This felt a real let down.
Although the world building was well done and the actual story was enjoyable.
Unfortunately the characters and there relationships felt underdeveloped.

I SO enjoyed this read!! The action was fast-paced, the characters were complicated and lovable, and the plot had me guessing the whole way through!!

I really enjoyed the political aspect, and couldn't wait to see where it brought us.

I will absolutely be continuing with the series!

There’s a lot happening here and I would like to know how the story ends, but I encountered non-consent and assault (which wasn’t warned for) at the halfway mark and did not feel able to continue.

3.5 starts
I fell into a reading slump about 21% through this. No fault of this book, I was enjoying it, life just got crazy and reading became a chore. I picked this up again a few weeks later and fell right back into it.
The world building is simple, it just plays off our planet in the future, so it’s easy to imagine yourself there. My only issue was that I wasn’t sure if magic was present or not. There were parts where I thought it was and other parts where I thought the ‘abilities’ were science based. I wish that had been clearer.
I love, love, love the LGBTQ+ rep in this book. I can’t decide which character was my favourite as I enjoyed all of them. In all, a very solid first book from the author. I will seek out the sequels.
The author did a great job of listing any and all trigger warnings. It might have seemed like overkill but you never know what another has experienced.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this first book by this author. She had a lot of world building to do and she did it without bogging the story down. In fact, this was I think the most action packed novel I’ve read this year so far, with only a very thin enemies to lovers romantic plot.

Our main character is a mercenary named Damian in a futuristic world where everything has gone to shit. He works in what is effectively the slums, with a small merry band behind him. One of them is his lover Aris.

This book also had a killer internal magical world, known as the Voyance. It’s not just magic without consequences, though. Whether you use it as magic or not, the Voyance will eventually use up and kill its host.

When the president’s son helps blackmail Damian into working alongside him, it’s only a matter of time till the two of them start to bond, although the sniping lasts for the whole book.

The other side characters were present, though not particularly memorable.

When I heard that Empire of Light was described as “sweary, queer Firefly” I knew it was going to be up my alley. And I was right!


Empire of Light CoverDamian Nettoyer is the Empire’s go-to gun. He kills whoever they want him to kill. In exchange, he and his rag-tag gang of crooks get to live, and Damian’s psychokinetic partner and lover, Aris, isn’t issued a one-way ticket to an Empire-sanctioned lobotomy.

Then Damian’s latest mark, a suave revolutionary named Raeyn, kicks his ass and demands his help. The first item on the new agenda: take out Damian’s old boss—or Raeyn will take out Damian’s crew.

To protect his friends and save his own skin, Damian teams up with Raeyn to make his revolution work. As the revolution gains traction, Damian gets way too close to Raeyn, torn between the need to shoot him one moment and kiss him the next. But Aris slips further away from Damian, and as Aris’ control over his powers crumbles, the Watch catches on.

With the Empire, Damian had two policies: shoot first and don’t ask questions. But to save the guy he loves, he’ll set the world on fire. (Goodreads)
Goodreads

I received an eARC of Empire of Light from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Alex Harrow and I are also mutuals on Twitter.
Per the author, Empire of Light needs trigger warnings for graphic violence (including shootings, beatings, tasing, mild gore, depictions of a hanging, and an execution by burning), explicit sexual content (including mentions of sex work, a sexual relationship that begins in a negotiated contract for sexual services, and on- and off-page descriptions of explicit sexual situations involving bondage, control, mild pain play, and Dominant/submissive dynamics), trauma (including allusion to past physical and sexual abuse, and a depiction of a panic attack), deaths of supporting characters (including a young teen, mentions and depiction of assisted suicide, and one queer character who is a person of color), as well as substance abuse (alcohol, smoking, drugs, and a mention of an overdose).

The entirety of Empire of Light is focused on found family and protecting the ones you love. As you’ll know, I am a huge fan of found families in fiction and in reality. Harrow did a great job at making this family feel real with complicated interpersonal relationships that will break your heart. I do wish we had gotten to know a few of the family members more, but Harrow makes the reader feel like they’re a part of the family.

The action scenes are beautifully written and the main plot line is complex enough to keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. It will leave you wondering.

I really enjoyed Empire of Light and I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequels.You can pick up a copy on Amazon.

