Thank you, Netgalley and West 44 books for the ARC.

I didn't see that this book was written in verse format. I probably overlooked it in the description. It took some time to get used to it, but still, I enjoyed the story. It's been a while since I've read a sci-fi. The only thing that was annoying is that after every 'poem', there is a picture of numbers and letters.

Overall, it was a good, quick read. It was so unique how this story was written.

This was a first for me. I've been branching out and trying new kinds of books recently, and this was one of them. I've read a decent amount of science fiction, but I've never read one that was told entirely through poetry before. While I wasn't sure about the free verse at first, I ended up enjoying the way the poetic format changed my reading rhythm and added to the eerie, dreamlike atmosphere of the story. I also appreciated the way this story tackled some big, hard issues. Its vision of the world is a bleak one with some pretty big moral and ethical issues to handle, and I appreciated seeing the main character's struggles and the way the author nuanced some of the ideas.

My one complaint is that things ended almost too tidily. The resolution and change seemed almost too easy to accomplish. This may just be because it's not a very long book, and the poetic formatting means that it's a lot shorter than a prose book with the same page count. I would have loved to spend more time in the world working through the ethical issues and having the kinds of conversations that the author started here.

I think this book would be a great book for older teens to read. It introduces some very important ethical questions, and it manages to both communicate how atrocious and graphic the exploitation of others can be without actually being graphic. I think it has the potential to start older teens thinking about some of these topics for the first time or in new ways, and I think parents and teachers could easily use this book to open some really important conversations with the young people in their lives.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much to West 44/ Rosen Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

C is an Angel, one of the last remaining humans, his body parts are for the use of the soldiers, that’s his destiny. But as Ethan comes into the bunker, he wants his help, help to stop the sentinants by becoming a Dragon and ending the code.

This was a really well written verse, I honestly enjoyed the story telling and how it all unfolded, how the dystopian world had formed and that the robots were ending the human race for their mis-treatment, how there were part human part robot beings, built for their purposes.

Following C’s journey from being just parts to finding he was incredible at something else, something that could really help the people around him. His ability to read and read quickly meant that reading the code could be done quickly, it was great he was able to serve a purpose and make changes happen.

This wasn’t a story I would typically choose read, I’m not into robots or anything like it, however I am a fan of this authors writing she always knows how to create such a gripping verse book, so much detail, characters you get invested with, and a story that takes you on such an adventure.

Thanks to both NetGalley and Rosen Publishing Group for the ARC copy. This has not affected my review, which are my own thoughts.

In "Like Water for Dragons", we are presented with a world torn apart by war between humans and sentient AI, and where our protagonist, C, is an angel, raised to, eventually, get his limbs and organs harvested for older soldiers, call Dragons, that may need them to last longer, get healed, and keep contributing to the war. Except, unlike his peers, C can read, a fact that he maintains in secret, for it would mean trouble for he.
But, one day, he does get caught by Ethan, a dragon-in-training, who bonds with him and brings C books, until Cis about to have his heart taken. The only solution is for C to work with Ethan intercepting AI data that could help win the world for the humans. They must be careful, for they could face death if they are found out.

Even though it is stated in the book's page, it took me a few pages to realize this was written in verse, and while there's nothing wrong with that, those 200 pages that this book has in length actually make for a quite short story when written like that. But, as said, this doesn't make for bad readability, on the contrary, I think is quite the bold choice and something interesting to see unfold for the type of story that is being told. No, the verse format is fine, my issues with this book where others.
Note, that just because I say "issues", it doesn't mean that the book is bad, just that I think it could have been better, in my opinion. I'm sure other people loved it as it is. And while I did like it, have a good time with it, I just didn't "love" it.

The plot is quite linear, picking up from the book's synopses that happens pretty early on, as expected, up until the end, where we find out if C has been able to help win the war against AI or if they've been found out and punished for it. Nothing disrupt its, nothing moves the plot for its destination, we go from A to B, hitting the expected plot points until the very end. I would have like it to be more conflict, for C to struggle more with some things, mainly, the collecting AI data that is so crucial for humans to win the war. I know he can read, which is not expected in angels like him, but is one thing to read letters/characters of our languages and another is to read numbers (like the binary code). And it seems like he adjust with very little effort. Which left me very much frustrated, because I like book betters when characters have a hard time achieving their goals or learning a skill they are introduce to; that way, we'll cheer them the loudest when they conquer it all.
But maybe that's just me, you know.

