PDF The Cerulean Amy Ewing Books
PDF The Cerulean Amy Ewing Books
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From New York Times bestselling author Amy Ewing (The Jewel) comes the exciting first book in a new fantasy duology. Rich, vivid world-building and ethereal magic combine in an epic tale that’s perfect for fans of Snow Like Ashes, These Broken Stars, or Magonia.
Sera Lighthaven has always felt as if she didn’t quite belong among her people, the Cerulean, who live in the City Above the Sky. She is curious about everything—especially the planet that her City is magically tethered to—and can’t stop questioning things. Sera has always longed for the day when the tether will finally break and the Cerulean can move to a new planet.
But when Sera is chosen as the sacrifice to break the tether, she feels betrayed by everything in which she’d been taught to trust. In order to save her City, Sera must end her own life.
But something goes wrong, and Sera survives, ending up on the planet below in a country called Kaolin. Sera has heard tales about the dangerous humans who live here, and she quickly learns that these dangers were not just stories.
Meanwhile, back in the City, all is not what it seems, and the life of every Cerulean may be in danger if Sera is not able to find a way home.
PDF The Cerulean Amy Ewing Books
"The Cerulean has an interesting world-building style that makes it sort of fantasy, sort of mid-20th century, and sort of space sci-fi. While the story begins in the City Above the Sky, which can best be described as a parthenogenic lesbian alien city moving from planet to planet, we go down to one of the two continents of the planet it is hovering over - Kaolin. When curious, misfit Sera is chosen as the sacrifice for the Cerulean to break the tether (which is like a link to the planet below, exchanging resources like a vein), she does so with the greater good in mind. However, she survives the fall, and is instead captured by two of the other main characters, a set of twins - Agnes and Leo, who are the biracial children of one of Kaolin's theater owners, Xavier, who wants to use Sera for his traveling circus show. Meanwhile, Leela, Sera's best friend back on the City, is learning a bit more about her culture and the secrets behind the Cerulean's life.
One thing I liked a lot about the book was how it was a bit unexpected, and also that it discards some tropes. Another fact is the sexual diversity - while Sera discovers she is heterosexual (through a handsome actor, not Leo), Agnes is a lesbian and Leela is, well, sapphic in a sapphic utopia. The story is also unpredictable, especially in the second half, making it for an exciting read. I must say, though, that getting there is slow - the start and much of the first half takes some time to actually get into a good pace, and takes some effort to wade through; there was too much about the description of the City Above the Sky, when all that information about it could have been seen later on through Leela's POV. Agnes' perspective, meanwhile, is 'independent girl stuck in a stuffy misogynistic society' and she seeks to go to her mother's homeland to pursue the sciences. Leo's development is to get out from the shadow of his father and stop seeking that jerk's approval, and also to stop being such a frat bro. There is practically no romance in the book (but Leo and Agnes have their crushes) which was a win for this book as there were other more important things.
For a lot of the second half, the plot is about getting Sera out from Xavier's clutches, so the story also feels like a part, not a whole. It is obviously set up to be a duology, so the ending seems more like an intermission. There were some parts that I felt like it took too long for the characters to realize - like how the magic of the Pelagan creatures obviously came from the City, or the link between the sleeping sickness and population control. We still haven't seen the Pelagan part of the continent, which is going to be the next book, but as far as we see from this book, it seems to be a more liberal land. Which brings me to the thing that poked at me - the way the cultures of the two continents were constructed seems pretty racist. Kaolin, the island that has POC (brown-skinned people) is more antiquated in their customs, and are restrictive and misogynistic, with homophobia and a monotheistic belief system, while Pelaga (or whatever their name is) has a culture of white people, more open values (and gay islands) and their magic comes from silver people in the sky (angel much?) and are considered heretic by Kaolin standards. The religions may be swapped, but it is clearly a reflection of colonial differences, and I can't believe that a book that with attention to sexual diversity has such a glaring oversight when it came to the racial optics of this book. (I also can't believe that the imprint that gave us The Continent debacle didn't learn much from that event)
Overall, an interesting world and magic system, with some compelling character narratives, but it is marred by the handling of cultures."
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The Cerulean Amy Ewing Books Reviews :
The Cerulean Amy Ewing Books Reviews
- Fantastic story- can't wait for the next book!
- I was so completely unsure about this book. I wanted to read it because of that stunning cover. Which I like so very much. And thought the summary seemed kind of interesting too, yet a little weird as well, haha. But I was excited to give this book a chance, hoping that I would love it. I didn't, but I enjoyed it a whole bunch.
