I was gripped from about 10% in until the end. The beginning was an issue for me. I don't like having an onslaught of information from page one. Especially when I'm learning a completely new magic system.
The magic system was explained clearer a few more times so it was unnecessary from page one. I wish I had been eased into this world instead.

I love the concept. I love all the side characters especially Nova. I love the friendship between the group. I hope there is a book two as it feels like the ending isn't concluded.

I thought the romance between her ex was more realistic and passionate. I don't want to give names in case I spoil it. I would have like more romantic scenes between the current romantic interest to build that tension. There seemed to be an equal amount of romantic build-up for the ex and current romantic interests.

This is a book I would buy and read again. The magic system is unique and shows what fear can do to people. I love the way this book can relate to the real world. I would definitely be looking at this authors current books.

I read this book as an e-arc from NetGalley and am very grateful for the chance to read it early! The magic system in this story is brilliant and I loved how well thought out the different terms used were. It took me until around halfway to grasp how the magic worked but I always find that with new systems and I think that once you wrap your head around it, its so fun and the details of different Shades and Hues make a lot of sense.
I enjoyed some of the characters more than others- I loved Cassiel and Novi, but wish we saw more of the found family dynamic and more of Lyria. I would have loved to feel a bit more attached to Eve and Ezzo and even Cemmy's mother. Overall my main (and really only) criticism of the book is that I wish it was longer. I think I didn't care too much for the relationships because I didn't see too much of them, and that more exploration of this tied in with more exploration of how the magic system worked would have been brilliant.
I rated this 3.5 stars and would definitely recommend this as a YA fantasy, its definitely going to be big in the BookTok/Bookstagram communities.

Thanks so much to Hodderbooks and HodderPublicity for the arc!

An incredibly easy and fun read, action packed, the world building that was quickly done and was not overly confusing. Loved to see all the different personalities and powers. Really cool magic system!! I was really happy to see that Dylans writing style evolved from Mindwalker/MIndbreaker. I am looking forward to what she keeps publishing in the future.

To begin with i was just confused, trying to work out what colours were what and how that worked with shades. I was just vibing to begin with i enjoyed the storyline but could not understand the colours. About 20 percent things started to make some sense. I was rooting for Cem and Novi from the beginning. I just didn't feel too captivated by the story which is such a shame as i was really looking forward to this book. I really struggled by about 50 percent the budding potential relationships and the planning in place it just felt slightly flat. i would say at 60 percent i felt fully engaged and was rooting for Cem and chase and Cem and Novi.
Plot twist i did not see coming, so glad i pushed through the last 40 percent of this book DAMN. The plot twist is didnt see coming! Im glad i pushed through as i really enjoyed the last part of this book!

A magical heist with high stakes!.
I adored the magic system and how the characters were built throughout,

It's my favourite trope, slow burn enemies to lovers! & This did not disappoint!

Great diversity which is great to see!

5*

This has been one of my favourite books of the year so far. I’m a fan of Kate Dylan anyway and was particularly excited to see that she was working on a fantasy novel. It did not disappoint.

It took her usual hallmarks of fast paced story telling, compelling characters and snappy dialogue with a really vibrant and well developed fantasy world. The magic system felt fresh and I loved the almost political power dynamics of the church v magical society.

All in all a fun read which packed an emotional punch in the right places. Hope we see more of this world and these characters.


Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

Until we shatter is a fantasy book about a group of misfit thieves trying to perform a heist. The world building and magic system was fantastic but slightly confusing at times. I liked the characters. I do wish more time had been spend on the actual heist because that was what drew me to it in the first place. The colour naming also felt a bit immature. Overall I did enjoy the book

Thank you netgally for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Until We Shatter is a great standalone fantasy novel set in a conflicted world on the brink of all out war. We're introduced to our main character Cemmy and her great band of friends who I came to love.
I will say that I found the world a little confusing at first, especially the magic system, but as I kept reading it was explained in great detail and it was a good world building experience. I came to understand the magic system and respect it for it's uniqueness; I don't think I've ever read anything like it the magic system in this book.

I enjoyed the storyline and the heist of the plot, it was really well thought out and kept me on my toes. There were some great twists and turns that I had no idea were coming! I liked the romance as a sub-plot, but enjoyed more that it wasn't the main plot and just a back story. It brought more depth to the characters and what they were going through.

I would have liked to have learnt more about Cemmy's little gang. I got a liked what I got to learn about them, but would have liked a bit more to help me feel more emotional connected to them.
I also think the whole story happening in a week's timescale is maybe a bit unrealistic... Like did they sleep at all? How did they learn that much control of their magic within a few days? It felt a bit of a stretch.
But these are small criticism, and overall, I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it!

5 stars from me. So so good. I loved every single word of this book. So cool and entertaining. The characters were perfectly built and the storyline was immaculate.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I liked the concept and magic system in this book, heists are one of my favorite things to read about and the magic system felt very unique. I also enjoyed the fast-paced narrative and action scenes.

Despite that I will say the actual heist portion of the book was a bit disappointing since it didn’t actually happen until very late in the story. Another thing for me that hindered my enjoyment was how much world-building seemed to be crammed into the first third/fourth of the book, sometimes when it wasn’t even needed. I would have liked to see it in a way that felt less like info dumping and convoluted.

The characters were okay, but they didn’t really stand out in a way that made me super invested in them. The romance also felt like it was just there for me and again, I didn’t hate it but it didn’t stand out.

