3.75/5

I can sort of see why people are loving or hating this book. I felt frantic and panicked for most of this but I think it influenced my experience of reading really well. I trusted no one and I props the author as a debut for being like "let's just kill everyone!" none of this "magic/science loophole to bring everyone back to life" crap. Just kill everyone! I mean it's been compared to Lord of the Flies so...

I'll definitely be picking up Power's next book.

Not as much aliens as I thought there would be but I guess that's what you get for half ass reading book summaries

This was actually quite an interesting concept and plot but despite it being barely 300 pages, I feel like there were parts that lagged and could've been cut. Maybe this should've been written more as a novella. I think it would've built the suspense up a bit. I also did find the ending to be somewhat anti-climactic. The conflict of being cut off from the literal EARTH thinking World War III has erupted is absolutely terrifying but then the ending took a pretty traditional trope twist and I just went "...oh...that...that was really why we did this whole thing?"

this was such a weird, wonderful and unique read. it's so nice to read a fairytale without romance! I wasn't sure where it was going which was a different experience as a reader for me. I have a feeling it's one of those books that you'll notice new things every time you read it.

the writing was beautiful and I really enjoyed the book.

I don't know if it's my tastes or the content being published more now but I've been reading SO many books in the past year involving religious institutions that are actually pretty analytical of them. Some more than others but still a pretty interesting shift.

The switching of POVs between our alive character and our dead character didn't totally work for me all the time. They were going through a lot of similar things but I didn't find their voices to be all that different from each other. At times I forgot which of them I was reading for a few lines. I had to pause and reread.

The strongest take away for me was the role of women of the time. Frankie was by far the most interesting and likable character in the book. Then there's Toni, the nuns, Frankie's step mother, her own mother and then our less than alive friend. They all represented pretty much all of the options women had: mental hospital, find a husband and keep em for survival, be boy crazy, shunned and disowned for being out of social norms. It's pretty depressing but interesting really. Frankie & Toni's dad was a particularly manipulative piece of garbage but he did seem to fit the time and social norms sadly.

The ending was abrupt and a bit chaotic but it honestly strengthened the book for me. Frankie and Toni's ending being clean and organized wouldn't have fit this whole book. I liked that there was that final show down between them and everyone else.

Okay so I am HAPPY to say that this was a REALLY satisfying series ending for me. Authors just struggle so hard with doing that but this worked for me! I don't honestly think there's much to review. I loved that we focused on Audrey and Thomas more in this than any of the previous books. I loved that we saw the switch to America during this innovative time period. I liked the romance drama and the murder mystery was fun.

I read my first Madeleine Roux book!

This was actually pretty cool. I enjoyed most of it. I listened to the audiobook to start while I was driving and it's northern Canada and October so naturally it was pitch black and foggy outside which only added to the ambiance.

I'll definitely pick up the next book. It's weird and odd but in a good way and I liked all the characters and the mystery. The ending deal with the Devil has me really curious.

Full review to come but I want to make sure I get this quote:
The whole purpose of the Council's is supposed to be a way to stop using "it's not that simple" as an excuse to protect our own comfort while others suffer. That's what the Councils are trying to do, isn't it? They're trying to make it look like they're so fucking magnanimous for not blaming children for being raised in a poisoned wasteland, and hoping nobody will notice that they're ignoring all the people still there...

...I had spent my entire life not thinking about it. Not thinking about why Baqir banked his anger with deliberate calm when he talked about his childhood. Not thinking about how absurd it was that a world capable of building research outposts on moons hundreds of millions of kilometers away claimed it couldn't protect children from sickness if those children happened to be in the wrong place on the map. Not thinking about how insidiously easy it was to yi oneself that the burden of proving one's humanity rested entirely on those who could help but choose not to. I'm thinking about it now. They're going to make me sit in there and justify trying to save humanity so, yes, I've been thinking about why it's worth saving.

It's a weird fluke that I picked this up on the first weekend in a while where my mental health was just horrible. I knew this would include something to do with psychology but not to the extent that it did. It's less about time travel and more about a murder mystery, how complex relationships get with time travel, and how businesses and companies handle mental health. It's a medium to slower pace so it may not be for everyone and it's definitely not a high sci-fi time travel book but I did really enjoy this.

Rep: F/F romances hinting at lesbian rep, Black character

...so what the hell am I supposed to do now?! Wait like a year for Empire of the Vampire?! How dare you!

I know conclusions are always hard and you're never going to appease all readers but this was satisfying for me. It lived up to everything I was hoping and anticipating. I cried a bit (especially at the end).

Rep: the main character is bisexual having a M/F and F/F romance through out the trilogy

Book: escaped convicted murderer of Potter's parents, Sirius Black is on the loose!

Me: *bursts into tears* DONT DO IT JK! HAVE A HEART! DONT DO IT THIS TIME! YOU CANT TAKE HIM AND DOBBY FROM ME! (cause that's how it works when you reread books)

PS I forgot how much of a douche Snape is in this book. I don't know how Alan Rickman made me not hate him.