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Plastic, Prism, Void: Part One
"Delicious, insane, intoxicating." —Maya Deane, author of Wrath Goddess Sing
A riotous trans enemies-to-lovers romantasy that roars off the page—in which a magical girl-gone-bad and a renegade mech pilot must find a way to stay on a date forever...
...even if it means destroying the world.
Don't you want to help them?
An extraordinary meld of adventure, rom-com, and experimental fiction, Violet Allen’s unstoppable debut is the cosmic thrill ride of a lifetime. Give in, succumb (you know you want to) to Plastic, Prism, Void.
A riotous trans enemies-to-lovers romantasy that roars off the page—in which a magical girl-gone-bad and a renegade mech pilot must find a way to stay on a date forever...
...even if it means destroying the world.
Don't you want to help them?
An extraordinary meld of adventure, rom-com, and experimental fiction, Violet Allen’s unstoppable debut is the cosmic thrill ride of a lifetime. Give in, succumb (you know you want to) to Plastic, Prism, Void.
458 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 19, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
June 3, 2026
Sometimes a book is too cool and good for the readers tbh
July 27, 2026
Romantasy is the biggest dogpile: mounds and mounds of shit that I have, I admit, squatted over and contributed my own piece, if you get my meaning. The easiest indicator that you don’t just read, but Read, is to hike down your pants and squeeze one out, as I have. I’m a bitch, you’re a bitch. Our dogpile is our pride.
And maybe, we would have hummed along to our rancid tune if I hadn’t found what I found (all credits to the delightfully tasteful staff of Recluse Books, I adore you). Picture this!
INT. bookstore - AFTERNOON
Uzma, 20-something with one tote bag and two eyes, studies the staff picks. (not every detail is true btw, I’ve embellished for effect)
UZMA: Plastic, Prism, Void? Looks fun! I’ll buy it.
There I was, assuming all Romantasy followed a rigid script, blind to the fact that LitFic fell to the same evil, when a singular light traced my path in iridescent color.
VICIOUS UMBRA!
***
I’ve never been one to let a thing simmer. I want to write more but I will read the next book and let this fade into the past. Silly me! Just know, the back of the book is right. It is Sailor Moon, House of Leaves, and Sex and the City all in one. Rather, it is glitter, experiment, and heart (or lack thereof). I’m floored.
And maybe, we would have hummed along to our rancid tune if I hadn’t found what I found (all credits to the delightfully tasteful staff of Recluse Books, I adore you). Picture this!
INT. bookstore - AFTERNOON
Uzma, 20-something with one tote bag and two eyes, studies the staff picks. (not every detail is true btw, I’ve embellished for effect)
UZMA: Plastic, Prism, Void? Looks fun! I’ll buy it.
There I was, assuming all Romantasy followed a rigid script, blind to the fact that LitFic fell to the same evil, when a singular light traced my path in iridescent color.
VICIOUS UMBRA!
***
I’ve never been one to let a thing simmer. I want to write more but I will read the next book and let this fade into the past. Silly me! Just know, the back of the book is right. It is Sailor Moon, House of Leaves, and Sex and the City all in one. Rather, it is glitter, experiment, and heart (or lack thereof). I’m floored.
June 27, 2026
What. A. Wild?? Ride.
I started in on this expecting to have to keep turning backwards and re-reading sections just to keep up. The timeline glitches, footnotes, fourth-wall breaks, shifting typography, and colliding universes create an experience that's equal parts confusing, beautiful, and completely mesmerizing. I instead just let it sweep me along and enjoy the journey. The writing is gorgeous, the worlds are wildly imaginative, and the formatting turns the whole book into something fully immersive and unlike anything else I've read.
Acrasia and Opus are both deeply flawed people who are impossible to look away from. Acrasia is a former demigoddess butterfly, hopeless romantic poet, and walking embodiment of envy, with a voice that's as dramatic and pretentious as it is vulnerable. Her lush, poetic narration pulled me into every emotion she felt. Opus is a cyborg mech pilot who's equal parts asshole and reluctant romantic. His dialogue-driven interludes perfectly reflected his mechanical nature and provided unique contrast. They're both abrasive, pretentious, stubborn, and more than a little insufferable at times, making their chemistry even stronger. Watching two people from different universes keep finding—and losing—each other across fractured timelines gave the romance this constant undercurrent of longing. Even beyond the romance, the family dynamics, the conversations about art and creation, and the exploration of identity all added so much depth to an already fascinating collection of families and worlds.
Genre-wise, this book refuses to stay in one lane. It's sci-fi, fantasy, romance, thriller, cosmic adventure, and an existential crisis all at once. The nonlinear timeline slowly stitches together both the mysteries and the relationships, revealing just enough to keep you turning the pages without ever losing that feeling that reality itself is coming apart. It's chaotic, but it's intentional chaos, and I loved every minute of it.
This is one of those books that feels less like reading a story and more like stepping into someone else's beautifully broken mind and continuously shattering universe. If you pick it up, I'd absolutely recommend reading it in print or PDF (on a larger screen) because the visual presentation is every bit as important as the story itself. I still have questions, I'm sure I missed things, and I already can't wait to melt into Part II.
Favorite Quotes:
“A human being is a universe unto herself, an eternity bound in flesh. We collide because we cannot intersect, and we kiss because words do not convey meaning across the void.”
“We wouldn't have become artists if we were good at saying what we meant.”
“We are all artists, after all. Some of us are gifted by our maker with something called ‘talent,’ but all have the capacity for creation.”
“The universe is doing that thing again…”
“It is a Butterfly’s greatest pleasure to be witnessed.”
“You’re such a talented amateur. You have to go pro eventually.”
“Too many of my generation believe that overusing garlic is a substitute for having a personality. I love garlic, but an inclination to overgarlick is a symptom of an unseasoned soul.”
“But somewhere along the way...I love you because it feels like you're the only person worth trying to understand. I love you because...I love you, and I don't know how to do anything else.”
“People are rude to me all the time; why should I do the job for them?”
“The universe is still doing that thing…”
I started in on this expecting to have to keep turning backwards and re-reading sections just to keep up. The timeline glitches, footnotes, fourth-wall breaks, shifting typography, and colliding universes create an experience that's equal parts confusing, beautiful, and completely mesmerizing. I instead just let it sweep me along and enjoy the journey. The writing is gorgeous, the worlds are wildly imaginative, and the formatting turns the whole book into something fully immersive and unlike anything else I've read.
Acrasia and Opus are both deeply flawed people who are impossible to look away from. Acrasia is a former demigoddess butterfly, hopeless romantic poet, and walking embodiment of envy, with a voice that's as dramatic and pretentious as it is vulnerable. Her lush, poetic narration pulled me into every emotion she felt. Opus is a cyborg mech pilot who's equal parts asshole and reluctant romantic. His dialogue-driven interludes perfectly reflected his mechanical nature and provided unique contrast. They're both abrasive, pretentious, stubborn, and more than a little insufferable at times, making their chemistry even stronger. Watching two people from different universes keep finding—and losing—each other across fractured timelines gave the romance this constant undercurrent of longing. Even beyond the romance, the family dynamics, the conversations about art and creation, and the exploration of identity all added so much depth to an already fascinating collection of families and worlds.
Genre-wise, this book refuses to stay in one lane. It's sci-fi, fantasy, romance, thriller, cosmic adventure, and an existential crisis all at once. The nonlinear timeline slowly stitches together both the mysteries and the relationships, revealing just enough to keep you turning the pages without ever losing that feeling that reality itself is coming apart. It's chaotic, but it's intentional chaos, and I loved every minute of it.