This novel is beautiful and gives voice to LGBTQ+ that is rare in today's world. Branded as "gay firefly with magic," Harrow delivers adventure, romance, and humor, all within great writing. There are over three hundred instances of the f-word, which may not be for every reader, however.

3.5 stars

This one was a ride. I'm honestly not exactly sure where to start with this review. There was so -much- crammed into this that I'm not sure I'll feel any assessment quite does it justice.

The pros:
-I enjoyed the world building. It was an interesting sort of sci-fantasy dystopia. Definitely really intriguing and well put together.
-The atmosphere. This one was gritty and I felt it. Very sensory, sounds, smells, tastes. It was immersive dragged me into it and washed me along for the ride.
-The story itself was a wild sort of political mess with a lovely enemies to lovers arc right in the middle of all the rest.
-I really enjoyed Raeyn. I felt for him, perhaps in a way more than I did for Damian even though with first person the entire thing was seen through Damian's eyes.

The cons:
-Wow a lot happened. This was good in that it kept me there a bit on the edge of my seat but a con in that it was almost too much. This was fast paced and though my reading has been spotty and slower than usual so far this year it was still almost exhausting to read.
-Violence. There's lots of it and no shying away from it. It's as vivid and immersive as the rest of it so though I didn't personally mind much it was almost hard to cope with.
-There were parts of the twists and turns that were nearly confusing, and things that I really would have liked to see better explained. As it looks like this is the beginning of a series, though, I will expect those to be dealt with as it progresses.

Overall, I liked this one. It was not at all the light pick-me-up sort of read I might have needed just at the moment but there was never any question at all of not finishing it. Slow reading and all I did quite enjoy it. I do like this sort of thing: the action, the intrigue, the tense relationships were all right up my alley.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future books. I'd really like to know what happens next. And hopefully see more of Raeyn and Damian. So to me this was a solid 3.5 stars, not flawless but definitely very enjoyable.

Hey friends and fam! Crazy times we live in, right? I mean, it’s MARCH and there’s over two feet of snow in my yard, the economy is in shambles, spicy chicken nuggets are back at Burger King . . . . (Alas, I’ve betrayed my one true weakness: THEY’RE ONLY 1.50$ FOR A TEN PIECE GUYS, YOU THINK I’M ABOVE BUYING FIVE BUCKS’S WORTH OF NUGGETS? I’M NOT. I’M TRULY NOT.)

Anyways, it’s with this in mind that I come to talking about the cool, hip, and all-around amazing book of the week, EMPIRE OF LIGHT by Alex Harrow!

First things first, this cover is beautiful. Second thing, Alex Harrow is one of my personal heroes and I love following them on Twitter and seeing how they navigate the world as a schoolteacher while being genderqueer and all around Not Straight and Not Cis. (Gently prods my professor daydreams that have withered and died because I’m too scared to come out to any college that could employ me, lmao.)

ANYWAYS . . . this book (once I get money) will have a nice, prominent place on my shelf in any home I own. Not only because it’s gay as hell (which it is), but because it does one thing better than anything else I’ve read: it personalizes a revolution.

I know, I know, but let me explain. Throughout the story, our protagonist Damian is motivated by very few things, the key one being that he wants his found family and his boyfriend safe. Anything he does, you can trace it to that key thread. Damian even admits to himself (and to us, the reader) that he takes jobs from the head of the Watch solely because he knows he can keep her attention on him and away from Aris (who is said boyfriend).

And then? And then? We get to see what happens when everything is for naught and everyone he loves gets hurt or killed anyways.

His motivation for everything is so inescapably personal that quite a bit of the political stuff doesn’t matter to us. We’re deeply entrenched in Damian’s perspective, and we feel every punch, take every hit, and mourn every loss with him. To the point that we don’t need to know anything else to know that whatever system is hurting him in this way needs to change.

God, what a read guys. Check it out – it’s out now! And check out the podcast ep on iTunes, Spotify, and Awesound!

I really enjoyed this book, the world was very unique and the characters were well developed. What I liked about this book is that the science fiction elements were very easy to understand but also very enjoyable to read. The main characters were also great.

An exciting book from a debut author! I'll look forward to seeing what queer offerings Harrow has to give in the future.

