Is this…my new fave book?? I can’t stop thinking about this one, and how floored I am by the skill with which Melissa crafted this world and all its echoes.  Kembral is a character so easy to root for, and the way her deep capacity for love and quiet expertise at her profession is balanced with the brain-is-soup state of fresh motherhood is amusing and deeply, deeply real. Her character voice gave me a perfect in to this story without sacrificing her capability to handle what was happening. 

The plot was as rock solid as a plot that is repeating the same hour twelve times with different results can be. Following Kembral and Rika through their journey to save themselves and their friends had me on the edge of my seat, and Melissa choosing to use the repetition of events as eerie, dread-inducing markers of how much time was left in each echo was hugely effective. The payoff was satisfying, and I was STRESSED TF OUT enough that I started scouring reviews for spoilers, which. That’s some good tension. I cared what happened to these two deeply. 

I could go on. I loved this book, and I’m thrilled that my bookstore chose it as a book club pick! Can’t wait to discuss it with others. 

It’s probably going to take a while for me to fully organize my thoughts on this book but here’s a first pass: Xiran knows what they’re doing. There’s so much here that works, that is spectacular. The character work is particularly commendable. Zetian’s justification machine whirrs on as she gains more power and distances herself from the direct consequences and daily turnings of violent revolution. She’s a truly believable teen empress here, both full of rage and flaws that limit her effectiveness amidst a system that, while attempting to liberate the working class, has forgotten that women are a part of it. The action sequences are, once again, stellar at every turn. I loved the zooming out into the greater world of Huaxia and the universe beyond, and while our girl has a country to liberate a part of me certainly wouldn’t be mad about getting more time in space later! 

Speaking of, THERE IS A BOOK THREE?! where and when, because I’m concerned and excited in equal measure. 

Now for why I’m not making this a 5 star read for me: 

I think some of the book’s impact was lost in its somewhat bloated middle. The pacing and plot progression of the first and last acts had me in a chokehold, but there was some pacing trouble and meandering between them that I think could have used an editor’s touch. From what I understand there was some breakdown in the author/editor working relationship, and I hate to say the book did suffer from it. Books aren’t the sole brain children of one person, but are scaffolded by an army, and I do feel that loss here. I understand the zoom out that was necessary to show the far-reaching repercussions of seizing power via essentially a military coup, but some of it felt…kind of like it was copy and pasted out of a zoomed out timeline of the rise and fall of other authoritarian regimes. Especially since the counter-revolutionary movement felt so fangless and ultimately like, non-essential compared to the false gods and hunduns. 

I support this series and this author and will continue to do so. Will recommend! 

I’m a die-hard Robin Hood girlie, so this book was MADE for me! There’s so much to talk about here. 

I was really impressed with the interactions with the original lore as well as the updates and plot twists that hit all the harder if you knew it. I think this is a really clever and kind queering, where the souls of known characters are still recognisable, new characters can thrive, and a totally new story is supported from multiple points. Gold star. 

The two protagonists have a DELIGHTFUL rapport from jump. I really enjoyed their antagonistic banter. They both feel distinct in terms of both the writing and the jobs the two narrators did. Mariel’s portrayal felt more posh and reserved, while Clem’s frenetic energy suited both her dialogue and background. This audiobook was well-cast and performed excellently. 

I loved the supporting characters as well! A solid little rag-tag group of thieves to root for. 

I feel like my only hangups come in pacing on this one. At times it dragged to the point I almost gave up, and at others I felt it was moving so quickly I lost the plot. I think this was a solid idea with a solid central point and a solid romance, but it needed maybe a bit of a push to get it to astounding. 

Still, will recommend it! Had a great time. 

* ALC provided by Netgalley

I should have been the target audience for this, but I found the writing a little one-dimensional. I struggled to connect with the characters and felt like I was reading a sequel to a book that didn’t exist. The emotional impact was not there and what was left was kind of just gimmicky. Wasn’t for me. 

A truly pitch perfect 8th grade romance full of incredibly geeky hijinks. 

I had SUCH a good time reading this book! It’s full of clever banter, deep feelings, and relatably awkward moments that make all of its characters stand out on the page. Ingrid’s discoveries are important and feel authentic; learning to stand up for yourself when those around you make you feel bad about yourself, making amends when you’ve been proven wrong, communicating your feelings to those you love, overcoming shyness and anxiety all play huge parts in this one. 

The romance was sweet and slow, built from a lovely friendship and with a boy that truly thought about her feelings in an awkward and weird situation. I liked how much power Ingrid was given to say no at every point, and the kindness and respect they had for each other as friends first. 

I loved the online gaming inclusion!! Online friends are real friends!! Shared interests are valid foundations for forever relationships!! As someone who met their  best friend online over a decade ago, I loved Lorren’s role as online hype girl and soul confidante in this one. 

Yeah. Love this. Some bad editing errors in the ebook lose .25 stars for me but that’s not the author’s fault. 

*e-arc provided by netgalley. 

Listen, as an afab person raised in a conservative Christian homeschooling community, I was AGGRESSIVELY the target audience for this book. But I think even if I weren’t, I’d be impressed with the heart and care and complexities present in this story. CJ really has done something spectacular here for those of us that are trying to navigate a world that feels so fundamentally different than the one we were sure existed, and that, I think, is something everyone has to do at one point in their life or another. Or maybe at every point. 

The characters were so quietly real and complex, each one grappling with their own questions and griefs. Even amidst the splashy, gory moments of violence, Sophie’s responses to the horror are the focus, how these moments inform who she is and who she is becoming. It does wonders to ground the book’s particularly bananas concept. 

This book feels like an anthropological exploration of the apocalypse, in the same way Becky Chambers writes anthropological explorations of space. The question of how society reforms, who helps, who harms, and who is caught in between is so loud, and feels so true to the world we currently inhabit. 

Plot is a little meandering but in a way that feels right for the genre. Apocalypse books aren’t a tight quest, they’re about survival. The emotional arc is ROCK SOLID in a way that allows for the ‘and then this happens’ parts of the plot to feel grounded. The prose is lovely, even if CJ is a bit of a fragment sentence girlie in a way I personally don’t love. I think her language is so simple yet perfectly evocative of what she wants to get across. 

I will be recommending this one pretty hard. 

*e-arc provided by netgalley