Meagan Spooner

Amie Kaufman

A magnetic and addictive tale of star-crossed love, inexplicable magic and an impossible choice. Science and faith collide in this tale of magic, destiny and the changing truths found through love by the award-winning authors of the bestselling Starbound trilogy.

The Other Side of the Sky

22 chapters in and I've finally found a good quote. 

"I used to dream of not being alone. And now, here is someone to stand beside me."

Two worlds, two hearts and a choice that will shape their fate forever. Prince North's home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate unknown technology. But North believes his sky island is sinking. Its engines are failing, and the key to saving his home is to venture to the place the engines were first created. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the surface, responsible for providing answers, direction - hope. But in the midst of the surface's worst crisis yet, a mist that spreads madness and poison, doubts have arisen among the people about Nimh's divinity. She must find a way to manifest her power - before she is overthrown, and all is lost. North's and Nimh's lives are entwined - though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose to either save their people, or succumb to the bond that is forbidden to them. 'A vivid and compulsive thriller set in a beautiful, perilous world of myths and treachery. You won't want to put it down.' Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series

I personally found this book a little slow to get into, the story was there, the plot was there and the characters were easy to love but the actual book took a good few chapters to get into (which in this book is a lot of reading)

Once I got past the world building and character introductions and had a basic understanding of how everything worked, the story was definitely very interesting and very enjoyable.

I rated 3/5 just because of the long chapters and slow beginning :)

Savannah Winchell

jo solimo

todo bien, pero no me podes dejar con ese fina

Sophie

1/5 stars

this book took me a little less than a month to read and I DNFed it at page 173. It truly isn't a bad book, I just think I'm not in a fantasy mood. I had such a hard time staying focused and I often found myself checking the page numbers to see if I had made any significant progress. I will try to read this book another day.

Kiandra Rodgers 

** spoiler alert **
           When I first started this book I thought I knew what this story was going to be; I thought Nimh, our goddess or “leader” character was another character fleeing her duties and responsibilities, and she would meet North, a prince from another land, and he would make her see the value of leadership or whatever. I couldn’t have been more wrong. And I loved where the story went. The narrative described is an old and beginning to be a tired narrative. Nimh’s devotion to her role as goddess and to her people was really refreshing. When her faith was tested you really believed the turmoil she was feeling because she had been so steadfast. 
I also thought the contrast between the fantasy and sci fi settings were really interesting, and watching the technology bleed over time into the fantasy was very cool. I could really understand the link between these two worlds and what the mist storms had taken from Nimh’s people.
 I thought the pacing was fantastic; North came to believe (still sceptically for nearly the whole book) in the magic organically. It was believable that a person who had never encountered magic would deny what was in front of them. 
The only two things that held this book back from a five star rating for me were;
1) insta-love. This book is almost 500 pages and there’s a lot of journeying in it, so it’s easy to forget that it only happens over the course of a few days. By the end of the book, North is willing to sacrifice his whole world for Nimh. If the time span had been longer, I’d be able to believe that. But it was a week. So I was having a tough time swallowing that.
2) I wanted more magic! Nimh is repeatedly referred to as a great magician, and we are told that magicians are common... but we hardly see anything of it! The back half balanced it some, but I still thought it need more for me. 
Overall I thought the book was great, and now I’m eagerly awaiting a sequel!

Micol Scalabrino

Full review on my Blog.

Up versus down, future future past, technology versus magic. What happens when two realities crash together? In this phenomenal first installment of a new series, two different worlds meet.
 
I was ready to dive into a Medieval like world, but instead I was given drones, 3D stamps and a lot of things that made me think more of future than of past. Plot was interesting, not completely original (boy meets girl of another world), being the first book, it was not all laid down, but we got a glimpse of what can be something even grander. 

