I am a simple gal, I see an endorsement from Saara El-Arifi so I need to read the book and she was so right! I was not led astray with this phenomenal fantasy.

I adored this from start to finish! I was completely hooked on this fast-paced heist with a unique magic system. I had to give myself some time after completing this book to breathe again because it does not let up. “I am the violence the world made of me” is going to stick with me for such a long time,

This was a very character driven story with Kate Dylan promising messy bi girls and she absolutely delivered! I fell completely and utterly in love with Cemmy and Novi. Staying friends with ex’s and having to navigate the new dynamic whilst falling back into old habits was incredibly relatable. I love being able to get lost in a queer normative world!

I really liked all of the characters and the disability representation! This never felt like an afterthought and the author wove Lyria into the group in such an authentic way. Chase was a surprisingly welcome addition; he brought out a different side to Cemmy and the tension between them was delightful. I really enjoyed seeing his character arc and would have loved to have spent more time with him and Cemmy,

Love, love, love this so much and would highly recommend!

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TLDR: An amazing read!! Until We Shatter hits so many good points; found family, high-stake heists, betrayals, danger, a unique magic system and more. One of my fav reads of 2024 so far and couldn’t recommend more.

Straight off the bat, I plan to get a physical copy as soon as it’s released and really hope there is a special edition as I devoured this book within the day!

I don’t want to say too much and give anything away but Kate Dylan did such a fantastic job. There’s a very unique magic system that may likely be a bit overwhelming for the first few chapters but it all comes together very quickly and would definitely recommend persevering.

Our main character is so flawed and human, one minute your heart is breaking for her and the next you’re shouting at her for her (justifiable) choices. She makes you feel a range of emotions and is what I love to see in a main character. She is flawed and not always likeable or making the best choices but she’s written so real and human that you have to root for her. I won’t give away much about the side characters but they’re written in the same way and I love them all, I only wish we had more time with them, however, Dylan does an excellent job at making you so invested in them despite the book only spanning a week.

To my knowledge, Until We Shatter is meant to be a standalone which is my biggest criticism. I think she’s created such a unique and interesting world that it feels like such a shame for it to be over with one book, but understand if it is. I’ll definitely be looking into her other books and will start following her future releases.

Hmm. I did not get along well with this book.

Let's start with a positive. The prose is exactly right. Enough bits and pieces of poetry and beautiful words to keep a language enthusiast going, but at the same time perfectly simple and pretty enough to make a good fantasy book. Kate Dylan is a very good, talented writer, and I really liked the way she structured her sentences and made the words flow. It's why I've given this book 2 stars instead of 1. I really do think that her writing is nice.

It's just unfortunate that the plot has more holes in it than the car door of Bonnie and Clyde does.

During the first third of the book, the reader is assaulted with a worldbuilding dump that, in the end, does not build a world, but is only there to describe the overcomplicated magic system. There is so much to remember of the magic system that at some point I took screenshots of my ebook reader to reference back to, but goodness gracious - it was very much for a 300 page book. And it did not make any fucking sense. My head was swimming with Hues and Shades and trying to tell apart why some of the Hues have metal names and some of them are named after minerals and then there's subtypes and some of them are more common and then this color does that and this color does this and the church hates the Shades and the council hates the church but also the Hues are lying to each other about their powers. Furthermore, some of the powers made absolutely no sense, and seemed, to be blunt, shit. Like, our main character's big power as a Hue is that she gets to touch things in this weird shadow realm that exists parallel to the "typic" world, the Grey. That seems like it fucking sucks! Especially compared to the dude who can siphon off other Shades' powers and use them by himself. Anyway, the magic system is overcomplicated and convoluted - just as this review is becoming.

The interactions between the characters ... Well, let's just say, when one of them died, I guess I was supposed to feel something, but I didn't, because we don't get to know any of the characters. The only one we kind of get to know is Novi, who has been in a situationship with our main character for the past ... year? I think? Anyway, she seems pretty cool and compelling, but uuhh ... she is not the love interest. Because the love interest is the guy who appeared on page and was described as achingly beautiful, so gorgeous you can barely keep your eyes on his face, so literally perfect and stunning and *gag*
For once, just ONCE, I want a love interest who's just ... a guy. A dude. Pretty maybe. But why does everyone have to be so immensely good-looking that it's unnatural? And of course, he's ~morally grey~ (because he "appears to" betray the party a bunch of times).
Let me say this clearly: There is not a single bit of chemistry between CHASE (because that's his name, his nickname, because his actual name is Cassiel, which apparently he doesn't like to be called, so he asks to be called CHASE, one of THE frat bro names, instead of a normal fantasy choice like ... idk, Cas? You know, the obvious choice?) and our main character. Not a single bit of spark. Oh, they argue most of the time, and the book spends a pointless amount of time on training sessions with those two, but I didn't end up getting the sense that they actually, you know, liked each other.
IDK, but Chase came off as the most boring possible love interest the main character, when Novi exists. Like, they have DOUBLE the chemistry that Chase and Cemmy have.

