The Neurospicy Bean

  This was a perfectly entertaining, pleasant romance, but it didn’t land for me quite the way the author’s other books have. Eddie in particular I really struggled to wrap my head around as a character – why he behaved the way he did and so on. I also really wish that the rest of the baseball team had played a bigger role – I always talk about how one of the highlights of a really well done romance is the relationships the characters have with people outside the primary romantic interest. That was a little bit lacking here, I think because so much of the focus ended up on Mark’s journey. That said, it’s still a well-written book that was emotionally engaging. In particular there was a scene towards the end about queerness and acceptance and society that really broke my heart. Absolutely worth picking up.

  Okay, I’ve been agonizing over this review for literally months. Pulley’s writing here is absolutely beautiful, her characters compelling, her world intriguing. She makes things that absolutely shouldn’t make any sense – talking mammoths anyone? – feel entirely natural. I was captivated from beginning to end. And yet. I have seen some legitimate criticisms of the way the book approaches its subject matter. The idea is that Mars is a human colony, specifically Chinese (although there are several cultural influences). Mars-born humans, being born in lighter gravity, are taller and generally more delicate than Earth-born humans. Earth-born humans (Earthstrongers) are comparatively extremely strong, enough so that a mere touch can pose a threat to a Martian, so they’re segregated from Martians. Our main character, January, is an Earthstronger refugee, while his love interest, Aubrey Gale, is a politician running on the platform of mandatory Earthstronger naturalization. There is a LOT th