Didn't finish. Left it at 58%.

Although the story is interesting, and I liked many scenes, I got lost very quickly with so many characters all of a sudden, and I couldn't develop any interest in any of them. Elinor didn't do it for me. She seemed simple, didn't convince of anything, no matter how much I read, thinking everything will get better in the next chapter or so.

This wasn't my favorite read lately. It's really not the fault of the author, but of personal preference. I don't love this new-ish fad for ScienceFantasy. If there is a world/universe with magic, I'm not a fan of science fiction having an equal emphasis in the story. I also haven't read anything else by C.E. Clayton, so I was a little lost at first, thinking maybe I had stumbled onto a book that was mid-series (it's not). It was an internally consistent story and a fast read, but if NetGalley hadn't given it to me for review, I don't know that I would have finished it.

So it took me longer than I expected to finish this book. That is not because it was not good though. It has a wonderful combination of magic and cyberpunk. I had to laugh out loud very hard about the start and the lazy god.

It also took me longer than I expected to like Ellinor. About as long as it took her to connect to herself actually, and then it all fell into place. Turns out she is great.

Uhhhhh, I didn't expect THAT!

I love stories that start off with a bang and hit the ground running, and Deal with the Devil did not disappoint! I never felt like the world was foreign to me, because the authors explained it through conversations and character observations. There was no info-dumping, just information gained from being immersed in the world. It was brilliantly written and explained, and I seriously could not put this one down. It's been ages since I read a book in one sitting, but I easily could have sat on the couch with this one and not gotten up until I'd turned the last page. I read this book in less than 24 hours over 3 days. Every time I put it down, it was only because of something important (sustenance, sleep, the caring of pets). Everything else could wait while I devoured this book. I didn’t want it to end! And now that it’s over, I need book 2 in my hands right now! There is going to be more right? RIGHT!?

Clayton wrote these characters in a way that captured the emotion of the struggle of making those morally grey decisions and the journey of the characters absolutely enthralled me. I like my heroines badass and my heros to own their decisions so this was a win for me.

Definitely making it to my most surprising reads of the year for sure.

I just would like to point out that Bookstagram promotion works. This book is proof. Before it released, I saw it all over the place while strolling my feed. It kept catching my interest and finally I had to have it. But it wasn't released yet. But, BUT, it was on Netgalley! Instant request. Resistor is a blend of Scifi and Fantasy and Steampunk that I'm sure many will enjoy. I'm probably going to end up buying a physical copy just to stare at that gorgeous cover. 😍

Thank you for providing me with a review copy.

3.5 stars

This was an interesting book, a mix between sci-fi and fantasy (because we have an interesting blend of magic and tech, and this was great!) with some cyberpunk atmosphere to pleasantly add to everything.
The world-building could have been maybe sketched out more, or this is just me complaining a bit because I wanted more. I cannot say because we have enough in there, we see a lot of interesting new things and races, new places and technology, so I cannot really complain but… but yes, I wished to see a bit more. But this is just a minor thing.

And we have some interesting characters! Ellinor is our MC, and I am a bit confused about her. On one hand I enjoyed her quite a lot. She is a bad-ass, she is determined, she has some baggage, yes, but she has her heart in the right place (even if you may have to dig to find it) and all of this is great. But she is also a woman who cannot let go, she is consumed by her revenge and she is hell bent on her mission. And even if all this helps make her more human, more complex and more interesting as a character, sometime it was too much for me. I found myself rolling my eyes from time to time while I was reading about her. It wasn’t another big thing, yes, but sometimes it was a tad… boring.
Luckily for us we have a lot of others characters, and all of them are quite interesting. Cosmin is not my usual kind of character, but I enjoyed him anyway. Mind me, I am not a fan of his, and I cannot say that he is good, because nope, absolutely nope. But he is intriguing. A lot. And Kai? Don’t get me started on him. He is just the sweetest! (And yes, I think that some of my problems with Ellinor were due to some of her attitude on him. And yes, it was not an uncalled thing, and yes it makes sense and it helps make Ell more real but… sometimes it was like watching her kicking a puppy. And this is just not done!!!)
And Jalani is an intriguing character. I think that maybe I wanted to see more of him, but we see plenty of him, so again, this is a minor complain with no weight to it.
But the best was Fiss. He is just so sweet, and so cute! I need more of him in my life. And I won’t say more about him. You just have to meet Fiss for yourself!

The plot is not bad, it is full of action and intrigues, and it is fast-paced. It is not so original or unexpected. I mean, I knew we would get something like this well before the mid point, so there wasn’t anything unexpected but it was not boring, and coupled with an interesting world-building and some great characters makes this book worth reading!

