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A review by marie_thereadingotter
The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This is a tough book to review. There's a lot about this book that I like, but the pacing was so incredibly slow that it was a struggle to stay invested in the characters and their struggles. What kept me engaged was the Geomancy (Rock magic). It was really interesting in my opinion. It's a pretty underused magic from what I can tell. I read a lot of Fantasy books and I can't recall coming across it before. Though I don't know if the Iridio, a fallen star, is supposed to be the celestial magic. But it just came across like it was still part of the regular Geomancy magic. Unless I missed something.
I wish I found the characters more interesting. Both Reina and Eva follow similar paths in connecting with their non-human heritage, which wouldn't be an issue for me if they had more differences. Both are pretty naive and easily manipulated by those around them. It became frustrating to see them get duped all the time. Because it takes so much of the book for them to finally meet, they are very disconnected from each other. I think the finished map will help make some of this clear. With eARCs maps aren't always complete or have the best resolution.
There are a lot of side characters, too many in my opinion. At times I was struggling to remember all of them. Most of them do end up playing a role in some way, I just had a hard time keeping track of them. Another thing that was kind of a letdown, was the romance. It felt forced, not to mention it was one-sided. I would love to start seeing more books with strong compassionate friendships again. I think people have forgotten that you can have platonic affection for people you aren't related to. It wasn't the worst sapphic romance, but it was the most underwhelming.
My main issue with this book boils down to pacing. There's a lot of info-dumping and exposition for about the first third of the book, and it made it a struggle to stay invested. I am curious about where the next book is going. I think for me there was just so much information given, along with the number of character introductions, so early on I just got bogged down with all that and some of the more nuanced aspects went over my head.
I wish I found the characters more interesting. Both Reina and Eva follow similar paths in connecting with their non-human heritage, which wouldn't be an issue for me if they had more differences. Both are pretty naive and easily manipulated by those around them. It became frustrating to see them get duped all the time. Because it takes so much of the book for them to finally meet, they are very disconnected from each other. I think the finished map will help make some of this clear. With eARCs maps aren't always complete or have the best resolution.
There are a lot of side characters, too many in my opinion. At times I was struggling to remember all of them. Most of them do end up playing a role in some way, I just had a hard time keeping track of them. Another thing that was kind of a letdown, was the romance. It felt forced, not to mention it was one-sided. I would love to start seeing more books with strong compassionate friendships again. I think people have forgotten that you can have platonic affection for people you aren't related to. It wasn't the worst sapphic romance, but it was the most underwhelming.
My main issue with this book boils down to pacing. There's a lot of info-dumping and exposition for about the first third of the book, and it made it a struggle to stay invested. I am curious about where the next book is going. I think for me there was just so much information given, along with the number of character introductions, so early on I just got bogged down with all that and some of the more nuanced aspects went over my head.