Amy
I...did not like this book. Honestly, I'm not certain why I finished it - other than the fact that I said I would and I don't like not doing something I say I will.
Anyway, pretty much every problem I had with this book is because I did not like the writing style. It's very... description and dialogue light and heavy on the internal musings. (Also, apparently we need to know things like how certain characters first met, as that gets their own, interrupting, chapter. Also, flashbacks to what happened five minutes ago.)
There so little major world building and yet, every minutia that even tangentially affects our ‘heroes' is described way more than need be. And yet, I don't know anything about the greater workings. I don't even know if the Citadel's township is a city-state, part of a larger country, the only town in existence, ect. (Is it said? After a certain point I started skimming because I had to return this book to the library and with how bored I was, I would have never made it in time if I had to read page after page of text blocks. There is a reason it's said people seldom skip dialogue.)
I thought, after the first chapter - which was an external pov and was so fun - that the book was going to be awesome. The characters all seemed quirky and unique, even their first chapters made it seem like they were going to be a fun bunch. They're not quirky and unique, they're boring and...really, rely on their diversity to fake building personality. (Seriously, one of them seems like their whole personality is panic attacks.) (Also, on the author's page here it says something about ‘an excess of witty banter'. ... Yeah, there's none of that here.)
What makes it worse for me, is that these are supposed to be friends. I only felt it a little - which could have been helped by witty banter. You know, the way friends are.
The other reason I didn't like the book was Cassa. She's just...a terrible person and a horrid friend. So having her as their leader was lots of fun. (‘I've lost everyone, I have nothing left.' Carefully doesn't look into the eyes of her ‘friends'.)
Finally, I did like Evander. He had a little more liveliness to him than the rest and was at least closest to what I thought he was at the introduction.
Final note: Also, this book was a lot darker than I thought it would be, so... Yeah. If you're wanting a fun, lighthearted fantasy romp, don't look here.
I'm moderately happy with this finale. This is actually a weak four stars, more like a 3.5 that I rounded up for the things/people I like.
Things I like
Reyna - just in general.
+ the friendship between her and Nico
+ Reyna and Nico's POVs - because I like both of them, but also because they are the only ones that aren't in love with someone.
Piper, Jason and Leo - the world still needs more of this trio. (And I still want Piper/Jason/Leo to be a thing.)
Things I'm meh about
I am disappointed in the final fight. It was okay, but I can't help but feel it just should have been more epic.
Things I dislike
The preoccupation with romance - I wish friendship had more of a focus because, outside of a few examples, I never really felt strong bonds of friendship from our seven.
A fight every time the POV changed. Literally, every time. (I can't help but feel this is why the final fight wasn't more epic.)
Ultimately, pretty fun, if sometimes frustrating and now I get to start Magnus Chase!
A historical fantasy that showed potential - before it was all ruined by poorly written romance.
What sucks so badly is that I was super excited to read this book. I mean, I'd looked at a local-ish bookstore several times to buy it. ... Boy, am I glad I borrowed it from the library.
... I'm not even sure what I feel for the book. I mean, there are moments that are great, moments that are terrible and I truly hated three of the last four chapters.
Okay, look, I made predictions around a third of the way through the book. Character death information hidden under spoiler. I predicted that someone would die. I predicted that someone would die because of Severin's obsession with Laila. I predicted that Tristan would die because of Severin's obsession with Laila. I was right. What was supposed to probably be this shocking twist left me tapping my fingers going saw this coming. That was also roughly the same time I predicted that - with Severin's incessant chewing of whole cloves (really!?) Laila would kiss him and she muse on him tasting of clove. I was right about that, too, for those that care.
Look, I think the only way I can talk about this book and have it be coherent, is to break this down bullet point style.
Hook: 5 Stars
That opening, the first chapter, our first heist, everything was perfect. That lasted about 50-55 pages, until I was hit with Severin's second chapter. But, before that, golden.
Setting/World-Building: 3 1/2 Stars
Not perfect, but the world-building was fun and inventive. The setting...never really felt like 1800's Paris to me, but, meh, nice world-building makes up for that.
Plot: 3 Stars
Not good, not bad, just kind of a generic YA fantasy plot. It's there and it serves its purpose, but don't expect anything grand.
Pacing: 2 Stars
It cracks me up. I read some comments from people that didn't love this book, and one of their biggest problems was that there was too much action. ... Mine's just the opposite. Nothing ever happens. Even when you think something is going to, nothing does. This book is so slow.
