Indra

I loved the first half of this book. Beautiful prose, a rich fantasy world with angels and chimaera, and an interesting cast of characters—human and chimaera alike. Karou's relationship with Brimstone and the other chimaera had promise, as did the errands she did for him. I also enjoyed the sections in Prague with her human friends and would've liked to see more with them.

Unfortunately, the introduction of Akiva derailed that part of the story. Karou was obsessed with him almost immediately and their relationship is clearly instalove, a trope I'm not fond of. The reveal of Karou's background didn't change that, and only further showed how their love is based almost solely on physical attraction.

Despite this change in the story, I still plan on reading the second book as I've heard the rest of the series focuses more on the war and less on the romance.

This was a delight to read and left me wanting more of Nimona and Blackheart and their adventures. Stevenson's art is vibrant and expressive and I love the mix of medieval and modern fashion and technology. Nimona, though violent and childish on the surface, is really just looking to be loved. Her banter with Blackheart is funny and I love her chaotic energy. Blackheart is a very upstanding villain and I like how he focuses on harming the Institution and not civilians. Of course the dragons are wonderful 😎 and the world seems like it has a rich background. I'd be interested in learning more about the Institution and how it came to be.

This was a very cute, lighthearted romance between two people who've had a rough time of relationships in their lives. Chloe's humor is perfectly sarcastic and deadpan, and her tendency to go silent and sharp when she's in pain is relatable. Red is a sweetheart with deep creativity and a loving relationship with his mom, as well as a sick motorbike. Though they don't like each other at first due to their own incorrect assumptions about the other, Chloe and Red fall in love with very few bumps along the way. Hibbert doesn't draw out the angst of misunderstandings for long, and it's nice to read a romance with better communication between the love interests. There's a few well written spicy scenes, but most of the book is very sweet and fun. 

This is a great way to question arbitrary gender norms, especially for middle grade readers. I loved the use of different types of magic to separate men and women. So many things in our lives are gender coded: dolls vs. trucks, pink vs. blue, skirts vs. pants, softball vs. baseball, etc. There's no real reason why people can't play, wear, or do whatever they want. Aster's story shows that it can be harmful to deny children their interests just because of their gender. And parents don't have to understand it to love and care for their children as they are.