I've been eagerly awaiting this book since loving Kolsch's debut novel, now conjuroros, last year. That one was a big surprise to me, a five star read I wasn't expecting.

So whilst this one wasn't quite a five star, I did really enjoy it. Something about Kolsch's writing is very evocative. She can really hone in on a time and place in a really unique way. I can just picture her towns, this very specific time in america. The reason this wasn't a five star like the previous novel however is because I didn't feel quite as attached to the characters emotionally.

Once it really got into the story I loved the idea of this rag tag group of queer kids trying to save the world (definitely prominent also in conjurors) and I felt like I did get to know them through their dynamic, especially Jasper and Alex. I do however think I felt somewhat detached from KJ, which is a shame because she's literally the love interest and catalyst for the whole novel. I think because we didn't get any flashbacks to these kids just meeting or hanging out the way we did with conjurors, it just lacked that connection to me. I never saw KJ as truly being herself as she's always being mind controlled for the majority of the novel. We don't see her and Darian falling in love, so I just didn't feel it.

However, I loved the rest of it. Honestly Kolsch is an amazing writer. I loved Senovak too. She's just so good at painting a picture of these characters, slightly odd people or who have layers you wouldn't expect. Queer people deep in the heart of america, in the 90's just on the cusp of the world changing. It's such a unique setting and she just pulls it off beautifully.