Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I'm so torn on this series - I love the concepts and the writing isn't bad, and I think the length is right - but man they can be tough to read sometimes because of the language and formatting changes. Using a lot of obscure and “$100 words”, even some that were made up...I understand that our POV is a highly educated scholar, hundreds of years in the future on a different planet....but feeling dumb so often when reading is frustrating, especially when there are a lot words that simply don't exist.

But overall, I continue to enjoy the series overall. The story was interesting, I enjoyed the new characters and expansion of the world, and it definitely had higher stakes than some of the previous stories. The premise, world building, and commentary on how we treat our planet continues to be fantastic.

This series shows so much promise but it is a bit overwritten with confusing language - enjoyable overall but needs a bit of tweaking to be fantastic.

I have been a big fan of this series. While I did enjoy this addition, I felt like Pleiti was portrayed a little pathetic. She was so over the top yearning for Mossa it was difficult to read. Also, the reveal of the villain was, by the admission of the book itself, sudden and illogical.

The third book in Malka Older’s Mossa and Pleiti series, The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses sticks to the basic formula: an intro where Mossa appears (which gives us something of her situation and thoughts), followed by narration by Pleiti of the main plot.

For a good chunk of this one, Mossa and Pleiti are apart, and feeling more mismatched from each other in the previous book, due to a fit of depression on Mossa’s part. Given that the chemistry between them is part of what I’m attracted to in these books (not just in relationship terms, but as two people playing off each other), it’s not surprising that things picked up in pace once Mossa arrived in the story, though she and Pleiti continue to be out of step with each other. It feels like there’s a reckoning still to come there — or a constant, ever-shifting dance of adaptation and compromise, which might in the end be more realistic.

One thing I noticed a lot in this installment was the use of language. There were a lot of borrowed words I didn’t immediately know the meaning of, which I don’t remember happening in the previous two books. Mostly it’s clear by context (or similarity to an English word), but once or twice I was stymied enough to try to look up a translation, which I definitely didn’t have to do with the previous books. I wonder if I was just flowing with it better, in the past? But it definitely struck me very strongly this time.

My overall impression was that this book was a bit longer than the other two, and the pace didn’t quite work for me — but that should be taken with a pinch of salt since I still read it in half a day, in just four reading sessions! It might not be my favourite of the series, but I enjoyed it.

This is the fourth in the Mossa and Pleiti series by Malka Older, and it is a worthy sequel -- we learn more about Pleiti's past and more about the world of the platforms. There's also a mystery, though hanging out with these great characters on this wonderful world is enough for me.

As usual Older is a delight - honestly I just enjoy spending time with these characters. The mysteries are always fun but maybe not the richest - the joy is in the worldbuilding and character work. What a pleasure!

An excellent whodunit, with a loving, true depiction of depression. This series gets better with every book.