Alison Evans (1) (1968–)

Representation: Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Physical injury, blood depiction, near-death experiences
Score: Six points out of ten.
This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

First off, a person recommended this to me since that person enjoyed it, so I added it to my want-to-read list, hoping I would enjoy this. Even though I found this story one I could breeze through from start to finish (I appreciate the representation also), I couldn't shake the fact the novel was flawed sometimes. It starts with the main characters Babs, Iris and the boy with no name, living their different lives. The book told me Babs was invisible ever since a witch cursed her and she's made of fire, but I didn't see that, since all I saw was a human-passing character, as with Iris, who's made of plants. I must say that the book can get slow paced sometimes, and I was confused with the execution of the multiple POVs, so much so that I took some time to figure out who was telling the chapter. I saw some magic used in the the middle of the narrative but other than that it comes off as a mostly realistic read, not to mention cosy and gentle. Babs and Iris didn't do anything meaningful or significant other than finding the witch that cursed Babs, convincing her to reverse the curse, while simultaneously, the boy finds his name (I forgot his name. Dam!) That's all I can say about the story.… (más)

This was ...not hard to read for content or characters, but hard to read because of its structure.

It was very choppy, jerking me from one scene to the next without any reason I could fathom. It felt messy and unplanned. That may have been the author's intent, a macro reflection of the microcosm of two nonbinary/transgender people puzzling out how to be as a pair. If so, okay. That works reasonably well.

Doesn't make me change my rating, though - but all that means is this story's not particularly for me.… (más)