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The last extra story bumped this up a star for offering a really intriguing twist, but the story as a whole ultimately ended up up falling short by trying to be five different things at once.

Do you like slow-paced court intrigue and political backstabbing? An arranged marriage of two estranged men, both of whom would rather flay themselves alive than talk about their feelings? And they’re both assholes? Then this is the book for you.

Vol. 1 of this duology starts off slow and plodding. It took me a while to get all of the factions and characters to stick in my head. Think of Game of Thrones but with less hand-holding. It’s still a good time, and I like how morally dubious the two leads are. Like they’re just wretched guys, but they have to be to have ascended so far up the ladder. Looking forward to the second part. Think of this rating as a rounded-up 3.5. The prose got a little too vague in some parts.

Absolutely fabulous collection here, some of the best and most original xenofiction I’ve come across in recent years. It’s worth it alone for the story set in Gaza.

This is my first novel from Choo, and I’m very excited to dip into her other works! Her writing style is a treat to experience.

I can understand some reader’s notes on how slow the pacing is in this. I personally quite enjoyed it, a thriller that’s almost leisurely in getting from point A to B.

This is a really tough one to rate, to be honest. I can tell that it came from a personal place (what stories like this don’t?) but so much of it just didn’t work for me.

I think my two strongest complaints are that the interludes between chapters (especially the Ao3 fic omg) don’t stick the landing and end up feeling a bit too fake. I’m not sure why they’re there. To provide context that we’d otherwise get from the narrative? I don’t know.

What really hurts this book is that we don’t see either character really work on themselves, when that should have been the point in the first place.

I still liked it, but the problems are ones I can’t really ignore.

God, what a fun series this was. I love how this final book has so many little extra postscript stories as a send-off, even if they’re all shockingly atonal to the main story lmao.

Really fun read!! Loved the mythos and set-up. I think the only minor gripes I have are that the love interest feels a bit stock, and the ending wraps up in a way that feels too neat, but this is still quite fun. Rounding up from a 3.5.

Not bad by any means, but oh man was this one my least favorite so far. It’s like a test of psychological endurance waiting for these two to acknowledge their mutual feelings already.

Tons of story developments are happening at a breakneck pace to the point where it can be difficult to keep track of where everyone is - I’m kind of surprised that there’s still more than one book ahead. We’ll get there!

We’re reaching soap opera worthy twists and I’m just having the best time of my life with them.

GOSH this has such a strong concept and set-up to it. I love the idea of a cannibal pandemic, and the weird sociological upheaval that comes with coping with the aftermath.

Unfortunately, without giving anything away, I found the climax a bit lacking by comparison. I’m also personally not the biggest fan of how our protagonist is somehow completely oblivious to how her best friend 100% reciprocates her crush.

Sensual gambling, tragic political coups, and a little underworld mayhem for giggles - we’ve got it all here, lads.

I’ve been very excited to tuck into this series, or really just any of this author’s work after seeing so much fanart of the leads.

This is lovely, a light fantastical romp and a hell of a slow burn. I love how fun the narration is, with a light sense of cynicism feigning gravitas.

You can definitely tell that this was a web novel, or at least serialized like one. It’s paved very episodically, but that’s not a bad thing. Just different.