This is one of those books that feels less like reading a story and more like stepping into someone else's beautifully broken mind and continuously shattering universe. If you pick it up, I'd absolutely recommend reading it in print or PDF (on a larger screen) because the visual presentation is every bit as important as the story itself. I still have questions, I'm sure I missed things, and I already can't wait to melt into Part II.
Favorite Quotes:
“A human being is a universe unto herself, an eternity bound in flesh. We collide because we cannot intersect, and we kiss because words do not convey meaning across the void.”
“We wouldn't have become artists if we were good at saying what we meant.”
“We are all artists, after all. Some of us are gifted by our maker with something called ‘talent,’ but all have the capacity for creation.”
“The universe is doing that thing again…”
“It is a Butterfly’s greatest pleasure to be witnessed.”
“You’re such a talented amateur. You have to go pro eventually.”
“Too many of my generation believe that overusing garlic is a substitute for having a personality. I love garlic, but an inclination to overgarlick is a symptom of an unseasoned soul.”
“But somewhere along the way...I love you because it feels like you're the only person worth trying to understand. I love you because...I love you, and I don't know how to do anything else.”
“People are rude to me all the time; why should I do the job for them?”
“The universe is still doing that thing…”
June 13, 2026
Mmm I need part two. Acrasia and Opus hold my heart.
I went into this thinking I was going to need to turn my brain up to full processing capacity, but it was actually more enjoyable when I let the vibes drag me along. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Did I understand everything? Definitely not. But the writing was incredible all the way through, the characters made me ache, the world was gorgeous, and the mixed media formatting made for a hell of a good time.
I went into this thinking I was going to need to turn my brain up to full processing capacity, but it was actually more enjoyable when I let the vibes drag me along. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Did I understand everything? Definitely not. But the writing was incredible all the way through, the characters made me ache, the world was gorgeous, and the mixed media formatting made for a hell of a good time.
Read
July 27, 2026I don't have the mental energy required for this book. As little far as I got, there was no feel of story yet, just a lot of philosophizing. To do this book justice, I'd need to own a copy, read a page or two a day, and then research all the classic references being made. I don't have time for all that with a library book. This also was a bit more, shall we say, gritty than I expected, as well. So I'm not sure it's for me even if I do come up with the time to properly educate myself while reading it.
Did Not Finish
January 19, 2026DNF @ 20%
Even with what little I read of this, it was... a whirlwind, lol. The writing style is so unlike anything I've read before, and quite purposefully disjointed. Not to mention the plethora of weird references which I struggled to follow.
Though parts of it were quite witty and piqued my interest, ultimately I just couldn't stay focused for long enough chunks of time to keep on reading to the end. I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd enjoy this sort of experimental fiction, and the writing was in no way bad, it was just all a bit too much for my poor brain 😂
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Even with what little I read of this, it was... a whirlwind, lol. The writing style is so unlike anything I've read before, and quite purposefully disjointed. Not to mention the plethora of weird references which I struggled to follow.
Though parts of it were quite witty and piqued my interest, ultimately I just couldn't stay focused for long enough chunks of time to keep on reading to the end. I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd enjoy this sort of experimental fiction, and the writing was in no way bad, it was just all a bit too much for my poor brain 😂
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
January 25, 2026
okay where to start with this one
for 60% of this book i kept thinking “man if this was written like a normal narrative it would be so good.” but in that latter 40% i began to think that there is no way the themes and ideas explored in the book could occur with standard prose and somewhat linear storytelling
so i somewhat amend my previous statement: this book would be so good if it was advertised as having such an experimental prose. the summary drew me in, and as my first ever ARC (thanks netgalley) i was ready and roaring to blaze through it. i was stopped dead in my tracks by page 1. if anywhere in the summary they mentioned a unique or subversive style, i would’ve known what i was getting myself into and likely enjoyed myself much more. time fuckery and dimension hopping is quite trippy, it makes sense the writing itself reflects it
second note, the summary feels like it didn’t actually happen in the book. i finished the book, reread the summary, and thought “well, i guess they were on a first date for most of one book…none of that other stuff feels like it was present in my mind while reading.”
as for the plot/characters…absolutely fascinating. totally realistic to messy queer friend groups and toxic situationships. realizing acrasia was an unreliable narrator (maybe later than most lol) was really enjoyable. opus was also great, loved his chara. the others i was more so so on simply because HOW are you giving this girl so many chances when she literally screwed all yall over (but towards the end it all made sense for one of them…)
it definitely has rereadability, chances to spot foreshadowing and go “ohhh that’s what that meant” and i do believe i will read the sequel whenever it crosses my desk. i would just highly implore whoever is marketing this to change the summary
for 60% of this book i kept thinking “man if this was written like a normal narrative it would be so good.” but in that latter 40% i began to think that there is no way the themes and ideas explored in the book could occur with standard prose and somewhat linear storytelling
so i somewhat amend my previous statement: this book would be so good if it was advertised as having such an experimental prose. the summary drew me in, and as my first ever ARC (thanks netgalley) i was ready and roaring to blaze through it. i was stopped dead in my tracks by page 1. if anywhere in the summary they mentioned a unique or subversive style, i would’ve known what i was getting myself into and likely enjoyed myself much more. time fuckery and dimension hopping is quite trippy, it makes sense the writing itself reflects it
second note, the summary feels like it didn’t actually happen in the book. i finished the book, reread the summary, and thought “well, i guess they were on a first date for most of one book…none of that other stuff feels like it was present in my mind while reading.”
as for the plot/characters…absolutely fascinating. totally realistic to messy queer friend groups and toxic situationships. realizing acrasia was an unreliable narrator (maybe later than most lol) was really enjoyable. opus was also great, loved his chara. the others i was more so so on simply because HOW are you giving this girl so many chances when she literally screwed all yall over (but towards the end it all made sense for one of them…)
it definitely has rereadability, chances to spot foreshadowing and go “ohhh that’s what that meant” and i do believe i will read the sequel whenever it crosses my desk. i would just highly implore whoever is marketing this to change the summary
June 26, 2026
"All I ever wanted to be was a sentence in a beautiful story."
Just outrageously fun, my favorite book i've read all year. A mashup of Saturday morning cartoons, corny romance, 80s and 90s pop and House of Leaves. A story about wanting and needing community but being too fucked up to let other people love you because if that's not a trans experience, what is? Absolutely dripping with personality, too.
Plastic Prism Void was a little hard to read at the beginning because it makes no sense and the formatting is strange to get used to. But as it goes on it begins to flow and gets into a rhythm and by the middle of the book the story clicks into place and you can't put it down. I love when a book gets fucky with the presentation and turns the medium on its head. There are illustrations and whacky fonts and parts where you're supposed to write in it, all of which serve the story and make the metafiction part of it work so well. In the best way possible it reminded me of Homestuck in the way that different characters have their own quirks with how they talk and are represented with different color fonts.
And what a beautiful trans story, too. All I ever wanted was to be Seen, to be Witnessed, to mold my form into something Sublime. Who doesn't, after all? Walk, don't run to this book.
Just outrageously fun, my favorite book i've read all year. A mashup of Saturday morning cartoons, corny romance, 80s and 90s pop and House of Leaves. A story about wanting and needing community but being too fucked up to let other people love you because if that's not a trans experience, what is? Absolutely dripping with personality, too.
Plastic Prism Void was a little hard to read at the beginning because it makes no sense and the formatting is strange to get used to. But as it goes on it begins to flow and gets into a rhythm and by the middle of the book the story clicks into place and you can't put it down. I love when a book gets fucky with the presentation and turns the medium on its head. There are illustrations and whacky fonts and parts where you're supposed to write in it, all of which serve the story and make the metafiction part of it work so well. In the best way possible it reminded me of Homestuck in the way that different characters have their own quirks with how they talk and are represented with different color fonts.
And what a beautiful trans story, too. All I ever wanted was to be Seen, to be Witnessed, to mold my form into something Sublime. Who doesn't, after all? Walk, don't run to this book.
July 31, 2026
For months, I’ve been hungry for a book that puts my brain in a blender—a phrase I often use to describe the experience of reading Harrow the Ninth or House of Leaves the first time. Based on that request/description, the staff at a local bookstore put me onto this novel the weekend it came out, and I could not have been happier. I loved its chaotic panache, playful footnoting, and bleeding-heart emotion. This is a book that’s delighted to experiment with format and what a story can do; it’s fun, it’s flirty, it’s goofy in the extreme. It makes you work for your understanding of the characters and the plot. It plays with timeline and diegesis. This was the book I’ve been hungering for.
The primary POV character feels like a real person, in that she has flaws and quirks that manifest from her life experience and personal beliefs in a way that doesn’t feel contrived. She and her kismesis Opus have real chemistry, even though (because?) their motives are diametrically opposed.
I did read it in fits and starts, though. I hit a lull about 75% of the way through and put it down for several weeks, but when I picked it up this morning, I couldn’t stop reading until I was done.
The primary POV character feels like a real person, in that she has flaws and quirks that manifest from her life experience and personal beliefs in a way that doesn’t feel contrived. She and her kismesis Opus have real chemistry, even though (because?) their motives are diametrically opposed.
I did read it in fits and starts, though. I hit a lull about 75% of the way through and put it down for several weeks, but when I picked it up this morning, I couldn’t stop reading until I was done.
July 24, 2026
This was great and confusing but super enjoyable. I will definitely need to read it again to figure out WTF was happening.
July 15, 2026
sat on reviewing this for a bit because it’s genuinely difficult to rate. on one hand, i’m always very fond of books that are unaffaid to be extremely self indulgent, experimental, that attempt the big swings and risk it not landing for a wider audience - and this does all of that! there’s a lot of things to play with and have fun here, and i’m very partial myself to the fact that this is the first book i’ve read that comps sailor moon that feels like it actually has DNA of the anime in it
but also i found this a little boring at times and it’s indifference in fleshing out side characters made this ending particularly dissatisfying. i think enjoying this also relies on the reader finding a very specific style of humor amusing/charming, which i patently did Not.
there’s seems to be a really anxious air about the author that people will write this book off for the MC being unlikeable but i don’t really find that the issue here. instead, we have a mix of unlikeable characters and a plot that hinges on a romance that is impossible to root for earnestly, and not even fun to hate. this is mostly 280 pages of a trans man character berating a trans woman with deep insecurities and calling her a bitch every 3 pages. which like, sure, trans hetero people still hetero and not infallible to the pitfalls of misogyny but Oh My God? enough!
also for how fun a lot of the experimental elements in this were (the font changes!!) there were a few choices here i found exhausting, namely the unnecessary footnotes.
but also i found this a little boring at times and it’s indifference in fleshing out side characters made this ending particularly dissatisfying. i think enjoying this also relies on the reader finding a very specific style of humor amusing/charming, which i patently did Not.
there’s seems to be a really anxious air about the author that people will write this book off for the MC being unlikeable but i don’t really find that the issue here. instead, we have a mix of unlikeable characters and a plot that hinges on a romance that is impossible to root for earnestly, and not even fun to hate. this is mostly 280 pages of a trans man character berating a trans woman with deep insecurities and calling her a bitch every 3 pages. which like, sure, trans hetero people still hetero and not infallible to the pitfalls of misogyny but Oh My God? enough!
also for how fun a lot of the experimental elements in this were (the font changes!!) there were a few choices here i found exhausting, namely the unnecessary footnotes.
May 4, 2026
This was chaotic but in some good ways. I was confused most of the time but dug the vibe and different formats/prints. I liked the magical girl aspects. A lot of it felt repetitive especially where the relationship was concerned. This was a trip for sure.
Thank you to NetGalley and LittlePuss Press for the early access!
Thank you to NetGalley and LittlePuss Press for the early access!
July 19, 2026
i’m so sad i finished this book i never wanted it to end :’(
i think i read this at the exact perfect moment in my life.
i think i read this at the exact perfect moment in my life.
July 13, 2026
Woah. Laughed and cried and was very confused and generally remembered why I love reading.
June 15, 2026
at first it was kind of hard to follow but once you get into it and start piecing stuff together it becomes very addicting. i need more.
May 26, 2026
Not too sure about the rating for this one. There were some really fun ideas but it was bogged down by an insufferably pretentious narrator, and I had to skim a lot of rambling. That said, the ending was actually really good and I don’t think I’m opposed to reading the sequel? Maybe? Who knows.
June 28, 2026
god. what a queer book. i am such a slut for weird perspective and formatting in a book. I think the enemies to lovers was a tad forced. but thus is the trope.
June 12, 2026
this is best book ever written. t4t is beautiful, trans is beautiful, i am beautiful
The bridge has been burned behind us, dolls, there is no safe haven to tempt us away from the path or virtuous struggle, and so we have no choice but to be wondrous. If I were cis, one way or another, I would still be myself, only with the safety of mediocrity forever haunting me, always on my shoulder.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley.
Plastic, Prism, Void is partially a sci-fi romance, partially an experimental, somewhat ergodic journey through time and space with lots of footnotes and references to other pieces of media. Parts of the text directly address the reader, there’s wild formatting, the use of different fonts and colors, readers will face time skips and narrative glitches, all of which combines to create a strange and lyrical and chaotic reading experience that was for me incredibly fun to piece together. If you are here for an enemy-to-lovers romantasy, as it is marketed, you might not actually be as pleased as I was. If you’ve seen this book compared to House of Leaves but with a tighter character focus, more time weirdness and a bit of romance, and that sounds appealing, then you will enjoy this.
The novel dives deeply into examining the main character Acrasia, a Black trans woman, who is also a former magical girl and the manifestation of envy, during her time on a date with Opus, an Asian trans man, who is also a cyborg, a fuckboy and a mech pilot who protect Earth from an alien invasion. They don’t really get along and neither of them are what could be categorized as nice people. Acrasia is pretentious and enjoys causing trouble for others, Opus is standoffish and an asshole to those around him. They are equally annoyed by and interested in each other. To make things harder they are from different universes, which are slowly drifting apart, their timelines falling further and further out of sync and if they want to continue their date, they might have to watch the world crumble around them.
The story is mostly told from Acrasia’s POV, but there are some minor Opus interludes. Acrasia’s chapters are lush in prose and one gets immediately drawn into her inner world and the way she narrates what others around her do and her reactions to it. She is highly emotional and detailed in her narration, which adds to her appeal. Opus’ chapters in comparison are just dialogue, scene changes introduced with the time and coordinates, emphasizing his cyborg status and technologically enhanced brain, as well as notes on the status of the hangout and the answer to the question going to tap it later?, which emphasizes his fuckboy status. He also offers some objectives and observations, which are some of the only times we get to experience his own personal thoughts and emotions, whereas we are drowned in Acrasia’s. It was a wonderful duality and I would have enjoyed some more Opus chapters or for those chapters to be further spaced out across Acrasia’s narrative, but all in all I still found it deeply interesting.
I‘ve read this as a PDF and while the epub version is also very well formatted, I would not advise reading it that way. Print or PDF on a big enough screen will allow the formatting to shine, whereas I fear that epub, especially if read on a phone or another small screen device, might lead to a muddled and dissatisfying reading experience.
All in all, a really satisfying and fascinating reading experience that I deeply enjoyed. My only (and very minor in the grand scheme of this book) complaint is that there is a bit of a stretch in the middle where the main plot starts to pick up, but isn’t yet explained and things become quite muddled and confusing and a bit tough to push through as it is moving so slowly with the constant time switches, but I am glad I pushed through, because the ending is absolutely worth it.
