Abgefahrenes Buch. Schreibstil, Worldbuilding, Atmosphäre, Humor haben mir gut gefallen. Es gab so viele Charaktere. Da war es am Anfang schwierig mitzukommen. Die Spannung zwischen den Protagonistinnnen war mal was anderes. Viele Twists, einige Längen, schweres Ende...

8/10 - 4/5 It's gonna be hard to come to a rating for this book (even though it will be written above this text). My biggest complaint is how long it takes to fully get into the book. The beginning is just so so slow and I only started really getting interested at about 35/40 % of the book. That is very long for me to START. After that it was good and it didn't take long to lock in and soon I was fully immersed. But imho the beginning didn't have to be so excessively drawn out. <spoiler> I get that a lot of it was set up for the plot and to meet the characters but especially the time in house Canaan where Gideon and harrow don't speak to each other was too long. Only when they start working together the plot thickened enough for me to actually care. It's not like the book had been bad previously but there was nothing to hook me, to keep going. Nothing was happening and Gideon didn't intrigue me enough to read just for her. But I kept on going because I saw the potential and then it finally paid off. I hadn't expected the mystery element to be so strong but I really liked it. It was made even better by Gideon knowing so little about anything, I was genuinely invested in their findings and when the killings started who or what did it. As soon as the 5ths died I was hooked for real because I hadn't seen that coming at all and I love a good whodunit. I'm glad that my prime suspect dulcinea turned out to be the culprit, although of course not in the way I had expected. The execution of it was great, little hints were sprinkled around right from the start. </spoiler> Considering the world, I have to agree with many other reviewers that it wasn’t explained enough. While I loved discovering things bit by bit and knowing even less than Gideon as there are zero info dumps, you get barely enough scraps to understand what's going on. Initially that made me confused but I also liked it. It's refreshing and it was done pretty well. The issue is that the only places we see as a reader are a bit of the ninth and house Canaan. We see so little of the world the story is set in, that not being told anything about it becomes a problem. We neither see it nor hear about it. That just leaves us knowing very little about this futuristic world, especially since house Canaan seems to be from “our time”. Sadly I didn't warm up to the side characters very much. I liked some but only superficially. Not because they were badly written, but because there was a certain lack of emotionality. It felt like there was a wall between me and the characters from the book so that you didn’t really know them. The sarcastic tone doesn’t help it. For the side characters it doesn’t matter that much to me but it also made it hard to get to Gideon and Harrow. At some point though the distance is closed and we get to know their insides. Gideon and Harrow are great. Gideon is vulgar, cynical but can also be kind and when she is loyal she is to her bones. She isn’t smart and is often bested by Harrow who is dark and very smart. Both are pretty much the best at what they do. Their relationship is… insane. I’m traumatized in a good way. <spoiler> Even a month later now I’m shaken up thinking about them and where the book leaves us at. They hate each other so much and for so long, that it’s so so gratifying to see them grow closer together. Every interaction they had I was begging them to talk and please get along. When they had a falling out after the teenies died I was mortified. Just after the monumental moment of Gideon wanting to be by Harrow’s side so badly *cries* Gideon lowkey betraying Harrow by talking to those guys was so juicy and in character but I honestly hate that they never talked about it. That was really shitty of Gideon and I just wish Harrow knew it had happened. But I still love love loved when they finally finally crossed the bridge and talked about everything. Them in the water with their makeup washed off was so insanely intimate. And i swear Harrow thought Gideon was gonna kiss her. Harrow becoming overprotective and their iconic duo era jsut was the best. I loved every moment. But at some point when I realized what the cavalier-necromant duo dynamic was aiming at, what all the experiments were leading to, I also realized what that meant for Gideon. Nontheless, I cried so hard when she _died_. I only stopped because I realized that she could have survived somehow and wanted to read that happen. When I realized it wasn’T coming *yet* I cried again. Girl why was that so emotional. The epilogue and the switch from Gideon to Harrow too. But please this can’t be the end, they can’t be lesbians in space if they don’t even kiss oh my god</spoiler> Questions for book 2: <spoiler> Who was Gideon's mother? Who is Gideon actually? Why was Gideon's name on that scrap of paper? Who did she resemble in fake dulcineas eyes? Why did she see things in the experiment? Why does she have such a remarkable regeneration speed? Canaan + gas IS SHE FUCKING ALIVE?!? What did the emperor lie about to fake dulcinea? Who is the girl in the crypta? (My guess: the emperors cavalier that is in some half dead state and will end his immortality if she wakes up and the cypta is supposed to be closed to keep people OUT not her in) What happened at the resurrection? What's the big threat? </spoiler> I definitely want to continue and i already started the second book. But I had to stop because i was on vacation *cries* and i can finally finally continue now.