This was an amazing book!
The world and magic system Kate Dylan built was so unique! I have to confess that it took me a while to truly understand the gray and the in-betweens. But once I did, boy, I was in for a ride!
The writing flows, the characters hook you from the very beginning, and the heist, the betrayals, the secrets... it had me on my toes and I just couldn't wait to finish this book.
I loved it!

"But didn't anyone ever tell you? We're always in between something".

Couple of editing issues chapter 24 and on page 304 it says "saym", just wanted to bring to your attention


Overall I really enjoyed this story, the magic system is new and exciting with twists to keep you on your toes. The main character Cemmy is sometimes so relatable it hurts with complex relationships that strain against one another.

At its core this book is about a hiest the crew is first and foremost blackmailed into, until they realise not going through with it will also kill them. The ending twists were carefully built up to with this crew stuck in between the warring bodies of the Church and the Council (full of Shades who have full magic).

The magic system is fresh, the idea of Shades and Hues is very interesting and though it took a while to grasp what the different colours meant it was very compelling and made the plot all the more intresting.

I don't think I have ever enjoyed side characters so much since Six of Crows. I especially loved the representation of a deaf character. Each member of the crew are equally distinguishable from one another, with a different and intresting Hue ability that makes them incredibly engaging.

In a world where colors are power and shadows are deadly, Kate Dylan created a world full of spellbinding characters and adventure. This was such a fun read! It's been so long since I've read a YA adventure book and Kate Dylan did not disappoint. This book was so well written and the world this author created was so colorful (literally) and vibrant. If this book were a thousand pages long I would still read it, which I believe would have made this story even better. I think there's so much areas of this book to explore and can be expanded on.

Cemmy, a "desperate thief," and her misfit friends are being threatened to use their gifts to pull off an impossible heist while trying to navigate the shadow realm and survive. This adventure is full of blackmail, betrayal, and many twists and turns that are somewhat predictable, but is very well executed. While Cemmy works side by side with Chase, he challenges her to face her biggest fears and helps her overcome them. In the midst of an already stressful predicament, Cemmy also has to work through putting her trust in this new comer and risk her relationship with her friends.

I would have liked to read more about the bonds and the relationship between Cemmy and her friends. I felt like there wasn't enough time spent getting to know her friends and their stories. Cemmy talked a lot about how her friends were like her family, but it wasn't shown. From the beginning, there was already a rift in their friendship and Cemmy was already so distant and we don't get to know why until half way through the book, but instead of confiding in her friends she confesses her secrets to Chase in an effort to gain his trust.

I believe this is going to be the next best YA fantasy book because of the author's creativity building a world full of magic you can escape to. There's so much potential and so much to explore in this world that it could be a whole series. And if this were to become a series, I will definitely be reading every single book!

This book had everything. Colour magic, messy romance and high stakes drama.
The whole way though this I was warned time and time again that there were messy girls and boys who lie and not once did I remember to heed the warning. Some of the chapters hurt so good and had me audibly gasping to myself and having to frantically reread parts.
The pacing was really good. It was fast paced and gripping that kept me in the loop with all the actions happening on a tight deadline.
The connections between characters were all palpable and I enjoyed as snippets revealed more about them along the way.
I enjoyed the immersion in the world and everything was wrapped up nicely I just wished there had been a little more.
Overall a great world and an amazing magic concept. I would love to read more.
Favourite Quote - "No one is going to shatter. I promise."
Favourite Character - Cemmy

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊.

The first thing I'll say about Until We Shatter is that it has an incredibly cinematic, visual sensibility. It flows between two dimensions - one of colour (the world typics/non-magic users are most at home in), the other monochrome, built of shadows, and liable to shatter you to pieces if you outstay your welcome.

The magic system itself is based around different shades of colour, with half-Shades known more commonly as 'Hues'. They have been hunted to near extinction because full Shades believe they steal magic from their shadow dimension and, naturally, those that covet power don't like it when such power is t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶t̶e̶n̶e̶d̶ shared. It takes a hot minute to learn about what the different colours and hues mean in terms of magic variation, but once it clicked I thought it was a well-realised and inventive take. I was reading on kindle, but a colour-magic glossary in the front would be a win.

