at the relationships between family members, ourselves, and our homes - as well as a celebration of the cycles that life can tend to move through. It's a story with a heart of forgiveness, forgiveness offered to others as well as to ourselves.

Even with my criticisms, I still believe this was a beautiful book and I continue to be impressed by Caleb Azumah Nelson's writing style.

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”

I wanted to love this, but I just felt very bored while reading it? Which is a bit sad in a book that's this short.

Despite the fact I didn't care for it, I get why people like it so much. Murderbot is funny and relatable to people with social anxiety, but their personality wasn't enough to keep me invested in the story, unfortunately. I kept having to force myself to pay attention and I'm not even entirely sure why.

Maybe this is a situation where the book just wasn't for me. I'm glad people like it as much as they do and I wish I'd enjoyed it more than I did.

“If you must fight someday, allow me to advise you about one thing: do not fight in anger.”

Easily my favorite in the series so far!!

This was a great example of what middle grade fantasy can /should be. This book focuses a lot on Aru Shah's changing emotions as she's getting older, with a particular focus on anger. The discussions around it were so poignant for the intended audience, but still managed to be impactful for people not in the target age-range.

I also felt that quest elements were extremely creative in this one and the plot itself was coherent, while also never feeling boring. The humor was a bit cartoonish, which is expected in a middle grade, but there were moments where even I (in my cranky book-humor state) found the jokes funny.

All in all, this was a great installment and I look forward to finishing the series. 

“People make gods, and, for better or worse, gods make people.”

A solid four star read!!

This wasn't perfect by any means, but I had a great time with it and loved the nostalgic (but inclusive) fantasy vibes. I think this would be a great read for fantasy beginners or for people that want a very familiar fantasy that still manages to bring something new to the genre.

Also, I will always be a sucker for anything having to do with the struggle between humans and gods/the thin line between faith and fanaticism. This was a bit of a basic view of those topics, but I still had a great time with it.

And the found family had such a warm vibe to it. This is a cozy quest book that has a very... not cozy plot lol.

I didn't really care for the romance (it felt rushed, but they were still sweet) and some of the dialogue was a bit on the... cringey side, but it was usually pretty easy to avoid. And I've seen other people suggesting this based off of some of the lines of dialogue I didn't like, so that's incredibly subjective.

Overall, this was exactly what I wanted it to be and I definitely recommend it. I'm cautious about book 2 after hearing some conflicted things, but I still plan to pick it up soon (especially after that ending.) 

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I absolutely hate dnf-ing ARCs, but I was having a really difficult time making it through this and had a gut feeling that my reading experience wasn't going to change as the story progressed - so it seemed unfair to continue knowing that I was most likely not the target audience.

I can tell the amount of work the author put into this, the magic system is very unique (storm magic but with actual development!), and I truly believe this is a story that would work for so many people. Unfortunately, I'm just not one of them. I think I was expecting Dark of the West meets Caraval and that's not really the case.

The circus is very much a minor part (so far, at least; that might have changed as the story went on) and the politics felt very... 2010s dystopian fantasy, to me at least. Which is fine, but not what I'm looking for. I feel like if you liked Lauren Oliver's writing style and wanted something much more developed, with magic - you'd probably love this.

Grateful for the chance to read this, even if it didn't work for me. I hope the right audience finds this book and gives it the love it deserves.

"An army of competitors can be wielded; an army of comrades can overtake."

A very conflicted three stars?

Before I get into my conflicted feelings, I want to say: like the previous installments, this is an incredibly readable book. I read it in two sittings and flew through it, which seems rather surprising considering how repetitive I found the first 60-ish% of the book. This is still a series I've enjoyed, even if I have no clue how I feel about this one.

I also want to say that I appreciated the focus on Keera's relapse, even if I felt like it led to some incredibly monotonous scenes at the beginning. She's remained a complex, imperfect character - which is something I've loved about her from book 1. I did feel like the very end of her dealing with it was rushed, but I still appreciate how it was included.

Carrying on.

The longer I sit with this, the more disappointed I become. It feels like every five seconds since I finished this book last night, I realize a new plot-hole or get more upset over how something was handled. Since book 1, I've had overall issues with parts of the plot that I felt would fall apart if you looked at them too closely - this particular book said, "hold my beer."