Writing: 2 1/2 Stars
Supremely average. A little florid at times for me, but inoffensive. (Except whenever Severin is describing Laila or Laila is describing Severin. Then it becomes annoying and exceedingly florid.)
Characters
Zofia, Enrique, Hypnos: 4 Stars
I liked these three people. They are fun, Zofia is my favorite - despite whatever that was (jealousy?) in her last chapter. Enrique is an oddity in that his personality almost seems to be two complete opposite traits smashed together, but we get used to it. Hypnos is slightly enigmatic, but is a lot of fun and very much my type of character.
Tristan: 2 1/2 Stars
Tristan could have easily been up there with the other three, if we ever got a chapter from his perspective. He's got a lot more to offer than this book showed and I think a lot was missed out on because he wasn't a narrator.
Laila: 1 1/2 Stars
I didn't like Laila right from the start. At first she comes off all sweet and motherly to everyone - then we realize her obsession with Severin is only rivaled by his obsession with her. She is ‘the girl' of the story - mostly there only for the main guy to have a love interest and really, for a dancer, she's an awful klutz. I'm giving her a little leeway because she has the spark of an interesting story. Pity she was strangled by the red string of love before she could actually be a character.
Severin: 1/2 Star
Honestly, his character is terrible, he's an ass to everyone including his ‘brother' and the woman he's obsessed with. What I find absolutely hilarious is that everyone else - save Laila - actually reads like they belong in a YA book - Severin reads like he's a thirty-something billionaire mogul from those romance novels with names like ‘Grouchy (hot) Boss.'
The Romances
Severin and Laila: -5 Stars
I hated this. Seriously, without this obsession that they both have with each other, the book might have been good. I might have enjoyed it and not wanted to slam my head through my desk for some relief. Honestly, they had sex almost two years ago and they are still acting like they can't keep it in their pants. Even though they both agreed it can never happen again, (for some strange, manufactured reason to give it more angst and will-they/won't-they drama) they still fantasize about each other and obsess about each other and very strongly flirt with each other. (Did I mention that Severin's Laila obsession gets someone killed?) (Side note: The setup for book two seems to be that Laila will be pretending to be Severin's mistress. I had thought I might still read the second book. If this is part of the plot, I probably won't.)
Enrique and his crushes: 4 Stars
Enrique is explicitly stated as being bi. He, during the course of this story, finds himself attracted to two people, Hypnos, a boy and, Zofia, a girl. I totally support him with either of these two (though, once again, Zofia's reaction in her last chapter leaves me unsettled) and I believe, with their blooming friendship, there could be poly potential.
Side notes: I liked the friendship early on between Tristan and Severin. You know, before Severin's whole personality seemed to become ‘Laila.' I love the way Hypnos wants to befriend these people. I love Zofia's moments of friendship.
...
I wish every good thing hadn't been ruined by the ship of Severin/Laila.
More like 2 1/2 stars, rounded down: see below.
I would usually preface a review with something like: the length of time it took me to complete this book is not indicative of how much I enjoyed it. However, this time, it really is. This book single handedly put me into a reading slump for over three weeks. It's...really kind of awful at times.
This series is shaping up to be quite a disappointment for me - especially after I rated the first book ‘only' four stars because I thought the series would improve and I wanted the chance to show how much better the sequels were.
Yeah.
Okay, look, Bennet is a solid enough character, but his personality is so standard that there's nothing about him to allow him to carry entire books on his own. And that's almost what he's expected to do. The first book was co-narrated by Flynn and, while the writing was choppy in places, the characters were solid and interactions between the two narrators and even the rest of the cast were good. The second book left me personally very angry, but we did get Caeden - Bennet's father - as a narrator. To me, his was the only other POV that added to the book (Joss and Rosie certainly didn't).
In this book, for the third time, we change the people Bennet is around. And that's the thing about this series: The secondary characters are unmemorable and they change EVERY BOOK.
The characters around Bennet change from book to book and...Look, some books can pull it off. A great - also military sci-fi - example for me, is Tanya Huff's Confederation series. At the end of each book, the number of survivors are pretty much numbered in the single digits, and most of them you never see again, but each book makes you care about the people, and gives them personality. This series? I can count the number of people I actually care about on one hand: Bennet, Flynn, Caeden, probably Cruz and, maybe, Liam. The rest of the run the gamut from supremely dislikable (Joss, mostly, but also Rosie with her Bennet infatuation at times) to irrelevant (mom, sisters ect. You know, the people that are supposed to have the most emotional connection to Bennet) to cardboard for plot reasons (everyone else, especially everyone in the military)
Now, before I had this little rant, I had another point I wanted to make for this review: people are so overly emotional in this book. It's like everything is to the level of soap opera dramatics. I was not expecting this of military sci-fi.
