A Roller coaster of e.otiin.
Very unique and enticing characters and plot.
Loved the world and the writing.

Until we shatter

The first few chapters were a load of information thrown at you about the magic system, the lands, politics and names for things that I found difficult to digest.
Even as the book went on, although I'd been told the information I found it difficult to take it all on board and I was left feeling confused and so uninvested in the plot at times.
"The grey" didn't make much sense to me, it's existence wasn't really explained and so the stakes at play when you think about it no longer existing weren't there, so I didn't particularly care.

The book wasn't really for me but I'm sure others would enjoy it, it's a young adult/adolescent read

Main characters are 19/20

Cemmy is a young woman whose life is endangered due to her precarious position between two powerful factions. The Church wants her dead for having magic, while the Council of Shades wants her dead for not having enough magic. Cemmy takes a high-stakes heist job of stealing a powerful relic hidden by the Church. She must team up with several other magic thieves to complete the job, one being Chase, a mysterious and dangerous individual with hidden motives. Success would mean safety for her mother, but failure could bring down the city.

Cemmy is a relatable character who highlights the lengths one will go to for survival and the sacrifices made for loved ones. Her actions are driven by the need to protect her mother. Cemmy's courage and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds emphasize the importance of determination. I wish some focus were also on the other characters to help build deeper connections and relationships.

The prose effectively captures the tension and urgency of Cemmy's situation. This issue lies in the magic system. It needed to be explained better, and I got lost. The concept was interesting but could be flushed out and better explained, which is hard to do in a short standalone. It was still enjoyable, and I'm glad I read it.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape.

The first one or two chapters confused the hell out of me. So much is going on with no explanations whatsoever. We have no idea how the magic system and the world building work, we don’t know the characters or their relationships. We don’t know what or who is important.
I always struggle with books like this. By now, I simply keep reading without thinking. If it’s important enough, it will be explained. And if that doesn’t happen, the book has already lost me.

Luckily, in this case we got the explanations. It took some time, so at the end I didn’t care as much as I would’ve, if the book had started out with better pacing, but after a while, I did start to enjoy it.
The world building was actually really interesting! Not very complex and the magic system of dividing powers by colours isn’t that innovative, but it was well done. Simple enough to make sense, but with just enough thought behind everything that it wasn’t boring.

The plot could’ve been explained better. It was a heist. Good enough, but I would’ve liked more information about the why. By the end it makes sense that we don’t get that much information, but while reading the book, this frustrated me.
But at least the plot wasn’t overly complicated, so even with not that much information it was easy to follow along.

The characters also didn’t confuse me for long, but I would have liked more and deeper characterisations.
Cemmy was well fleshed out – kind of paranoid, traumatized and trying to ignore her past, but being deeply influenced by it in her actions and relationships. It was fantastic to see her development. Not too rushed or forced, but slow and realistic.
Chase was also interesting. I changed my opinion towards him multiple times, as we got to know more about him. He really had more depth than I would’ve thought. But some of his actions didn’t really make sense for me. There were explanations, but those weren’t good enough for me.
And the rest… I could barely keep them apart and the ones I recognised were basically just simmered down to a single character trait. The ex. The deaf girl. The whole heist is not a one-person-act, all of them could’ve played bigger roles. There were so many relationships I would’ve loved to explore. Why was Savian doing all of that? What exactly did Lyria feel when meeting so many other Hues? What did Novi think about Cemmy’s secrets? We get answers to these questions, but I wanted more.
Give me more details about the politics with Council and Church, tell me everything! This could’ve been made into a duology and I rarely advocate for making a series longer. It was good, but everything felt rushed.

In total – still quite a nice book. Almost got 4 stars. I really loved the idea, the characters, everything. But the pacing seriously needed work and it was too much crammed into a single book. There was way too much of everything at the beginning. It would’ve worked so much better, if everything had been slowed down slightly and if we had the opportunity to actually understand what was going on. Stretch everything out, give the reader time to understand and fall in love with the characters.
If it had been a debut novel, I would’ve been very happy with the way it was written, but for an already established author, I would’ve expected more.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder&Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Until We Shatter , I think it is quite safe to say that I am obsessed with Kate Dylan's writing. I have loved her previous books and this one was no different. There is a certain charm about the writing that just draws you into the story and keeps you with the characters as you follow them on the very dangerous journey they are going on. Without spoiling, the magic system (based on colours) is so unique and so well-crafted that you understand it from the get-go.