Which I was sure I would not do, because I made the mistake of reading a goodreads review before I started. Which was all kinds of negative. I did not find the same issues with the book, though, and I'm thankful for that. Will be writing more about that soon. I'm giving this book three stars. I did not love it but I liked it so much.
This book is told from four different point of views, scattered all through the book. We first get to know Sera a whole lot, which I liked. I did not love this girl, but very much liked her and enjoyed getting to know her. Especially liked getting to know where she lived. Which was a planet above the sky, in the stars. Tethered to another planet below, where all regular humans lived. And Sera was very much not a human. On her planet everyone is female. There are no males, and there has never been any. Yet the women are still able to have children because of some kind of magic they have. And gosh, there is a lot of magic on this planet. And I liked that a whole bunch. I liked getting to know more about how everything worked and all they could do. It was interesting.
But what weirded me out about this planet was the romance. I liked that they fell in love with each other. I did not like that they got married in threes. Yeah. They fell in love as three people. I do suppose this could happen, but to me it was a little awkward and I found it weird to read about. Especially when these three women had a child. They become a purple mother, a green mother, a orange mother. And that's what this child calls them until she leaves home. It was so very weird, haha. I never got used to it. Was not for me.
But even so. I liked this planet. Oh. And I forgot. They all have bright silver skin and blue hair and eyes. I found that to be pretty interesting. Blue blood as well. And they have magic in it. And I liked learning new things about it all. Anyway. Sera. We got to know her a bunch, and I liked her a lot. I loved her best friend, Leela. They had such a special friendship. Until it was announced that Sera will be the one to make their planet finally move on in the stars. She has to jump, die, so that the others may leave. Yeah. What even.
It was all kinds of weird, haha, yet so interesting too. I liked reading about it. It hurt my heart how very heartbroken Sera and her mothers were about it. They were not okay. Neither was Leela. But everyone else did not care all that much. Sera did not want to die. But she listened to her people, to Mother Sun, their god, which was so not my thing, but yeah. And so she jumped. Except she did not die. And is now on the planet below, with the humans that live there. Sera gets captured right away, and put in a cage.
Which is when we meet two other point of views. The twins, Leo and Agnes. I did like them both. Leo the most, I think. Though he was kind of an idiot at first. And also just felt like too little, to be honest. I wanted him to be more amazing. Agnes is gay, in a world where it is not allowed to be, where they sort of live in the past, with women only getting married and not working and things like that. It was pretty depressing. Yet so interesting too. Their father was the very worst, yet he could have been more brutal as well. Sigh.
This book is about Sera trying to survive on the planet below her home. She cannot talk to anyone there. She understands their language, but they do not understand hers. Leo is the one that captures her. But he ends up changing over the book, wanting to stop impressing his father. There is a lot going on. Things with Agnes, which I enjoyed reading about. I found her interesting. I wanted more, sigh, but it was good too. They both want to save Sera, to help her get home. Which will be all kinds of complicated to try to do.
There was one thing that I loved about this book. And that was Leela. She is still on the planet in the stars believing that her best friend is dead. And knowing Sera's sacrifice did not work, their planet isn't leaving. The woman in charge of the people is doing suspicious things, and Leela works to figure it all out. I loved getting to know this girl. And I so wish she had more chapters. I loved getting to know everything she was doing and found it to be so very interesting to read about. There must be more of her in book two. I need.
There is so much going on in this book. And I did not write down most of it, haha. I found the plot to be exciting most of the time. And I always needed to know what would happen next. But it's also a three star for me, because I did not love this. I did not love the characters; I felt like I did not get to know them well enough. There was no romance in this book. And I disliked that. There was also too little action, I think, considering this book was five hundred pages long. I felt like more should have been happening. Hmph.
Did I think this book has some problems? Yes. Did I think it was racist and queer baiting? No. But I also think that everyone that reads books will feel differently about certain things. And that is very much okay. Although I did not think this book had those issues, others might, and that is okay too. Having different opinions on books is great. And this one was difficult. It was painful to read at times. Because of animal cruelty; keeping them locked up and such. It wasn't too horrible, but still a bit painful. But written well too.
My gosh. I have written way too much about this book. Sorry about that. But I had so much that I wanted to share. And I still have so much I want to share. I did not love this book. But I liked it so very much too. And because of that I could not stop writing about it, lol. Took me some time to start writing my review, as I was nervous, but gosh, the words did not stop. I do not think I will forget some parts of this book anytime soon. Though I do wish that it had all been perfect, haha. Wish there had been romance. Needed that so.