Anyway. My next subject is: characters. Unfortunately, these, too, felt like flat surfaces. They have goals, they have some dreams, but it all feels quite superficial, Their actions and needs are just there to aid or excuse the plot, maybe explains some events that take place, never beyond that, so they don't get the depth of three dimensional characters. They interact, they kind of formed relationships, and, eventually, C says that he makes friends with Ethan and other soldiers his age, but since we don't see almost any moment that they share together, it doesn't feel like there's any friendship at all. They are just friends because C says so, and we have to believe him. I hate it so much when something in a book is said by a character, but is has not been shown before, or is never develop further into the story, and we just to believe it because the character says so. And because the character's (who, most times, is also the protagonist and/or narrator) word is law.
I wished authors stopped doing that and developed their facts more.

So, is this a bad book? No, at all. I was entertained, I liked the progression of the story and reading something out of my comfort zone, for I have yet to read more novels written in verse. And if you, like me, want to try out this format, Like water for dragons is definitely the book to go for. I would also recommend it to people that wants to start reading into the sci-fi genre, because this book, while it can be classified at such, doesn't get too into depth with the scientific aspects of the story, and so I believe this book can be approach by a more general audience.

Really, my only issue with this novel was the lack of depth in the important aspects, but it is promising. I believe the author can and will get better in future works.

Even though I didn't fully understand the sci-fi element, I still really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, friendship and politics. The writing was really well done. I thought it was a little too short. I would definitely love to read a sequel.

The world-building in this story was really intriguing to me. I enjoyed learning about the difference factions and the state of the world as a post apocalyptic setting. It's clear that a lot of thought and imagination went into this, which is great to see in a verse novel, especially a hi-lo. I read it directly through NetGalley on my laptop and had no problems with the page layouts. It's well-proofed and didn't have any grammatical errors. Would highly recommend for teen readers who enjoy sci-fi.

4 stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I totally missed the description that said that this was written in verse form, I just saw it was 200 pages and expected a novel. Nonetheless, this was a very enjoyable read.

The story follows C, an ‘Angel’ waiting to be harvested for body parts, as he meets Ethan, a cypher looking for redemption. It feels like ‘The Island’ meets ‘Terminator’ meets ‘Ready, Player 1’.

What I Liked:
I liked everything to be honest. The writing was beautiful. It was concise but still thoughtful. The author managed to convey difficult topics in such a way as to make us think about the value of life and the dark depths we would go to in order to survive. The characters were well rounded, and their actions and motivations believable. The world was intriguing and well crafted.

What I Didn’t Like
It was shorter than I wanted. I would absolutely love to read more of this story and see what happens to the C, Ethan and even Bard in the future.
There were a few typo’s and lack of spaces after comma’s for instance, so some extra proof-reading would really make it shine. I don’t know if it’s a feature or an issue with reading it on the Kindle, but I didn’t enjoy having to flick through an image on every second page. I feel it took away from the immersion of the story.

A really beautiful, thought provoking work that I think anyone would enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books, and Maija Barnett for the opportunity to read Like Water for Dragons in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Blurb:
In a world torn apart by war between humans and sentient AI, C-235, known as C, is one of the Angels—human sacrifices raised and harvested for their body parts to sustain genetically superior soldiers called Dragons. C is destined to live only until 18, when his body will be used to heal the wounded Dragons. But C harbors a dangerous secret: he can read.
When Ethan, a Dragon-in-training, notices C reading in secret, they form an unlikely bond, and Ethan begins secretly supplying him with books. But when C learns that his heart is slated for donation to a powerful Dragon, Ethan is determined to save him. If C can learn to intercept AI data with his forbidden knowledge, he might stand a chance at survival. But with time running out, can C prove he's more than just a tool for war?

This novel is a HiLo written in a poetic verse style. It has given me both Gundam and Evangelion vibes at times (though no fighting robots; just some inferences that gave me flashbacks to some semi-futuristic anime classics). It also reminded me of a manga I read recently called Re:Anima, where global temperatures are so high, people have to live underground. The visuals of this world were a bit hard for me to picture, but with the separation of Angels, bred for their organ use, and Dragons, it felt like a hidden world, like the Angels aren't really supposed to be talked about. They live in their own section, away from the working society of Dragons.

There is a nice dash of friendship among this very to-the-genre science fiction novel. It has some political intrigue in the war that occurs between the Angels and Dragons (for what suppressed lifeforms wouldn't stoke a rebellion?) and it also offers an interestingly immersive aspect to AI and how this futuristic world is run. Being a HiLo makes this novel easy to read and makes for a fast-paced, yet high-stakes science-fiction novel-in-verse for a teen audience.