Reading

Cindy does a wonderful job storytelling while staying vulnerable and authentic. Just like the art referenced throughout the book. As someone who moved out at 18 and grew up as the youngest in a complicated family, a lot of this really resonated with me. The more time you spend away from home, the more your thoughts and philosophies can drift apart, and it’s easy for disagreements to creep in. But at the end of the day, what really holds families together is love, shared memories, and the willingness to not give up on each other.

This book felt like a sweet reminder of that and totally something I’ll revisit every now and then. It was a great read on my flight back to San Francisco. Thanks, Cindy!

With all that hype surrounding it, I tried hard not to go in biased. When everyone you talk to is raving about the same book, it’s easy to expect too much or sway in a particular direction. But one reason I think I genuinely enjoyed it is the way I ended up reading it. I started it in the new year, during a stretch when life was EXTREMELY busy, so I wasn’t binge-reading it in long sittings. Most days, I only had about 20 to 40 minutes during my commute to make progress. Even with the frequent breaks and lack of continuity, I kept wanting to come back to it. That alone feels like a strong signal of how much I enjoyed the book, and I’d honestly put it in my top three books of all time.

At a high level, this book really reminded me of Peaky Blinders. The main character, Kaz, in particular, gave me strong Tommy Shelby vibes. I’ve watched Peaky Blinders but haven’t seen Shadow and Bone, so I can’t really compare the shows, but the descriptions of the Barrel, the gangs, the Dregs, and that whole ecosystem instantly made me think of Peaky Blinders. Since I absolutely loved that show for so many reasons, this made the book really easy (and fun!) to sink into right away.

Speaking about characters, Leigh Bardugo does a really good job building them throughout the story, and what I appreciated most was how she slowly unpacks everyone in parallel while keeping everything relevant to the plot. At various points, she reveals just enough about a character without answering all the questions, which keeps you thinking about what’s still missing and what’s coming next. If I had to pick one character, Inej would be my favorite, even though Kaz is clearly meant to be the central figure. Without dropping any spoilers, Inej is an extremely mysterious character with a deep past. Throughout the story, she puts on a brave face and comes across as someone who is incredibly reliable and always pulls through in the toughest moments. At the same time, we get these small but powerful glimpses into her past that explain her vulnerabilities and fears really well, and even the way the author chooses to reveal them is beautiful. Not to be corny, but there were a lot of moments where I quietly saw myself in her and maybe that's why I really enjoyed her character.

And it’s not just the individual characters. Bardugo does a great job building chemistry between them too. A big reason a lot of people love this book is that there are two romantic arcs unfolding in parallel. One is a VERY VERY VERY well-done enemies-to-friends arc that straight up reminded me of Bridgerton (SORRRYYY, I hate constantly drawing parallels to shows because it feels unfair). The other has a completely different dynamic, and it’s honestly so satisfying to watch one love story move fast while the other is a super slow burn. Beyond the couples, there’s also the Jesper–Wylan duo, which is just genuinely fun to watch develop over the course of the book. All in all, Leigh does a really good job managing both individual characters and character dynamics throughout the story.

In terms of general writing, there are so many snippets in the book that are so well-timed and well-written that I kept taking photos of my physical copy and sending them to my roommate. What really surprised me later was seeing how she had highlighted a lot of the exact same lines on her Kindle. That felt like a great testament to the strength of the writing and how consistently it strikes a chord, making readers empathize with the characters and stay fully immersed in the story.

Yes, I absolutely enjoyed the book and would still stick to my five-star rating, but there were a couple of things I didn’t love as much. Early on, especially in the first chapter or two, it was kinda difficult to fully wrap my head around the world. Once I got past that, though, the book really picked up pace. I also wasn’t personally that invested in some of the finer details around the Ice Court. The plot itself was great and I genuinely couldn’t predict what was going to happen, but there were moments where I caught myself skimming certain descriptions. That said, these are pretty minor nits, and I wouldn’t change my rating because of them.

Overall, this book lived up to the hype in a way that doesn’t happen very often. If nothing else, it’s the kind of book that makes you want to talk about it with everyone around you, and honestly, that’s probably the highest compliment I can give it.

To some extent, the author tries to do this through how the sections are laid out, but once I got into it, the book felt more like a brain dump or a long, poorly written research paper than an actual book. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of useful information here, and plenty of data to back up the author’s hypotheses, definitely more than what’s in the video. But it’s a tough read. The same ideas feel repeated, and the constant jumping between topics makes it hard to follow and, at times, a bit boring.

I’m giving it 2 stars. The effort to compile all this information is clear, and the content itself is useful, but it’s not a particularly pleasant or enjoyable read.

compare the two. I tend to appreciate books for the depth and details, while visual media often elevates the storytelling by adding new dimensions to the characters and settings. That contrast is especially fascinating in science fiction. For this specific book, I’m already curious to see how certain characters translate to the screen, particularly someone like Stratt. She isn’t central to the plot for most of the book, but the glimpses we get into her character during different phases leave a strong impression and it’s something I am excited to experience visually.

Zooming out a bit, what I really enjoyed at a meta level is that the story isn’t framed as “aliens vs. humans.” Instead, it’s about humans and an alien species coming together to solve a shared problem that threatens both of their planets. It’s cooperation over conflict, problem-solving over warfare, and that felt refreshing. The relationship between Rocky and Grace is the emotional core of the book for me, and I genuinely can’t wait to see how that dynamic is handled in the movie.

When the book first sets up the plot, it presents this almost “idealistic version” of humanity: countries putting aside differences, the smartest people on Earth pooling their knowledge, and everyone aligning to fight a common threat, fast and effectively. I say “idealistic” very intentionally, because a lot of this would realistically fall apart in the real world. Still, given how doomed things often feel with current global politics, wars, and international tension, this was a nice escape. Sad, because it seems like humans only come together when there’s a massive, shared enemy. That said, the book doesn’t completely sugarcoat things. We do get glimpses of how ugly it could get in a worst-case scenario where countries turning on each other, fighting over resources, chaos breaking out. Stratt’s pep talk to Grace touches on this, and I appreciated how grounded and honest that moment felt.

As for Ryland Grace himself, I think he’s handled well. Yes, he’s clearly brilliant, and as a reader you know he’s going to figure things out. But he’s also flawed and vulnerable in ways that make him feel real. One of the more striking examples is the reveal that he was deeply unwilling to go on the mission and was essentially forced into it. That context reframes a lot of his actions. The ending, though, completely caught me off guard. Watching him choose to go back for Rocky, to save Rocky’s planet, when he was so close to returning home was both unexpected and powerful. I didn’t see it coming at all. It’s definitely dramatic, but I never imagined he’d end up spending his life as a teacher on an entirely different planet. That ending, combined with his overall character transformation, honestly pushed my rating up a bit.

That said, the book isn’t perfect. There were stretches where the pacing felt slow, and I found myself slogging through certain sections. While I really appreciated how much (not all) of the story is grounded in real physics, and you can absolutely tell the author knows what he’s doing, it does get dense. I caught myself revisiting high school and college physics concepts just to fully grasp what was going on. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does make the book heavier and more demanding than some readers might want.

Overall, it was a great read and I just cannot wait to watch the movie!