The moral of the story here is that queer people will ALWAYS persevere……

I feel so grateful to have had the chance to revisit this world so soon after reading Yours For the Taking; thank you to both NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of The Shutouts!

I recently read Yours for the Taking, so was very pleased to be able to read an advanced copy of The Shutouts. I preferred this book to the Yours for the Taking. The writing was similar in style but the character development was significantly better for this one. We were able to learn more about what drove the characters and informed their decisions and behaviors, which made it more relatable to me. The ending felt a little “tidy” in some ways but also left me wanting more back stories of other characters that weren’t developed as well. Overall, would recommend to friends for the content and conversation starters but not necessarily for the “excitement” of the book.

This was really a spell-binding read!! I tore through this book because I just had to know what happened next. I highly recommend for dystopian readers. My only critique was that I felt like a lot of the characters were similar to each other and also did not feel like I was reading stories about 50+ year old characters -- but more like everyone was YA. That said, it didn't affect how I enjoyed the read!

This was a story about missed connections.

I wanted to love this bc it’s queen and dystopian & I love those things, but sadly it just didn’t really land for me. I found the characters to be super off putting, which skewed my experience of the story as a whole & left me feeling disconnected from the narrative. That being said- I can absolutely see how this would work for a lot of its readers!

Thanks so much @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the eArc.

A solid follow-up to Yours For The Taking. The first book was a little stronger, as it had to build the world and create some of these amazing characters, but this one was still interesting and I was excited to see where the characters ended up. I don’t want to give much away, but my 3 is a very solid, good 3 and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the first of the series. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

When I requested this, I did not realize it is set in the same world as an already existing book that I have not read (Yours For The Taking). Luckily, I don't think it is vital to have already read it to enjoy The Shutouts.

All of the characters here are interesting, even when they are making decisions that literally had me saying YIKES aloud. Set in the near-ish future, when all our climate change problems have somewhat passed the point of no return, each of these people are just trying to survive the best way that they can. The environmental concerns are very realistic, and I hope it makes readers give our potential impending disasters some thought. Even if we can mitigate damage, even if our future doesn't shake out exactly like this, it's going to be difficult nonetheless.

When I reviewed the story's first book, Yours for the Taking, I expressed hope for the story once the extensive (but excellent!!) world-building was established. Thrilled to say Gabrielle Korn delivered, beautifully delving into the characters that had to take a backseat to the plot in the first book. With a slower pace, The Shutouts gives a more complete story of how the world we know now shatters into the devastation of the book's timeline just a few decades into the future -- and systematically lays down how the answer to avoiding such a terrible fate lies in everyday people coming together to save us. Korn wraps this story with a bow that made me emotional and hopeful.

Had a really difficult time getting into this and found my attention wandering every few pages. This just wasn't my (dystopian) cup of tea but might be for others! Wishing all the best to the author and this book release!

This was one of the only sci fi series I’ve read and enjoyed! While the first book was definitely better, I was happy to read this follow up!

I absolutely loved "Yours for the Taking"- it was a 5 star read for me- but this one didn't hit the same. I was captivated by every detail of the lives of those on the "inside," but this book was slower and seemed to lack the tension and novelty of the first book. I don't know if the author is planning to write a trilogy, but this book felt like the glue that holds the first and third books together. Overall, I hope this isn't the end of the story and that there is a big, loud, crazy conclusion.

Thank you netgalley and st martin for this gorgeous gorgeous arc
queer dystopia!! in this economy!! on the nose i loved it.
this explored themes i’ve been thinking aboutrika for a while
with lots of lovable characters honestly it was mind boggling at times
very slay!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I read Yours for the Taking and was excited to see The Shutouts, the follow up to that story, coming out. Gabrielle Korn has fascinating ideas that play out well in her books, and The Shutouts was a great revisit back into a screwed up world (that could in some ways be our future). What I found most interesting, outside of the characters, was the insight into the build up to the big climate disaster that cause The Inside to be created. We see a lot about how things may have been prevented with Vero doing what was right, and what his cult like group later became under Len’s leadership. We also see what happens next for Ava and Brook. Most fascinating though was Kelly, who acts as the view into what happened before The Inside. The only thing I couldn’t really get past was Orchid’s disregard for her letters!

I loved this book and would read anything that Korn writes. Climate change, dystopian, queer and survival…yes please!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

As someone who loves Yours For The Taking, I LOVED this book as well. This author has lovely and engaging writing that always makes reading her books an amazing experience.

This may of worked better for me if it was a stand-alone, because i had forgotten the characters as it'd been too long, so I felt confused about some motivations and relationships. Other than that, the story was well written and i enjoyed the characters!

The Shutouts is simultaneously both a sequel and a prequel to Gabrielle Korn’s previous book, Yours For The Taking. This story follows the fall of society due to climate change and the things people do to survive. The Shutouts is an incredible story showcasing all types of queer folks, and imagines how people might try to save society, might try to be selfish with their knowledge, or might retain their empathy to help each other survive and live their best lives despite heartbreaking circumstances. I loved it, and it terrifies me knowing that a future like this could potentially exist not too far from know. A great read for anyone who enjoys dystopian novels.

Ok, so this is partially on me for not realizing that this was a follow up to a previous novel, so I was a bit confused going in but still very intrigued. Unfortunately though this just wasn't for me. I never really found myself connecting with the story or it's characters. Although I will say that I enjoyed Kelly's letters/POV the most, and hated that in the end Orchid never got them/read them.

I quite liked the first book in this series (duology?) so I was glad to get the chance to read this one.

This is a good companion piece to Yours For the Taking - it covers the time before the Inside Project and after, which helped elaborate on the climate crisis and expand the world we were seeing. Unfortunately, I did feel that some of the themes could have used some nuance. I agree wholeheartedly with the authors take on politics and climate change and the problems with power corrupting but it was a bit too on the nose.

Ultimately, it’s a nice - if abrupt - ending the story begun in the first book. I recommend to anyone who enjoys cli-fi, especially with a queer bent. 3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Climate change dystopian novel told on multiple timelines with mulitple viewpoints, with plenty of queer representation. Well, basically every character was queer. Or queerish? I found the treatment of the subject of domestic abuse to be thoughtfully layered, and appreciated that she domonstrated that anyone can be affected by it, no matter how intellegent and independent they are. I wish there was more balance in gender representation, mostly because every male-identifying character ended up being evil except for one elderly father figure.