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Master of One review
Feb. 6th, 2021 11:32 amI'm about to dive headfirst into a syncread of Everina Maxwell's Winter's Orbit with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hamsterwoman, ikel89, and cyanshadow (plus a few other people, I expect) (syncread post here, for my own reference), but before I immerse myself in Space Gays, I thought I'd get down my thoughts on my latest batch of Fantasy Gays, to make sure I do them justice. :D
Master of One, by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett, was another one I came across at work. It seemed to be a mildly entertaining popcorn read - a YA fantasy heist with a soupcon of queer romance. The professional reviews were good and there were no holds, so I thought, "why not?"
Hoo boy.
Maybe it was because I was coming off of a losing streak (To Sleep in a Sea of Stars shaded from Actually Bad to He's Trying, and Shadows Rising never rose beyond the level of middling fanfic) so anything even marginally good would spark joy, or maybe it was just a right place, right time thing. I'm not sure what it was, but I fell HARD for this book. Like, reading it was such an experience of pure and utter joy like I haven't felt in *years*. I've certainly read better books recently, but none that were as *fun*. This is exactly what would happen if you told Scott Lynch to re-write Six of Crows but Make It Queer. All of the delicious fantasy heist elements, snappy dialogue, creative swearing, and magnetic characters, with much less Teen Angst and virtually no meandering flashbacks.
( Extensive squee (spoilers abound...) )
TL;DR: I'm not sure I'm qualified to write an objective review on Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett's Master of One, because it apparently reaches deep into my id and presses every trope button I've got. It's occasionally a bit silly, but I'm afloat on a sea of Found Family/Battle Couple/honorable faerie knights/smartass Master Thieves/good queer representation/badass ladies/schemes/etc./etc./etc. I loved it wholeheartedly and I Cannot Fucking Wait for the sequel it's clearly setting up. :DDD
hamsterwoman, ikel89, and cyanshadow (plus a few other people, I expect) (syncread post here, for my own reference), but before I immerse myself in Space Gays, I thought I'd get down my thoughts on my latest batch of Fantasy Gays, to make sure I do them justice. :DMaster of One, by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett, was another one I came across at work. It seemed to be a mildly entertaining popcorn read - a YA fantasy heist with a soupcon of queer romance. The professional reviews were good and there were no holds, so I thought, "why not?"
Hoo boy.
Maybe it was because I was coming off of a losing streak (To Sleep in a Sea of Stars shaded from Actually Bad to He's Trying, and Shadows Rising never rose beyond the level of middling fanfic) so anything even marginally good would spark joy, or maybe it was just a right place, right time thing. I'm not sure what it was, but I fell HARD for this book. Like, reading it was such an experience of pure and utter joy like I haven't felt in *years*. I've certainly read better books recently, but none that were as *fun*. This is exactly what would happen if you told Scott Lynch to re-write Six of Crows but Make It Queer. All of the delicious fantasy heist elements, snappy dialogue, creative swearing, and magnetic characters, with much less Teen Angst and virtually no meandering flashbacks.
( Extensive squee (spoilers abound...) )
TL;DR: I'm not sure I'm qualified to write an objective review on Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett's Master of One, because it apparently reaches deep into my id and presses every trope button I've got. It's occasionally a bit silly, but I'm afloat on a sea of Found Family/Battle Couple/honorable faerie knights/smartass Master Thieves/good queer representation/badass ladies/schemes/etc./etc./etc. I loved it wholeheartedly and I Cannot Fucking Wait for the sequel it's clearly setting up. :DDD