Also, the romances? Blech. Bennet and Joss was unhealthy from day one and every time they are around each other, it just shows how bad they truly are. Bennet and Rosie...could have been great, but Rosie is so much ahead of Bennet in the relationship (until she's not) that it kind of seems like she was desperate to get him and he just wanted companionship. (...As I type that, I realize that while Bennet sometimes puts me in mind of M!Shep, Rosie is everything bad about F!Shep in ME2.)
After these two romances, I'm not even sure I'm going to be able to support Bennet and Flynn - because either they'll be just as bad and uncomfortable, or they'll be seen as a ‘one true love' setup where everything is perfect.
Honestly, I think I'm going to have to find myself some spec fic that doesn't have romance or strangle me with the red string of love. Because between this book and the other one I'm in the middle of, I am so sick of bad romance plots.
Side note: I keep forgetting to post it, but what is up with literally everyone having only one name? I mean, we have Felix and Liam and Flynn and Bennet so these names are not unusual - but the only one that doesn't follow this pattern is Van Trion. (Who, 95% of the time, is referred to as Van.) I have so many questions about this.
The good news is, there is more action-y plot to this book than the second one.
The bad news is, the characters are even flatter. (At least Joss makes me feel something. ... That something might be homicide inducing rage, but that's something.)
If I didn't already own the sequels, by now I'd be seriously considering dropping this series. However, it seems like book four might get Bennet back with Flynn and Caeden (you know, people with actual personalities that I don't hate) and we're going to get more of little sister (which might be a good thing - though considering the women in the series, possibly not) so I do have some hope that it might not be a total failure for me.
95% of books I read do not make me cry. Romance does not make me cry. But you give me some good friendship moments, and I will be in tears. While this book did not make me blubber, the tears were felt because this book is all about the friendship. (The author calls my favorite character ‘assassin seeks friends' after all.)
Anyway, just as good as the first one - maybe even a smidge better. Love the characters and love the plot. The world building is good. The only thing holding me back from wholeheartedly recommending this book to literally everyone is that the first two were published in 2017 and we are still waiting for the third and fourth, four years later.
And while it's not a cliffhanger, there are a lot of dangling plots and some people are in possible danger. (Not mortal peril as at the end of the last book, but not everyone is in a safe space.)
Proper title: Discworld: Death: The Teen Love Edition
Mort, Death's new apprentice, meets a girl. Once. Very briefly. Then becomes obsessed with her. And breaks reality for her.But ends up with the girl I thought was his love interest from the start because all they do is argue.
...
Look, I know Discworld. I've mostly enjoyed the other Discworld books I've read. It was a toss up between starting the Death arc (which I already read one of the later books of) or continuing the City Watch arc. The humor might not have been working the best for me at the start, but I know the series and what to expect.
At least, I thought I did, because I didn't expect this to be so juvenile - it's like a bad YA fantasy that is focused on ‘romance' and how hot the boys find the girls. And who winds up with who.
Two stars solely because there were a couple chuckle moments and seeing Death trying to figure out what is ‘fun' and looking for a new job was...all kind of awesome.
Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. This was so good.
I was reading along, thinking it would probably be a four-ish star read - maybe a 4.5 that I'd just round up to five stars because it was shaping up to be a solid ending to a solid series. Then we reach the halfway point and - like every book in this series does - it just hit me. I love the exploration into Widdershins itself and why it is what it is. And I love the way the resolution was...resolved.
The fact is, I'm going to miss these people and I am going to miss this little murder town.
(Considering I read the first one almost a full three years ago, I don't really recall much from the first couple of books. One day I will set myself the project of rereading the entire series, start to finish in a reasonable time frame so I can pick up all the little things that I missed.)
Kind of...meh. I mean, there were some good, funny moments, a couple of touching moments, but as a whole...
Random thoughts:
We get all seven POV's, which was good. (I guess.)
Do we really need a fight every POV switch, though?
I never liked Annabeth. Being inside her head makes me like her less and less. (We're not even getting into it. I refuse to.)
I need more Piper, Jason and Leo in my life. ... I also need Piper/Jason/Leo to be a thing.
I will be reading the final book, mostly because I've come this far and because I do want to read these in order and I am super hopeful for the Magnus Chase series as I kind of adored the Kane Chronicles. (Hopefully, getting away from the Greeks will help me.)
This was...an interesting book.
