A thought-provoking and clever genre-bending blend of romance and science fiction.
Two lovers struggle with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle—they’re living in parallel universes.
When Nick, a down-on-his-luck ghostwriter, sends out a profanity-laced email to a client who hasn’t paid him, he doesn’t expect to end up connecting with his dream girl. But that’s exactly what happens when he sends his email to the wrong person and Bee, who runs a business repurposing wedding dresses, ends up the recipient of his angry missive. In what seems like the start of a conventional romantic comedy, the two of them keep their conversation going and discover that they actually have quite a lot in common. But when they decide to meet in person, it becomes clear that theirs is no simple love affair. Even while standing at the same train station, they can’t see each other. They soon find out the reason: they’re living in different universes. In Bee’s world, Brexit happened, Donald Trump was president, and climate change is a massive threat. In Nick’s world, Al Gore was president for two terms, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 never occurred, and the government has enforced widespread environmental rules, like completely banning plastic, that curbed climate change to a manageable level. Unable to communicate in any way but email, Bee and Nick decide to find each other in their own universes—but when Bee meets her timeline’s Nick and Nick locates his timeline’s Bee, things get complicated. Lotz takes what could be a confusing concept and makes it fun, heartbreaking, and eminently readable all at once. Bee and Nick’s emails are witty and romantic, while their supporting characters are entertaining in both worlds. Lotz manages to combine romance and science fiction into a book that will produce laughter and tears. Readers will find themselves wondering how, or if, Bee and Nick will end up together until the very last pages.
A thought-provoking and clever genre-bending blend of romance and science fiction.Pub Date: March 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-43677-6
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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