Review: Mindblowingly good
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 24, 2013
I received a reviewer's copy through Netgalley.This book is brilliantly constructed. I was immediately taken by how much it sucked me in. Ciacchella intimately trusts her reader, and she doesn't waste any words on explaining things, or infodumping. The world is handled as if we are as familiar with it as Dara is, and we truly see through her eyes. Enough context is given that what might be foreign concepts readily become clear, even though this is an entirely new world, with tons of phrases.There is so much new in this book, that it would almost be expected to have lots of infodumps and infosprinkles for us to understand, but there isn't and the book is so strong because of it.It really set the tone of "this is how things are, and you should just accept it" because that is exactly what Dara had to face.I can't say enough times how impressed I am. Because it was so skillfully woven, there was almost no distance between Dara and me. I always knew what she wanted, what her goals were, what her fears were, and why.Every aspect of the world is carefully crafted and intricately designed, but it is up to Dara (and us) to figure out how things really are.I read this in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.