This was such a refreshing YA dystopian! As someone who often struggles with worldbuilding in books, I loved how rich the lore of this world felt without becoming convoluted or dumping information unnaturally onto the reader. The susinct chapters kept the story flowing throughout, especially during key moments between Natasha and Ella where we were aware of Ella's secrets but Natasha wasn't. The banter between the two of them was also immensely clever and created a natural chemistry from their early interactions, fueling their building bond that makes the later chapters feel more believable. Though I did love the bond between all the girls and the central romance, the star of the book for me was truly the environment and lore surrounding the storms and religious interpretations. Something about how the book left much to the imagination regarding the true ways people survived between storms, whether Natasha's mother's book's fairytales were real or not, and the fate of the impending flood felt deeply satisfying and made the world feel more real because there weren't clean, neat answers to everything. Ultimately I really enjoyed this read and would be interested in reading more books set in this world since I think there's still so much potential for more stories in it.

In this post-apocalyptic story, the waters are rising and an epic flood of proportions is coming. The only people guaranteed safe passage are the Kostrovian royals and their court, but not the lower court. Not the aerial silk royal fliers, which includes the principle flier Natasha. She’ll do anything to survive. So she goes in for the chance of being courted by the prince, Nikolai, but little does she know the girl she recruits for help has a different plan. Ella has no care for the flood, her sights are on revenge.

I love me a good dystopian and some good twists! This book was fast paced and based on the fear of survival. The characters and the unexpected romance were a nice touch to the story. Some parts were a bit childish and made my eyes roll but all in all I enjoyed the concept and deliverance of the story.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advanced copy! This was a 4/5 for me.

“She told me stories of girls who knew how to fly and girls who trusted each other and girls who trusted themselves.”

I completely enjoyed this sapphic fantasy with serious dystopian vibes. Court intrigue, revenge, love, secrets and aerial silk flyers make for a story that’s hard to put down. Everything I love about fantasy is layered beautifully in to a fast-paced dystopian world that is facing a devastating future.

I love the premise of Girls at the Edge of the World, the desperation and the knowing that there is only so much room on the Ark’s while impending doom is looming. It’s a terrifying concept but throw in personal stories of love and revenge and it rips at the heart. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed each narrator’s perspective as the flood neared and their desperation grew. I also really enjoyed the world building, to me, it was the chef’s kiss of the story, intricate and thought provoking.

I’m looking forward to what happens next! Thank you to Penguin Teen for this DRC in exchange for my review.

CW- homophobia, grief, death, murder, vomit
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Girls at the Edge of the World follows two girls as they race against time as an impending flood looms above them.
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At the very top of things we are not going to be do on June 8th is overlook this book. It is so wonderful and it is tragic that more people are not talking about it.
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I loved so much about this book, including, but not limited to-
- the sapphic relationship!
- the inclusion of aerial silks- as an aerialist this was so fun to read about!
- I-was-meant-to-kill-your-sorta-boyfriend-but-oops-I-think-I-am-in-love-with-you
-healthy female friendships
-snarky and sarcastic main character
-again, sapphics on SILKS!
- the world building!
- and the most adorable grumpy cat
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Anyway, I highly recommend this book and it deserves all of the love.
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Thank you to NetGalley and PenguinTeen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

**Girls at the Edge of the World**
How far are you willing to go in order to live?

Natasha and Ella both have to ask themselves this, just how much they are willing to lose of themselves in order to see a new world.
There’s only a few more Storms left until a flood is predestined to come and wipe out the Earth. Each kingdom is torn apart by those that fear the Storms prophecy and those that worship it. But with only a few seats left available on the fleets that will survive the flood, everyone is willing to see just what it takes to be one of the ships few passengers.

Natasha, principal flyer and courtesan of the prince. The girl who takes things to heart, is incredibly serious, and is always trying to maintain perfection.
Then there’s Ella. Who’s main goal is to kill the prince, make some friends, and enact revenge.
Two opposites, but both have a striking sense of determination and a will to protect their friends.

Though this book took me quite a bit to get through, I found it such an interesting concept. The world was so intricately built, that it would sometimes be a but hard to keep track of everything.
Yet, it still was easy to get lost in the world that the author created. Especially with characters that were so well rounded and unique.

The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of, was how the story ended so quickly. The pace of the book is rather slow, and then the last 40 pages is where EVERYTHING suddenly picks up- and it’s almost a bit too much to handle at once.

Despite this, I still think it’s a great book for someone that wants to read a sapphic high-fantasy about girls trying to survive a dying world.

Big thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in return of an honest review

It's not often I read a book that shocks me with its originality. "Girls at the Edge of the World" did.

In this sweeping, gorgeous fairy tale, two women — both on opposite paths — collide as their world ends around them. Ella, consumed by revenge, and Natasha, who is just trying to survive, fall in love when both thought they couldn't.

