sophia_sol: photo of a 19th century ivory carving of a fat bird (Default)
Sequel to Mirage, which I read earlier this year. The strengths and weaknesses continue to be similar. I loved the two main characters and their complex relationship with each other. And I loved that it's a story that's so woman-focused. But the plot is not much to write home about, and the romances--there's two this time--feel shallow and uninteresting to me.

Maram's lesbian love story had some promise, but it's so lightly sketched that when you add it all up there's hardly anything there. I liked the idea of it but there wasn't really anything more than an idea.

And the love story between Amani and Idris is just....meh to me.

The pacing dragged in places too, and I nearly gave up on the book a couple times. In the end I'm glad I didn't, since I do still care a lot about Maram and Amani. But I was hoping to see growth from the author after her first book, and I'm not sure I did, which made this book more disappointing for me than I think it would have been if it had been the first book.
sophia_sol: photo of a 19th century ivory carving of a fat bird (Default)
I really enjoyed this book, once I got past the slowish start! It is the author's first book, and there are a few ways in which that manifests, but overall a great read.

It's a scifi/fantasy futuristic YA novel featuring a girl (Amani) from a colonized culture who is kidnapped and trained to be a body-double for the princess of the colonizers, Maram. The complex relationship between Amani and Maram is great, and the way that Maram is clearly a cruel and difficult person but also a teenager who's had a very hard life and hasn't had the opportunity to learn to be better.

Read more... )

But! I still loved the book! I had a lot of feelings and cared a lot about the characters, and was totally into the things the book was interested in focusing on. And I'm super pumped to read the sequel. (Apparently Maram gets a queer love interest!!!)

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