Jack

I'm pretty confident in saying this is the weakest in the trilogy, but it still holds up really well. The character development reaches a really satisfying conclusion, with a lot of loose ends being tied up in a neat bow.

The reason I think it's the weakest of the two, is really only a couple of things.

1. The dialogue feels very modern. This was somewhat the case for the other books, but this one I noticed it more in. I enjoy the way it provides commentary on our modern day politics, but I sometimes find it hard to see it in the context of the book, due to the language being used to describe certain things.

2. Luken begins to feel like a bit of a Gary Stu. It feels like some things fall into place without much work having to be done by him, or him being fortunate for some things coincidentally lining up. His revenge on Koko bothered me, because by making it retaliatory in the way that it was, it turns Luken into the good guy, when it could have been an interesting moral dilemma.

The world building becomes a little more background-ish, and I found it unsatisfying how little Jez was in the story.

This is a really solid book, and I'm glad to have it added to my collection of Gender Role Reversed books. It perhaps takes the crown as the best one. It's like it's made up of all the little pieces of the others, and blended them cohesively.

It has the Sci-Fi power dynamics of "The Power"; "Egalia's Daughters" satirical, yet draining, reversed society; Wen Spencer's fantastical whimsey and world-building. All these in a single novel. It's a heavy read, but it's easy to get invested. It even made me reconsider the complexities that Muslim women must experience when considering their own relationships with their family, society, and home.

The scenery and location is unique, painted expertly with vivid imagery, and the book even has a layered linguistic element. I feel it does a stronger job than Egalia's Daughters, by virtue of the story existing not solely for the point of social commentary. I still feel like Wood wanted to tell me a story of her own, and the social critique is a part of that greater whole.

The story is mostly character driven, so if you're partial to a plot driven novel, it likely won't be for you. It falls into the old tradition of Sci-Fi being used as a method of social critique and challenging norms, rather than as a mere aesthetic decision.

My only strong criticisms of this tale, is that the pacing sometimes feels odd due to the long time-span it covers, and that sometimes the protagonist feels a little bit too lucky in multiple occasions.

This book is easily my favourite in the trilogy. It provides incredibly interesting/satisfying character development, and provides some seriously fantastic commentary on relationships and politics.

Luken following his tenure at Lady Dare's house is a changed man, and wants to take control back for himself. His increasing involvement in politics, and how it shapes his perception of the world around him is equally satisfying to watch.

This book was the first that's gotten me properly engaged in a while.

Of all the books I've read that dabble in Gender Role Reversal (GRR) dynamics, this easily has the most interesting take. Egalia's Daughters exists to be a satire of our current society, its story existing as a vehicle to make a point about the real world. A Brother's Price tells a traditional bodice-ripper tale, with the GRR being an interesting twist and set dressing, but it falls into the idea that it must justify itself via the women-outnumbering-men thing (not to say this isn't handled in a great way), which falls into the idea that society could only have formed in a patriarchal way. Veil of Sighs rejects this and provides a world fundamentally the same as our own, but society has simply formed to benefit women instead of men. It doesn't feel the need to weaken men physically, because their physical strength is nothing compared to the political power of the women.

The character development of Luken is incredibly satisfying to witness, and it doesn't stagnate at any point. The whole plot flows wonderfully and uses its 300 pages to its maximum potential to tell a compelling story that takes place over a long period, but perhaps could've used more pages for other things.

I only have a few complaints. I wasn't a fan of the occasional glimpses into the future when describing environs (“Luken would remember the sunset long into his later years,” etc.) because it kind of pulls you out of the moment. It reminds you you're reading fiction and that the whole story is on rails.

The descriptions feel crammed in occasionally when they could've been spaced out to feel less overwhelming. The initial introduction to The Abode is a good example. I would've liked more imagery altogether. Maybe this is a cultural thing, but I have no clue what an Ando is after reading this (and Googling it), and it makes me wonder if it would've been better to have just been a dress, because I couldn't imagine it as anything else.

From time to time, our third person stops narrating things from Luken's interpretation to give what feel like author notes, which sometimes feel a little self-gratifying. When Isuan remembers Luken's family but not his name, the narrator explicitly points this out, and it feels like Obern trying to prove how smart they are, which I'm not a fan of. It happens a few more times here and there, and I'd much rather these things be left to interpretation.

Finally, the world-building. I hope we'll see more of the world as we go, because this book was very confined to the sphere of nobility. The concepts that the book proposes are amazing, but I'd love to see how these gender roles are represented in the peasantry — we really don't get to see much of the lower classes, despite them being mentioned frequently enough.

A minor aside that had no bearing on the review: I'm unsure if August Books are a publisher or printer, so I'll say that if this didn't have an editor, the author did a great job working out a lot of typos, and I think it would be unreasonable to imagine it being any better for a one-person job. If there was an editor, then they did a poor job, and I hope Obern didn't pay too much for their services.

TL;DR: great book with some minor hiccoughs. Can't wait to read the next one!

A solid informational book, that doesn't pointlessly meander and act as an autobiography for the authors.

Also provides good evidence to support their claims.

My biggest criticism is that they say some things are 'controversial' but disprove them with such ease, that it doesn't make much sense that anyone would believe the other view. This somewhat makes it feel like the other interpretations haven't been given a fair representation, since it makes little sense that someone would believe them when they can be discarded with such ease.

Witton's artwork is gorgeous, and really acts to add some interesting visuals for the reader to enjoy.