This book took me by surprise. A good surprise.
A fantastic new cyberesque fantasy with a story of revenge.
awesome villains, epic heroes. Relatable and likeable. This story pulled on my heartstrings.
The world building, along with the tech and magic were very well done.
As with most epic fantasy reads with new worlds, the start can be a little slow because well world building. But when this story takes off, it TAKES OFF. I was able to see the story playing out in my mind like a movie. Really well written. Cannot wait to see where this story goes.

Eeeks maybe this is just not for me. It took me forever to finish and I think that is because I was just not that into the characters or the plot.

Random musings:

-From the get go I felt the dialogue was forced at times, specially when Kai spoke.
-The world building is... interesting. I have no idea why the MC had to be 50 years old 🤷 it really added nothing to the story and it was just weird when it was referenced. It seems that 50 years old in their species is like being a teenager in our species (or so it is referenced) so maybe that is a way to both explain the immaturity of the characters and a nice crossover appeal for the mature YA crowd while still being labeled "adult".
-I did like the mixture of magic and technology.
-A lot of the time I felt like I was reading an action movie--the story doesn't really get going until like 30% in, and then it is go go go.
-Slut shaming GALOREEE. I disliked Ell in a lot of different parts, but her slut shaming the other woman in her mercenary group (no matter if the other woman was a bitch or not) left a bad taste in my mouth. I am glad it was addressed by the victim of the slut shaming, but Ell needs to take a look at her actions if we are supposed to root for her.
-Honestly I did not connect to any of the characters which is the main reason why the rest of it just didn't work for me. You have Ell who is obsessed with revenge, Kai whose main function is to keep an eye on Ell and provide emotional support (no matter how many times Ell acts like a total -justified at times-dick to him), the lesbian couple with little to no personality, and at the end there comes the possible future love interest to Ell (who is in mourning for her husband).

Anyways, not for me. Moving on.

Resistor by C.E. Clayton is a great and engaging read for those of you who don’t mind some cyberpunk mixed in their magic. It’s a bloody tale of what happens to you when you’re hellbent on revenge and how you can rediscover yourself before you’re lost completely. It’s a book about rediscovering friendship and hope, about freeing yourself from the painful past, and making sense of it all again.

Resistor explores an imaginative and rich world created by a god who once upon a time whisked away a planet and modeled it to fit his tastes. He created beings of extraordinary power and potential, and left them to their own devices. It’s a world worth discovering one step at a time, and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to read the book. All opinions are my own.

What an intricate and just down right colorful cyberpunk/fantasy book!

I absolutely loved the main character, Ellinor, whose life long mission is to get vengeance for the death of her husband. She's relatable, cold, and kind of a badass. However, as much as I found her legit amazing, she was extremely real. She gets to the point where she's almost blinded by her need for vengeance, which we can see how it affects her choices in the story.

The rest of the characters were 100% deep and I fell in love with all of them - they were SO well written!

Overall, this book was wonderful. The blend of magic and technology was beautiful and vivid, and I'm excited to read more from this author. Easily a new favorite!

Thank you so much to C.E Clayton and Netgalley for the ARC.

I have to say I quite enjoyed this story. It was very odd and unlike anything I have read before, but in a good way. I found Ellinor easy to identify with. This book was just a strange and fantastic tale. I look forward to the sequel.

First thing, when there is a pronunciation guide and map in the book you know you are in for something good.
Plus who doesn't love a good fantasy+dystopian book?
I think that this was mostly if not wholly entertaining.

Vengeance is not all there is to life

Resistor by C.E. Clayton is a superb mix of all my favorite genre, sci-fi and fantasy with a dash of dystopian cyber-punk. The novel is surprisingly awesome, filled with heartbreak, friendship, vengeance, magic, futuristic tech and complex characters.

Ellinor Rask wants revenge but before she can achieve it, she is captured by her former boss and is again thrust into a world of old friendship and grudges. But before she can save herself, she realizes the hard way that her magic can stripped away with a piece of tech around her neck.
If she want it back she need to do as her ex-boss says. Deliver a precious cargo safely and the collar around her neck comes off.
Well it is not that straightforward, as she soon discovers.
People are getting killed, mobsters are behind her team, all trying to steal the cargo. She has decide if all of her plans are worth the lives they are costing, decide who to trust and if putting faith in independent contractors will not get her and her friends killed. All the while questioning where she is going and that her heart and mind is in the right direction.

This is book is excitingly action packed, with such complex, conflicted and flawed characters. The integration of magic and tech is flawless, there are different types of people and creatures living with and without magic making their world intricate and distinct.
The book was slow to start but picks up its pace soon, thus it helps us understand the world and its system better.

All in all Resistor is a thrilling novel. I am eagerly waiting to read the next novel and see where Ellinor goes.

Thank you C.E. Clayton and NetGalley for the ARC

This book is about Ellinor, the female protagonist, being forced onto an adventure against her will (while handicapped through the removal of her magic), while also still struggling with her grief over the death of her husband years earlier. Ellinor is fascinating because she's brilliant and capable but not infallible, and her unhealthy coping can lead her to make decisions that actually causes the reader to root against her in some instances. This book is full of adventure and interesting characters, with the author using gorgeous descriptors for various eyes and hairstyles. The action is quick but not too difficult to follow, and the characters manage to grow even over the short period of time during which the book is set. I really enjoyed this read and look forward to the sequel coming out.

The characters are petty and don't act their age (our MC Ellinor is supposed to be 50, despite outward appearances, but she acts like she's 15), our bad guy Cosmin is the most boring stereotypical condescending villain character, and the introduction which was supposed to inject some kind of weird whimsy to the story really just threw off and narrative interest (because honestly I would much rather have been thrown into the story with a chapter called "Well, shit" part one than an infodump creation myth that doesn't buy us anything).

The writing is rather elementary, with lots of unnecessary adjectives, adverbs, and similies. In the first 15% of the book I've learned nothing about the world other than magic exists for some people but not everyone, there are at least three races of people (one of whom is magically powered machines who escape their masters), and Ellinor is petulant AF. I'm honestly not engaged enough to continue.

When a book begins with a pronunciation guide and a map, I just know I’m in for a treat!

I don’t read a lot of sci-fi books but I definitely enjoyed this one. I love that the book started where it did, years past the pinnacle of Ellinor’s career, because it gave the readers so much backstory and mystery to sift through.

I also love that the book didn't revolve around romance, despite her motivations being rooted in her love for Misho. However, I had a bit of trouble fully connecting with Ellinor because she felt remote and disconnected from her surroundings in the beginning. I later understood that this was intentional and, I must say, it was executed very well. I loved seeing the characters' growth along the journey and I cannot wait to see what's in store for the rest of the series.

A fantastical blend of cyberpunk and fantasy with dystopian elements, C.E. Clayton's Resistor will pull at your heartstrings and send you on an emotional rollercoaster full of magic, revenge and healing friendships. The 1st book in C.E. Clayton’s new Eerden series; it follows an Air Caster named Ellinor, who longs for revenge against those responsible for the death of her husband, Misho. When she is forced into a dangerous mission by her ex boss, Ellinor will have to work with her old crew once again, reawakening painful memories, old friendships and feuds.

RATING THE STORY'S ELEMENTS:

THE CAST: 5/5
They are all deeply flawed and conflicted, but that doesn’t stop them from being likable.
- The main character, Ellinor sports a sarcastic, detached and cold persona, but at the same time is a deeply caring individual. She is so hellbent in getting revenge she is practically blinded by it. Her character arc is amazing, gradual and doesn't feel rushed at all. By end of the book she’s learnt so much but still has a long way ahead.
- The rest of the crew does not disappoint. I adore e Kai’s tender and loyal demeanor (even if he can be loyal to the wrong people sometimes), Pema and Talin’s loving relationship (f/f), Fiss’s extreme cuteness and empathy. Oh and don’t even get me started on Jelani. DREAM MAN!! <3 And these are just my favorites. There are many more incredible characters to love and villains you’ll hate with so much passion you’ll wish for their slow deaths.

THE WORLD: 5/5
An absolute treat. It’s so intricate and a perfect mixture between magic and technology. Casters, either Seersha or Humani, are able to control one or more of the four elements (Fire, Earth, Water and Air) and can use technology to enhance their powers (or vice versa). There are also Dreeochts and Doehaz, which are magically attuned creatures, very distinct from each other, that are attracted to magic. The way the world works is both unique and familiar, with some elements that resemble our society but still let you live a completely new experience.

THE PACING: 4/5
It starts a bit slow, but picks up, building perfectly towards the climax and giving us time to know and love the crew as they navigate through challenges. It is heavily action packed but also has many tender moments and interactions between characters as well as insightful reflections.

FINAL RATING: 4.5/5 rounded up to a 5 because all other elements are absolutely amazing!

I highly recommend this book to fans of Star Wars and Marie Lu's LEGEND series as well as anyone that enjoys the cyberpunk or fantasy genres.

A huge thanks to C.E. Clayton for giving me a free ARC copy of Resistor in exchange for an honest review. I can't wait to see what awaits Ellinor and the rest of the crew in the next installment!