Oh man, I didn't think I could love Gen more than I did after the first book, but I was totally wrong. As with its predecessor, what I really loved most about the book was the historical/fantasy setting, the plot that revolved around a sarcastic but loyal liar and thief, and a satisfying ending that nonetheless leaves room for a sequel. 

Specific to this book, I absolutely adored the interactions between Gen and Eddis — can we normalize close platonic heterosexual relationships? please and thank you — and between Eddis and Attolia. (Also, I appreciate the symbolic and storytelling value of recognizing rulers by their country's name! Not only does it demonstrate how much duty overpowers their personal desires and beliefs, it makes it easier to keep track of who's who. I must admit, the politics underlying this book weren't all that engaging for me — it's probably most of why my rating isn't a 5 — but the plot did flow/tie everything together nicely.) Reluctant love confessions always get me, and I am so glad that there's hope for these characters to have a happy ending after all they've been through.

Sometimes you're lucky enough to come across a book that legitimately makes you rethink your worldview. I wasn't surprised to learn that Walker is an "activist, teacher, and public intellectual" because this has such incisive commentary on a wide range of topics: race dynamics, diaspora, patriarchy, faith and religion, love, forgiveness, family, community, and so much more.

Honestly, there are elements that I don't generally love, such as ambiguous timeskips and long philosophizing monologues/conversations and an entirely epistolary format; the prose also took quite some getting used to. And yet, somehow, it all works for me.

(My one major reservation is a possible interpretation of the greedy/unfaithful bisexual trope: Shug selfishly jumping from partner to partner, leaving a trail of broken hearts. This isn't really addressed or resolved even by the end.)

It's probably also a case of right book, right time, but this one just really resonated with me. Amid the cruel and depressing moments there is hope and happiness, and a community of characters who have fought for and cried over and earned every bit of it.

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content warnings: explicit descriptions of rape, rape of a minor, incest, sexual & physical & emotional abuse of children/minors, domestic abuse, infidelity, (believed) infanticide, loss of loved ones, grief, slut-shaming, victim-blaming, terminal illness, mentioned genital mutilation, ritual scarification, misogyny, racism, colorism, n-word

rep: majority-Black cast; Black lesbian MC, bi/pan Black LI, F/F main relationship, (bi/pan F)/M relationships

CONVERSION: 12.8 / 15 = 4.5 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 10 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 5 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5

This is what a sequel should do: raise the stakes, expand the world, make us care even more about the surviving characters, rip our hearts out just as much as the first book. Deadline feels like the natural continuation to Feed without getting predictable or repetitive.

It's near impossible to talk about specifics without getting into spoilers, so I'm just going to say that I knew I shouldn't get attached to the new characters but I loved them almost immediately. The plot was exciting from start to finish. And I liked this more than the first book, but I'm also cautiously optimistic that the third book will become my favorite.

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content warnings:

precanon major character death, grief, suicidal ideation, self-harm (punching walls until bleeding), blood, gore, ableist language, major character death(s), animal lab testing, on-page panic attack, non-graphic sexual content, suicide (shooting), implied (adoptive sibling) incest

rep: 

Chinese-American (Cantonese speaking) major character, Indian-British major character, Latina major character

CONVERSION: 13.25 / 15 = 4.5 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 10 / 10
Development / Flow: 9 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 5 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 4 / 5