This book keeps getting compared to Six of Crows, and, well, no.
Six of Crows features a cast of rich and developed characters coming together to solve their own personal problems by participating in a heist that will yield to each of them, on completion, a means to actually solve their problems: money. They all have their own motivation and a common goal. The group in Until We Shatter gets told to do the heist, and none of them really want to do it, they're forced into doing it. That ends up making for a shitty heist. Also, the actual heist takes place only in the last, like, seventy pages or so, meaning that 230 pages are either magic-system-explaining or weird training sessions between Chase and Cemmy. It's boring! None of the threads end up intersecting, only one of their actions actually has a consequence, everything else ends up fine and dandy and ... exactly the same as it was before. No, really. Cemmy actually says that. "Everything is the same as it was before." Their actions had no consequences for their world. I guess the world didn't end, but there's nothing that has changed about the characters, except that they now don't like each other anymore. I don't know about you, but I hated it. And I hate how much time I spent trying to understand it.

You cannot call a book action packed if they spend 200 pages talking about the heist they need to pull off and 20 pages pulling off the heist (with 50 more pages of talking during the heist).

Pros:
I liked the plot twists/revelations which were well foreshadowed and still caught me by surprise.

Cons:
Way too much exposition and a magic system that I still didn’t understand or care about.
“I am the violence the world made of me” - it’s just as bad the fifth time you’re forced to read that line.
That’s a deaf character but after a few pages everyone can fluently communicate with sign language through magic and the deaf character has no other personality traits.

YESSSSS!! what a BANGER!!

i don’t even know where to begin. i find writing reviews for books i liked really hard, but if you like the following then definitely get this book (when it comes out in october):

* heists
* enemies-to-lovers
* interesting magic systems
* found families
* betrayal
* high stakes

until we shatter has ALL of that and MORE! i am a fan - in case you couldn’t already tell. i wasn’t immediately sure about this, but i was really intrigued. there’s quite a lot of world-building and information about the magic system in the beginning, but i never didn’t want to pick this up. and the more i read, the less i wanted to put it down.

the character dynamics were great, the danger was imminent, and the magic was really cool. what more can i say? i love me some thieves on a heist mission.

3,5 stars for older readers like myself, 4.5 stars for YA readers.
Until We Shatter introduces a magical system based on blood hues.
Cemmy is the protagonist who makes us go “oh, no, don’t do that”, but one we also like.
The story shaped around the heist also adds another enjoyable layer.
I am eager read more within this story world and more about Cemmy. I have high hopes that the next one (if there will be) will have a deeper plot since the world and the characters will have been established.
The prose is 3.5-4 stars.

Wow! I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did, and from what I read, this is Kate Dylan’s first foray into the fantasy genre, and I can’t wait to read more of her fantasy books!

This book is quite reminiscent of Six of Crows, but with a much more intricate magic system and world. The magic system was an amazing concept! I liked how it was colour coded, and different abilities changed with the hues and Shades. I really love it when a fantasy takes a magic concept and completely makes it their own! The idea of The Grey was so interesting too!

Cemmy as a main character was great! I liked how bold and strong she was. But was also very troubled and had a much softer side that she didn’t want to share with the others. Her mismatched band of found family were so lovely too, and such like real life, the friendships don’t come without troubles either.

The story really picked up around the 50% mark and I sped through it without even realising I was reading - which is a great sign that I am engrossed in the book - the heist, the twists and turns in the story was just pure gold!

Thank you to Hodderscape, NetGalley and Kate Dylan for this Arc in exchange for an honest review. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Like many others who loved Mindwalker and Mindbreaker, I was super excited when Kate Dylan was sharing about a new book. I don't want to say it's not as strong as her other books because it's not the same vibe but it's hard not to compare them when I loved Mindwalker/-breaker so much.

Anyway, onto this book itself. I liked the world we were introduced to and I hope Kate does another book in the same world so we can explore the magic and politics more. I didn't totally follow all the magic types but essentially the full blooded magics are Shades, those without are typics and those with one parent of each are Hues. Pretty straightforward and I really liked that set up. It set the stage for the standard group of misfits and outcasts we all pretend we don't love in a teen book. And I love a found family book.

