Until We Shatter by Kate Dylan | Book Review

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Until We Shatter by Kate Dylan
Series: Until We Shatter #1
Published by Hodderscape on October 17, 2024
Genres: YA Fantasy, Romance, LGBT
Pages: 319
Format: Hardback
Source: Illumicrate

Content Warnings: Death, Alcohol Use, Parental Illness, Blood, Light Gore, Blackmail, Torture
Rating:

A desperate thief. An impossible heist. Survive . . . or shatter. No matter where she goes, Cemmy's life is under threat. The Church would see her killed for having any magic. The Council of Shades wants her dead for not having enough. So when her mother falls ill, Cemmy has no choice but to turn thief. And when she's offered a job that could solve all their problems, it's impossible to resist. The catch? Cemmy will have to work with Chase - beautiful, dangerous, and full of secrets - to steal a powerful relic the Church has hidden within a deadly realm of shadows. If she succeeds, Cemmy will finally be safe. But if she's caught, she risks igniting a spark that could destroy the city - and everyone inside . . .

First of all, I am not a huge fan of the heist trope. I am not sure why it always rubs me the wrong way, but it is rare for me to enjoy a story about stealing, even if the stealing is "justified." Time and time again, someone betrays the team for selfish reasons, things crumble right when success is within reach, and innocent people often pay a terrible price for nothing.

"And when power is afraid, you can always trust it to make the most morally bankrupt choice."

Until We Shatter is certainly a unique take on the heist trope, with our motley crew using an alternate reality to steal from an oppressive religious government that is seeking to eradicate magic and everyone capable of doing magic. The parallels between the trials and tribulations faced by Shades and Hues, those with the ability to use magic, and what modern-day Palestinians face are uncanny. We have an outside government using religion and colonialism to genocide an entire group of people. The Shades and Hues were essentially rounded up and forced to live in only certain parts of the city, a city they helped found and start, and then deprived of food, clean water, medicine, and stability, all under the guise of religious purity and supposed violence. The Church constantly tries to incite violence (which is really just self-defense) from the Shades in an attempt to take away even more of their land and freedoms. Sound familiar?

This subtext was excellently executed, with gorgeous prose to boot. Dylan is certainly a gifted writer, constructing sentences in such a way as to keep the reader fully engaged and emersed in the text. However, while she is strong in language, she is not strong in world-building or character development.

The first half of the book felt like a brain dump of facts about the world and its magic system. The magic system was so convoluted it was often hard to keep up with the powers possessed by each type of Shade and Hue. This book would have benefited greatly from an Appendix that included a chart of all the possible combinations and their powers. After a while, I was able to put together the basics, but I did give up trying to remember every single detail. It was confusing and complicated for no other reason than to be extra. It's okay to have complicated magic systems, but when they are poorly done, it takes away from the entire experience.

Furthermore, I didn't particularly connect with all of our characters. I was rooting for them because I wanted them to take down an oppressive system, but I wasn't so attached that I cried when they were injured or killed. That is a failure on Dylan's part for sure. The heist trope relies on readers falling in love with the characters—that is what makes the book high stakes, but it was lacking here. However, there was both bisexual and deaf representation, both of which were beautifully integrated into the story. I am a sucker for good representation.

Overall, Until We Shatter was just fine. I had my heartstrings pulled a time or two and cared enough to finish, but it's not necessarily a series I think I will continue. Book 2 looks like it is taking a very different turn away from the original story, so I may give it a chance, but I am not overly enthusiastic about it. This is the perfect book to cleanse your palate or bump up your monthly reading count in a pinch.