Overall, I wound up finding this to be a decent book, and I’m sure had I connected to the main characters more I would have enjoyed it more than I did because the premise and magic system are great.

~🄾🅅🄴🅁🄰🄻🄻 🅁🄰🅃🄸🄽🄶: ★ ★ ★ ✰ ✰ ✰~

ARC Book Review: Until We Shatter

Wow, literally such an amazing book, I am truly obsessed… Until we Shatter is a full action packed with an impossible epic heist. This is YA standalone fantasy filled with an amazing and unique magic system. We follow the FMC Cemmy whose existence is under threat as a Hue.

Cemmy and her group of misfit hues are coerced into completing an impossible heist of an object that is draining the magic from their world. The book has such amazing world building, with a world divided by full-blooded magic users the Shades and, Hue’s whose entire existence is illegal as a part-blooded magic user. The magic system takes place in an alternate dimension made of shadows, with each magic user having a different impact on the alternate dimension.

The story is filled with lies, deception and adventure, with relationships made and destroyed. I don’t want to give any more away as it will ruin the magic of this story! But this was a breath of fresh air in a very saturated fantasy genre!

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Key themes:
✨ Unique Magic system
⚔️ Epic heist
🤍 Found family
💫 Betrayal and blackmail

Thank you NetGalley for a ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The magic in this book is amazing! It does take a minute to really grasp all the players (hues, shades, etc - all seem the same to me!) but I was pleased once I started to understand it. The story is unique and I enjoyed the characters although some of the sun characters weren’t as deep as I would have liked to actually feel anything for them.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's how to ignore the impossible.
Because when you live in a constant state of desperation,
that's just what you do.
You find ways to bend it."

I actually requested this book because I am a huge fan of Six of Crows, and I'm always looking for a book that will give the same vibes.
I have to say, it's pretty close.
I enjoyed the magic system: the presence of shades of colors and different types of magic based on those was interesting, as was the concept of shattering. The fact that the magic system was fully explained in the beginning helped a lot in understanding what was going on later in the book. The found family and friendship between all the characters are amazing. The only thing I missed is the multiple POVs... I always love being able to see how all the characters react to certain events and learn about their pasts and ideas. Even though Cemilla gives us a glimpse of each of her friend's pasts, it still wasn't enough.
Apart from this very small detail, Chase and Cemmy's relationship made it impossible to put down the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

~ 4.5 ⭐️

I liked it. 4.5 ⭐
Liked it, but I do feel it would be better suited to my teenage daughter and it is described as YA so that does make sense.

I thought it was brilliant to start right in the thick of things, despite the slight info dump, the action of it and explanations in real time made the very complex magic systems much easier to digest.
The hues and the shades make for a very unique world of magic amidst the fantasy genre.The Grey... chefs kiss 🧑‍🍳💋 so unique and captivating.
The stakes are high, the action is packed and it really hooked me. 👏

Cemmy could have been a little more endearing for me. I liked seeing how her past losses and experiences had shaped her in the now but I was feeling like I didn't really love her as my FMC and wanted a bit more.
I was a bit underwhelmed by her relationship with Chase. The history between Cemmy and Novi being much more interesting and real feeling. I definitely felt there could have been more development to Cassiel so he'd be more believable and have more depth; a pitfall of a standalone fantasy novel I suspect.

The found family in this book really shone. Something so many of us can relate to and so wonderfully depicted in Kate Dylan's wonderful writing style, which truly was so smooth and beautiful.

Isitar really felt alive to me; very easy to envision (thanks to Dylan) and utterly mesmerising.

Heists, snake-bitten lovers, betrayal, loss, trust and friendship... definitely worth a read.

This was such a good read!! Action packed and kept me so engaged. Great found family and an amazing heist. It totally lived up to the hype I had for it and one of my favorite authors recommended. Will be recommending it to everyone and also adding to our library.

I really hoped that I was going to like this book especially as it was marketed to fans of Six of Crows but I could not get into this book for many different reasons. To start with, this didn’t feel like a book about a fantasy heist. There was very little about a heist until the end and even that fell flat for me. The heist was something the characters were all forced to do against their will, it was not an epic heist for all their own benefits. The whole book was nearly all miscommunication, lies and betrayals between the characters.

The magic in the book was extremely confusing and overcomplicated. The magic of the main characters was easy enough to remember but the other magic ‘types’ (aka colours) were barely mentioned enough. The reason it was so confusing wasn’t the powers having colour names, but there was shades and hues. Shades being the colours with full powers. The characters that embark on this heist are hues, which are rare and have a strange power because they have only one shade parent. It ended up feeling like a dump of metal, gemstone and colour names that didn’t account for anything.

I didn’t connect with the characters at all, they all felt as though they had very little personality. We have almost no back story for any of them. The protagonist, Cemmy, was more annoying than she was likeable. I couldn’t tell who the love interest was meant to be, she was in love with Novi who broke up with her because she was keeping a secret, so there was potential there for when she was ready to tell her what she had been hiding, but then she randomly decides to get close to Chase one night and tell him this big secret, so that’s basically the end of Novi and Cemmy. She starts getting closer to Chase but then also gets mad at Novi for hanging out with another girl in her apartment. Chase could’ve been a great character but there was so much missing. None of these characters had any chemistry with each other and they all seemed to lack empathy.

In conclusion, the story had a good premise but I could not connect to world or the characters. This book really fell short on what I expected it to be.

The writing was absolutely incredible and kept me fully engaged the entire time, I feel by saying anymore would spoil the allure and surprise I got from reading this book that made it so delicious from the get go.

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.