Amanda

$3CR3T $@NT@ and The Same Backwards as Forward were my favorites in this collection. The rest were good too and I loved getting to know more about the characters! Pacing was great despite all the stories being different. The only thing I found annoying was the first person POV changes not being clear early on but not a big deal.

This was oddly more thought provoking than I anticipated. There were lots of relevant-to-life concepts about knowledge, acquiring it, and using it. The fiction got a little too philosophically real at times. 🤣

The first 50% felt terribly slow. The early setting was simple and easy to understand. Normally, yes, the early exposition in fantasy makes sense, but not so much here. There’s dust and books- not difficult to wrap your head around.

The POV changes right as things are getting interesting in one POV were also jarring. It felt like watching an episode with a cliffhanger at the end- “but wait, there’s more!” That formula works well for visual media but was annoying to read.

Ironically, but very relevant- having a lot of knowledge didn’t seem to do anyone much good. Also, I really want a Mechanism.

Slow, slow start followed by an engaging ending, just like book 1. I’m pretty much just reading the story for Wendell and Shadow at this point so I’m looking forward to the next part of the story in book 3. I only hope the entirety of book 3 will be written more like the ending bit of book 2 than the beginning. Please, no more slow starts. 🥲

This was an adorable, lighthearted read that was amusing at times. I relate well to characters who are not very socially inclined but seem to have been taken under the wing of an extrovert.

There was a bit of adventure in the second half, but overall a delightfully easy read! I’m looking forward to the next books to see what other journeys Emily finds herself on!