This book wasn't quite what I was expecting, although that was more a side effect of not having real expectations and having a tolerate/be-annoyed-at relationship with historical fantasy in America. (There are exceptions, but this is broadly speaking).
Still, I enjoyed what was basically the Oregon Trail mashed up with The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (oh, hello my elementary school past times) with a hint of magic attached. I'm hoping the magic begins to matter more in future books. Definitely a good series, albeit one I'm reading because of the author rather than the content.

No one does "what the hell is going on in this book and why can't I stop reading it?" like Cat Valente.
Her ability to intertwine so many different snippets of narrative, forms of storytelling, genres, and styles is baffling, but gorgeous.
I appreciate both her technical achievements and the emotional impact of her writing.
One of these days, I should really just buy these books instead of relying on the library.

I feel like I spent most of this book having no idea what was going on and enjoying it immensely nonetheless.
Elliott, who is very much an epic fantasy writer from the school of "why would I spend pages on background explanations when I could just dump you in the middle of the story," is very good at building the story and, though it feels a bit incomplete, I think that's due to it only being the first book in the series. I want to know more about this world. And the YA approach actually works well, keeping Elliott on a tight leash and the narrative taut.
Good job all round.

The story itself remains really interesting and I want to know more about the dystopia and, as always, I want to see how Brown handles the biggest problem of the dystopia: mucking things up is infinitely easier than fixing them and, human nature being what it is, most attempts to fix a dystopia feel like a deus ex machina or just plain wrong. Some do it right. Most don't. Brown has an excellent grasp of power dynamics and the fight so I have high hopes.
Having said that, I find that the more time I spend with these characters, the less I care about them. Some of that might be because I have no memory (I'd say it was eaten by an infant, but that's no strictly true. I forget most books...which is why I need GoodReads so badly), but Brown never took the time to remind me why I should care about these people. I read about them six months ago, I don't remember who they are and why their deaths matter. I realize exposition is boring as hell, but the good authors manage to catch the readers up without making those who don't need it hate the book. Brown just doesn't bother. So all these people are in mortal peril and I honestly don't remember why I should care what happens to them.
Good story, characters are ehh.

This book took a while to get into, both because I had to get past my initial dislike of one of the three main characters (he was a whiny teenage boy and there are SO MANY OF THEM) and my annoyance at the descriptions of this book as "If Tolkien Was American". It is and isn't, which I'll get to later.
Fortunately, Leicht skips all of Nels learning not to be whiny and moves straight into him learning that he has to take command and be responsible, which is a welcome change and definitely helps the narrative. The two women, Ilta and Suvi, who are the other two main characters are also excellent to follow and Leicht balances their perspective to tell one very good coherent story.
(Although she should just stop describing amorous encounters. Just...fade to black. Fortunately, that took up maybe 2 pages in the entire book)
Re. the American Tolkien line, Leicht explains in the acknowledgements that her actual inspiration involved wondering what a fantasy would be like were it not, like Tolkien inspired by British monarchic longing for the return of the king, but by American history.
And suddenly this book makes so much more sense.

I found that, having finished this book, I also like Who Fears Death better. With some exceptions, I tend to dislike post-apocalyptic novels that only hint at how the apocalypse happens.
This book fills in many missing pieces from WFD and tells a fantastic story on its own. I appreciated and enjoyed Okorafor's other book, but I really emotionally connected work this one.

I kept expecting this book to go the way of the predictable ya novel, but it kept pleasantly surprising me with interesting turns and more convoluted than expected stories.
Actually, it would make a kick-ass video game.

Five stars worth of squee. Thank you, Baen, for selling the e-ARC. Not that I'm short on books right now, but I've been on a Vorkosigan reread and the prospect of ending with Cryoburn was too depressing to contemplate.
I should note, by the way, that this book has a certain "This Pretzel is the Worst Lasagna Ever" feel to it. If you come in looking for threats on the planetary scale, widespread battle Military SF of the sort usually brought by Vorkosigans, this will confuse you. But it is such a delicious pretzel.
Spoilers for the series, of course.
Bujold remains a wonderful writer and the comparative lightness of this entry into the series only adds to its appeal. Nothing goes horrifically wrong...presumably because neither Miles nor Ivan are heavily involved. But this is a much needed sequel.
I'm really enjoying her tendency in the past few books of writing Miles from someone else's POV. Even when there were other narrative points of view in the earlier books, any scene with Miles was told through his eyes. Seeing him through Cordelia and Jole's eyes makes for a nice change.
Also, I have never jumped faster from
"How could this character have a romance now?"
to

in my life. Seriously, well done. This was almost like getting another Aral and Cordelia story. And everything about it was just heartwarmingly sweet. When the next set of omnibuses comes out, this had BETTER come right after Cryoburn. It makes for a good ending.
And I think I see the threads of another story involving the Cetagandan beginning to make itself known. Not that I won't stay tuned.
I look forward to reading this again once it's actually published.

So this book was exactly as expected. Shinn has gotten quite good in this series, although her fascination with inventing the car in fantasy worlds shows no sign of abating.
My problem with this series is that I pretty much go into it with "Wait, who was that guy? What's happening? THAT happened in the last book?" and no recollection of what had happened until Shinn refreshes my memory in the pages of this new book. Not a bad thing and, honestly, not every book needs to be brain-searingly memorable. I like these much better as they are. Fun stories about individual girls functioning in a fascinating magic system who get to save the day and, at the same time, meet a guy. Seriously, what more could I ask for?

(Spoiler alert:

I thought the handling of same sex attraction was...decently done. I would like the gay man marries lesbian and both have great sex with other people to be proven in the text to be good for both rather than just a great suggestion. I was much more annoyed by the character pretending to be confined to a wheelchair for the entire book when it turns out that, whoops, he can walk. Sigh. It's not played as him being rescued, but it's a waste of representation.

)

Gladstone has honestly changed the face of fantasy (at least for me) with this series and it's brilliant. I've never seen someone combine the ideas of epic and urban fantasy with such panache and the conceit of fighting epic battles in the courthouses and boardrooms of a contemporary seeming society is genius.
This is, chronologically, the first book in a series that Gladstone has been writing out of order and I can't help but come around to his way of doing it. The narrative might make more sense, plot wise, if it moves in a straight line, but the way that the characters unfold on the page seems to work better in publication order. Maybe I'll reread the books in chronological order and compare.
In my copious spare time. They're certainly brilliant enough to merit a reread.