Reviews with content warning for Death - Amberlough

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Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

7 reviews

syliu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

This book occupies a very unique place in my heart — I first read it around when it was published, almost seven years ago, and I haven’t forgotten it since. It was one of the books that introduced me to the whole concept of queer culture and gender non-conformity, and has absolutely changed my life in some aspect.

Coming back to it has been like seeing old friends again, and the book didn’t have to prove the legitimacy of any of its characters or relationships. To me Cy and Ari’s love and tacit understanding was solid fact, Delia was as good as real, as were the many side characters that brought the book to life. In that I’m very biased — I think the character development is brilliant, I hold a deep affection for each of the main protagonists, and felt horribly empty and listless when Amberlough met its explosive (and tragic) end.

The politics…a bit on the nose at times. But for how ambitious it is I haven’t encountered much better in speculative fiction. Once you get past the slightly confusing premise and fictional slang (which I’ve grown to love) all the espionage and characters’ constant manoeuvrings are thrillingly fun. Many little plotlines and schemes are set up perfectly and brought to incredibly satisfying conclusions.

The sparkling lights and spangles of a Roaring-20s-esque cabaret; sharp and cunning politics behind it all; and the equally adroit cast. Damn it’s so much fun. It's the sort of book that kept me up, heart pounding, till I finished it at 4am, then continued on its sequel till I could no longer keep my eyes open. I know I’ll read this again some day and savour every word.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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mandkips's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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bisexualwentworth's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I enjoyed this book a lot! Most of the things I've been reading lately have been either YA or contemporary literary fiction, and this was a very welcome change from all of that.

I love reading about messy adults in fantasy settings, and Amberlough absolutely delivers on that front. The characters were engaging and complicated. Amberlough City was immersive and fascinating. I loved the 1930s vibes.

Amberlough is very much a story about tragic love in the context of a rising fascist regime—with an added dose of smuggling and cabaret performances. The main couple is enemies AND lovers simultaneously, so if that's something that interests you, I highly recommend reading this.

There were some points where I wanted more information about certain things, but since this is the first book in a trilogy, I'm not too worried about it. Overall, it was a super engaging read and a very impressive debut novel.

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