Characters are all well developed, I think they were always coherent with themselves. While the plot overall and the world building are yes complex, but explained really well (they don’t actually seem that complex), the characters had a complexity inside of them that made them just more likeable and human. Nihm struggles with the heaviness of being the Divinity, the Divine One, and North fights to go back home and to stay alive in a new world. I particularly loved the difficulty regarding things they don’t know of each other’s world and how they tried to understand: medicine and magic on one side and engines and technologies on the other side.7

 Final vote: 4/5

Amy Snijders

A bit slow at the beginning, but very interesting near the end. I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend!

laura

I thought this was again a really different science fiction novel. I really liked both characters POV. I also really like the battle between science and magic and how that occurred. I also like the rep of different sexual path in this story and hope we get more of that in future books. I also thought this was super fast pace towards the end. I liked this book, but sometimes struggled with the smaller cast of characters. I will def be checking out book 2. I liked this book but it was not my favorite by them.

Alexis 

3.5/5 Stars 

I have some mixed feelings about this book. It honestly took me forever to even care about the characters. I don't know if it was the writing or just the characters, I honestly couldn't even tell you. It was a slow start for me, but as I got closer to the end I did become more invested and did actually enjoy myself more. I'm probably going to pick up the sequel because I do want to know what happens. I'm invested enough that I need to know how this is going to play out. I recommend picking it up and giving it a try.

Deborah Kerr

So, this book... happened.

As ever, Kaufman and Spooner excel at world-building, pacing, plotting, and relatable characters but, unfortunately, the shortfalls of this book overshadow its triumphs. Small spoilers ahead.

1. An exhausted bisexual is further exhausted by the trend of performative bisexual rep
There is a current trend in YA fiction to have one or both of the protagonists identify as bisexual. They have either had a previous same-sex relationship or outright identify themselves as bi--and I AM HERE FOR IT. As a bisexual who grew up without any characters like me, this is amazing to see and I am so glad teenagers today have these books to look to when they want to see people like them. Especially when the bisexual character is male. But, but, BUT, the problem is that at this point, having bisexual protagonists no longer feels like groundbreaking representation that is natural to the story or is being true to who the character is. It feels more like a box that authors now feel the need to check off as they are rounding out their plotlines (kind of like token POC characters in 90s fantasy). 

At the beginning of the story, we learn that North, our male protagonist, has feelings for his friends Miri (female) and Saelis (male) and that they feel the same way--the trio hopes to form a "three" (the book's term for a throuple). North's mothers inform him that because he is a prince and the only heir to the throne, that he can never enter into a three because his children's paternity would always be in question endangering the throne's lineage. HOLY SHIT, HOW INTERESTING IS THAT STORY? So interesting! But instead of following through with that multi-layered emotional and political story, Kaufman and Spooner just sweep North's feelings for Miri and Saelis aside and give us the same boring, heteronormative narrative they've given us in every series they've previously produced. They gave us a bisexual male protagonist in touch with his deep feelings for his best friends, and within fifty pages made him basically abandon those feelings because Nimh is "so special." It's obnoxious.

Do not misinterpret me: bisexual characters do not need to be in queer relationships to prove their queerness. North is still bisexual regardless of who he ends up with and I am not calling that into question--what I am questioning is why, in the year of our Lord 2020, we are abandoning significantly more interesting same-sex/polyamorous storylines just to retread the boring, heteronormative romances we've been reading since the invention of the written word (I know the answer is that publishers don't think those stories are marketable and won't let authors write these relationships but I'm still annoyed as hell)?

Kaufman and Spooner handle same-sex relationships respectfully and with ease. North has two moms who have a long and loving relationship. Inshara and Elkisa are also not heterosexual. My issue is not that they're bad writers. The issue is that giving North such passion for his friends in his first chapter and then three chapters later having him go down the typical YA male protagonist love interest rabbit-hole undermines the integrity of the character and honestly, makes him kind of unlikeable. (North is my favorite character in this book.)

How much better would it have been if North would've spent the entire book building a deep, platonic love for Nimh and just been her friend--her true friend--while remaining steadfast in his love for Miri and Saelis and trying to return to them? 