Everything about this novel swept me off my feet, from the increasingly high-stakes of a world-ending calamity, to the subtle magic woven in the world, to the preservation of tradition through "flying." I can't think of another book that I've read where as the world was ending, they weren't trying to find a way to stop it, but only to survive it. Just that subtle distinction made the novel so much better. And the background of politics and dissent and panic were fully formed and didn't feel as though they were only there for flavor. They served to push the story forward, to give voice to those who knew they would not survive the Flood. It was achingly beautiful and bittersweet.

My only complaint is the ending. Not that it was bad — I personally love how ambiguous the ending is, how you can hope for the best, but expect the worst. Its ending sentiment that it's better to have died while being free is so poignant. But I wish the ending had crescendoed just a tad longer. But even then this complaint is nothing compared to how much I loved the rest of the book.

I can't wait to have a physical copy of this book!

I really wanted to like this book. I like the idea of a F/F love story. I liked the idea of the flyers. I even liked the idea of the storms. But nothing happened in this book. The pace of the story was way too slow. I didn't connect in anyway to any of the characters. I got to the ending only to say "That was it?".

5/5 stars

I just finished this book and I am in shock. This book was incredible, I haven't read a fantasy like this in a long time.

The characters were pretty well characterized, except for some of the side characters. The romance was excellent. The pacing was so-so, while it was a bit slow in the beginning, the end and middle sections were at a great pace.

The Worldbuilding is also something I thought added a good element to the story. The world the novel is set in is very interesting and has lots of threads tied to it. I thought the author did a good job of explaining some things but leaving others a mystery.

This book really helped get me out of a fantasy reading slump, and I will forever be grateful to it for that. The novel as a whole was just one of a kind and I highly, highly recommend it!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel

I really enjoyed this book and have high hopes that this is going to be an amazing series! While chunks of this book did drag and I didn't connect with some of the characters as much as I wanted to, I loved how unique this story was. The last quarter of the book was fast paced and had me flipping pages, which is why I think the next book will be even better.

A flood like biblical times is coming and the royal family has so few arks that not everyone will be able to survive. Two performers for the royal court are our main characters. One who will do anything and everything to save her performers and get them a spot on the ship and a new performer who just wants revenge on the prince. I loved the plot of this, I just feel like it was missing the drama and action that I wanted to be there.

I am in love with this stunning cover and while I am not fully in love with the book, I will be continuing on with the series.

Loved the images of aerial silk performances, the worldbuilding and the history, the wondering which ancient writings are based in truth and which aren’t, the crumbling civilization faced with imminent catastrophe. I’m so interested to see where the story will go in the next book!

Girls at the Edge of the World took me for a ride and I so enjoyed it! While the pacing sometimes was a bit off, it ramped up strongly at the end and I absolutely fell in love with the characters. I especially loved badass women power in this book, which shows up in so many different ways and in multiple characters. The sapphic romance, while sometimes a little cheesy (I love cheesy though), was another favorite piece to this one.

My least favorite part is now I have to wait for the sequel!

Also the cover art for this one is gorgeous!

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Okay so I had to DNF this at 34%. I hate DNF'ing books with everything in me but gods I just couldn't get past two things. First, the pacing was so slow. 34% of the way in an basically nothing happened. Second, the dual perspective really wasn't working. Their voices were the same. With dual perspectives, the individuals personality shines through and you're able to easily tell whos narrating. That just wasn't the case here at all and I frequently had to go back a few pages to figure out who was narrating.

I do think that the general idea of the book is a good one, I just think it was poorly executed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Books for the e-galley.

This was a wild ride.

I want to preface this by saying this book had literally everything that I could ever ask for in a book. Queer main characters, a world filled with dangerous environments, and lots of secrets. Those are my trifecta, and this delivered.

I loved that there was teen girl romance. I feel like this is not touched on much, and am happy that more queer stories are able to be told and sold and marketed. Also, can we talk about all of the PUNS? I am a sucker for puns and omg, this was just everything.

Please read this!

To start, the world-building was immaculate. It set up the book perfectly. Every character was immensely strong and beautifully written. I also thoroughly enjoyed the language choices used in the book. The only thing that slightly was disappointing was the pacing. I feel as though certain parts dragged on, while others were cut too short.

thank you to penguinteen and netgallery for the arc!

WOW okay that was actually so so good. this book was on my list for most anticipated releases for 2021 and i practically screamed when i got the arc and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

i really liked the idea of the book, and it felt pretty well done. maybe a little too much plot and it felt a little messy at times, but it was enjoyable and easy to look past.

the romance also felt a little rushed at the end, i feel like the book focused more on the plot than the romance so it felt a little under-developed but i’m hoping we get to explore ella and natasha’s romance a little further in the next book! (which i am actually super excited for already)

there were a lot of characters in this book, and not all of them felt developed. i appreciate an author who isn’t afraid to cause their characters pain, but if you want the readers to hurt along with them, you have to make the readers connect with said characters.

but overall, this was really enjoyable and i practically raced through the last 100 pages because they were SO GOOD. definitely looking forward to the sequel!!

also that cover though... GORGEOUS😭