I remember requesting this book on Netgalley, while also pre-ordering the book, thinking this was gonna be a nice sci-fi romance with a touch of fantasy. I was therefore really happy when Hodderscape granted me a review copy, but since I noticed that cozy romance is starting to bore me a little I was also a little afraid to start reading this novel. I don’t know where it went wrong with the marketing, but this book turned out to be so so so much more than I had expected it to be.
The book started exactly like I had expected. I was actually convinced during the first reading session that I was eventually gonna cancel my pre-order. I was completely and entirely wrong. During my second reading session the politics appeared and the book all of a sudden became a million times darker than I had expected it to be. And since we were experiencing everything through Remy’s eyes we also felt the shock, betrayal and pain he felt.
I don’t wanna give too much away, but this book does an amazing job showing how politics work, how propaganda works and how it’s possible to make so many people believe that what you do is for the best even if it’s not. It’s also an amazing book to show that you really have to get to know people to really understand AND judge them. No matter how much you’ve heard and learned about someone, you can never know who has been controlling the narrative.
I also really love all the love in this book. All the forgiveness. All those times people are trying to understand someone despite their emotions pushing them into another direction. In a way, despite all the dark scenes and despite all the sickening moments, this book is therefore also really hopeful and inspiring. We see people overcoming hatred. We see people willing to look at things from someone else’s perspective. We see people trying to be forgiving and understanding.
I will certainly keep an eye on this author.
Books of Hope and Dreams 