As I described this on my tumblr: House of Leaves for Lovers! Pretentious Poetry Girls With BPD! And Cybernetic Fuckboys! If that sounds intruiging, read it. There’s one whole page that just says IT’S FROM A BOOK! It's wild and strange and emotional and fun. Read this book and revel in the formatting and joy of storytelling.
TW: injury, suicide attempt, toxic friendship & relationship, violence
Plastic, Prism, Void is partially a sci-fi romance, partially an experimental, somewhat ergodic journey through time and space with lots of footnotes and references to other pieces of media. Parts of the text directly address the reader, there’s wild formatting, the use of different fonts and colors, readers will face time skips and narrative glitches, all of which combines to create a strange and lyrical and chaotic reading experience that was for me incredibly fun to piece together. If you are here for an enemy-to-lovers romantasy, as it is marketed, you might not actually be as pleased as I was. If you’ve seen this book compared to House of Leaves but with a tighter character focus, more time weirdness and a bit of romance, and that sounds appealing, then you will enjoy this.
The novel dives deeply into examining the main character Acrasia, a Black trans woman, who is also a former magical girl and the manifestation of envy, during her time on a date with Opus, an Asian trans man, who is also a cyborg, a fuckboy and a mech pilot who protect Earth from an alien invasion. They don’t really get along and neither of them are what could be categorized as nice people. Acrasia is pretentious and enjoys causing trouble for others, Opus is standoffish and an asshole to those around him. They are equally annoyed by and interested in each other. To make things harder they are from different universes, which are slowly drifting apart, their timelines falling further and further out of sync and if they want to continue their date, they might have to watch the world crumble around them.
The story is mostly told from Acrasia’s POV, but there are some minor Opus interludes. Acrasia’s chapters are lush in prose and one gets immediately drawn into her inner world and the way she narrates what others around her do and her reactions to it. She is highly emotional and detailed in her narration, which adds to her appeal. Opus’ chapters in comparison are just dialogue, scene changes introduced with the time and coordinates, emphasizing his cyborg status and technologically enhanced brain, as well as notes on the status of the hangout and the answer to the question going to tap it later?, which emphasizes his fuckboy status. He also offers some objectives and observations, which are some of the only times we get to experience his own personal thoughts and emotions, whereas we are drowned in Acrasia’s. It was a wonderful duality and I would have enjoyed some more Opus chapters or for those chapters to be further spaced out across Acrasia’s narrative, but all in all I still found it deeply interesting.
I‘ve read this as a PDF and while the epub version is also very well formatted, I would not advise reading it that way. Print or PDF on a big enough screen will allow the formatting to shine, whereas I fear that epub, especially if read on a phone or another small screen device, might lead to a muddled and dissatisfying reading experience.
All in all, a really satisfying and fascinating reading experience that I deeply enjoyed. My only (and very minor in the grand scheme of this book) complaint is that there is a bit of a stretch in the middle where the main plot starts to pick up, but isn’t yet explained and things become quite muddled and confusing and a bit tough to push through as it is moving so slowly with the constant time switches, but I am glad I pushed through, because the ending is absolutely worth it.
As I described this on my tumblr: House of Leaves for Lovers! Pretentious Poetry Girls With BPD! And Cybernetic Fuckboys! If that sounds intruiging, read it. There’s one whole page that just says IT’S FROM A BOOK! It's wild and strange and emotional and fun. Read this book and revel in the formatting and joy of storytelling.
TW: injury, suicide attempt, toxic friendship & relationship, violence
August 13, 2026
This was hovering around a 3 for most of the read - dipping lower around the middle and rising toward the end. If I had decimals I think it would end up around 3.7. The more experimental / MFA parts of the book definitely started working better for me in the latter half, when I fully realized the narrative wasn't going to actually do either half of romantasy. It's not that I wanted it to be more like standard romantasy, to be clear, it's just that it being packaged that way sets up particular expectations (e.g. that I'm intended to enjoy the romantic dynamic between the characters and root for them ending up together) and it took me while to discard those expectations and pick up on the actual aims of the novel.
This novel depicts a romantic relationship, but more in the style of literary fiction than genre romance: the relationship is undermined rather than built up by the narrative. I really liked Acrasia, because of rather than in spite of her admitted terribleness, and wanted all the best for her (in the same way I, like Acrasia, desperately want a version of A Streetcar Named Desire with a happy ending for Blanche) but it became clear by the halfway point that Opus was not that, and that Acrasia does not exist in a genre space that provides happy endings (at best, it gives bittersweeet ambiguous ones). In the slim chance they end up together, I do not believe these two people will end up making each other happy, which is kind of the essential fantasy provided by the romance genre. (Also, I just didn't like Opus as a character at all, which is a problem regardless of what genre this book is).
As for fantasy qua fantasy, the way the narrative worked was more in line with magical realism - the speculative fiction parts of this novel exist on a different ontological level than the realistic character interactions (the former is abstract and largely metaphorical, the latter is real), meaning it's a realistic literary depiction of the contemporary world with dreamlike speculative embellishments rather than a fantasy-style secondary world. That ended up working for me for the most part (I especially loved the way the magical elements revealed the dynamic between Acrasia and her cousins), but it's not romance/fantasy, and that means the romantasy tropes that find their way in here fall flat. The whole enemies to lovers schtick and the 'charming' banter are especially discordant. That's maybe justified in a metanarrative sense - it didn't really work as a parody or pastiche of the genre to me, but you eventually start to feel that these elements are performative even to the characters engaged in them, just a way of avoiding honest/direct communication and the reality of their situation. I just felt like it would have worked better if the novel had fully committed to being what it was all along rather than putting on a halfhearted romantasy facade at points.
And I really don't think the ambiguous romantasy-typical sequel-bait ending worked. Again, the magical/sci-fi parts of the narrative never felt like they were real in and of themselves, so having them be the driving force in the ending didn't make a lot of sense to me, and since the way this relationship is set up and developed in this novel made me not want the characters to end up together, having a whole other novel to read from the perspective of a character I like way less than Acrasia is not appealing. Maybe the next installment will turn this around and somehow sell me on the relationship and provide a romance-genre happy ending, but I have a very hard time picturing that and don't really want it. I would have preferred this novel provide the literary ambiguous/bittersweet ending it felt like it was building to. But admittedly I'm definitely going to read the next installment, whether I want it or not, so maybe it is a 4 after all.
This novel depicts a romantic relationship, but more in the style of literary fiction than genre romance: the relationship is undermined rather than built up by the narrative. I really liked Acrasia, because of rather than in spite of her admitted terribleness, and wanted all the best for her (in the same way I, like Acrasia, desperately want a version of A Streetcar Named Desire with a happy ending for Blanche) but it became clear by the halfway point that Opus was not that, and that Acrasia does not exist in a genre space that provides happy endings (at best, it gives bittersweeet ambiguous ones). In the slim chance they end up together, I do not believe these two people will end up making each other happy, which is kind of the essential fantasy provided by the romance genre. (Also, I just didn't like Opus as a character at all, which is a problem regardless of what genre this book is).
As for fantasy qua fantasy, the way the narrative worked was more in line with magical realism - the speculative fiction parts of this novel exist on a different ontological level than the realistic character interactions (the former is abstract and largely metaphorical, the latter is real), meaning it's a realistic literary depiction of the contemporary world with dreamlike speculative embellishments rather than a fantasy-style secondary world. That ended up working for me for the most part (I especially loved the way the magical elements revealed the dynamic between Acrasia and her cousins), but it's not romance/fantasy, and that means the romantasy tropes that find their way in here fall flat. The whole enemies to lovers schtick and the 'charming' banter are especially discordant. That's maybe justified in a metanarrative sense - it didn't really work as a parody or pastiche of the genre to me, but you eventually start to feel that these elements are performative even to the characters engaged in them, just a way of avoiding honest/direct communication and the reality of their situation. I just felt like it would have worked better if the novel had fully committed to being what it was all along rather than putting on a halfhearted romantasy facade at points.