The author has described Until We Shatter as a 'witchy heist' narrative, but witches for me summon up notions of the eldritch and gothic (though I suppose cosy potion brewing is also A THING). This feels must more contemporary (though still in a classic fantasy world devoid of technology and all that jazz). It would make an awesome graphic novel or animation. But don't go into this thinking it's about witches in the classic sense. It's not. Though I suppose you still have persecution, forbidden magic and 'hunts' abounding - and bigots within religious groups that fear that which they don't understand - so parallels could be made to the old witch trials. Anyway, I digress.

If we're talking tropes, it's all about heisting, found-family and forced proximity. All comfortably YA. No spice. Not all that much romance, generally, to be honest. Unless manipulative flirting counts? We must seduce the enemy!

I did slightly struggle with how the big reveals played out. When we're experiencing everything from a first-person perspective, when breadcrumbs become plot-twists that catch you by surprise, there's nothing better. You're right there piecing everything together with your protagonist. Here, however, those breadcrumbs were entire loaves of sourdough. So when the protagonist failed to notice them, you couldn't help but think they're a bit of an idiot. The plot-twists weren't twisting. It meant I was in a near-constant state of despair over the FMC's lack of critical thinking skills. She's pretty chaotic as far as main characters go... but they're often a lot more fun to hang with.

Overall, this was an enticing YA adventure, and the author wasn't afraid to take risks, create rifts and deconstruct found-family dynamics. The visual realisation is by far the standout aspect for me, and I enjoyed how casually queer a lot of the characters were.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The entire book serves a very interesting plot which is why I was wanting to read this in the first place. It’s giving Six of Crows vibes in a way with its magical heist, found family and romance combined.

Cemmy, our main female character, is a hue, (a half blood within her magic system) and she begins stealing in order to help her mother who is ill after the loss of her father. Because of her ability as a Bronze, she is able to steal with much more talent. She is trying to keep her existence away from the Isitar’s Church who believe that hue’s, those with diluted power should not exist. However, Cemmy and her friends, all of which have different variations of magic, are forced into a heist in order to save those with diluted power from those wanting to destroy them.

This story is generally good. The magical systems are unique and the founding family element was written really well. The romance itself between Cemmy and Chase was kept minimal in comparison to what I expected, but I liked the slow burn and the enemies to lovers that is occurring throughout. I do wish there was a little more because I really wanted much more tension between them. The twists and turns allow you to be kept on your toes because something is always happening and I do like the writing style of the book.

However, the magical systems were quite confusing and there is a lot to remember, particularly with all the shades of magic that are presented, who hates who and who supports their cause etc. I don’t think I could remember the shades and their abilities off the top of my head which is a fundamental element to the storyline and even the characters in what they are capable of. With that being said, a lot of thought went into the development of the entire world building and systems introduced.

The characters are imperfectly great. Each character has their reasons to survive, traumas, to be the way they are with their own complexities and I think the founding family and the connections between the characters is what makes this story shine the most. There is also representation with bisexuality and disability (a deaf character who uses sign language to communicate) which is something I have not read about before so absolute props to Kate for some diversity in the characters.

Overall, I didn’t *love* the story the way I thought I would but I did enjoy it in parts. I feel if there was to be a next book in the series, I would 100% read it because I feel this world can be explored so much more than what it has and I really want to grasp at it so my confusion is sorted out. It’s fun, full of action and relatively fast paced with a dash of romance here and there.

I've read a few new release YA heist stories this year, and I'm happy to report that this one is so far my favourite!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In the world of 'Until We Shatter', some are born with magic. There are seven types of magic, each name after a colour and their holders collectively known as 'Shades'. Shades are capable of entering another world, a shadow of the real-world known as the Grey, where they can travel undetected by those outside. Those born between the forbidden union of Shades and typical people are known as 'Hues', and have a diluted form of magic that manifests in a single magical ability based on the Shade parent's colour. Hues can also only spend limited time in the Grey, and they do so at the risk of being 'shattered' by the shadows that rebel against their non-magical blood.

Our hero is Cemmy, a Hue with the ability to affect things in the real-world from within the Grey. With an ailing mother and little money, Cemmy uses her ability to steal and keep them afloat. On her latest ill-timed lift, Cemmy is captured by a Shade who blackmails her and some of her other Hue friends into joining a high-risk heist against the Church - the very group intent on removing all Hues from the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interesting magic system in this book. It was a little difficult to get my head around first, but after sticking through the first few confusing chapters I quickly got a grip on how things worked. The main drawback for me personally was how frequently certain things were repeated. Because at least one past event was mentioned so many times, it essentially spoiled one of the main plot twists as it was really hammered down in a way that felt like "you better remember this! It might be important later" and resulted in the big reveal becoming easily predictable.

