Lauren
2.75 stars rounded up
The Last Hour Between Worlds is about Kembral, a woman whose job it is to go into the echos of reality to save those who have become lost within them. She is currently on maternity leave, but while attending a New Year’s party, work seems to find her. I actually think this book will work for many people, just not me. The reason this book wasn’t for me is simple: I’m not a mom and I have zero desire to be one. Kembral’s whole identity is centered in the fact that she is a new mother. I have no doubt that new mothers probably feel very seen by this book, the struggles she’s facing around whether to return to work/which parts of work, and the bodily changes that come from having a baby. I totally respect that. However, I got so tired of hearing about her baby and how she wanted to be where she was and also wanted to be with her baby and how her baby rearranged her insides before being born. Again, I am sure this is super relatable for those who have experienced this, but I got so tired of it pretty quickly. My more neutral complaints: the world building was…odd. It felt like a lot of information was info dumped but at the same time nothing really made sense. A lot of the victories our protagonists had were honestly more luck than anything else. We get told over and over how wonderful she is at her job, but i never really saw it. A lot was left unexplained. Things happen and then we just keep moving forwarding. Lastly, some of the writing was very campy/cringey and I didn’t vibe with it. I think the idea behind this book was great, but the execution was just not it for me. I will say I did think the small hints of romance were nice and pretty well done.
Note: I didn’t remove stars for this, but while the audiobook narrator was good and I’ve liked her work before, the bongs she did for the clock drove me bonkers.
2.75 stars rounded up
The Last Hour Between Worlds is about Kembral, a woman whose job it is to go into the echos of reality to save those who have become lost within them. She is currently on maternity leave, but while attending a New Year’s party, work seems to find her. I actually think this book will work for many people, just not me. The reason this book wasn’t for me is simple: I’m not a mom and I have zero desire to be one. Kembral’s whole identity is centered in the fact that she is a new mother. I have no doubt that new mothers probably feel very seen by this book, the struggles she’s facing around whether to return to work/which parts of work, and the bodily changes that come from having a baby. I totally respect that. However, I got so tired of hearing about her baby and how she wanted to be where she was and also wanted to be with her baby and how her baby rearranged her insides before being born. Again, I am sure this is super relatable for those who have experienced this, but I got so tired of it pretty quickly. My more neutral complaints: the world building was…odd. It felt like a lot of information was info dumped but at the same time nothing really made sense. A lot of the victories our protagonists had were honestly more luck than anything else. We get told over and over how wonderful she is at her job, but i never really saw it. A lot was left unexplained. Things happen and then we just keep moving forwarding. Lastly, some of the writing was very campy/cringey and I didn’t vibe with it. I think the idea behind this book was great, but the execution was just not it for me. I will say I did think the small hints of romance were nice and pretty well done.
Note: I didn’t remove stars for this, but while the audiobook narrator was good and I’ve liked her work before, the bongs she did for the clock drove me bonkers.