This is definitely the spiciest of Ali's books to date (including Bride). And those scenes were all really good, but perhaps because they were more frequent (which the author notes at the beginning of the book) - I didn't have quite as much emotional connection to the two MCs.
FWIW tho I did read this in basically a day so... there's that !

I was laughing out loud at parts (mostly towards the beginning), it was a fun tongue in cheek take on The Great British Bake Off.
However, ultimately I really was upset by some Things that happened to our lovely Rosaline because she's bi, and also because we spend so much time with that relationship, I felt the ultimate romance to be a bit lackluster (can't really say more detail without spoilers).

A great mix of latinx culture, mystery and a lil queer romance. Just amazing characters that were fun to read! Julian and Maritza especially are iconic! I really enjoyed reading about Yadriel's family and was pleasantly surprised by how intricate the storytelling and plot pacing was. Honestly this would make a fantastic screen adaptation!!!

Really appreciate the positive representation of Maritza as a vegan character!

The world/setting is very cool and unique in this series. and is by far the best thing about it. I found the beginning of this sequel to be rather slow-not a lot happens until towards the end of the book, and then the ending feels a bit rushed. There's a lot of traveling around in this book which maybe also lended to the pacing feeling off.

I liked getting more of Bianca in this book. I think it could've used more Io and Edei in order to really solidify their relationship beyond fate thread. I also could've used a reference sheet of the gods because the mythology of who was who was a bit lost on audio. There's a big focus internally for Io on her relationship with her sisters and that complicated dynamic, but we don't spend a lot of time with them (it's all debate in Io's head).

I should've DNF'd this...

I literally couldn't have cared less about these two MCs - I was literally only invested in their teacher/mentor Joe and from the beginning you know how that's going to end. So why did I make myself suffer? 

Lift is a goddamn icon and I love her

Without even reading the blurb for this book (I like to go in knowing nothing, so basically all I knew was: this is queer scifi) after the first couple chapters I myself described it as "RW&RB but in space with a murder mystery"... so yeah the blurb is accurate lol

I was definitely all in on the romance side of things from the get-go. 

I do wish there was a bit more balance in the book because the ending was very plot focused whereas the beginning was more character driven, and I think mixing this up a bit more would've made the ending feel a little more connected to the beginning of the book (I was full on laughing out loud at parts at the beginning). I WANTED TO HUG JAINAN THIS ENTIRE BOOK!!

I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author!

*keep in mind I say 'rivals' here for lack of a better term. The two MCs fall out of touch in college and upon coming back in contact years later Gene our MC is just a bit salty about how all that went down. He is kinda over hearing about Luis' semi successful career. Any 'rivalry' is totally one-sided is what I mean lol

I know for sure if I actually cared even a smidge about baseball this book would've completely knocked my socks off. Alas I am decidedly not a baseball fan - BUT this was still such a good read! On audio the baseball parts reminded me of listening to games on the radio as a child. I just kinda let the baseball parts wash over me lol [also note the audio narration is by a trans narrator!]

This book is also set in Portland area (where I live) in like an alternate reality where pdx has a MLB team and a minor league team. It was nice to read a reality in which a trans person is out and playing baseball (and there is not too much pushback about that). Gene and Luis are just two sweethearts and I love them so much. The representation in this book is just so well done. These are characters with so much depth and nuance, which made them feel supremely real. What a fantastic debut novel! I will def be looking for more from this author!

TBH I often struggle with Historical Romances which is why I don't read a ton of them. I did really enjoy the conversations around women in science and art. Especially the discussions about what is 'fine art' *spoiler: whatever men say ~eye roll~
Those inclusions definitely helped keep my attention in this book beyond just the cute romance.

Unfortunately a bit of a book two slump for me. It's the whole: the two main characters are separated from each other the whole book, which is often not fun to read. I also felt like not a ton really happened for like 90% of the book? There was a lot of characters just talking, but not in a super politically interesting way? Sometimes I wonder if there are too many sides to the political intrigue. I did like the expansion of some character's involvement (Iktan). It just felt like a LOT of setup...

Can't wait to see where Serapio and Naranpa go together...

I really loved the first book and I am still excited to read the third, final, book to see where this whole series ends up.