MeowMeow

Um. I hate to break Alfi's hearts because they're sweet and dorky but this story felt like it was written by a teenager who wanted to do some sort of wish-fulfillment thing. Ally and Fish come across painfully cringe. Also, I dunno about anyone else, but reading about how Fish decided to jack off after their phone call (when they hadn't even been talking naughty) – while imagining giving her oral sex – made me flinch. Unsexy and unromantic much? Geez. The epilogue that takes place like 30 years in the future was also pure cringe .

Such a fun read.

Great story. Also, can I just say – I am SO that the two people on the case weren't bickering assholes to each other and actually respected one another!!

I wish I liked it more. It's just that the story is ... boring. Pretty disappointing when this is the type of story and storyline that I like.

The book description had me expecting an awesome story with a strong, intelligent heroine who would be cunning enough to take down the secret societies and cause some mayhem as payback for what happened to her brother/friend. I should have known what kind of book this would be when the stupid, weak, vain heroine does the trope-y cliche of tripping into the snarling handsome asshole who she ends up loving (of course) – I should have dropped the book right then and there for this scene alone. Her so-called “investigation” is laughable. The secret societies are so cringe-worthy. Also ... hello, telegraphing the villain much? I'm shocked the word VILLAIN wasn't written in marker across their forehead. WTF. (Which goes to show how doubly stupid the main character is.)

This story could have been SO MUCH MORE. Instead we have characters bumbling all over the place like idiots, no chemistry between characters who are supposed to have the hots for each other, and overall epic levels of eyeroll-worthy cringe.

Heroine cheats with someone who's already in a relationship and spends a ton of time pathetically whining after said guy.

This cover doesn't do the book justice. The story was lovelier than I thought it was going to be.

Love the story, wish Frisha didn't exist.

Imagine yourself sitting in your favorite place (an armchair, a sofa, whatever). Imagine the temperature at just the right degree that you love, and you are wearing the most comfortable clothes ever, feeling contented and cozy. Sipping your favorite drink, just allowing your mind to drift into thoughts that make you feel good.

That's what reading this book is like. Fair warning that yes, it can be slow, but it's the kind of deliberate slowness that makes you savor it like a hot chocolate on a chilly morning. There were times when I had tears sliding down my face when reading about the realizations that the characters had, feeling a quiet pain in my heart in acknowledgment.

I know I can be pretty harsh when I rate/review books, especially ones that disappoint me greatly because in that moment of emotion I feel betrayed and foolish for wasting my time. But when I do come across a book that gets my cold, bitter heart feeling a rush of warmth, I pay attention.

This is a character-driven story through and through. You won't go on an adventure, nor will you fight enemies or save the world. But that's not what this book is about. If you're willing to read a character study and allow yourself to let go of expectations for a plot-driven story, then you will be in the right mindset to read this book.

I was in the mood for some fun, light, sexy reading with aliens

Warm, coming-of-age type of story featuring characters who are likeable and not whiny. T. Kingfisher has become one of my favorite authors these past couple years due to her skill with characterization.

Wholesome and tear-inducing.

• Would have been 5 stars if the ending wasn't so rushed.
  - Made me want to binge-watch Survivor.

Honestly speaking, this was a disappointment after reading the very beautiful Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher. That was a portal fantasy worth reading, with a journey filled with things to see and do. The characters in Beneath the Sugar Sky go on a quest too, but ... it falls flat, and it just doesn't make you FEEL satisfied.

I absolutely hated Jade by the end of Chapter 7. She's a whiny, shitty, stupid brat with a really crappy attitude. Reading about her wanting to “bitch out” the very people who rescued her, and then yell and scream and just act stupid ... holy molasses, get a damn grip and stop acting like a toddler having a tantrum. Writing was okay, I guess, but why the heck would I want to read what is supposed to be an alien sci-fi romance if the aliens were just HUMANS BUT MORE BEAUTIFUL? How unimaginative can you get??

Part of me wants to give this a 1-star. Man, I hardly know what to say. Two books – this one and Wintersong – that have similar subject matter (a girl is kidnapped and married/bonded to a goblin/troll in order to fulfill a prophecy, living underground, etc. etc.) ... both are just disappointing. Wintersong was boring, Stolen Songbird is cringe-inducing with the characters. Their love was barely believable, they acted like idiots, on and on it goes. Not going to finish the rest of the series, sorry.

Very disappointed because the book description piqued my interest. The book is basically someone recalling events to a cleric. That took all the intensity and all the urgency out of the story. How wonderful and thrilling would it have been if we could have read about the events while they were happening, all the twists and turns and political machinations? Then again, I guess the story itself didn't have much meat to it so it would probably wouldn't have worked, but I'm still sorely disappointed that we got this lukewarm retelling rather than a novel of fantastic politic intrigue. It would have been nice to marvel at the intellect and wit of a character who must navigate a pit of enemies.

I went back on forth on whether to give this a lower rating or not. While I enjoyed the story, the main character can just be such a thoughtless jerk that I hated him half the time. I absolutely loved Oliver, though – he deserved better, and I wish I could have gotten a story just about him and someone else who treated him wonderfully.

Lovely story. I loved the hero and heroine – both were wholesome and so sweet to each other (THANK YOU for no/little angst because the two actually communicate PROPERLY. I am sick unto death of couples fighting all the time). Zylar is a breath of fresh air in a subgenre dominated by alpha jackasses, and I really enjoyed his character. He is so gentle and kind. Also, I loved Beryl. I loved her accepting attitude and her adaptability – she is NOT freaking out for half the book or doing dumbass things or spitting snarky comments to everyone like someone with no control, thank goodness! Snaps the dog was cute.

Only thing I wish was that we could have seen more of the trials instead of skipping quite a few stages; that was a little disappointing! But this story is one of the best SF romances, with actual good writing and not just scene after scene of sex, sex, sex like in a lot of other books in the genre. This is a favorite and a keeper. I'm going to re-read this for sure, and there are very few books I re-read (considering how many other books I have TBR).

Thanks to the RomanceBooks subreddit for constantly bringing this book up as a recommendation for SF romance! This really hit the spot!

Don't let the stereotypical long, complicated fantasy names deter you. This book is pretty special.

Re-read. It was 4 stars for me before but I enjoyed it quite a bit more this time, so 5 stars. The main character is a wholesome, good person – a truly good one, one of very few I've come across in fantasy.

This is the kind of book that quietly slips inside of you, simultaneously stealing your heart and warming your soul. Gentle and profound, beautiful, full of despair and hope and brilliance. Absolutely wonderful.

After such an amazing book description, it was a mega disappointment to sit down and read this novel.

All I could think while reading this book was that it was tiresome to read, disjointed, filled with flashbacks that you realize are pointless and not something the author put in to give you clues about anything, the characters are flat, and the story just didn't make sense. It was a meandering mess, and tries too hard to be both hard SF and literary — a combination that only wins if you're out to bore the shit out of people with stuffy, pretentious writing and wandering scenes. In addition, the author is so in love with throwing whatever technical or psychological factoid/know-how/whatever he had into the mix. This is my main complaint about a number of hard SF books — it's like hard SF writers write something just to get off on vomiting as much jargon as they possibly could, story or plot or characters be damned. I would be far more interested in learning or reading about whatever the heck technical crap is in your book if I actually gave a shit about anything you've written, but the way you write it means I don't, and then I get bored.

I hope there's another book (or more) in this series. I'm really enjoying the characters and would love to spend more time with the Vardeshi.

Heart-warming interactions but a plot that leaves you feeling cold and a little bit enraged, heh.

This is beautiful.