Which reminded me of something I had yet to share about this book. And that I need to share. Sera came from a planet of only women, no men. They all fell in love with each other. Yet she never felt attraction to any of the girls her age. And when she arrives on the planet below, she feels it for the first time for a man. Meaning she is not gay like everyone else on her planet. Was a bit weird, but okay. I did ship her and Leo a lot. Feel like it could happen in book two, but also unsure how it would work out. Hmph. I'm so nervous.
Although I did not love The Cerulean, I'm glad that I read it. Because it was a pretty stunning book and it was all kinds of interesting and sort of exciting too. I stayed up late to finish it, as I could not stop reading once I had started. Had to get to the end. But my god. That ending. It was so rude. Felt like the book and adventure was just beginning, haha. So many answers still needed. I will be reading book two. Wishing I could read it right away. This book was not perfect, but you should all read it anyway. It was entertaining.
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This review was first posted on my blog, Carina's Books. - I loved Ms. Ewing’s The Jewel series so I was super excited to hear she had a new book coming out. I have to share that I absolutely LOVED this book’s cover; it’s gorgeous. Add to that a wonderful book blurb that just drew me in, I couldn’t await to read this book!
Cerulean is a creative and wonderful sci-fi fantasy that just blew me away! The world building in this story is amazing and the story itself grabbed my heart and just wouldn’t let go. I was glued to the pages and didn’t want the story to end. I can’t wait to read the next novel in this series!
I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own. Thank you to Ms. Ewing, Harper Teen and Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review this book. - The Cerulean has an interesting world-building style that makes it sort of fantasy, sort of mid-20th century, and sort of space sci-fi. While the story begins in the City Above the Sky, which can best be described as a parthenogenic lesbian alien city moving from planet to planet, we go down to one of the two continents of the planet it is hovering over - Kaolin. When curious, misfit Sera is chosen as the sacrifice for the Cerulean to break the tether (which is like a link to the planet below, exchanging resources like a vein), she does so with the greater good in mind. However, she survives the fall, and is instead captured by two of the other main characters, a set of twins - Agnes and Leo, who are the biracial children of one of Kaolin's theater owners, Xavier, who wants to use Sera for his traveling circus show. Meanwhile, Leela, Sera's best friend back on the City, is learning a bit more about her culture and the secrets behind the Cerulean's life.
One thing I liked a lot about the book was how it was a bit unexpected, and also that it discards some tropes. Another fact is the sexual diversity - while Sera discovers she is heterosexual (through a handsome actor, not Leo), Agnes is a lesbian and Leela is, well, sapphic in a sapphic utopia. The story is also unpredictable, especially in the second half, making it for an exciting read. I must say, though, that getting there is slow - the start and much of the first half takes some time to actually get into a good pace, and takes some effort to wade through; there was too much about the description of the City Above the Sky, when all that information about it could have been seen later on through Leela's POV. Agnes' perspective, meanwhile, is 'independent girl stuck in a stuffy misogynistic society' and she seeks to go to her mother's homeland to pursue the sciences. Leo's development is to get out from the shadow of his father and stop seeking that jerk's approval, and also to stop being such a frat bro. There is practically no romance in the book (but Leo and Agnes have their crushes) which was a win for this book as there were other more important things.
For a lot of the second half, the plot is about getting Sera out from Xavier's clutches, so the story also feels like a part, not a whole. It is obviously set up to be a duology, so the ending seems more like an intermission. There were some parts that I felt like it took too long for the characters to realize - like how the magic of the Pelagan creatures obviously came from the City, or the link between the sleeping sickness and population control. We still haven't seen the Pelagan part of the continent, which is going to be the next book, but as far as we see from this book, it seems to be a more liberal land. Which brings me to the thing that poked at me - the way the cultures of the two continents were constructed seems pretty racist. Kaolin, the island that has POC (brown-skinned people) is more antiquated in their customs, and are restrictive and misogynistic, with homophobia and a monotheistic belief system, while Pelaga (or whatever their name is) has a culture of white people, more open values (and gay islands) and their magic comes from silver people in the sky (angel much?) and are considered heretic by Kaolin standards. The religions may be swapped, but it is clearly a reflection of colonial differences, and I can't believe that a book that with attention to sexual diversity has such a glaring oversight when it came to the racial optics of this book. (I also can't believe that the imprint that gave us The Continent debacle didn't learn much from that event)
Overall, an interesting world and magic system, with some compelling character narratives, but it is marred by the handling of cultures.
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