I don't believe it's a spoiler (just read the synopsis) to say that Bennet is presumed dead behind enemy lines (more on that later). However, we are in the interesting position of A) knowing he is the main protagonist of the entire series so the chances of him getting killed is nil and B) actually getting to read events from Bennet while he is presumed dead, before the funeral.
So, we get to see his friends and family mourn, while knowing explicitly, that he is still alive. Basically, we're watching people grieve when we don't really care about their grief. I mean, I think the first book was told only from two perspectives (Bennet and Flynn) and this book opens up the grieving to Joss (more on that later) and Rosie (as well as Flynn). Because we don't have a rapport with two of the three, mostly indifferent to their grief.
Flynn's grief hit me a little more (but we also get less of it) mostly because he has no public claim to Bennet. He's barely a friend, someone who was close almost two years ago while they worked a mission together. He's not allowed public grief like Bennet's family, lover or close friends/co-workers are.
Now, about the ‘enemy lines' comment. ... I'm not the biggest fan of those type of plots in sci-fi. At least Bennet wasn't setting up a home there, which saved me a lot of frustration. Bennet is mostly focused on saving people and attempting to stick it to the Maess. (More on that later.) Escape planning is a side note. I actually kind of liked these chapters - at least compared to how much I thought I would.
The Maess. I have this problem in fantasy and sci-fi when the big bad is a faceless, alien enemy bent of total destruction of humanity. At least as far as humans can tell, because they are so alien to humanity that humans really don't know what this enemy wants. ... I was hoping that the Maess would become more fleshed out after the shakeup Bennet got in Gyrfalcon. That seems to be a forlorn hope. (I also have a problem with the fact that this war between humanity and the Maess has been going on for a hundred years.)
So, the last more on later: Joss.
I'm going to be blunt. I hated him in the first book. Not for the reason most people would expect. I'm not hating on him because he's in the way of Bennet and Flynn. Bennet and Flynn - and the military in general - are in the way of Bennet and Flynn. No.
I figured out in the first book that Joss is bad for Bennet. He's a bad match in general and his being so against Bennet in the military would do nothing but push them further apart. I also thought he was very manipulative with his ‘consolation' fucks on the side when Bennet wasn't there. (Poly's fine. I do not find this an example of a healthy relationship, much less a healthy poly relationship.)
In this book, we get chapters from Joss' perspective. Not only are we treated to such delightful mentality as:
'[...]it irked him that Caeden's focus there wasn't on Bennet himself [...] but on his status as Caeden's son. Joss had tried to write an obituary to put things back in the proper perspective, make his own claim paramount.'
But we also get the telling of how Joss and Bennet first got together from Joss' perspective. And me realizing that not only is he a manipulator, he's also a creep.
Bennet was eighteen, Joss was thirty-seven. (First of all ??? Really?) Then, even if Joss wasn't his teacher, he was in a position of power.
Then, once they got together...
Look, Bennet was stubborn, even at eighteen years old. Just look at the way he defied his father. But, yet, he was still trying to compromise with Joss - something Joss was never willing to do.
Joss tried to control Bennet. Never trying to understand that Bennet wanted to join the military for himself. Then, because Joss needs sex, he can't go as long as Bennet is gone without getting laid, they had an open relationship. With the very added strangeness that ‘girls don't count.' (Hello bad flashbacks to Glee.)
In the first book, Bennet states that Flynn is the first time that he used the open relationship himself (because girls don't count). Meanwhile Joss is fucking every eighteen and nineteen year old that's willing, I'd imagine.
Look, Joss is a creep. He's a manipulator and a slug. Bennet stayed with him because it was easier than leaving - even though he dreaded his homecomings. Bennet actually states more than once that his relationship with Joss was so bad that he would rather have stayed out there fighting than come home on leave.
Soo... Just had to get that out. Because having to be in Joss' head was probably the worst thing I've read this year.
Now, in other thoughts:
While the first book was very action driven with some interpersonal stuff, this is very interpersonal with some action stuff. And not much at that. How much anyone would like this book depends highly on if you like more drama or more action in your sci-fi. (I tend towards action.) And how much you like the POV characters. (Like Bennet quite a bit, so wasn't happy with the distractions from his POV. Like Flynn and would have liked more of him in the first half. Rosie is...barely okay. Just not attached to her. Hate Joss.)
Why does everyone only have one name? Why is there no surnames in this universe? (Also, how?)
I will be continuing the series for three reasons. 1: I already own the next book. 2: The next sounds more action driven. 3: We have, hopefully, seen the last of Joss.