And I really don't think the ambiguous romantasy-typical sequel-bait ending worked. Again, the magical/sci-fi parts of the narrative never felt like they were real in and of themselves, so having them be the driving force in the ending didn't make a lot of sense to me, and since the way this relationship is set up and developed in this novel made me not want the characters to end up together, having a whole other novel to read from the perspective of a character I like way less than Acrasia is not appealing. Maybe the next installment will turn this around and somehow sell me on the relationship and provide a romance-genre happy ending, but I have a very hard time picturing that and don't really want it. I would have preferred this novel provide the literary ambiguous/bittersweet ending it felt like it was building to. But admittedly I'm definitely going to read the next installment, whether I want it or not, so maybe it is a 4 after all.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
Extraordinary experimental, Plastic, Prism, Void is an experience.
This is one time where I wish I’d looked at the jacket copy again before reading, as I will admit, I wasn’t entirely sure the trajectory of the story.
This book is deliberately obtuse and experimental, as in not written in a straightforward manner but breaks the fourth wall in terms of reminding the reader they are reading, by doing stuff like messing with formatting (ergotic literature), uses colours for thematic emphasis, or employing different mediums. It maintains a stream-of-consciousness prose at times, there are poems, plays, pictures, music scores, odd formatting of pages, and footnotes, and it’s not clear who the narrator is addressing.
If the book’s goal was to be cryptic and weird, it has succeeded. I have a feeling this was the goal. The book, despite having some darker moments, it sort of gleeful, but in a manic way. The main narrator is an absolute menace of a person who is well, as weird as the book.
The plot is not very definitive - I’m still not 100% sure I got what it was throwing down - and a lot of the situations seem to have no bearing on other parts of the book. I do wonder if this is also intentional, as there is a multiverse element.
In a way, the story is one of opposites attract more than enemies to lovers (though I guess that does happen, in a sense, but not chronologically). Acrasia is a sort of witch, or I guess more like a muse, as her cousins also have artistic specialties. Acrasia is also the name of one of the fairies in Spencer's The Faerie Queene who rules the "Bower of Bliss," representing excess, uncontrolled desire, and lack of moral restraint (which totally tracks). This sort of deep (and esoteric) reference is one of the fun things about this type of book. There are a lot of pop culture references too, of course.
Back to the love story, given she has magic and is very artsy (and pretentious as hell), and Opus is a cyborg space traveler, they are the opposite sides of the SFF spectrum. That blended well with the experimental aspects, almost like their love was compressing the disparate parts of the multiverse together.
When it comes to the characters, they’re interesting. The book is very queer, which was fun. Acrasia herself is a trans woman. She is quite pretentious, but her friends call her out on it, so it very much softens that aspect of her (as she can be a lot). Her cousins and friends are very fun, though - a ride or die group. Unfortunately, Opus grated on me. I don’t know, Acrasia calls him an asshole a lot, and she’s right. I guess he softens over time - or, more like, based on the time skips, you see him in different lights - but I still didn’t like him.
And while I found the experimental stuff in the book really fun, there are long passages of dialogue with no action beats. I had trouble with this, because an important part of banter, I find, is the micro-expressions and movements that turn a comment from snide to snarky, from face-value to innuendo. Without this, it’s just bobbing heads, which I found made me lose interest.
I suppose I really enjoyed how the book took such a big risk in doing something experimental. I liked the concept, and it was occasionally quite funny, but I didn’t connect with the main plot as I was lukewarm about one character.
If you love experimental fiction, though, this is what you’re looking for.
Extraordinary experimental, Plastic, Prism, Void is an experience.
This is one time where I wish I’d looked at the jacket copy again before reading, as I will admit, I wasn’t entirely sure the trajectory of the story.
This book is deliberately obtuse and experimental, as in not written in a straightforward manner but breaks the fourth wall in terms of reminding the reader they are reading, by doing stuff like messing with formatting (ergotic literature), uses colours for thematic emphasis, or employing different mediums. It maintains a stream-of-consciousness prose at times, there are poems, plays, pictures, music scores, odd formatting of pages, and footnotes, and it’s not clear who the narrator is addressing.
If the book’s goal was to be cryptic and weird, it has succeeded. I have a feeling this was the goal. The book, despite having some darker moments, it sort of gleeful, but in a manic way. The main narrator is an absolute menace of a person who is well, as weird as the book.
The plot is not very definitive - I’m still not 100% sure I got what it was throwing down - and a lot of the situations seem to have no bearing on other parts of the book. I do wonder if this is also intentional, as there is a multiverse element.
In a way, the story is one of opposites attract more than enemies to lovers (though I guess that does happen, in a sense, but not chronologically). Acrasia is a sort of witch, or I guess more like a muse, as her cousins also have artistic specialties. Acrasia is also the name of one of the fairies in Spencer's The Faerie Queene who rules the "Bower of Bliss," representing excess, uncontrolled desire, and lack of moral restraint (which totally tracks). This sort of deep (and esoteric) reference is one of the fun things about this type of book. There are a lot of pop culture references too, of course.
Back to the love story, given she has magic and is very artsy (and pretentious as hell), and Opus is a cyborg space traveler, they are the opposite sides of the SFF spectrum. That blended well with the experimental aspects, almost like their love was compressing the disparate parts of the multiverse together.
When it comes to the characters, they’re interesting. The book is very queer, which was fun. Acrasia herself is a trans woman. She is quite pretentious, but her friends call her out on it, so it very much softens that aspect of her (as she can be a lot). Her cousins and friends are very fun, though - a ride or die group. Unfortunately, Opus grated on me. I don’t know, Acrasia calls him an asshole a lot, and she’s right. I guess he softens over time - or, more like, based on the time skips, you see him in different lights - but I still didn’t like him.
And while I found the experimental stuff in the book really fun, there are long passages of dialogue with no action beats. I had trouble with this, because an important part of banter, I find, is the micro-expressions and movements that turn a comment from snide to snarky, from face-value to innuendo. Without this, it’s just bobbing heads, which I found made me lose interest.
I suppose I really enjoyed how the book took such a big risk in doing something experimental. I liked the concept, and it was occasionally quite funny, but I didn’t connect with the main plot as I was lukewarm about one character.
If you love experimental fiction, though, this is what you’re looking for.
June 28, 2026
1: Didn't realize that this was part one of... more? Which I will in fact be reading, but it makes the end of this make more sense. Or... well, it's nice to know that there's more, which wasn't immediately clear from the book itself.
2: Is this what taking edibles feels like??? This was such a bizarre fever dream.
and 3: I have no idea how one would read this book normally. Is the physical copy printed in a bunch of colors? How does one access a normal ebook? The inside is WILD, and the crazypants format is a big part of the story / reading experience.
The way I had to read this (on a tiny broken phone screen because I didn't realize the format was so funky) definitely impacted my reading experience and I have tried to compensate for that. I'd love to flip through a physical copy to see how it translates, because what seems completely bonkers at first (the font changes, the text colors, the images) is actually an important part of the plot and not just a cute little device. Mentioning this because I think the format of how you read this will be more important than the average book!
Experimental formats are a tough sell for me, because I usually just feel like, "Shut up and tell the story in a way that makes sense rather than relying on gimmicks." In this case, though, Allen had an interesting story with interesting characters, and the format only added to the experience. Both the characters and the layout were a bit "much" in some ways, but every time the story started to lose me with its out-there-ness, Allen would drop in something that reeled me back in to the narrative's emotional core. Acrasia, the main character's non-magical-girl form, is intentionally absurdist and shies away from the horrors of emotional vulnerability... until she doesn't.