So much of this plot hinges on aspects that don't hold up if someone thinks about them for too long. Damian's character? Just evil for the point of being incredibly evil, I guess? Despite the fact he's more prevalent in this book, it's more to hold up as the villain than as an actual person. Why is he so evil? Why does he hate Keera specifically this much? Is it just because

he's still pissed Brenna didn't choose him

? How does his magic even work?

There's more I could talk about it but I want to spend the rest of the review on that plot-point.

What the fuck.

Here's the thing, I questioned it alllll the way back in book 1. It seemed absurdly obvious and then I let it go once it seemed a.) impossible and b.) an idiotic decision. So imagine my surprise when it actually came to pass.

Beyond my personal irritation (I'll get to that), it. doesn't. work. Do you know how much of the plot falls apart with this reveal? How many times Killian/Riven has done incredibly harmful things to keep up this charade? Not to mention how manipulative and pointless this seems, or how little it actually gets explained. Particularly if we go back to book 1, all the way back to the first moment Riven pissed me off - that gets even fucking weirder.

More on the personal irritation front now, if you've read my previous reviews you will know that I don't like Riven. At all. In fact, I think I kinda hate the guy? He waffles between the world's worst asshole and a whiny child that can't do anything on his own. Since book 1 he was made out to be this traumatizing shadow figure, then we meet him and he can't even kill people, really? And that's only gotten worse as his personality has melded to keeping Keera safe above all else -removing any agency.

What upsets me even more, is that I liked Killian. He was nice. Thoughtful. Had a brain. And instead of this reveal making me feel like Riven actually had some of those good qualities all along, I just feel like someone scooped Killian's soul out with a melon baller and dumped Riven in so that we could have Keera not have guilt for being attracted to both of them.

I'm also incredibly pissed at how Keera handled it. That was so out of character and not in a way that made me feel like she'd grown, but in the way that romance heavy books do sometimes where the romance matters more than anything else. Someone incredibly important to her just died because he'd lied and manipulated her for a very long time. The implications of what he had been doing/saying/thinking all this time and the fact he only told her the truth because he was left with no choice, should have been massive. They should have made her (righteously) angry.

And saying, "Wait, Damian wants me to hate him - and he hasn't actually done anything wrong - so I forgive him." was so irritating.

Then! While everyone else is grieving and preparing a funeral, they decide to have make-up sex. All night long. Yay.

All of this to say, I'm terribly conflicted. I've enjoyed this series, this was a quick and easy read, it still maintained some of what I love from the previous installments; it also leaned very heavily into the aspects I haven't liked and even made some of them a million times worse.

I will definitely read the last book when it comes out and I will still recommend this series, but I don't know where I stand with it personally right now.

“Powerful men never did like to be shown up by women.”

This was so good??

I didn't go into this with many expectations (or knowledge of the plot, actually), but was pleasantly surprised when every single aspect of the story worked for me. From the political intrigue, Irish mythology, the impact of religious alliances shifting, two incredibly different but equally interesting narrators, discussions of the reality of womanhood in this time period, and a fantastically evocative (yet accessible) writing style.

Even as someone with a strong interest in history, I was concerned that picking up a historical fiction right now could send me back into the reading slump of hell. Funnily enough, this was the most entertaining, engaging, and infuriating book I've read in what feels like an insanely long time.

So much happens in this book that even though the magic is minimal, it felt just as intense as an epic, high fantasy novel. The politics were particularly interesting to me, but I also loved reading from the two narrators and how different their perspectives were. It's been awhile since characters felt quite this vivid to me.

I can't believe how much I enjoyed this or how much I want to carry on with the series already. Highly, highly recommend. 

Loved the vibes and overall message of this, just feel like the execution was a bit messy.

I wanted a bit more from the story, in terms of depth and development (as well as resolution). It's a really fast-paced, short book which meant it was incredibly easy to breeze through but also a bit rushed - particularly when it came to the romance and the ending.

Still though, I enjoyed this and I look forward to reading more of Kyrie McCauley's books in the future.