Three stars, dropped one because I had to spend ANY time in Joss' head.
(If you need more Joss hate, go read my updates as I was reading.)
Reread in October 2024
So, first up, I want to take a moment to just appreciate that cover. This is likely my favorite cover for any romance novel, ever. I love how it's intense and intimate without being sexualized the way a lot of covers are. (And, honestly, the way I think t second cover in this series is. Or the cover for the book I'm going to mention next.)
I'm pretty sure this is one of my two favorite books by Sebastian with the other one being The Soldier's Scoundrel. So, yeah, can't believe this is only my second time reading this book. ... I think I loved it more the second time around...
Original Review
“Did it ever occur to you that we were together even before we were...together? I mean, you're always at the front of my mind, even when we're hundreds of miles away. You're the most important person in my life. Even if we had never gone to bed together, even if neither of us fancied men, we'd still be together. We just wouldn't have a name for it.”
There was, honestly, a lot I liked about this book. This is a friends to lovers where one doesn't realize he's in love with his friend and the other has been in love for so long, he just doesn't think about it. One of them is bisexual and has bedded both women and men and the other is demisexual with a side of ‘only him' - which I read as a natural progression of them being so incredibly into each other. I mean, they have been the most important person in each other's lives for years.
I'm not putting a number on the ‘years' because every so often I have to remind myself that they are in their early twenties. Which goes quite a ways in excusing my sole problem I had with this book.
There's this tag in fan fiction over at AO3 that is gaining popularity for a specific couple that I like: sweet of heart, dumb of ass. That sums up these two boys so well. They love each other so, so much and they want what's best for the other, but they never think that they should, I don't know, talk about it. They have a tendency to make themselves miserable because they are trying (and, usually, failing) to give the other what they think he needs.
I just wish that the second half had been a little more like the first. Which was that cover in word form.
Two best friends comfortable around each other and in each other's space and just happy with each other. Because can we take just a moment to appreciate the gorgeousness that is that cover?
(Probably more of a 4.5, but I willingly rounded up.)
So... I don't actually like horror stories. I mean, I shelve this series as urban fantasy, (though I should probably create something like a historical paranormal shelf) but sometimes I think the horror genre fits the series much better. I specifically thought that whilst reading this book as it felt the most horror to me to date.
But, you know what, this book was such fun.
There's the infiltration of the Endicott's creepy castle-esque stronghold where, naturally, everything is not as it seems. There are a couple of plots that get their well deserved end (if you've read it, you know what - or, rather, who - I mean) and a couple of plots (including the main one of visiting where Whyborne's ancestors come from) that have been a long time coming.
All in all, I stayed up much later than I should have to finish it. Which, really, you would think I'd have learned by now that, once I hit the half way - or, possibly, the two-thirds mark, I don't want to put these books down for anything. The only good news was that the next day was not a work day.
Soo... I didn't enjoy this much.
Fair warning, guys, this is going to be brutal.
I've never liked Annabeth. I had held out some hope that, finally getting into her head, would make me like her more. It didn't. In fact, I'm pretty sure it went the other way and made me like her less. That being said, I could see myself, possibly, liking her as a character if it wasn't for the romance. (Seriously, not every internal monologue needs to be based around romance and, yes, boys and girls can just be friends.)
Honestly, that might be my biggest issue with this book. Everyone is motivated by how in love they are with another person. Percy and Annabeth are obsessed with each other and Jason and Piper aren't much better. (I'm not even going to get started on the love triangle that is Leo/Hazel/Frank.)
Once again, this probably wouldn't be so bad if I actually shipped Percabeth. But I never did because they don't feel like a good couple. They have nothing in common and... Well:
Annabeth smirked, like she was pleased they were back in their old familiar pattern - Percy being ignorant, she herself explaining stuff.
...
This is the be-all-end-all romance that everyone obsesses over? No thank you. (Personally, I never thought their friendship should turn into romance because it never felt like it would be a healthy romance, but I was willing to overlook it in the first series because they were children. But now they are almost adults and this is showing signs of an unhealthy relationship.)
As for Jason and Piper... I'm still unsure about them. I'm leaning towards not shipping them, either because, once again, they don't fit.
In other thoughts:
I finally figured out what it is about these books, how I can buzz through them (usually) like I'm eating popcorn, only to feel a little empty - and maybe sick - at the end. These books never slow down. They are nonstop and, while sometimes very fun, they are also rather shallow.