I loved it but don’t think I could go through that again. From broken pasts to fragile futures, Damian has a small group he’d do anything to protect. I liked the shadows, their little makeshift family. Not too keen on Aris but I did like Raeyn with his ‘darling’ drawl. I liked how everything played out in the end but the rollercoaster had more than enough surprises. Felt a bit like a sci-fi wild west. Contains death, romance, a little smut and plenty of guns.

I enjoyed Damians snarky narrative, but I never got super attached to him despite his tragic back story. I loved how inclusive and diverse this book was, but I wasnt a fan of the main male/male romance. I enjoyed the enemies to lovers romance that happened later a lot more. I still think it would have been even better had the first romance already been over when the story began. I just didnt like Aris all that much, but Raeyn did eventually grow on me. As for Jay, she was my favorite character and I wish we got more of her. I also really liked their old blind leader Iltis. I was excited for the whole found family trope, but the direction it went in was pretty disapointing. I also felt like some of the characters decisions didnt make a whole lot of sense.

Despite the fast pace I was easily able to put this down and read something else. Theres a fair amount of plot twists, but since I wasnt completely invested they never really had that major shock factor. A couple of them were unexpected, but that doesnt mean I was happy with the results. I feel like some of the conflicts could have been cleared up with more communication. Im all for action and violence, but since there was so much of it the stakes lost its intensity after a while. It also took away from time spent on the world and the characters. I really think some elements could have used a bit more development. I did enjoy the blackmail and all the political scheming. The writing wasnt always very clear and consice, but I still managed to read this in a couple days.

I thought this was going to be a space scifi, but its definitely more of a dystopian set years in the future. The entire world is supposedly low on resources and was consolidated into one government after the last huge war, but it didnt really feel that way. I never got the impression that the government was controlling the world, but more like a small country. As for resources, they talked about using gasoline a couple times so I dont know how low the resources really were. I also wanted to know where the psychokinetic powers called the voyance came from. I did like that it had consequences though. I have a feeling the sequel might have more world building, but with the way the ending wrapped up I dont think Ill be continuing on with the series. It almost felt like a standalone and Im fine with leaving it at that.

*This Book Will Also Be Featured In My Monthly Wrap Up & February Book Haul In The Next Few Days

3.5 STARS.

This was an okay book for me for the most part. I was drawn to this book because of an LGBTQ theme, but the story offers more than that. It's a fast-paced book that offer the readers a distinct taste of a dystopian scfi-fi fantasy. Lines may blur but the book's theme is what sets it apart from other books.

I couldn't wait to read the next books in the series. I hope that the next ones will be better than the first one, but Empire of Light definitely set the tone on what the plot of the series would take.

I'd recommend this for lovers of sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopian with a dash of queer!

An absolute must read. Empire of light was everything I could ask for in a dystopian novel. There was tons of fast paced action, mystery, danger and a romance that broke my heart and pieced it back together. I loved the MC, and his story was unforgettable.

actual rating: 2.5

This was an okay book and I enjoyed parts of it, but for whatever reason it just never really clicked for me. I think part of is that I often find sci-fi difficult to get into and the plot moved incredibly fast so I never felt like I actually knew what was going on. With all the focus on action and plot, the characters seemed a bit two dimensional to me and a lot of their actions didn't make sense to me [the ending I thought was especially weird]. I think it was more that I was in a weird mood while reading it and also unfortunately rereading a book in my favorite series that has a similar snarky narration style, so I often found myself just thinking about that book while I was trying to focus on this. Also all the trigger warnings made it sound like it was going to be MUCH more messed up than it actually was so I think I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't as dark as I was expecting as well. Still, these are all really more personal problems than any actual shortcomings with the book and I'm sure that a lot of people will find it much more enjoyable than I did.

To start off, huge kudos to the author for making the trigger warnings really clear in this book!

To those who enjoy a more calm and sedate pace through the galaxy look elsewhere, because this wild ride gallops through scenes in a blur. Whilst it's certainly not boring, I sometimes would have liked a little more time in scenes before the characters rushed off to do something else.

It certainly never had a chance to get boring, but I would have appreciated more time with some of the reveals before hurrying on to the next problem. The main characters were generally likable, though many of the side characters didn't have the same sense of realism. It may be due to the pacing not giving them enough time to do anything, though.

Empire of Light is the kind of book that doesn't let you breathe. In spite of that, it manages to not become soulless like too many plot-driven, action-packed books do, because the main relationships are developed, dynamic and interesting.