If I hadn't read the blurb, I would have been completely baffled by the narrative until about 50 pages in, because the narrative skips around through multiple timelines in parallel universes with little warning. Some of the details about the different universes had me cackling in public. Basically, Opus (a transmasc offbrand Power Ranger) and Acrasia (a transfemme semi-evil magical girl) exist in universes that were never supposed to touch, and Acrasia broke the universes and, um, space-time? to make it possible for them to date. It's a little bit about toxic relationships, a little bit about feeling like there's no place for you, and a whole lot of madcap fun with a very chatty/informal narration from Acrasia's poet-slash-theater-kid POV.
I can honestly say that I have never read another book like this one, and while it took me a verrrrryyyyy long time to get through it, I would absolutely read a sequel and would recommend this one to anyone who's down for a non-linear, experimental, and very queer scifi parody.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this delightfully unexpected read.
2: Is this what taking edibles feels like??? This was such a bizarre fever dream.
and 3: I have no idea how one would read this book normally. Is the physical copy printed in a bunch of colors? How does one access a normal ebook? The inside is WILD, and the crazypants format is a big part of the story / reading experience.
The way I had to read this (on a tiny broken phone screen because I didn't realize the format was so funky) definitely impacted my reading experience and I have tried to compensate for that. I'd love to flip through a physical copy to see how it translates, because what seems completely bonkers at first (the font changes, the text colors, the images) is actually an important part of the plot and not just a cute little device. Mentioning this because I think the format of how you read this will be more important than the average book!
Experimental formats are a tough sell for me, because I usually just feel like, "Shut up and tell the story in a way that makes sense rather than relying on gimmicks." In this case, though, Allen had an interesting story with interesting characters, and the format only added to the experience. Both the characters and the layout were a bit "much" in some ways, but every time the story started to lose me with its out-there-ness, Allen would drop in something that reeled me back in to the narrative's emotional core. Acrasia, the main character's non-magical-girl form, is intentionally absurdist and shies away from the horrors of emotional vulnerability... until she doesn't.
If I hadn't read the blurb, I would have been completely baffled by the narrative until about 50 pages in, because the narrative skips around through multiple timelines in parallel universes with little warning. Some of the details about the different universes had me cackling in public. Basically, Opus (a transmasc offbrand Power Ranger) and Acrasia (a transfemme semi-evil magical girl) exist in universes that were never supposed to touch, and Acrasia broke the universes and, um, space-time? to make it possible for them to date. It's a little bit about toxic relationships, a little bit about feeling like there's no place for you, and a whole lot of madcap fun with a very chatty/informal narration from Acrasia's poet-slash-theater-kid POV.
I can honestly say that I have never read another book like this one, and while it took me a verrrrryyyyy long time to get through it, I would absolutely read a sequel and would recommend this one to anyone who's down for a non-linear, experimental, and very queer scifi parody.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this delightfully unexpected read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
It is very rare these days to find a book that is able to truly break boundaries, but Allen manages to achieve that here. Whether it's the unique typesetting or the subversive story structure everything comes together to offer me an experience I have never had before. That's not to say it's uniquity is always perfect; The stylistic choice to change perspectives in the middle of paragraphs or even sentences sometimes left me disorientated and having to backtrack, but I also believe that was what the author was going for so I don't really know if I can fault them for it. Off of that I would also comment that overall I did enjoy the non-linear storytelling, combining flashbacks from many different periods together to round out the narrative right up until the very end, working to meld together the time periods, echoing the themes of the story more generally.
Onto the plot itself, I'd say it almost defies genre, to pin it to one I agree its a romance as advertised but its also so much more than that, its adventure, its fantasy, its sci-fi, I might even call it psychological horror. Onto the romance though, I think its a little misleading to pen this as an enemies to lovers story, as they are introduced as lovers before we flashback to enemies, but also its a sort of ebb and flow, as we explore the intricacies and history of their relationship through the years and the struggles they each have. In other stories hating both the main characters might be a flaw, as you have no one to root for but I find that Violet keeps them just on the cusp of relatability that you can't ever want them to suffer. Acrasia, our protagonist, is a sort of moth goddess, alongside her cousins/sisters who each have a power bestowed upon them by their possibly evil mother, and each pursuing a different art. Acrasia's art is writing, primarily poetry, shown by her slightly pretentious style of speaking, but each other the cousins offer a unique and interesting perspective on the place of art in the modern day. Acrasia's romantic interest, Opus, is a sort of cyborg spaceman from another dimension, meaning they can only see each other very irregularly. All of the characters bounce off of each other in a very believable way, and you can especially glean the family dynamic very quickly between all of the cousins.
The tension was held high throughout the story and always gave just enough information to keep me wanting more from each of the timestreams, piecing together the puzzle throughout, until a very dramatic ending that had me begging for more. I guess I now see the issue with reading ARCs as now I have to wait even longer before I can read the next book, though maybe if I'm lucky they will let me advance read that too :))))
Anyway I would 100% recommend this for fans of experimental literature and in particular fans of XX with the design choices.
Onto the plot itself, I'd say it almost defies genre, to pin it to one I agree its a romance as advertised but its also so much more than that, its adventure, its fantasy, its sci-fi, I might even call it psychological horror. Onto the romance though, I think its a little misleading to pen this as an enemies to lovers story, as they are introduced as lovers before we flashback to enemies, but also its a sort of ebb and flow, as we explore the intricacies and history of their relationship through the years and the struggles they each have. In other stories hating both the main characters might be a flaw, as you have no one to root for but I find that Violet keeps them just on the cusp of relatability that you can't ever want them to suffer. Acrasia, our protagonist, is a sort of moth goddess, alongside her cousins/sisters who each have a power bestowed upon them by their possibly evil mother, and each pursuing a different art. Acrasia's art is writing, primarily poetry, shown by her slightly pretentious style of speaking, but each other the cousins offer a unique and interesting perspective on the place of art in the modern day. Acrasia's romantic interest, Opus, is a sort of cyborg spaceman from another dimension, meaning they can only see each other very irregularly. All of the characters bounce off of each other in a very believable way, and you can especially glean the family dynamic very quickly between all of the cousins.
The tension was held high throughout the story and always gave just enough information to keep me wanting more from each of the timestreams, piecing together the puzzle throughout, until a very dramatic ending that had me begging for more. I guess I now see the issue with reading ARCs as now I have to wait even longer before I can read the next book, though maybe if I'm lucky they will let me advance read that too :))))
Anyway I would 100% recommend this for fans of experimental literature and in particular fans of XX with the design choices.
May 28, 2026
"Conflict is the soil from which true intimacy blossoms." So says Acrasia early on in the book, and maybe I'm as she suggests developing Stockholm Syndrome, captive to her charms. I love reading this book. I love how Acrasia pulls me into her gossipy world. I love how she insults me one minute and asks me for something personal the next. Does her beloved, Opus, have issues? Oh yeah, but I would try to never get between a friend and their beloved. This book presents itself as an impossible romance between Acrasia, who has an alter-ego as Phalene, the moth goddess, and Opus, who is also Operator #6, The Green Tiger mech. She is a Black trans woman and he is an Asian trans man. She is all shadow and he is all light, and their romance could tear apart their incompatible worlds. They are not good people. But it's also about Acrasia's human/ divine family of sisters/ cousins/ friends and the expectations of her moth-er. As a voracious reader, I love references to Latin literature, Spencer, Nabakov, Shakespeare, and so on. And I love pastiche, pulling together all of these lofty sources with old movies and tv shows, Care Bears, anime, memes like 'now kiss.' Reading this feels like having 3 browsers up with over 40 tabs open in each, and I am here for it.
