Hi everyone, it’s been a while since my last post, but I’m back again to participate in the blog tour for The Never Tilting World, hosted by Caffeine Book Tours, which is run by Shealea.

BOOK INFORMATION

Title: The Never Tilting World
Author: Rin Chupeco
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication date: 15 October 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn.

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.

While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.

But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

Review:

The synopsis set up a lot of expectations, and by and large, I think the book delivered what was promised. The story was a rollicking ride from start to finish. I read the ARC in ebook format, so I was surprised when I saw that the page count was around 500 pages because it didn’t feel like it because of the swift pacing.

It’s not mentioned in the synopsis, but the story is told in four different points of view, one for each of the characters mentioned in the final paragraph, all of them in first-person. I think the author did a good job of using the alternating POVs to enhance the storytelling, especially in terms of revealing/withholding key information that created dramatic irony and narrative tension. The POVs were like pieces of a puzzle; assembling them allowed for a clearer and deeper understanding of the world, the web of characters, and the histories/mythologies that were scattered and lost or hidden in the process of the Aeon’s Breaking.

To talk a little more about the characters: Odessa and Haidee were interesting to me because even though they are literal goddesses with superpowers beyond what everyone else can do, they’re still fallible, and their agency is limited by their respective environments. They are not all-knowing or all-powerful, they’re just teens trying to figure shit out and do the best they can with what resources they have. Their immense power is balanced out by an immense personal responsibility for literally saving the world. Because the bigger picture stakes of the story are so intimately bound up in the characters’ personal stakes, the stress on them is enormous, which makes for great character development arcs.

As for the other two characters, I was pleasantly surprised to find two disabled characters being front and center in the story. I definitely connected with Tianlan, Odessa’s bodyguard and the de facto leader of Aranth’s mission to the Great Abyss. Her past experience on a similar journey traumatized her, leaving her with PTSD. Her psychological struggles were relatable to me as someone who has mental illness as well. I appreciate that the story treated her and her illness with care and compassion and that the worldbuilding acknowledged the existence and impact of mental illness alongside other physical or even magical ailments.

Then we have Arjun, orphan, amputee, and snark-master extraordinaire. He’s practical and cynical, a survivor down to the bone, more invested in the here and now than any abstract future. At first he’s ready to take revenge for the climate disaster on the goddess Haidee, but slowly, reluctantly, he finds himself choosing hope and believing that they can fix the world. He’s the kind of underdog that you can’t help but root for.

Another strength of the book is the worldbuilding. Aeon is a world of extreme contrasts, a world of beautiful chaos, and the details and description in the story provide breathtaking visuals for both the physical setting (the two cities as well the surrounding wastelands and the frightening and fascinating creatures that inhabit them) and the elemental magic system. The author wasn’t afraid to push the envelope and go wild with the aesthetics, so I think this story would be perfect for an animated movie adaptation.

For those who love a good romance, there are not one but two romantic pairings and subplots in The Never Tilting World, one f/f, the other m/f. The f/f romance features the guard/princess dynamic, while the m/f has two bickering strangers-turned-allies forced to cohabitate in a small space together. I personally found the f/f romance more compelling, probably because it has more emotional baggage and angst attached to it stemming from trust issues and conflicts of interest. However, both relationships had their tensions and buildup.

And for those who aren’t really as interested in romance, there is plenty of non-romantic plot and character development, including some interesting twists. I hope you get the same emotional journey out of this book that I did.

Content/Trigger Warnings: PTSD, ableist language, references to sexual assault, sex (non-graphic)

About the Author:

Rin Chupeco has written obscure manuals for complicated computer programs, talked people out of their money at event shows, and done many other terrible things. She now writes about ghosts and fantastic worlds but is still sometimes mistaken for a revenant. She is the author of The Girl from the Well, its sequel, The Suffering, and the Bone Witch trilogy.

Despite an unsettling resemblance to Japanese revenants, Rin always maintains her sense of hummus. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. Dances like the neighbors are watching.

Author links:

Author website —https://www.rinchupeco.com/
Goodreads — https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7055613.Rin_Chupeco
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rinchupeco
Pinterest — https://www.pinterest.com/rinchupeco/
Twitter —https://www.twitter.com/rinchupeco 

Book links:

Amazon — https://amzn.to/2kMphSI
Book Depository — https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Never-Tilting-World/9780062821799
Goodreads — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36321739-the-never-tilting-world

Don’t miss out on the other stops on the blog tour:

Also, if you have the time, join us for the end-of-tour Twitter chat about The Never Tilting World: