To start off, huge kudos to the author for making the trigger warnings really clear in this book!

To those who enjoy a more calm and sedate pace through the galaxy look elsewhere, because this wild ride gallops through scenes in a blur. Whilst it's certainly not boring, I sometimes would have liked a little more time in scenes before the characters rushed off to do something else.

It certainly never had a chance to get boring, but I would have appreciated more time with some of the reveals before hurrying on to the next problem. The main characters were generally likable, though many of the side characters didn't have the same sense of realism. It may be due to the pacing not giving them enough time to do anything, though.

Empire of Light is the kind of book that doesn't let you breathe. In spite of that, it manages to not become soulless like too many plot-driven, action-packed books do, because the main relationships are developed, dynamic and interesting.

The main character we get to follow is fun, but there is more simmering beneath the surface of the light-hearted Damian. He is an assassin for hire and as he grows apart from Aris, his unstable magical lover, and gets closer to the mysterious man named Raeyn, One thing I have to mention was that I found the development between Damian and Aris' relationship very fascinating to read about. Many books that I have read have an interesting and intriguing storyline following two characters who get together, but very few times have I read a story about a relationship falling apart that felt both real and very compelling.

This is one colorful ride with queer characters, demisexual and pansexual characters and I LOVE IT.

Woah there Nellie! This book is mile a minute! Those who enjoy a more sedate pace through the galaxy look elsewhere, because this wild ride gallops through scenes in a blur. Whilst it's certainly not boring, I sometimes would have liked a little more time in scenes before the characters rushed off to do something else!
The focus is definitely on action.
It felt classic (if rushed) space opera, with convulsed lines of plotting and backstabbing and all the intrigue of a medieval fantasy series - but in space!
I'd argue the pacing is a little to the books detriment, as most of the characters (apart from the main three) didn't really feel 3d to me. Also we didn't get any time with them!
The world building is pretty darn good though, and it's always good to see more mlm in sci fi.
Recommended for people who enjoy space opera.

Sci-fi, assassins, intrigue and explosions, what more could you really ask for? I will say, though, this was an extremely fast paced book. It certainly never had a chance to get boring, but I would have appreciated more time with some of the reveals before hurrying on to the next problem. The main characters were generally likable, though many of the side characters didn't have the same sense of realism. It may be due to the pacing not giving them enough time to do anything, though. There were a LOT of twists and it got a bit difficult to keep track of, to be honest. I will say I would watch the hell out of this as a movie, though!

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, on February 15]

“Quiet moments? I don't know them”
― Empire of Light, probably

The author says they write "queerness with a chance of explosion" and - for this book at least - that's such an understatement. This is probably the most frenzied book I've ever read.

Empire of Light is the first book in a very queer futuristic sci-fantasy series. This first book felt like a fast-paced dystopian focused on a m/m/m love triangle to me, but I think that as the series goes on, "dystopian" could become a restrictive term to describe it. I love stories that blur the lines between genres.

As I mentioned before, what stood out to me the most about this book was how it never slowed down. The characters were almost always getting shot at, and when they weren't getting shot at, they were having sex. I haven't seen so many shooting and explosion scenes since Zero Sum Game, and just like I said about that book, I think Empire of Light would work well on a screen. However, as this book tries to pull off a lot of plot twists - some better executed than others, I have to say - the "getting shot at" parts got somewhat confusing sometimes.
I could say that this book would have benefited from slowing down, but every pacing choice has its own advantages: I'm in a slump, and I flew through this, and I managed to do that because Empire of Light is the kind of book that doesn't let you breathe. In spite of that, it manages to not become soulless like too many plot-driven, action-packed books do, because the main relationships are developed, dynamic and interesting.

This novel is mainly impossible to sum up because of spoilers and the amount of political intrigue, backstabbing and twists there are, but I can say that it is about Damian, an assassin for hire, as he grows apart from Aris, his higly-unstable magical lover, and gets closer to a mysterious revolutionary named Raeyn. I found the development of Damian and Aris' relationship fascinating. I have read many (and still not enough, because the "many" isn't "most") books that have an interesting storyline following two characters who get together, but I have never read a story about a relationship falling apart that felt so real and compelling at the same time.

However, I can't say the same about the side characters, and the aspects in which this book fell flat to me are all related to the side characters. They were flat, underdeveloped, and I didn't feel anything about them when they inevitably died.
Also: I really appreciated the diversity and I'm glad I found another mostly-queer if not all-queer book, with a demisexual main character and prominent supporting characters who are polyamorous no less, but... the fact that the queer black girl died sacrificing herself for the main character didn't sit well with me. The main character is a queer person of color himself and there are trigger warnings at the beginning which explicitly tell you that's going to happen, but I kept thinking that wasn't necessary at all.
Also, at some point I was really annoyed by the fact that all women were either evil or dead, and while that got somewhat better by the end of the novel, I'd like m/m books to remember that it would still be nice if they passed the Bechdel test sometimes.