However, with an interesting magic system, a fun heist plot and diverse cast I think I could definitely see this becoming a new favourite for readers in the YA genre. As someone *cough* slightly outside of this target audience, I still had a lot of fun reading this and will continue with any sequels.

Took me a week to read this gripping story, the start was slow but it built up quickly! I love the character build and storyline all together!

The ending has me in tears still! It was amazing!

Until We Shatter is an enjoyable, fairly typical YA fantasy.

there was a lot to like about this - specifically, the magic system. it's been a while since i've read of such a unique, particular magic system. Kate Dylan meticulously lays out the rules of the world, and it's evident that a lot of care went into developing it. even though certain elements - like the In-Between / how Cemmy 'anchors' - were complicated, the author's writing simplifies things majorly & brings the reader completely into the world. the book moves at a (mostly) fast pace, is filled with action, and has a cast of entertaining (but typical) characters. i enjoyed Dylan's precise descriptions and refreshingly snappy dialogue - Until We Shatter is a very assured novel, and Kate Dylan knows exactly what she's going for. Cemmy is a pretty conventional YA heroine, but she feels thought-through and it's very easy to empathize with her, even when she does something stupid. i really enjoyed the scenes between Cemmy and Chase - their chemistry was excellent.

as with YA, however, there is a certain superficiality to some of this book. Dylan focuses the most on Cemmy, and i came away feeling like i know very little about the other characters. by extension, i don't care much for them either. they all feel archetypal, and not as complex as Cemmy herself. Until We Shatter tends to give most of its page-time to fleshing out the world & the romance, and much less to defining its characters and their relationships. there are also portions where it feels like the book is doing too much, and the middle ends up dragging a little bit. this is where the book didn't fully work for me, and i wish the author had started the heist slightly earlier in the novel.

overall, though, i do think that a lot of my reservations come from the fact that i've outgrown this kind of YA fantasy and not through any real fault of the book itself. this is evidently written to be part of a very specific genre. i settled at three stars - but i think this would be a great read for someone younger, just getting into the genre, who is looking to explore books that tackle magic / fantasy in a way that is a little bit more outside the box.

thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

Until we shatter is about a young woman, Cemmy who’s life has been in danger from the moment she was borned because she is a half blood. Her mother has been on the run since her father was killed to teach her mother a lesson. When her mother gets sick, Cemmy knows that she most find a job to save her mother, while risking to get exposed and even killed.

This book is full of action, fantasy, magic and romance with enough danger to keep you reading.

At the beginning of the book, in a foreword, the author tells us she hopes we will forgive her, and for the life of me, I was sure I would never forgive her. But well, at the end turns out I don't hate her that much any more and forgiveness is growing in my heart. 

I absolutely loved this book, while the notion of the heist is not new, the magic system and the in between were interesting and original, and have me absolutely obsessed. The found family trope is one of my favourites and is perfectly done. The characters are real and flawed, their mistakes, lies and betrayals not only serve the plot, but make sense, they are realistic mistakes that match each personality and growth. 
The writing is fabulous, flows in a way that has you turning pages so fast you don't even realise, and there you are halfway through the book in blink. 
The world building is rich, well explained and not heavy. Things are easy to remember and understand.

The stakes are high in this book, the characters likeable and real, the world building and magic system fantastic, with found family, and LGBTQ+ main character. If you like books like six of crows and a tempest of tea, I am pretty sure you will love this one even more.

This an absolute fantasy you expect it to be. And the fact it's about a new faction named shade , mostly it's vampire, fae, werewolves etc but shades are new which makes it even more intriguing.

The characters in the story are really fascinating belonging to various shades as in colors which comes along with different abilities linked with their shade. Green, orange, yellow, violet, blue, red,indigo are pure blooded and are considered most powerful among all the shades and half blooded are mixed and create shades like bronze , gold, amethyst, sapphire etc they are known as hue and as they are mix blooded they should remain hidden as if they are discovered by the government they would be faced with cruel death.

The thrill you feel the entire book that you couldn't guess the next chapter because something unexpected might happen is what makes you stick to the book and binge read it.

