discardeddustjacket's reviews
315 reviews

I hate saying this because I do genuinely like T. Kingfisher and I know everyone adores this book, but it was a miss for me.

Despite having so many elements that I typically enjoy in a story—the found family, the endearing and quirky characters, the grown protagonists, the gentle romance element, the dark fairytale subject matter—I was struggling to push through the entire time I was reading. I’m not sure if it was just the slow pacing but I could not force myself at any point to be invested in what was going on.

I don’t think it was poorly written at all, I simply think it wasn’t for me. 

As in Black Sun, Roanhorse does a masterful job of bringing to life such a rich and complicated world in this second installment.

I always struggle a little bit with the second book in ANY fantasy series, simply because once the novelty of stepping into a new world and getting to know the characters fades, it becomes harder for me to keep track of (and therefore care about) all the complicated machinations of the plot.

But my investment in these characters kept me wanting to continue, even when all the politics and strategizing sometimes went over my head. I definitely appreciated that we got to spend more time with Iktan, because I found xir so interesting in the first book.

Where I tended to have the most trouble was understanding the characters’ wants and motivations, especially Iktan and Serapio. I wasn’t sure why they were doing what they were doing—what it was they were trying to achieve or what they were seeking (though this was eventually revealed pretty explicitly in Serapio’s case by the end)—and that took me out of the story a few times. 

Other than that though, this really was great. I didn’t realize when I started that this isn’t a completed series, and I wish I’d thought to check because now I don’t want to have to wait to find out what happens next!! 😭

This was utterly phenomenal, holy cow. Gripping from beginning to end, and I cared so deeply for each of the characters. Serapio and Xiala’s story arc especially just ripped at my heart. I cannot wait to find out what happens in the second book, even if I am moderately terrified it’s going to be painful.

This is a solid YA fantasy, don’t get me wrong. I think it has some strong elements as well as some it could’ve executed better. But overall, I did enjoy reading it. I finished it in a day.

The queer representation was good. I empathized with Wyatt—his self-loathing, his anger, his tendency to lash out instead of facing his emotions, and his selfishness—even when he frustrated me SO MUCH.

I did like a lot of the secondary characters as well, but overall it seemed like the author was so focused on examining Wyatt’s internal struggles that not enough focus was spent on making any of the other characters very nuanced or multi-dimensional. (Tessa’s arc is, I think, meant to involve growth and development, but it comes across more as a clumsy and sudden about face.)

I also didn’t think the author did a good enough job of making us understand why Emyr found a marriage to Wyatt so necessary that he was willing to force him into it under penalty of death. It just didn’t feel fleshed out enough to read as believable, which gave the entire premise of the story a sort-of unmoored quality. (Maybe multiple POVs would have helped here?)

Plus I felt like a lot of the plot development got squished into the last 20% or so of the book, making it read very much like an attempt to quickly tie up lose ends and insert twists where they didn’t feel necessarily natural just to set up the events of the second book. (The big “aha!” moment at the end when the villain is confronted felt very similar to the end of a Scooby-Doo episode: “and I would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”)

Finally, a lot about the way witches in this story are born to (and subsequently rejected by) Fae families seemed to be an allegory for the queer experience, especially when at one point, that similarity is explicitly pointed out on page by Wyatt.

You have the Fae (conservative) businesses refusing service to the witches, then the guard (police) siding with the Fae when they protest/incite violence against witches using language most readers would immediately associate with white supremacists. 

But at the same time, this allegory breaks apart when you consider this magical realm is also supposed to exist WITHIN the current, human world (and that there also exist Fae queer people). If an allegory is meant to be a fictional representation of a real-world people, institution, or concept, how can that allegory exist in a fictional story where the very real thing it’s meant to be representing ALSO exists? So maybe it’s not meant to be allegory at all, I don’t know, but I found my confusion over it very distracting as I was reading.

Aw this was great! Short and sweet, and the primal stuff? *chef’s kiss* I kind of wish it could’ve been a full-length novel just so I could get to spend more time with Samantha and Adrian!

There’s a lot I really liked about this book. R.M. Virtues’ writing always hits for me. I thought the story itself was really original, and I appreciated the themes of working through PTSD and grief. The idea of a romance with your sleep paralysis demon was what really drew me in and I had so much fun reading the scenes where Penny and Acheron interacted.

The parts that distracted me:
I was a little confused when it came to the worldbuilding around Acheron’s character. I just never really understood the mechanics of how the sleep demons like, did their job. It’s not at all that I thought the premise was underdeveloped—because I got the distinct impression that Virtues has a very clear understanding of how Hell operates in this universe—it was more like, it didn’t feel communicated to the reader as thoroughly as I perhaps needed it to be.

The romance aspect of the story was a little oddly-paced in my opinion as well. It didn’t feel like a slow-burn (obviously, the book isn’t very long so it couldn’t be), but I couldn’t tell if it was trying to be or not. I guess it just surprised me the first time Acheron mentions loving Penny because it didn’t seem believable that they’d reached that level of intimacy yet (which can absolutely still be accomplished in a shorter, “insta-love” romance).

All in all I had a fun time reading this book, but I’m not sure I’d call it particularly memorable. Great to pick up if you’re just looking for a darker-themed, monster romance palette-cleanser that you can breeze through pretty quickly!

This was so delightful! Adriana Herrera’s talent for writing just leaps from the page. The flow and pacing are effortlessly propulsive, the characters are so charming, and the romance had me GIGGLING.

What a treat to read, can’t recommend this enough!

This is one of those books that I close after finishing and stare off into the middle distance for a solid ten minutes, just… processing.

I feel like I should have a bunch of really thoughtful reactions to this story, since there’s obviously so much going on thematically, but more than anything I just feel like my brain is stuck on the buffering screen, lol.

I loved the premise—an enormous space vessel acting as a sort of Noah’s ark, harboring a human population fleeing earth in search of the proverbial promised land. I appreciated the autistic, intersex, trans/non-binary, and asexual representation, as well as the allegorical interpretation of the antebellum south.

I struggled a little bit with some of the dense “science-y” terminology and just ended up skimming a lot of it, assuming I’d be able to get the gist. I had a similar issue when I tried to visualize some of the things described (in particular, the fields where lowerdeck workers harvest crops). The only other thing that threw me off sometimes was the quick jumps around through time, and not being able to sure when a “flashback” is being described and at what point have we jumped to the present again.

Other than that I really enjoyed this book, especially the second half. It’s beautifully-written, and the characters are nuanced and richly crafted.

This story grapples with the perils of using vengeance against the oppressor as a means of achieving social justice. As usual, Akwaeke Emezi’s writing is thoughtful and imaginative. 

I loved Aloe’s character in Pet and I loved him again in Bitter—an example of masculinity that is tender, nurturing, and multidimensional.

Ok listen, was it good? …I guess that depends on what you were expecting from it. I enjoyed the hell out of this book, but if you’re going into it hoping for fleshed-out world-building and complex plot, you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re going into it expecting a dark, twisted, monster romance heavy on the spice? You’ll love it.

The plot and world-building in this book sort of only exist to the extent that they can serve as a vehicle for the smut, lol, and that’s fine! This book isn’t trying to be anything it’s not. It’s erotica delivered in a fantasy steampunk, 1920s London setting.

It’s candy. A treat. It’s the kind of book you read just for the sheer enjoyment of it.