🔥Hold Fast Through the Fire by K.B. Wagers🔥

•This story was such a great and unique one. I definitely think K.B. Wagers had a great writing style. In all honesty I don’t really read Science Fiction, but I really was intrigued by this cover and wanted to give it a go.

Such a great premise and such likeable characters. I really do think this story was so fascinating. Also, I was instantly hooked towards the end. Personally, I didn’t really feel attached to the story at the beginning because there was a fighting scene that I thought was a bit boring. The second half definitely did make up for it. I really enjoy those books that have a character driven focus and let me tell you this one is one of those. I really did enjoy these characters.

However, I’m giving this book a 3⭐️ because it felt a bit too flat for me. I tend to not read these genre because of the times the world it’s set on is too vague. I don’t think this was one of them, but I think the story just didn’t really appeal to me as much as I wanted to. The main focus I’m giving it a three star was because of the pansexuality/transsexuality in this book. Do I think the idea of it in these characters and story was a great addition? Yes, absolutely! Do I think it was handled and directed the best way it could’ve been? No. I know it sounds harsh, but I really wish it would’ve been better presented.

Ultimately, this was definitely out of my comfort zone. Considering the first half felt dull, I still enjoyed it overall. The ending was great! I also really liked the characters. I would still recommend this if you’re very into science fiction!•

{Huge thank you to NetGalley, Harper Voyager, and K.B. Wagers for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review.}

Most Japanese books I've read have a list of names, grouped by organizations or people living in a particular place. The idea behind this is to help you keep track of all characters and know where they belong, be it a police precinct or a specific family. It might have to do something with the characters used, but that just speculation on my part. So when I started reading Hold Fast Through the Fire and found such a list, I was excited. My excitement, short lived. The list was meant to indicate pronouns, for instance, a woman would be referred to others as "he", a man, as "they". I don't know much about the correct grammar used when talking to or about pansexuals/transexuals, so what looked to me like a mistake, might not be one: a man referred to as "They" by others, used "me" when referring to himself, and not "us". Not used to reading a book written in this fashion, it took a while to get past it. Maybe is just me, but a bad story doesn't magically turn into a good one, just by adding pansexuals/transsexuals left and right into the mixture, this story did so.

[Blurb goes here]

As you might have guessed from my earlier rant, I didn't read the first book in the series. That being said, I think that behind all the "let's add as many genders as humanly possible", there's a good story, not a great one. The first half of the book seems lazy. One fight scene in particular could have been amazing, but ended up being flat. The story builds up in the second half, which I enjoyed throughout. This is a character driven story, characters evolve as the story progresses. If you are a fan of K. B. Wagers, this is a most read. Sadly, I didn't turned into one by reading Hold Fast Through the Fire. I had fun, though, but not enough to continue reading the series.

Thank you for the free copy.

K.B. Wagers is one of my favorite authors.  The NeoG series is a wonderful trip into the future of humanity.  This book expands on the universe built in the previous novel and connects to the overarching plot.  You can feel the story building up to something explosive.  The personal relationships between characters really drives the story.  The interactions feel organic, not forced.  It's a seriously fun adventure that keeps you guessing what's going to happen next.  The only thing I can find fault with is the cover art.  It does not do justice to the brilliance of the story.

This impeccable 2nd entree in the Neo-G series is even better than the first. There is fun, adventure, political intrigue, and more. Max and the gang are back together for more shenanigans, joined by Nika. Everything is not as they hoped, though, as Nika and Jenks's partners are working with Intelligence on a mission impacting Max & co. Their new recruit is also tangled up everthing, lying to the team to try to protect their family.

As usual, Wagers manages to tear your heart out and put it back together again. Even though I saw one of the plot twists coming, it didn't stop the emotional impact of watching it play out.