I just didn't necessarily LOVE this. The heist is big. I know it's compared to Six of Crows but this felt like really over the top for a heist and arguably a bit too easily resolved. Also keeping in mind the whole thing takes place over the course of a week, it just felt...off.

That said, there were some good twists and turns and it all wrapped up well. There was just something missing from this and I can't quite put my finger on what. I still enjoyed it well enough but I'd be lying if I said it was with the same enthusiasm as Kate's other works.

I’m surprised I didn’t enjoy this to be honest. I genuinely loved Mindwalker so I was expecting to enjoy Until We Shatter. Dylan brings over all of her strengths from other novels: witty dialogue, complex likeable characters, and high stakes plot lines. The premise itself is really good. So whilst this isn’t my favourite of her books I still think it will be commercially successful.

I think my main issue with the story is how overly complex the world building and magic system is. There is a huge amount of exposition in the first part of the book and I really struggled to process what was going on and how it worked. For example it took me ages to understand the difference between a hue and a shade and why one was persecuted and the other kind of was? But only by some people? And that the government didn’t like magic users which included both hues and shades? It all got very tangled up for me, especially when the hues all had different powers as well. It felt like Dylan understood where she was going with things but I as the reader had no idea, and not in a positive way.

The second part of the book went much faster. I began to understand what was going on a bit more here. The characters really shine through and the heist concept was fun. Lots of punchy fun dialogue I’ve come to expect from a Kate Dylan novel. Until We Shatter was just a bit too bloated and unnecessarily complicated for me, but I can see other readers enjoying the challenge.

This is an amazing work of fiction, I literally finished it in one sitting while I was sick in bed!
I love the main character and the dynamics with the rest of them! If you're a fan of found families you're gonna love this book!

I especially enjoyed the way the magic system was explained! It's so detailed but at the same time leaves you wondering and longing for more.

The action scenes are AMAZING! (I probably use this word way to much😂) It keeps you on the edge of your seat! I love the writing style and how clearly each character has a different voice, they definitely feel like different people (that speaks loudly of her talent).

I won't say much of the plot because you NEED to read it for yourself! I can't wait to buy the physical copy!

A YA fantasy with an original and interesting magical system. The world of this novel in set in a society which identified people as either Shades (those with magical abilities) and typics (those who do not).

It follows our main character Cemmy - a talented thief, in a group of Hues (the offspring product of a union between a shade and typic) as they are brought together for a heist while simultaneously avoiding political factions that believe their existence to be a threat to them.

I love the found family aspect that comes with the group of 'misfits' that are brought together for a heist. The world building is complex and intriguing, while there were different paces I never found myself tiring of the narrative.

I do love a good heist story, and this was no exception. While things started off seemingly quite straightforward, with a few twists I thought I could see coming and a little intrigue besides, I found myself quite pleasantly surprised that there was a lot more to the story than there first seemed. The reveals were, for the most part, set up quite elegantly so that, in hindsight, the path towards them seemed inevitable, and I really liked the layers of secrets and how they were handled.

The first few chapters I felt were a little heavy on the exposition, but not off-puttingly so, and once enough details had been shared to give a working understanding of the world the book was set in, the narrative ran a lot smoother. I absolutely loved the magic system, even if I found myself a little confused by it at times - I didn't realise until it was explicitly laid out that the child of a Colour (person with magic) and a typic (person without magic) had the potential to develop one of several different powers, depending on the colour of their parent. The idea of the different realm that magic-wielders could phase in and out of I thought was brilliant, how Hues (mixed Colour/typic children) were restricted by in some ways and freer in others because of their nature. The idea of needing an 'in-between' to stay anchored in the other realm, the Gray, I thought was really interesting, especially as it was explored in a lot of different ways: midnight and noon being in-between times, a graveyard being the in-between of life and death, and a rooftop being the in-between of the earth and the sky existing as natural points for a Hue to shift into the Gray and remain unharmed, while they could also create their own in-betweens by picking points between which to anchor themselves. As long as their in-between held, they were safe, but if it broke, they would shatter.

I liked the heist and the premise behind it, and how the specific magics of the characters' Hues made them uniquely suited to carry it out. I was a little surprised about how confident they were that they could pull it off, given that they had a week of prep time and half of that was used up by Cemmy how to safely anchor herself in the Gray, and a lot of the rest of it was spent very boldly manipulating some of the most powerful people in their city, who hated anyone and everyone who used magic. In fairness, it seemed like a reasonably good plan, and I liked the way that everyone's abilities neatly tied into it (except Ezzo, who, no offence, I completely forgot existed half the time). Knowing that some of the characters were hiding things from others made the buildup to the theft itself compelling, because in amongst all of the plotting there was the space to wonder what exactly we didn't know and how it would affect the result.