A dismissive review of PPV compared it to Ulysses, but I've never read that. I did once attempt Virginia Woolf, Joyce's contemporary rival in stream-of-consciousness writing. PPV has none of the draining density that put me off of stream-of-consciousness as an extended form, although it likely rivals Ulysses for profanity. Instead, it has all the fun of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, a novel I remember mainly as being delightful to read. PPV has fonts for different characters and to indicate timeshifts, colored and big fonts, and colorful sigils and some emoji; it even has a black page and a marbled page. This is a beautiful book that must be owned in print (but you can get it digitally if you prefer). It also has footnotes, like Pale Fire or Infinite Jest. In PPV, I feel the footnotes slow me down in a good way, enabling me to reflect on the story. This is a rich book, one that invites and rewards re-reading. As one captive to its charms, I will be doing that for a while.
A dismissive review of PPV compared it to Ulysses, but I've never read that. I did once attempt Virginia Woolf, Joyce's contemporary rival in stream-of-consciousness writing. PPV has none of the draining density that put me off of stream-of-consciousness as an extended form, although it likely rivals Ulysses for profanity. Instead, it has all the fun of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, a novel I remember mainly as being delightful to read. PPV has fonts for different characters and to indicate timeshifts, colored and big fonts, and colorful sigils and some emoji; it even has a black page and a marbled page. This is a beautiful book that must be owned in print (but you can get it digitally if you prefer). It also has footnotes, like Pale Fire or Infinite Jest. In PPV, I feel the footnotes slow me down in a good way, enabling me to reflect on the story. This is a rich book, one that invites and rewards re-reading. As one captive to its charms, I will be doing that for a while.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley and Little Puss Press for this e-ARC.
I do love a crazy, genre and format defying sci-fi! And Plastic, Prism, Void - with its different fonts, colourful words, symbols, words on different parts of the page, time skips and even music and phrases in other languages- certainly ticks those boxes. It is understandably not kindle compatible!
This book was a LOT! And it was brilliant! The writing was certainly unique, it was lyrical and poetic. The book was riddled with random references, I certainly didn’t get all of them, or even most of them, but the ones I did get were very well done. Everything was purposeful and had a meaning. A story about love, identity, time, sisterhood, friendship and art.
The characters were messy and real, they weren’t always the most likeable and had their problems, but I liked reading about them. I was invested in their stories and interactions and wanted to see what would happen to them. It was also just lovely to see the normalisation of queer and trans people and their relationships and struggles.
The story line itself was undeniably confusing, there was a lot going on, I quite quickly understood the time skips, but there were some random plot things that I’m sure you might have to read a few times before they properly make sense. This was similar to the magic system and wider world building, it was absolutely fascinating, but you were thrown right into it with not a lot of background information. It was definitely a bit jarring at times. But still, I really liked it. I found that this craziness more so contributed to the story rather than detracted from it. This is the type of book you need to not try and make sense of, you just have to go along with it and see where it takes you, and if you go into it with that mindset, you will get a lot more out of it.
What’s more, it is very fast paced, I was absorbed by this high-octane story and found myself flying through it.
Despite the craziness, it was thoroughly enjoyable and a lot of fun. This is certainly not a book for everyone, but those who love crazy, experimental, genre-defying stories will really enjoy this.
I do love a crazy, genre and format defying sci-fi! And Plastic, Prism, Void - with its different fonts, colourful words, symbols, words on different parts of the page, time skips and even music and phrases in other languages- certainly ticks those boxes. It is understandably not kindle compatible!
This book was a LOT! And it was brilliant! The writing was certainly unique, it was lyrical and poetic. The book was riddled with random references, I certainly didn’t get all of them, or even most of them, but the ones I did get were very well done. Everything was purposeful and had a meaning. A story about love, identity, time, sisterhood, friendship and art.
The characters were messy and real, they weren’t always the most likeable and had their problems, but I liked reading about them. I was invested in their stories and interactions and wanted to see what would happen to them. It was also just lovely to see the normalisation of queer and trans people and their relationships and struggles.
The story line itself was undeniably confusing, there was a lot going on, I quite quickly understood the time skips, but there were some random plot things that I’m sure you might have to read a few times before they properly make sense. This was similar to the magic system and wider world building, it was absolutely fascinating, but you were thrown right into it with not a lot of background information. It was definitely a bit jarring at times. But still, I really liked it. I found that this craziness more so contributed to the story rather than detracted from it. This is the type of book you need to not try and make sense of, you just have to go along with it and see where it takes you, and if you go into it with that mindset, you will get a lot more out of it.
What’s more, it is very fast paced, I was absorbed by this high-octane story and found myself flying through it.
Despite the craziness, it was thoroughly enjoyable and a lot of fun. This is certainly not a book for everyone, but those who love crazy, experimental, genre-defying stories will really enjoy this.
July 7, 2026
AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
I can't say why I'm screaming without spoiling the literal ending but oh my fucking god. Violet Allen, how could you do this to me?! I can't handle this many emotions!!
Ahem.
This was a super fun book and I'm very glad I picked it up! The surreal, magical aspects are very well executed and engaging. It never gets stale, it feels fresh the whole time. Really taking the mdium to its limits!
Unfortunately, it did mean some punctuation errors were way more noticeable and hit a bit harder than they would in any other book. Hence the missing star, which is actually supposed to be half a star, but unlike on Storygraph I can't actually give that and my feeling is closer to a 4 than a 5 anyway. Sorry.
That aside, I really liked the audience participantion aspect of it. It's a book that asks you to engage and interact with it on a literal, physical level. It's fun! It makes it feel like the book is my bestie! I think the many, many references are part of this too; none of them felt condescending, instead I felt like they were tempting me to learn more, to put the literary puzzle pieces together. In the big 2026 I think it's entirely reasonable to expect your readers to be able to just look up what you're referencing and dig deeper if they feel like it. And this definitely made me want to read/watch certain things!
And, yes the main character and her boyfie/situationship/??? are selfish assholes, but they're SO fun while doing it. No other fictional couple is allowed to use No Children as their theme anymore, no one can do it like these two absolute madpeople. And honestly, they did have me relating to them at various points. Like oh, I've been there or thought that or I still currently think that. Anyway, this aspect of their characters makes their genuinely tender moments all the more impactful and like I want to tear my heart out.
Can't wait for the next part! Genuinely, I think my soul will feel unfulfilled until it's out and I've absorbed it into my being.
I can't say why I'm screaming without spoiling the literal ending but oh my fucking god. Violet Allen, how could you do this to me?! I can't handle this many emotions!!
Ahem.
This was a super fun book and I'm very glad I picked it up! The surreal, magical aspects are very well executed and engaging. It never gets stale, it feels fresh the whole time. Really taking the mdium to its limits!
Unfortunately, it did mean some punctuation errors were way more noticeable and hit a bit harder than they would in any other book. Hence the missing star, which is actually supposed to be half a star, but unlike on Storygraph I can't actually give that and my feeling is closer to a 4 than a 5 anyway. Sorry.
That aside, I really liked the audience participantion aspect of it. It's a book that asks you to engage and interact with it on a literal, physical level. It's fun! It makes it feel like the book is my bestie! I think the many, many references are part of this too; none of them felt condescending, instead I felt like they were tempting me to learn more, to put the literary puzzle pieces together. In the big 2026 I think it's entirely reasonable to expect your readers to be able to just look up what you're referencing and dig deeper if they feel like it. And this definitely made me want to read/watch certain things!