At the centre of this heist story is an amazing cast of characters, at the front of which is Cemmy. Cemmy is sharp and clever, but also carries the weight of the world around her. From hiding her magic to caring for her ill mother, she has a lot of burdens to bear. Over the course of the story, we see how these affect her and how she eventually pushes forth. Her character arc feels so complete and her development was perfectly executed. We see her go from keeping her magic in hiding, to not being afraid to take massive risks using her magic. She's a total freaking badass for me.

As for Chase? I don't know how much I can say without spoiling, but personally I found him very enigmatic and charming. It was so easy to fall in love with him and the mystery surrounding his motives. Hm and Cemmy have a really interesting dynamic and that was really fun to see play out on the page.

As for the heist itself, no spoilers from me, but it was amazing!! I loved the way it was introduced and how things were planned, and how things went. One thing though...Chapter 24?? Yeah that crushed my heart into dust. It was intense, not the way I was expecting things to go...and I loved every single second of it. Sometimes, you just need that soul-crushing, heartbreaking moment, you know?

Until We Shatter is an incredible heist novel, jam-packed full of action and moments that will leave your heart racing. I don't know if there will be a sequel, but if there is, I'll be first in line to read it!!!!

Still kinda speechless, this book was nerve-racking!
First I was a bit swamped by this color magic (I mean, 7 colours and all with different powers) and then there were the Hues with gemstones instead of colours 🤯 but while reading, it came all clear and now I think I’m a pro in this magic world & I think I understood this world faster than Cemmy did, haha
Cemmy is a strong and stubborn character and I loved everything about it! She caused a lot of trouble without knowing what she’s doing (one time it’s so heartbreaking, still have not recovered from chapter 24!)

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s how to ignore the impossible. (…) You find ways to bend it. Evade it. Delay its inevitable bite.”

I really loved the dynamic between Cemmy and Chase, I could feel the tension between them, the sparks flying and yet it was slow burning (and I’ve to say, sadly without any spice); but the best thing for me was, that the two together were so strong and capable and I often wished they would’ve been honest, they could’ve been unbeatable!

“That in a different life, a stubborn Bronze and an arrogant Gold might mix.”

It’s a perfect book for anyone who loves magic! I really recommend reading it and I hope that there’ll be a sequel, pleaaase it’s the perfect world for a whole book series and I’m not ready letting go 🥺

Taste the Rainbow 🌈

Until We Shatter is an upper ya, coming of age, realising you don’t know everything and everyone is just doing their best fantasy book.
I personally think it’s perfect for a younger audience and will hit them right in the feels. Where you are trying to take ownership of your life and stand on your own two feet but still looking to appease your parents.

The magic system is based on colours and to be honest super confusing for a, what I am assuming is a standalone, book of 336 pages. I did wonder why it wasn’t clearly laid out at the beginning for ease for the reader. Turns out that is for a reason, however the ‘full’ colours of the full-blooded magic people definitely could have been laid out easier for readers.

Basically full-bloodied magic people are shades and their colour magic is the rainbow. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet

If you had a kid with a non magical person your colour is half and you are called a Hue… and that is bad. And those colours are based on metals and stones. Like Bronze or Amethyst.

If we had just had it explained like that I swear it would have made 50% of this book easier to understand.

In our setting we have the council of shades (magic) vs the Church. The battle of the colours vs the Church was very much giving the church forcing christianity on everyone. And did make me wondering if the concept came from a metaphor for church hating pride month and then let’s split up the colours 🌈

Then our little Hues take on a Heist. Perfect for Six of Crows fans and the magic system did feel akin to Shadow and Bone in a lot of ways but less clear and thought out because again I am pretty sure this is a standalone and not a series covering different spin off stories, which needs to have a stronger magic system.

Characters had some good moments of representation that I really liked. Especially everything surrounding the deaf character. 10/10. Also some queer representation in a way that felt authentic and not forced. I say some just because it is Ya and while there is a romance side plot, it is a side plot and not romantasy so it’s not the focus.

Do not expect spice. I would call this upper ya in the way it covers heavy topics and yes characters do have sex but it’s a fade to black sort of situation not smutty.

This is going to be a featured book in the Illumicrate subscription box and I am excited to see what they do with the customisation. I imagine it will be very pretty and hopefully full of colour.
Despite being confused by the magic system for about 50% of the book. It was actually a really easy and enjoyable read. I do think a younger audience would like it more just because of the themes feel so specific to that age, as obviously a lot of YA can be enjoyed by an older audience but there is a nativity to the characters and especially the main character that I think people with life experience struggle to related too and not feel she is an idiot making obvious mistakes 🫣

I feel like this book was short on pages. I liked the premise and found the magic system interesting and novel, but there is a lot to digest in terms of the world and not enough pages to do it.

To start with the positives, the prose is really ice. I was afraid it would be too flowery since the book has a lot to do with colors and that opens the posibility to write in a poetic way that could end up being too much, but no. It doesn't fall into purple prose or into simplicity, for me there is a good balance.

I really liked the character of Cassiel (because I refuse to call him by a name as common as Chase). You think he's going to be the typical mysterious and dark protagonist, but he isn’t. Obviously he has his secrets and we discover them little by little, but he also shows humanity from early on; fear, anxiety, rejection of the things he is forced to do to survive.

In general the premise is good, but I feel that it was poorly executed. A story about a heist and magic will always catch my attention, but the heist itself happened very quickly.

I don't like to compare (and even less with this author because us fans have a reputation for being annoying) but I was thinking a lot about Mistborn, not because the plot is similar but because the type of magic is similar in the sense that both are this-does-this type and there are certain variations. In Mistborn it's metals and in Until we shatter it's colors, the thing is that Allomancy is pretty well explained throughout the book without being too overwhelming (I'm only focusing on the first book to make fair comparisons). In Until we shatter, in the FIRST CHAPTER we have a lot of information about the magic system and the way society sees blood colors before we are even properly introduced to the protagonist, and throughout the book more and more about magic is explained in overly dense paragraphs that try to cover each of the colors and the ramifications, and it was overwhelming (another thing I didn't understand is why some half-bloods were named as gemstones and others as metals but anyway). Mistborn is a longer book (around 200 more pages) and that is precisely what this book is missing, in my opinion.

And not more pages only to better explain magic, but also to go deeper into the characters and group dynamics, which many times felt more like the book was telling me that this group are very good friends, but not showing it. Not much is known about the secondary characters. We know more or less their stories but not much about what they are like outside the group. The only one that has a bit more depth is Novi, who I found interesting but occasionally said things that, to me, were OOC.

I'm not saying I didn't like the book, but it was disappointing because it had so much potential.

If you’re looking for vibes similar to Six of Crows & The Mortal Instruments, this quick, YA fantasy standalone is a good option! This was one of the most unique magic systems in a fantasy book I’ve read in a while! While it was confusing at times, especially in the beginning of the book, I still loved the concept. The plot was really interesting - I quite enjoyed the storyline. I do think the characters lacked some depth though & I had a hard time feeling connected to any of the characters. I also wish there was more world building as I felt like I didn’t really understand the context of the world the story was set in. Overall, I loved this plot-forward read & it is a great YA fantasy standalone!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the eARC!!

I found the magic system and plot intriguing, but the logic and main character infuriating.

The plot was a heist story where the main character's flaws are constantly causing issues. The fear was understandable, the lack of trust was understandable, but the poor communication was infuriating. There are several things that stand out as plot conveniences (the main character's mother for one) or there to make the situation seem dangerous.

I thought the magic was interesting, but confusing. It seems that a Shade would have all of the abilities that a Hue would have, instead of Hues having abnormal abilities. The Shade that we see the most displays powers that are not a part of that Shade's power, which does not make the magic system feel consistent. The ease of counteracting a Shade's binding also felt like something the binder's of said power would be aware of.

2.5
This was….disappointing? The prose was good enough to keep me excited for other books by this author but this felt not As good as I hoped it to be. I didn’t like the characters and that’s usually the part of a book that keeps me reading but I just couldn’t like them. There were quite a lot of plot holes but I’m still hopeful for the authors other books

A fast-paced book with an extensive world-building that while fascinating have bogged down the reading process and was hardly suitable for the YA audience. This book would have much benefited from marketing it as an adult.

The characters fell flat and the chemistry between them was non-existent and I couldn’t connect with none of them.

The comparison of the book to Six of Crows did both books a disservice, as SOC had a much better and more diverse cast with well-thought out backstories and setting up the high standard for Until We Shatter that the book has fallen short of.

⭐ 4 stars

Heists and magical powers? Yes please! My first impression was that there was a lot of information tossed out at you all at once, which makes sense considering the page count and the story the book had to tell, but that does not make it less of an obstacle. Although the beginning of the book slogged a little from how much world-building was thrown your way, it didn't impact the fun once everything picked up and the world was established. This was about 10% of the way through, in my opinion. Then, it was genuinely a blast. I really enjoyed the narrative, the cast of interesting characters, and immersing myself in the atmospheric writing. And who doesn't enjoy a heist? I highly recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

DNF.

Romantasies are difficult, particularly when you can't see the chemistry/draw, or why the protagonist is noticing how beautiful and lovely someone is.
(also, why is it white blonde x white blonde? they're so "siblings or dating")

While the intial magic system seemed fine enough, the names of the Shades vs names of the Hues-- original magic parent has like, their magic is called Violet or Yellow. Their mixed kid's magic is called Amethyst or Gold, which would lead one to believe the latter is treasured more in the society that clearly places value on gems and metals, but that isn't the case, as their existence is illegal.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC for this book!
This was overwhelming for a 300 pages book. I think the prose was the thing that kept me engaged but even then - I had to skim.
The magic system is over complicated. I think this book would strongly benefit with a magic chart because I couldn’t keep up and I saw that a lot of readers had experienced this as well.
I couldn’t get attached to the characters - depth was lacking on that subject.
The plot twists had major plot holes and some plots were weird to the story… they didn’t quite fit in.
I loved the premise for this and was instantly attracted to this book but it unfortunately didn’t work for me.

Kate Dylan has done it again!
This book had me in a chokehold from the very first page. I adored both the setting and magic system and the real cherry on the top was the character development throughout the plot.

I still don't think I have recovered from Chapter 24 nor will I.

Can't wait for book two!!

⭐️⭐️

As a child born from a magic-wielding mother and a typic father, Cemmy has spent her life on the run. With her mother sickening day by day, she resorts to using her unique brand of magic to steal - even if using it risks her life. But when a powerful Shade blackmails her into pulling off an impossible heist, she will need to learn to trust her magic and her tentative allies.

Thank you to Kate Dylan, NetGalley, and Hodderscape for this advanced copy! This was my first book by Dylan, which surprised me - it kind of felt like a debut. The first 15% was really heavy info dumping, but even after I struggled to follow what was happening. I realized towards the end that it’s because there’s hardly any character blocking! I never knew what the characters were physically doing. 330+ pages of internal monologue, some dialogue, and brief scene descriptions dragged because all I could visualize was the characters just standing in a circle talking. The premise was really cool and the magic system was SO clever and unique, but the execution was just not there for me :(

I really liked the idea of the grey and the in-between magic, the inclusive world, and especially the realistic sense of found family, where everything is not always perfect. I enjoyed reading about a main character with flaws, and who had to deal with the consequences of her flaws.

Until We Shatter was my first time reading Kate's work and I have to say, I was quite impressed! The story was very infesting and kept me hooked throughout. I've seen quite a bit of hype from other reviewers and honestly I can see why!

The characterisation was on point, the world building sucked you in and the plot kept things moving a quick pace, which I loved!

Until We Shatter by Kate Dylan is a standalone adult fantasy about a magical heist with an unique magical system and the acceptance that the world is never fully one thing or another, but rather a series of in-betweens.

In a world divided into the magical and the non-magical, Cemmy is a Hue, a half-shade and desperate thief, who belongs on neither side. Fearing for her mother’s ailing health, Cemmy accepts an impossible heist but soon finds herself in dangers she never would have thought. With the aid of Chase, another half-shade who is as beautiful as he is dangerous, she must succeed in her mission before it’s too late.

I absolutely loved the aspect of found family within the book and I thought Cemmy’s own struggles with her guilt and loyalty were wonderfully done. I think because it was in a first-person POV, I did have a bit of a harder time getting into the narrative and ended up struggling the first couple of chapters to understand the world and magic system as well as adjust to the narrative tone. However, once I did get past this, I breezed through the rest of the book and was engrossed in the characters and story all the way until the very end.

Full of atmospheric storytelling, and plenty of heart, Kate Dylan crafts a captivating narrative and world that will leave you…well, emotionally shattered just as it did with me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodderscape for providing this eArc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.