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The Symmetry of Stars
Beyond the stars, two gods vie for rule of the world.
One stands for Nature – the belief that everything is stamped in flesh from the start. The other, Nurture – the belief that all is potential, that the true self is coaxed out through love and living.
And so, they take a bet.
Each immortal selects a set of twins as their champions. The twins that prevail in contest will decide which immortal rules….
In a westerly valley, a girl and boy are born to a noble family, to be raised by a mysterious teacher – ready to love and instruct them in everything, regardless of society’s expectations…
To the east, a woman washes ashore on an island inhabited only by a sorcerer. With her final breaths, she gives birth to twins. These two are raised with careful neglect by the sorcerer – surrounded not with love but with danger, magic and wildness.
Society expects these children to become men and women. But the immortals care nothing for human norms and raise the twins according to their own ends. Which twins will prevail?
What truly matters in determining who a person will become?
One stands for Nature – the belief that everything is stamped in flesh from the start. The other, Nurture – the belief that all is potential, that the true self is coaxed out through love and living.
And so, they take a bet.
Each immortal selects a set of twins as their champions. The twins that prevail in contest will decide which immortal rules….
In a westerly valley, a girl and boy are born to a noble family, to be raised by a mysterious teacher – ready to love and instruct them in everything, regardless of society’s expectations…
To the east, a woman washes ashore on an island inhabited only by a sorcerer. With her final breaths, she gives birth to twins. These two are raised with careful neglect by the sorcerer – surrounded not with love but with danger, magic and wildness.
Society expects these children to become men and women. But the immortals care nothing for human norms and raise the twins according to their own ends. