Wow. It’s been a while since I had a reading experience this immersive. I enjoyed this book even more than Winter’s Orbit and that’s saying something.

I am obsessed with Tennal and Surit. I think the relationship dynamic where one person is an earnest, honorable, controlled type with encyclopedic knowledge of rules and regulations, while the other is a petulant, rebellious, flirtatious chaos gremlin might just be my new favorite. 

I loved the way it seemed like Surit rescuing Tennal from losing himself (not just within the sync but in the void of space), is such a strong allegory for the way that those of us struggling with depression are tempted to surrender ourselves to the lies our mind is telling us about our worth, and how we sometimes need someone to ground us by reminding us of the truths about ourselves—truths we might not be able to see from our vantage point. 

I also loved—and I don’t know if this was intentional—the way this story kind of turned the sci-fi/fantasy romance trope of a “soul bond” on its head and turned it into something dangerous. There’s so many stories about protagonists in a romance who develop this telepathic connection wherein they’re able to feel what their partner is feeling and hear what they’re thinking, and this is often something the reader is rooting for—something to be celebrated.

But here it feels like the author is asking us to consider: “Would that truly be healthy? What if it resembled something destructive? What if it led to the parties involved losing themselves as individuals?”

Overall, I really really really loved this book.