What I did find a bit frustrating was how very, very slow on the uptake Cemmy was a lot of the time. I don't think it's exaggerating to say that probably at least three quarters of the problems the characters encountered could have been resolved or never would have existed if Cemmy had a slightly more sensible head on her shoulders, and I found it a little odd that she didn't, given that she's been thieving to make a living for over a year. There were certain points in the story - which is narrated from her first-person perspective, so it's not like the reader knows anything she doesn't - where I really just wanted to shake her for missing the incredibly obvious clues right in front of her. To her credit, she does acknowledge how incredibly stupid she's been by the end, but at times her naivete did get a bit much.

I felt like the more obvious aspects of the many secrets in the story were perhaps a little too obvious, but they didn't detract from my overall enjoyment and I found the book very easy to lose myself in. This is definitely a great book for fans of heist stories, as well as fantasy with unique magic systems, found family and screwing over the establishment.

I loved the premise and had high hopes. I was intrigued by the unique magic system. I feel it could have had more depth throughout. Maybe longer? I felt the focus was not highlighting what I wanted to read about so it took effort to stay committed until the end.

Until We Shatter

4.75/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book!

Until We Shatter by Kate Dylan is a pretty standard YA fantasy. However, the magic system is so incredibly cool that I can’t stop thinking about in. The magical population in this story, known as “Shades” and “Hues”, have powers classified by different colors in their blood. These colors allow them to phase to and from intangible version of the physical realm into what they call “The Grey”. The way the characters utilize the two different worlds, along with the ways Dylan explores the history and boundaries of the powers, makes this book so interesting. I could honestly tell Dylan put so much time and thought into her world’s magic system. I can’t say too much without spoiling major plot points, but I think it really paid off.

The story is from the first person POV of Cemmy, a Half-Shade who has turned to desperate means, specifically thieving, to provide for her sick mother. It’s with this thievery that things turn south for Cemmy and her crew, setting them on a mission to complete an alarmingly impossible heist.

Until We Shatter also stands out because of the stacked cast of complex characters. Cemmy is one of the most irrational, aggravating, worst decision makers I’ve truly ever read about. And although she had me wanting to pull my hair out just about every chapter of the book, I couldn’t help but be fascinated by her character. Which is saying something great about Dylan’s writing, because typically those exceedingly impulsive characters don’t slide with me. Cemmy, though, is not the only character who shines in this book. With a lovable found family dynamic, along with an arrogant, pretty boy newcomer who nobody takes to trusting to easily, the characters in this book are truthfully what made me want to keep reading.

I thought the representation in this book was also really nice. It was refreshing to see queer, POC, and disability rep in such a complex world.

My only complaints about this book was that it got confusing for me at times. I wouldn’t blame this entirely on Dylan’s writing, because there’s a good chance I just read a little too fast to understand. However, especially as the book was getting started, I had a difficult time figuring out what was going on with the magic system. There were also moments with the actual heist itself that I didn’t quite understand. Additionally, I was able to guess a lot of the important plot twists. However, these grievances ultimately didn’t hinder me too much, because I loved the book anyway.

If you’re a fan of heists, star-crossed love, betrayal, and themes of grief, trust, morality, I implore you to pick up this book. I know I surely won’t stop thinking about it for awhile.

I really wanted to love this book, but there were several aspects that fell short for me.

Firstly, while all the main characters are well-written and feel rounded and cohesive, I never liked the main character, Cemmy. This disconnect made it hard for me to engage with the story fully.
Understanding the magic system was another struggle. It took me until about 40% through the book to grasp it because I always felt like I wasn’t given enough information. This lack of clarity made the plot a bit confusing and less enjoyable. There was a slight reason for the withheld information but it didn't make sense to me to leave the reader in the dark for so long. I also never understood why people "shatter", which is literally the title of the book.
The world-building was lacking. I had a hard time picturing the characters and the city where the book was set. Though it's not an epic fantasy, the lack of description for small details like houses or feelings made it hard for me to visualize and immerse myself in the story.
I was excited about the concept of a magical heist, but when it came to the actual heist, everything happened very fast and, again, wasn’t explained in much detail, especially the setting. This rushed execution diminished the thrill of the heist for me.
Additionally, I would have liked more romance in the story, but I appreciate the representation of Bi characters.

