Molte

I needed an audiobook when traveling for the holidays, and randomly picked this cause it was available on Libby. I had fun but it didn't blow my mind. Maybe cause I've encountered the central ideas before, or because the characters weren't as fleshed out as the premise. At some point I felt like the "moral" of the story was being spelled out for me when I'd gotten the message a while ago.

The premise is fun (world-changing technology! a flawed humanity! time travel!) and jumps between two main characters - Barry and Helena. I was curious how they were going to meet during the book, and without spoiling anything I'm going to say I was disappointed. Them getting to know each other better happens off-screen, thanks to time travel hijinks.

It started a bit slow, and then picked up its pace a bit before halfway. The last half was really fun! There were a couple of points where I thought "well, I guess I'm near the end now?" before Crouch surprised me by upping the stakes and throwing in some unforeseen circumstances (which still made sense), which pulls up the score.

I think a physical/digital copy might be better, because during the audiobook I sometimes lost track of which date I was on. Not ideal during time travel hijinks.

I like the series so far, and as usual with Sanderson's books I read the last part of the book at breakneck speed. The reason I rate this specific book low is because a mystery from the end of the last book still remains unsolved by the end of this. Some reveals early in the next book could have happened in this one, so I'd feel closer to the answer after reading a whole book. I suspect all will be forgiven after finishing the series, though.

I could recommend it based on Jess Taylor's fantastic illustrations alone, but it is also a nice YA story with a trans main character and a black disabled lesbian. I'm giving it 3,5 since I found the pacing odd, missed more empathy towards Taelyr's family, and the ending left some loose ends I'd like to see tied up, but perhaps the author was hoping to make a follow-up volume. I think it could hit bullseye for a younger reader than me. 

I read this in the summer before starting a PhD program. I've heard a lot of writing advice before, but Silvia does a good job of breaking these tips into actionable steps and leaves you feeling like you have the tools you need to write academic texts. It's an easy read, and I recommend it if you're looking for concise and straightforward tips about healthy writing habits and the process of writing academic texts.