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.

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.