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onceoropher's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Beautiful story. As a queer reader, I can’t describe how much it meant to read a story that celebrated the diversity of the queer community. It was a luxurious indulgence of queer joy and will remain with me for a long, long time. This is the kind of story I wanted but never had as a child. This story made me feel seen and heard and celebrated. Thank you. <3
ladyanjulka's review against another edition
5.0
(Note: I was able to read this book for free in exchange for writing a review. However, being required to write a "book report" means that the book has to feel worth it to get more than a couple sentences.)
I'm already missing Darragh, Frederick, Merrigan, Earrin, Sidra, and Amon. These characters were wonderful to meet, get to know at various points in their life, and spend so much time with. I would happily read a follow-up story on a couple of the characters that played a more minor role, just to spend more time with these folks.
The story was written starting in "current" (to the book) time, with flashbacks to previous key moments in characters' lives to explain what has shaped these people into who they are now. What was different and interesting from how this has been done in a few tv series recently, was that some of the flashbacks were provided mildly out of context and in the form of fairytales. It vaguely reminded me of how A.S. Byatt used story-telling to further the plot in The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, though in a far more sprawling format.
I wish I had read this book in a paper format. I think it would have felt much more satisfying to have that tactile nature. It also would have helped give me a concept of how far the book could continue to go in the story. The app I was using only provided percent read if I exited out of the story, and I kept being surprised by how much was still left. I've clearly been reading shorter books lately, so my internal book clock kept expecting the story to wrap up at various points. This "timing" issue is not the fault of the story, in my opinion, but rather of the format and my personal expectations. Know that you have time to sink into the world and enjoy the journey.
The other minor personal mental struggle I had at the beginning was getting used to certain new (but lovely) pronouns and figuring out how welcoming the world was. It took a bit for my brain to just accept that it was still a mix, some people being incredibly open and welcoming, and some folks still "stuck in the old ways." Until I could just accept the built world as it was, I felt unsettled, not knowing whether I could relax or keep my guard up with new characters - this felt a bit more real life than I had hoped for in my escapist reading. I also had a sense early on about how it felt almost like the story was pushing the message of acceptance and gender/sexual freedom more than naturally flowed, but I suspect that is more because we just don't get stories like this nearly enough. And even in "real" life, those on the edges do naturally seek out others similarly excluded, so the clustering of all these folks makes sense from that angle too.
Overall, this book was lovely to just have people be accepted for who they are and how they love or don't. I would and will certainly recommend it to a number of folks for a enjoyable story of being who you are.
I'm already missing Darragh, Frederick, Merrigan, Earrin, Sidra, and Amon. These characters were wonderful to meet, get to know at various points in their life, and spend so much time with. I would happily read a follow-up story on a couple of the characters that played a more minor role, just to spend more time with these folks.
The story was written starting in "current" (to the book) time, with flashbacks to previous key moments in characters' lives to explain what has shaped these people into who they are now. What was different and interesting from how this has been done in a few tv series recently, was that some of the flashbacks were provided mildly out of context and in the form of fairytales. It vaguely reminded me of how A.S. Byatt used story-telling to further the plot in The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, though in a far more sprawling format.
I wish I had read this book in a paper format. I think it would have felt much more satisfying to have that tactile nature. It also would have helped give me a concept of how far the book could continue to go in the story. The app I was using only provided percent read if I exited out of the story, and I kept being surprised by how much was still left. I've clearly been reading shorter books lately, so my internal book clock kept expecting the story to wrap up at various points. This "timing" issue is not the fault of the story, in my opinion, but rather of the format and my personal expectations. Know that you have time to sink into the world and enjoy the journey.
The other minor personal mental struggle I had at the beginning was getting used to certain new (but lovely) pronouns and figuring out how welcoming the world was. It took a bit for my brain to just accept that it was still a mix, some people being incredibly open and welcoming, and some folks still "stuck in the old ways." Until I could just accept the built world as it was, I felt unsettled, not knowing whether I could relax or keep my guard up with new characters - this felt a bit more real life than I had hoped for in my escapist reading. I also had a sense early on about how it felt almost like the story was pushing the message of acceptance and gender/sexual freedom more than naturally flowed, but I suspect that is more because we just don't get stories like this nearly enough. And even in "real" life, those on the edges do naturally seek out others similarly excluded, so the clustering of all these folks makes sense from that angle too.
Overall, this book was lovely to just have people be accepted for who they are and how they love or don't. I would and will certainly recommend it to a number of folks for a enjoyable story of being who you are.
thegabecole's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
ec_tyche's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
rshay's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
pasc_oh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
stacieh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
listener's review against another edition
5.0
I feel like this book isn't written in a style everyone would like, but I really enjoyed it! It felt like reading a collection of fairy tales that all went together, which I think may have been the point. I loved how the characters interacted, and how we get to see the world grow!