That's part of the reason I tend to read them so fast. I race through them at the same speed they go, looking for that emotional payoff that I will never get. (Is this because they are MG books? Because the deaths in the first series left me feeling nothing. Much like the deaths in Harry Potter also left me feeling nothing.)
Also, as I discovered on this book, there is no internal motivation for me to keep reading. I put this book down for almost three full days (I only read like ten pages in that time) and I've only finished it now so it's not dragging out over my weekend.
Because The Kane Chronicles was a breath of fresh air, I am going to plow through this series to get to Magnus Chase in the hopes it will be the same as Carter and Sadie. But this book has dragged back down to my thoughts of the first PJ series: such indifference. Because this book is a retread of all the others in this series: prophecy, set out, attacked ad nauseam - with ‘jokes' that really weren't funny coming from twelve year olds and are even less funny from sixteen year olds and the absolutely lovely addition of romance woes.
Sigh.
I - hmm - Okay. I like Reid, his abandonment issues suffer from abandonment issues, but he's such a loving guy. Sullivan is mostly okay, and, for all his growly stereotypeness, is a surprisingly sweet man. Joanna is not obnoxious - which is the most I can ever ask for from children characters.
The innuendo is strong in this book - kind of hilariously so. The slow burn isn't quite as slow as I would have liked. But the real problem for me - the problem that dropped this book from a solid four stars to a bare two? One of the couple willfully misleads and then lies through his teeth to the other. Lies through his teeth. (Honesty, I know you not.) It's supposed to show how insecure he is, or something, I guess, but I mean, come on!
His thought process was broken because lying about having a dead wife when it's actually a dead husband and thereby 'pretending' to be straight isn't going to stop you from falling in love with him. It wasn't even a case of trying to keep the other from falling in love with him, but trying to keep himself from falling in love - because it's not like his mind and body knows what it wants. Let's just pretend. Oh, and lie.
...
Seriously, what will stop me quicker than anything from shipping a romance is when they start lying to each other - and for stupid reasons at that.
(I know Sunday has it in her to write an amazing book without such a cheap crutch, because she's done it before in this series. But this one just totally missed the mark for me.)
I have really, really mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand, that ending was amazing! I loved the final fight, the set up for the next book and the involvement of certain characters. On the other hand, so much of the book felt like ‘been there, done that.' Prior to the ending - or, the last quarter to third of the book - it felt like the same things were happening as had in previous books. Pretty sure this is my least favorite in this series to date.
Kuvira redemption arc.
That's all I needed to know. I do like this trilogy more than the first one and now I think I really, really need to get back to my rewatch of the show. (I only made like the first four episodes for a third time, because, really, Mako and Bolin are...meh. I'm here for the girls.)
This trilogy also has some Korrasami angst and Beifong family feels. ... And King Wu. Do not forget Wu. But, honestly, Kuvira.
This time, it's personal.
No, but seriously, I like that the second book in this series makes the story so personal to our Unit, it really ups the tension. And there were a lot of little things in here that I would have loved to be expanded on for an already long book. (My edition is over 500 pages and it could have easily been a hundred or two more than that and I wouldn't have minded.)
Adore most of the characters, though I do wish more attention was given to some of them, and I really, really love the bonds in the story. There's a solid reliance and affection in this Unit and it's so awesome to see.
Still love the world building, like the fact that there is some refreshers in the story to the first book. It does get a little draggy at times because of that - and because I just reread the first one last month - but too many books don't offer you anything to remind you who the characters are or what the world building is like that I won't complain about the info-dumpy-ness of some of it.
Finally, there is at least some mention of LGBT+ characters. Not enough, but the first book had none and at least I now know they exist in this future.
(Side note: I'm still not fully convinced about the method of choosing the Strike Team and are straight people really that uncomfortable around their own gender? Probably the only things that dropped it from a 5 star rating for me.)
I have a very specific sense of humor. This makes watching comedies of any type more annoying than amusing, usually. It also makes it somewhat less than easy when I find ‘humorous' books to read because, more often than not, I don't actually find the author funny.
This author I find funny. This book actually made me laugh several times which it rather impressive. What I don't understand, though, is how I can be laughing one page, then two pages later I'm struck right in the feels and left tearing up.
That being said, I think I have a slight preference for the sequel over this one. This one works better mechanically for me as a romance, but I think I am more attached to the couple in the sequel (I think I relate to them better) than I do Gus and Casey.
That being said, Gus and Casey are both such sweethearts and I wish we got Casey's POV, too.
I had a very rocky road with this book before I even ever started reading it.
