Thanks to net galley.com and Serial Box Publishing for the advance ARC copy for my honest review.

Really like the author Alaya Dawn Johnson writing, her style works perfectly for a intertwining storyline, the pace is perfect through out the episode and puts you in the pages.

Have always liked it best when Kaab plays a bigger role in the episode, she's slowly putting it all together as too, who is stealing from her family and the Traders of the Kinwiinik and the storyline to this is keeping me reading season 2.

Micah, Vincent and Tess just add to the storyline. With Rafe working for his family's business now, he's more likable and keep waiting for Diane to get busted or do something that will make Kaab expose her for what she really is.

POV – 3rd person, multi character, often omni-present
Would I read it again – Yes!
Genre – LGBT, Fantasy, Serial, Historical, Coming-of-Age, Queer
Content Warning – mild violence, sexual situations, adultery/cheating, prostitution
Orientations – MM, MF, FF



** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **



I love the world building of this series, and the talented writers who bring it all together, but I was left heartbroken by the events of Season One and I'm hopeful that Season Two will at least offer some relief from that. I'm coming straight into this, just an hour after finishing Season One, so it's all fresh in my mind. There are still the infrequent issues of editing mistakes, changes of tense that don't always make sense, as were in Season One, but the recurring issue of font change has been eliminated, which is a relief.

Because of the format Netgalley sent, or perhaps because of how Kindle interprets them, the formatting for the first half of this series of ARC's was terrible. The documents had either one or two lines then a line of gapping, repeated throughout and it wasn't only hard on the eyes, but made it more difficult to follow in terms of flow. The second half were much better formatted.

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Episode 5: Alive and Home Here, by Alaya Dawn Johnson

★★★★☆
Pages: 45

Hmm, this is such an interesting one. Again, a lot going on, a lot of questions answered, but even more asked. And still no sight or sound of dear Will, or the end to Rafe's own lovesick madness. I can only imagine the fallout when he discovers the truth, and who was all involved in keeping that truth from him. It's going to be Hell on earth, once he has it all pieced together. Even more so if there's no saving Will. Which there's no guarantee of.
Vincent and Reza's storyline here was gutwrenching. I knew it would be, but I still wasn't prepared for just how hurt Vincent was by their past together. I can't wait to find out more.
Diane, as ever, is a spider weaving her web and carefully playing the pieces on her chessboard, watching them do her bidding while never realising just how expertly they're being manipulated.
Lots of good things going on here, but I don't understand the sudden shift to present tense for the last two scenes. It's something that happens infrequently throughout the entire Tremontaine series, but has only ever made sense once.

Favourite Quote

“Vincent turns to disengage. He says in Chartil, low enough that only Reza can hear him: “Are you trying to kill me or remind me of why I left?””

I enjoyed this book, the fifth part in the second series as it was really developing the story, I am enjoying the plot and the characters - looking forward to the sixth part

This was so good! Fun, engaging and poignant in turn. I really enjoyed the interactions between Kaab and Tess. I thought in general it was the best the series has been at getting into Kaab's head (and the difference was striking, really, perhaps enough to make this my favourite episode so far). The dilemma of choosing between family and love. The way love may not be enough. The prose in general was really beautiful. I even enjoyed spending time with Rafe (less so with Artul), and that's a first. The only plotline I really didn't care about was Reza and Vincent Applethorpe, but I'm just not that into swordmen (which I guess is a problem, given the series is into them, a lot).

It made me more interested in Alaya Dawn Johnson's own novels.