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A review by kiiouex
Empire of Light by Alex Harrow
3.0
Spoiler review:
I can't get worked up enough to two star this book, it is too obviously a debut and someone's baby. Things I liked: characters with 'they' pronouns where it wasn't a big deal and everyone used/respected them, the original setup with Aris burning himself out and BF worry was good. I do not like constant Snark and Sass but it's so inescapable I guess other people must be into it. But the plot....
this book kept trying to have Twists and Reveals and Betrayals but it also only had like eight characters so if you look too hard at any individual event it becomes completely nonsensical. "We had to check you were the right man for the job" they literally shot him to death and he died (and got to come back) 'we knew all along he was the president's son' weren't you blackmailing him into sex for safety "he was working for me all along" ok but who IS he, and why, and he's pointing a gun at you now
also if you're going to refer to the LI by surname for most of the book, maybe don't also exclusively refer to the major villain by that same surname
also uhhh just because of how Books work, I am going to stop believing in the relationship with the original LI once you introduce the Obvious New Love Interest
also did the 'voyance kills you' thing get dropped completely, MC was never worried about it
also why did they not just......... go somewhere else.
OH and this is not sci-fi, it's urban fantasy dystopia, deeply confused why it's been put on the sci-fi shelf.
I can't get worked up enough to two star this book, it is too obviously a debut and someone's baby. Things I liked: characters with 'they' pronouns where it wasn't a big deal and everyone used/respected them, the original setup with Aris burning himself out and BF worry was good. I do not like constant Snark and Sass but it's so inescapable I guess other people must be into it. But the plot....
this book kept trying to have Twists and Reveals and Betrayals but it also only had like eight characters so if you look too hard at any individual event it becomes completely nonsensical. "We had to check you were the right man for the job" they literally shot him to death and he died (and got to come back) 'we knew all along he was the president's son' weren't you blackmailing him into sex for safety "he was working for me all along" ok but who IS he, and why, and he's pointing a gun at you now
also if you're going to refer to the LI by surname for most of the book, maybe don't also exclusively refer to the major villain by that same surname
also uhhh just because of how Books work, I am going to stop believing in the relationship with the original LI once you introduce the Obvious New Love Interest
also did the 'voyance kills you' thing get dropped completely, MC was never worried about it
also why did they not just......... go somewhere else.
OH and this is not sci-fi, it's urban fantasy dystopia, deeply confused why it's been put on the sci-fi shelf.