I first came across the book about three years ago, when it was recommended to me upon my request for a LGBT+ friendly fantasy book. At the time I was looking for a good, solid fantasy book that wasn't about the usual cishet cast (because I love fantasy, but it seems to lag behind literally every other genre) and nor was it a romance badly disguised as a ‘fantasy.' This book was recommended to me. I promptly put it on my TBR and then just as promptly...ignored it.
Fast forward to the beginning of 2021 and cue me looking at my TBR list and realizing I have four years worth of books on it that I thought ‘oh, I have to read.' I finally made it up to 2018 books and came across this one. Now, my funds to spend on books these days is very tight. Most of my reading is done thanks to my library. Those books that my library doesn't have, that are new-to-me-authors, get a very rigorous look at them to decide if they are worth spending my hard earned cash on.
One way I do this is to use the Goodreads or Amazon preview. I used just that for this book and had a knee-jerk reaction to the book. Mostly to Arathiel's...lack. Without getting too deep into it, his senses have all been dampened: he can taste nothing, his sense of touch is almost nil, his hearing is muffled and his vision is not very good. For me personally, this gave me pause. In fact, I never actually finished that preview, I was so turned off by this. (Let's just say, this is straight out of horror, for me personally.)
However, I could not get this book out of my head. I found myself wanting to read it. So bought it. Figuring I probably shouldn't have and that I would be looking at a DNF.
Well, this book is everything I was told it was. It has an interesting cast of characters (I do not like all of them, but there are a few that I adore) and there is so much diversity. Oh, my gosh, is there so much diversity.
Before I finished the book, I thought I would probably fate it four stars - but the fact is, I finished what is a four hundred fifty page book in three days, including working two of those three days. This book is just so addictive to read and ... Look, I like books that end up well. I don't like a lot of stress from my reading, but at the same time, I don't want things to be too easy.
I got really attached to some of these characters (a certain assassin, for example) and I desperately want things to turn out well for nearly every POV character. (There's a couple - thankfully minor - ones that I just don't like) But, unlike other books of this nature that I've read, as I was reading, I felt like things would turn out okay in the end.
In other notes, I love the fact that family and friendships are the relationships that get the focus. There is one established couple (that is a very solid one that, surprisingly enough, did not annoy me) but beyond that...people are not pairing off. There's little to no hints of romance and several of the closest relationships - that in any other book would be preludes to romance - are of incompatible orientation.
That being said, for those that don't know, the author is aro/ace spectrum herself and I highly recommend this book to those out there that are tired of romance being shoehorned into their fantasy.
This series shouldn't be called ‘The Heroes of Olympus.' It should be called ‘I have a Secret - or Amnesia.'
In seriousness, though, pretty sure this is my favorite Riordan book to date. The first 150 pages or so are solidly five stars for me, but I always love the non-quest parts of the books - and getting to read about Camp Jupiter was so much fun. (Now this is a place that actually makes sense. And doesn't sound half-bad to live in.) But when the quest starts is always when my attention drops a little. This time though, it seems both more cohesive AND more relevant to the quest-ers.
Also, I was a little...less than excited to be back in Percy's head after not adoring him in PJ & the Olympians - but one of three things happened: either Riordan's writing has matured, Percy himself has matured or being told in third person was a much better choice. Possibly all three. Finally, love the final battle. That was fun. I'm just...disappointed where the book ends because not only did I want to read the meeting, but I also have a feeling that means the meeting will be from Annabeth's perspective. ... Whom I've never liked. (Hopefully getting into her head will help that - if not, this next book will be painful, I'd imagine.)
Anyway, very happy with this book. (Even if it was supposed to take me two more days to finish, because I had everything planned out and how good this book is ruined that for me.)
Hmm. I have a lot of mixed feelings towards this book.
First the good - or, maybe that's the ‘super' - : Taylor. I love her. She doesn't change a whole lot - it is, after all, only three days that this book covers (it is three days, right?) so I don't expect her to. But she's settled into herself a little more. She has a great support system, a great Jamie and is an amazing character. I love her character arc.
Now for the not so great: Charlie. I like Charlie as a character, but am, very simply, not happy with her character arc. I had too many problems with the relationship between her and Alyssa. First of all, it moved way too fast. It's only three days. They literally do not know each other before that. (It would have worked better for me if either they had talked online before the con or the romance had slowed the hell down.) Also, Charlie's still all twisted up over Reese. Yes, Alyssa is a much better choice - but, really, Charlie would have been better served to not get into another relationship when she was still so obviously not ready. Then there's the fact that, in the nicest way possible, Alyssa pushes for something Charlie isn't ready for. Basically, it's an ultimatum. A very sweet one, but it's basically: if you can't give me this, we can't be together. I don't mind this - and don't think it's something bad, because it's not: it's something Alyssa needs to take care of herself. That's fine, her asking for that - but basically Charlie's whole character arc is wrapped up around the girl. Charlie changes for Alyssa. Is she in a better place? Yeah, sure seems that way, but the whole reason she changed is Alyssa. This did not work for me.
