This was a lot of gay scifi fun. It definitely hit all my fave tropes in pretty enjoyable ways. ( )

I don't know how to rate this book, so I'm not going to.

Clo is a gifted mechanic who's tired of being kicked around. Eris is a soldier who's tired of killing. The Tholosian Empire is a merciless, brutal regime controlling half the galaxy – emphasis on the controlling. The Oracle is an AI that speaks directly to people's minds, telling them what to do, what to think, how to be. Clo and Eris are part of the resistance.

The universe-building in this story is phenomenal. The world the women inhabit is nothing like our own (on the surface at least). But it is *intense*. The world is exquisitely built – but it's a lot. There's so much to establish that it sometimes gets in the way of the story.

The characters – and there are five at the heart of this story – are all flawed, multi-dimensional, and wonderful.

The story is fascinating and intricate. Though, again, it sometimes gets lost in the world-building.

The pace is break-neck – except when it reverses to give the reader a view of the past. Expect literary whiplash.

The ending… What the frack is that? I get that the authors are setting up for a sequel – but I expect some things to be resolved. I expect each book to exist on its own, at least to a degree. To end the book just when absolutely everything that can possibly go wrong has seems cruel.

This is not feminist. It doesn't make it feminist to just put a load of women into the story. This is a collection of clichés and tropes cobbled together by someone who's only acquaintance with science-fiction appears to have been playing hack video games as a child. Not worth my time to finish it. ( )

While each of the characters has an interesting backstory, having seven pov characters who also get chapters about their pasts left me feeling like I never really got to connect to any of them. More, in this case, felt like less: I think I'd have enjoyed the book more if there'd been only one or two pov characters.

The plot moved at a steady clip, but it never really gripped or surprised me. ( )

Like strong female protagonists? Complex plots? Lots of action? A deftly revealed backstory for each character? An interesting world(s)? Truly nasty baddies? This book has all of these and more It's not for the squeamish as there's plenty of violence, but everything comes together nicely. I particularly like how the authors blended in each characters' backstory in a way that enhanced understanding and depth of the plot. You're left with much anticipation at the end and I most certainly will grab the sequel as soon as it's available. ( )