2. Nimh is every female protagonist before her and it makes her stale
The outline for Nimh, once again, could've made her super interesting. A girl plucked from the masses at 5 and named the vessel of a living god. But now, over a decade later she still hasn't manifested her powers and she questions if she truly is who everyone claims she is. How great would it have been if Kaufman and Spooner had followed through with the "not the chosen one to lead, but the one who chose to lead" storyline? Or have Nimh just go full dark goddess? I am... disappointed that these two insanely talented writers keep falling back on stale fantasy standbys when they have the capabilities to give us something original.

3. Science vs. Religion
A note for all writer's everywhere: don't enter this octagon unless you plan on coming in swinging. Kaufman and Spooner are lukewarm on the biggest theme of the book, and it is painful to read at times.

4. The stupidity of the characters.
We reached unforgivable levels of stupidity in this book. Just...unforgivable. They're teenagers, I get it. But I am SO SICK of authors giving their characters the love and attention to detail to get the reader to understand that these characters are smart and thoughtful, well-trained in their areas of expertise...only to have them be absolute morons for plot purposes.


Listen, I'm not going to say it's a bad book because it isn't. What it is is mediocre. There is greatness in the general idea and the world-building, but it's becoming clear that Kaufman and Spooner are starting to peter out when it comes to giving us well-rounded stories.

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

This book was magical. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Nimh and North, their clashing opinions/personalities, the little sparks of feelings between them, and that they both just wanted what was best for their people, sometimes damning themselves in the process. 

& oh FFS, that fucking ending. 


Huge thank you to Allen & Unwin for the physical ARC, and Harper Teen and Netgalley for the eARC.

Kathryn

I don’t understand why I didn’t love this book. It has all the things I love: strong female lead, potential slow burn relationship, world in peril storyline... but for some reason I just wouldn’t connect to these characters. Even with a strong start.. I found myself slightly bored at times... 

It’s an enjoyable read, but sadly it’s not a favourite. I will pick up the sequel to see how everything plays out! 

3.5/5 ⭐️

Lysh (She/Her)

Slow to start, but the world building was magnificent and the characters were divine (pun intended). I was swept away with every twist and turn. Totally on board for the next one.

Amber Burwell

It's not too often with Young Adult novels that the twists and turns and the climax of the novel genuinely surprise me. This ended up being really good!! My only critique is that like many YA novels, the romance felt a bit forced/rushed, but overall the plot of the novel and the way it answered some of the nagging questions throughout the story at the end was really satisfying and I'm eager to see how this storyline comes to a close in the next book. I also particularly enjoyed the contrast between science and magic and how it shaped each of the main characters. 

Also, THAT CLIFFHANGER!!

Cally Minner

This book really surprised me with how good it was!! I could not put it down and I cannot BELIEVE the cliffhangers?!?! I can’t wait to see where the story will go and i’m really enjoying the blend of sci-fi and fantasy. i also like how the characters’ sexual orientations are so diverse but not a central part of the story, which i think is beautiful

Cristina Cicivelli 

The Other Side of The Sky is a brilliant blend between fantasy and sci-fi, magic and technology, with a gripping plot full of twists, betrayals and heart-attacks (but also a lot of sweet and funny moments), and an amazing world-building that made me constantly curious to know more about it. 
Even though it’s pretty clear that this story was written by two different authors, their writing styles blend pretty well and completely fit the two main characters. 

The characters are definitely one of the strongest elements in the whole book. I really adored the contrast between two people so different like Nimh and North, each one with a completely opposite set of beliefs and knowledge, and to see how they had to learn to trust and rely on each other to survive situations and living conditions they never faced before (the slow-burn romance between them was just perfect *chef kiss*). Both Nimh, with her constant need to be helpful for the people that she loves and to save the world in her own way, and North, this proud and courageous prince with a heart too big for his body, have conquered my heart, even if for different reasons… but let’s be true, the best character is his fluffy majesty, the bundle cat.

The ending left me literally speechless, and I’m now so excited but also extremely anxious about the next book. 

(okay I must admit that the best thing about The Other Side of The Sky is that in Alciel poly relationships are common and totally normal AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND!!!)

The Other Side of the Sky

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