It's more of an adventure than romance.

There are a lot of occasions for empathy like killed parents, abandonment, threatening life so they would obey you , mention of losing someone, it's all there and the book it's not the kind that is full of banter.

The story follows their adventure to glow up and find the way to stay alive in different circumstances as yes being a hue has its disadvantages like the efforts shall be triple but the result won't be enough.

Camilla isn't some heroine who suddenly had a glow up and level up her character and chase isn't someone to shy away from his purpose, it tends to make it more real than romance genre.

Overall It's a really good story and i absolutely loved it but I gave spice 2 cause i don't need it at all, I could go with the whole story without even romance. Even though it has romance but I still would have loved it even if it didn't had any.

It's definitely a must read book💒

The magic system was super interesting and unique. It was a highlight for me in this story. I liked all the characters and their development was done well. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read an early copy.

What did I like about Until We Shatter? The biggest selling point for me was the very unique magic system. It stands out from every other magic system I've read. Magic is divided into seven colors, and every full-blooded magic user (shade) has one of them. The children of a magic user and a non-magic, like our main character, Cemmy, are called hues, and they have unique dilutions of that color. Another thing that I enjoyed was that I was actually surprised by several of the book's twists and appreciated that I could look back and see that they were hinted at subtly. I also enjoyed the main character, Cemmy, 's budding relationship with Chase; it felt like an obvious direction to take the story, but obvious in a way that made it easy to root for.

What didn't I love? The book's premise is a heist, and while that is true, it isn't the story's primary focus. More focus is spent on the main character working through (or not rather) her trust issues and learning about her magic. The problem with that heavy focus was that other relationships besides Cemmy and Chase felt like afterthoughts. Instead of getting found family vibes, I felt like it worked in the opposite way, wherein the beginning of the book told me, rather than showing how close she and her friends all were, "like family!!!" but as the book progressed, I was less and less convinced of that.

While I thought the magic system itself was unique and exciting, the color naming system for explaining magic, as well as some of the terminology "shattering," "shades," and "and hues," all felt very immature. The story suffers from complex political and religious tensions that are not fully realized or explained, resulting in a unique premise that unfortunately fell flat for me and made it hard to buy into the world.

Bottom line: I enjoyed parts of the book, but as a whole, it could have been longer with more world-building. The characters and relationships felt underdeveloped to me. That said, I think it will find its audience, and it kept me interested enough that I thought it was worth the read.

Who's it for? If you're looking for a Young Adult book with a really unique magic system, this may be for you. However, if you're easily frustrated with incomplete world-building or adolescent characters, I would skip it, as these characters are 19-year-olds who deal heavily with themes of jealousy and trust.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for the eARC; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an early e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun book! I loved the world-building and the magic system. The found shades and hues abilities and limitations very interesting. The concept of the Gray and the in-betweens were a little confusing at first, but once I got into the book I picked it up pretty quickly.
I loved the eclectic cast of characters. Cemmy is a wonderfully complex main character. I love how her, Cassiel and their group of friends are morally-grey but still relatable and easy to root for. The heist plot was very fun.
I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read more from this author :)

What a great book and what a great plot! I loved the idea of the protagonist being „forced“ into becoming a thief, because of her mothers illness.
I loved reading this book, feeling like I‘m a part of it and just enjoying.

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Hodderscape. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Until We Shatter.]

Rating: 3.5/5

What happens when you combine a setting reminiscent of Red Queen with the fantasy heists from Six of Crows? You’ll get something like Until We Shatter, a technicolour adventure overflowing with betrayal, tension, and magic. In this book, Kate Dylan takes us down a winding path filled with twists and turns that will leave you second guessing every new reveal, and that will no doubt tug on some heartstrings as situations grow more and more perilous. For the most part this is a pretty fun ride and the magic system is fascinating, but unfortunately I found myself a little bored throughout the story and wondered more than once if perhaps this wasn’t the book for me.

Until We Shatter is set in a world ruled by division. There’s the people that are either magic wielding Shades or ordinary Typics. There’s a world of colour and its greyscale mirror. And then there’s what lies in between the divide, a space inhabited by Hues, those with half the magic of a Shade and a large target on their backs. This is where we find our main character, a Hue/thief called Cemmy. When she jumps at the offer to take a job that could solve all of her problems, Cemmy finds herself between the truth and lies, family and friendships, and even the limitations of her own magic.