Now, other subjects.
There is not plot. Character arcs cannot carry a story for me. Romance can, but it has to be the focus. It's not here. (At least, I don't think it's supposed to be, regardless of Charlie's preoccupation with it.) This is a slice of life at a convention. Meh.
I like the girls relationship. I like that girls build each other up in this book. I like the message being sent with it. I just would have liked this book to be more than the message.
Well, I finally finished it. Honestly, I don't know what I think about it. I mean, I read it to finish the series but, I'm not sure how much I really enjoyed reading this book. Sure, there's been a lot of stuff going on for me this last week and I've been busy, and I knew going into it that this is not the kind of book I could read only a couple pages of, or read while I was distracted.
But, pure enjoyment? My stomach was a knot of nerves for like eight-five percent of this book. So, on a level of how attached I got to characters, this series did amazing. Mostly thanks to the first book, because I fell in love with the Jedao of Ninefox Gambit and started to quite adore Cheris as well. Though, I will add, I wound up, upon a reread of Raven Stratagem, really liking Brezan, too. And because of my liking of certain characters (Jedao) I had problems (understatement!) at times reading this book and I'm somewhat dissatisfied with the direction of certain things - and the ending.
At the same time, I really, really want a sequel because I have become invested in this world and there were some earthshaking events in this book that never get a chance to breathe. And, also, certain implications are not dealt with and would love to know what certain people that we don't get to check in with after the battle are doing now.
On the other hand, this book didn't grab me with the characters the way the first - or even the second - one did. I felt very removed from Cheris and... well, Jedao's whole thing is something I don't know what to do with.
I might enjoy this book more on a reread (like I did with Ninefox Gambit) or I might like it less (like I did with Raven Stratagem) because then I would know at least the ending and could maybe read without feeling a sense of dread and stressing out about what's going to happen next. But, also, I'm not sure with the way this book has emotionally gutted me, that I'll ever want to reread it.
In short, I still don't know what to do with this book. Four stars is too high, three stars is too low and I am ready to go weep. Goodnight everyone.
Ugh. Okay, so there is a reason I read this one on the heels of the first Out of Uniform book: because I was getting the feeling Albert is not an author for me. (Only took me six books to start coming to that conclusion, but more on that later.) That being said, I thought I would like this book. I mean, friends to lovers is probably my favorite romance trope and added to that is the fact that I've been looking for a good military tinged (or straight up military) gay romance. (Basically, I've been wanting something where people that have to save each others lives and have their backs start feeling things for each other.) I thought this book would, if not be perfect, at least be a solid read.
Well, friends to lovers? Sort of. I mean, they were already in severe lust with each other before the start of the story and had already been lovers twice (maybe, I'd count the first one but YMMV depending on what you consider ‘having sex') in a threesome before the start of the story - which we get to see in flashbacks. So...I guess this could be lovers getting their heads out of their collectives asses and realizing they're in love with each other - but it's not friends to lovers. Especially not the friends to lovers I like considering that one of the two had been attracted for all 12 years of their friendship and the other one for the last couple years.
Sigh.
The military out-in-the-field stuff that I've been wanting? I mean, it was there - at the very beginning. Broken up with flashbacks. Flashbacks that mostly seemed to revolve around how hot for each other they are. Because the first part of the story doesn't offer a chance for the characters to start having sex, we have to shoehorn it in (I meant to say that) because heaven knows us readers don't have the patience to actually wait for the sex to happen and while I was mentally complaining that I'd rather have the guys slowly realizing their attraction while only being able to rely on each other instead of the sexbacks, I realized that this author focuses way too much on the sex in the romance for me and I will be much happier if I quit reading her books.
Besides, since I read her #gaymers series, I haven't really liked any of them anyway. (And I've read four since then...)
I actually liked this more than I thought I would. After the first couple chapters I did seriously consider DNFing it because these two guys make a seriously poor first impression. Added to that is the fact that they were already attracted to each other at the start of the book (and their first interaction that we get to see reads like a failed one-night-stand/hook-up) and...left me very unhappy. I did eventually care a little, but not nearly enough.