The main character we get to follow is fun, but there is more simmering beneath the surface of the light-hearted Damian. He is an assassin for hire and as he grows apart from Aris, his unstable magical lover, and gets closer to the mysterious man named Raeyn, One thing I have to mention was that I found the development between Damian and Aris' relationship very fascinating to read about. Many books that I have read have an interesting and intriguing storyline following two characters who get together, but very few times have I read a story about a relationship falling apart that felt both real and very compelling.

This is one colorful ride with queer characters, demisexual and pansexual characters and I LOVE IT.

Woah there Nellie! This book is mile a minute! Those who enjoy a more sedate pace through the galaxy look elsewhere, because this wild ride gallops through scenes in a blur. Whilst it's certainly not boring, I sometimes would have liked a little more time in scenes before the characters rushed off to do something else!
The focus is definitely on action.
It felt classic (if rushed) space opera, with convulsed lines of plotting and backstabbing and all the intrigue of a medieval fantasy series - but in space!
I'd argue the pacing is a little to the books detriment, as most of the characters (apart from the main three) didn't really feel 3d to me. Also we didn't get any time with them!
The world building is pretty darn good though, and it's always good to see more mlm in sci fi.
Recommended for people who enjoy space opera.

Sci-fi, assassins, intrigue and explosions, what more could you really ask for? I will say, though, this was an extremely fast paced book. It certainly never had a chance to get boring, but I would have appreciated more time with some of the reveals before hurrying on to the next problem. The main characters were generally likable, though many of the side characters didn't have the same sense of realism. It may be due to the pacing not giving them enough time to do anything, though. There were a LOT of twists and it got a bit difficult to keep track of, to be honest. I will say I would watch the hell out of this as a movie, though!

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, on February 15]

“Quiet moments? I don't know them”
― Empire of Light, probably

The author says they write "queerness with a chance of explosion" and - for this book at least - that's such an understatement. This is probably the most frenzied book I've ever read.

Empire of Light is the first book in a very queer futuristic sci-fantasy series. This first book felt like a fast-paced dystopian focused on a m/m/m love triangle to me, but I think that as the series goes on, "dystopian" could become a restrictive term to describe it. I love stories that blur the lines between genres.

As I mentioned before, what stood out to me the most about this book was how it never slowed down. The characters were almost always getting shot at, and when they weren't getting shot at, they were having sex. I haven't seen so many shooting and explosion scenes since Zero Sum Game, and just like I said about that book, I think Empire of Light would work well on a screen. However, as this book tries to pull off a lot of plot twists - some better executed than others, I have to say - the "getting shot at" parts got somewhat confusing sometimes.
I could say that this book would have benefited from slowing down, but every pacing choice has its own advantages: I'm in a slump, and I flew through this, and I managed to do that because Empire of Light is the kind of book that doesn't let you breathe. In spite of that, it manages to not become soulless like too many plot-driven, action-packed books do, because the main relationships are developed, dynamic and interesting.

This novel is mainly impossible to sum up because of spoilers and the amount of political intrigue, backstabbing and twists there are, but I can say that it is about Damian, an assassin for hire, as he grows apart from Aris, his higly-unstable magical lover, and gets closer to a mysterious revolutionary named Raeyn. I found the development of Damian and Aris' relationship fascinating. I have read many (and still not enough, because the "many" isn't "most") books that have an interesting storyline following two characters who get together, but I have never read a story about a relationship falling apart that felt so real and compelling at the same time.

However, I can't say the same about the side characters, and the aspects in which this book fell flat to me are all related to the side characters. They were flat, underdeveloped, and I didn't feel anything about them when they inevitably died.
Also: I really appreciated the diversity and I'm glad I found another mostly-queer if not all-queer book, with a demisexual main character and prominent supporting characters who are polyamorous no less, but... the fact that the queer black girl died sacrificing herself for the main character didn't sit well with me. The main character is a queer person of color himself and there are trigger warnings at the beginning which explicitly tell you that's going to happen, but I kept thinking that wasn't necessary at all.
Also, at some point I was really annoyed by the fact that all women were either evil or dead, and while that got somewhat better by the end of the novel, I'd like m/m books to remember that it would still be nice if they passed the Bechdel test sometimes.