And, yes the main character and her boyfie/situationship/??? are selfish assholes, but they're SO fun while doing it. No other fictional couple is allowed to use No Children as their theme anymore, no one can do it like these two absolute madpeople. And honestly, they did have me relating to them at various points. Like oh, I've been there or thought that or I still currently think that. Anyway, this aspect of their characters makes their genuinely tender moments all the more impactful and like I want to tear my heart out.
Can't wait for the next part! Genuinely, I think my soul will feel unfulfilled until it's out and I've absorbed it into my being.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Plastic, Prism, Void is a wild ride of a romance sci-fi literary fiction adventure through form and one messy relationship. Acrasia is a magical trans girl who comes across as pretentious. Opus is a mech-piloting trans guy. They were enemies, but then that changed, and then their universes separated. Now they're back in the same place again, but Acrasia's schemes to keep Opus there might be finally going too far.
I love the publisher, LittlePuss Press, and the blurb fascinated me as (apparently) a romantasy with shades of House of Leaves. Plastic, Prism, Void takes the textual form experimentation of House of Leaves, the sci-fi romance of This Is How To Lose The Time War, and mixes them both with a healthy dose of pretentious references and a complicated relationship between two trans people with weird baggage. It took me a little while to settle into the style and the way the narrative jumps around in time and voice and format (and the advance copy I read on a too-small screen didn't help so I think the physical book will be much easier to read), but then I became invested in the central relationship. I like the way that, despite everything else going on, it boils down to people who didn't like each other but then fell in love and now can't work out if they can sustain something when they're both in the same place. So, despite the fluid, mind-boggling narrative, it is also something strangely relatable.
I'm sure there's great swathes of this book that I didn't get, but that feels like some of the point of it, with Acrasia and Opus's banter often being about whether or not they get each other's references (made more complex by the multiple universes). This is a book that is pushing boundaries in a fun way and you don't need to understand every sentence to have a good time with it.
I love the publisher, LittlePuss Press, and the blurb fascinated me as (apparently) a romantasy with shades of House of Leaves. Plastic, Prism, Void takes the textual form experimentation of House of Leaves, the sci-fi romance of This Is How To Lose The Time War, and mixes them both with a healthy dose of pretentious references and a complicated relationship between two trans people with weird baggage. It took me a little while to settle into the style and the way the narrative jumps around in time and voice and format (and the advance copy I read on a too-small screen didn't help so I think the physical book will be much easier to read), but then I became invested in the central relationship. I like the way that, despite everything else going on, it boils down to people who didn't like each other but then fell in love and now can't work out if they can sustain something when they're both in the same place. So, despite the fluid, mind-boggling narrative, it is also something strangely relatable.
I'm sure there's great swathes of this book that I didn't get, but that feels like some of the point of it, with Acrasia and Opus's banter often being about whether or not they get each other's references (made more complex by the multiple universes). This is a book that is pushing boundaries in a fun way and you don't need to understand every sentence to have a good time with it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This novel is such a wild ride!!! I have never read anything like this before. (Thank you Netgalley for the ARC :))
At first, I was not sure what to think of our main character. Is she untrustworthy as a narrator? Is she entirely unlikable? Does she just speak nonsense? Is what is going on reality, or is she canonically unwell? Is anything ever going to make sense? But by the end of the book, I'm obsessed with her.
It wasn't until about 145 pages in that I began to feel confident that I knew what was going on. At first, the story was disorienting because there were very few cues in the text to indicate when
The format change was fun, though at times the stylized text made it difficult to read (partly because of the colors and typeface). I enjoyed the style change (Marina speaking, the gift of the “I love you,” etc.). At first, the number of footnotes felt burdensome, but I came around to them because they do track with Acrasia's style.
Once I felt comfortable with the format changes, had a loose idea of what was going on (narratively, space-time-y), and got the multiple names for each character down, I was able to enjoy the story and begin envisioning it animated, like the art in Midnight Gospel.
This story is highly re-readable for me, as I think it's easy to miss a lot of what's going on early on, and I imagine there are a few easter eggs to find. I will absolutely read the sequel.
At first, I was not sure what to think of our main character. Is she untrustworthy as a narrator? Is she entirely unlikable? Does she just speak nonsense? Is what is going on reality, or is she canonically unwell? Is anything ever going to make sense? But by the end of the book, I'm obsessed with her.
It wasn't until about 145 pages in that I began to feel confident that I knew what was going on. At first, the story was disorienting because there were very few cues in the text to indicate when
The format change was fun, though at times the stylized text made it difficult to read (partly because of the colors and typeface). I enjoyed the style change (Marina speaking, the gift of the “I love you,” etc.). At first, the number of footnotes felt burdensome, but I came around to them because they do track with Acrasia's style.
Once I felt comfortable with the format changes, had a loose idea of what was going on (narratively, space-time-y), and got the multiple names for each character down, I was able to enjoy the story and begin envisioning it animated, like the art in Midnight Gospel.
This story is highly re-readable for me, as I think it's easy to miss a lot of what's going on early on, and I imagine there are a few easter eggs to find. I will absolutely read the sequel.
July 27, 2026
I found this book (and its author) via Bluesky. I was a little thrown by its description as romantasy, because while yes, there are fantastical elements, and yes, there is romance, the word set certain expectations, and this novel is nothing if not expectation-defying (in the best way, to be clear, and also I'm not much of a romantasy reader so maybe my expectations are the problem). On the other hand, who cares what it's called? Plastic, Prism, Void was a great deal of fun.
Acrasia (our narrator and moth goddess) and Opus (her sometime boyfriend and mecha pilot) occupy adjacent, not terribly different universes, and sometimes, those universes intersect. They both have complicated sibling dynamics and problematic parents. They're both abrasive and self-centered. Each possesses maybe more power than is good for them. They're both trans. Hating and loving each other were both perhaps inevitable, and it's as easy to cheer for them as it is to groan and wish someone would tell them both (and that either would listen) that no, these are terrible ideas.
The experimental elements of the book (multiple fonts per character, font color with significance, invitations to the reader to physically alter the book (which I didn't do - library!)) could feel out of place, but they don't. The book is playful! Allen takes her characters and the novel's premise seriously without being a killjoy about it. The book is confident in its sly references, both classical and irreverent, without being condescending to its readers. When the language is flowery, it's fully in character as Acrasia, and when it's instead direct and poignant, that lands with more impact. It's not going to be to everyone's tastes (no novel ever is), but it reads like it's exactly the book that the author intended to write.
There is an eleventh-hour twist (that there would be one isn't surprising, but I was pleasantly scandalized by what it was) and a cliffhanger ending that left at least me eager for the followup. I wasn't sure what to expect with this novel, but I loved what it delivered.
Acrasia (our narrator and moth goddess) and Opus (her sometime boyfriend and mecha pilot) occupy adjacent, not terribly different universes, and sometimes, those universes intersect. They both have complicated sibling dynamics and problematic parents. They're both abrasive and self-centered. Each possesses maybe more power than is good for them. They're both trans. Hating and loving each other were both perhaps inevitable, and it's as easy to cheer for them as it is to groan and wish someone would tell them both (and that either would listen) that no, these are terrible ideas.
The experimental elements of the book (multiple fonts per character, font color with significance, invitations to the reader to physically alter the book (which I didn't do - library!)) could feel out of place, but they don't. The book is playful! Allen takes her characters and the novel's premise seriously without being a killjoy about it. The book is confident in its sly references, both classical and irreverent, without being condescending to its readers. When the language is flowery, it's fully in character as Acrasia, and when it's instead direct and poignant, that lands with more impact. It's not going to be to everyone's tastes (no novel ever is), but it reads like it's exactly the book that the author intended to write.
There is an eleventh-hour twist (that there would be one isn't surprising, but I was pleasantly scandalized by what it was) and a cliffhanger ending that left at least me eager for the followup. I wasn't sure what to expect with this novel, but I loved what it delivered.
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