Despite these issues, I liked the overall story. It just felt like it could have been fleshed out more. Perhaps if the book had another 100 pages, they could have been used to better develop the characters and the world they inhabit.
The concept of the story has a lot of potential, though I wasn’t particularly hooked by the "plot twist." It felt quite predictable.

In conclusion, while the book has some strong elements, it ultimately left me wanting more depth and detail to fully enjoy it.

Ocean’s Colour Scene

The walled city of Isitar is home to those who have magic, and those who do not. Pretty much the only thing they can all agree on is that any children born of a mix of both are unstable and bad news.

The magic system in this world is very well realised and built around colours. The practitioners are known as Shades, and each shade of colour denotes a different kind of magic. Greens can heal, Blues can hasten, and so on. It feels somewhat like character classes in an TTRPG, and not in a bad way. It would not surprise me if Kate Dylan had worked out all the rules in enough detail that she could practically write one.

The subversive half-Shades are known as Hues, and their half-magic is a bit on the broken side - much like most of the Hues that we meet throughout the story.

There is the regular world, and a parallel world layered directly over it known as the Gray. Shades can happily phase in-between the two, but Hues not so much. If they spend too much time in the Gray, they will attract the attention of the shadows that live there, and end up literally shattered into pieces.

Cemmy is a thief, a Hue, and a frequent disaster. She steals to support her ill mother, and makes a string of bad decisions that end up with her trapped into pulling off the heist of a powerful relic. Worse, her friends get dragged into the plan too, including her ex-girlfriend-with-benefits.

The book is a pleasing mix of fantasy and heist tropes, with a healthy measure of smouldering bad boy on top. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that things don’t exactly go according to plan. In the months leading up to the release, Kate Dylan has warned readers about a given chapter in the book where things go off the rails. I misremembered the chapter number and thought it wasn’t actually too bad. Some poor decisions on the part of the main character, sure, but on the whole not too bad. And then I kept going and hit the actual chapter. Reader, I was not ready. But I forgave her, eventually.

I was already a fan of the author's excellent cyberpunk series, Mindwalker and Mindbreaker, but I think this is a step up. By the end of the book all the pieces of plot slide perfectly together with a very satisfying click, much like the locks that are picked along the way.

Recommended.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for the review copy.

This was a great read.

I really loved the idea of people being able to shift into an alternate dimension. It reminded me a little of Six of Crows with the characters performing heists, or lifts as they call them.

I found Cemmy to be a little shallow. She expected everyone to just accept how she is and she wasn't the greatest friend to Novi. True they'd had a relationship before but she was exploring something with Chase and then getting angry over the possibility of Novi moving on with someone else. You can't do one thing and then get mad when someone else does the same.

I felt like a lot of things that happened in the book were as a result of Cemmy's actions and I'm glad that the characters reacted the way they did at the end of the book due to Cemmy's actions once again.

Huge thanks to the author and publisher, for the chance to read this ARC, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Until We Shatter is an electric, intelligent, high stakes fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope there’s more from this series.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Kate Dylan and Hodder & Stoughton for this arc ebook copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was sooo good, it was hard to put down!

The magic system in this book was amazing! It takes a minute to understand how it all works but it all makes sense after a couple of chapters! You get thrown straight into the action with the main character, Cemmy, who is in desperate need to save her mother life by pulling of a heist on her own but ends up getting into something bigger. The world building and character building was all done really well!


I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending it to others!

Definitely 4.5 stars!!

This is a fun, pacey title that for me hearkened back in many ways to the old school 'golden age' YA fantasies. Stylistically it's not quite in the vein of YA fantasy that I prefer; that being said, I did have a good time reading, and I think for the readers who are its target audience it will hit just right. My favourite part of the book was the complicated relationships Cemmy had (see: struggled through) with both Novi and Chase, and extra particularly enjoyed how the Cemmy/Chase dynamic hit on the crowd pleasing, tropey EtL, 'broody and dangerous boy with a messy past' beats while also feeling like it put a fresh twist on it. Big shout out to Chase being blond, we love to see it. I also enjoyed the ambitious magic system, though did feel it plus the slightly convoluted worldbuilding elsewhere got in their own way a bit sometimes.

In summary, Until We Shatter is a solid YA fantasy title with a lot of thought and care in its construction that gives a fun spin to a lot of familiar narrative building blocks. If you liked Shades of Magic you'll probably like this; I'd actually place it closer to the Schwab on a shelf than Six of Crows as while it's definitely a book about a heist, it's not really a 'genre heist' in the way SoC is.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodderscape for the eARC in exchange for my review!