Let’s start with the positives. I loved the magic system in this book and can imagine it developing in really fun ways as we get further into the series. I also loved the hidden Grey, the magical world overrun by shadows that the characters often have to journey through. These elements were enough to hook me into the story and although there were some areas that, for me, didn’t strike the balance between too much and too little information, my interest never dipped when it came to finding out more about this fascinating magic.

Unfortunately, this is where the positives ended for me. Outside of the magic and the core cast, I felt that the world they lived in lacked the necessary depth to back up various elements of the plot. For example there’s many high stakes situations that the characters find themselves in but I rarely felt the full weight of peril that should have accompanied them. I also wasn’t completely sold on the romance, but it’s still early days and I’m sure it’ll continue to develop in the sequel.

Although this wasn’t the perfect book for me, if you love fantasy heists, the found family trope and high stakes situations, then I’d definitely recommend adding this to your tbr.

Until We Shatter is written from the POV of Cemmy, a half-shade who spends much of her time trying to hide her existence from the Church and the Council of Shades who believe that Half-shades, or Hues as they are called here, should not exist. In this world, there are typics - people without magic- and Shades - those with magic, who operate their magic in The Gray. When a typic and a Shade have a a baby, a Hue is made. But the Council of Shades has made this illegal and Hues are hunted. And in Until We Shatter, Cemmy and her small band of found family - other Hues - are forced into a high stakes heist.

I was so excited to receive this ARC as I am huge fan of Kate Dylan and this did not disappoint. I would say that the first part can be a little tricky to get your head around as the magic system is complex and I'm not sure that I ever fully got it. However, it didn't detract hugely from my enjoyment of this. I found it a slow start to get into but by the last half, I couldn't put it down. I also wonder if my slow start with this book is because I recently read a YA fantasy heist novel (Tempest of Tea) which may have made it feel less fresh.

Things I loved:
- A true conflicted, slow-burn enemies to lovers plot line.
- Morally grey band of misfits
- Genuine high stakes that have huge consequences for all the characters
- Some compelling and unexpected twists in the final stretch
- Complex and tricky characters, all of the characters are flawed, bold and compelling - I was happy spending time with any of them.
-Beautiful writing and messaging. The quote "I am the violence the world made of me" is going to stay with me for a very long time.
- A small stage - I love fantasy books that stay in one place and this world was vividly rendered.
- I'm fully obsessed with Chase and his rainbow veins!
- The magic -the concept of the rainbow colour magic was brilliant and so compelling; I'm dazzled by it!

What stopped this from being a 5* for me:
- I found Cemmy to be very frustrating at times and am surprised her friends didn't throttle her more than once.
- Some of the reveals (the crystal, the totem) I could see coming from a long way.
- As much as I loved it, because of the complexity of the magic, I never felt fully immersed in the story in the way I would like as I felt like I was trying to catch up a lot.

Overall, this was such a good story. The magic system felt very fresh and the heist was laced with very high stakes, which really helped add tension to the story. The character development is top-notch and the message of the dangers of misinformation feels vital. I really recommend this!

I haven't been the luckiest with my reads this year (especially with ARCs) so I always dive in expecting the worst, but this book absolutely slayed.

Until we shatter is a classic YA fantasy, with a heist main plot, extremely high stakes and a found family.

The writing style is very well executed, captivating and entertaining from the very first page. The magic system, with powers based on colours, is super unique, although the worldbuilding was a little dense, especially in the first 30%.
The plot was a little predictable, but with enough twists and turns to make reaching the end really satisfying. The ending, even if it felt a bit rushed, wraps up the story very nicely.

About some things I didn't like so much, in YA novels the characters somehow always end up giving the the ick, mainly because they all make extremely stupid decisions (that might be a me problem since I'm now 22, but even when I was the "right age" I always had issues with this so...). Anyway, besides the stupidity excused by young age (I hope), the main characters all have distinct personalities and satisfying story arcs.

Overall, I had so much fun reading this book and I'm looking into other books by the same author.

A solidly plotted fantasy heist novel with a diverse cast of characters, including Deaf representation, and a few twists that caught me by surprise. Until We Shatter spent a lot more time than I expected on the set up of the heist than the heist itself, with a large focus on the relationships between characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.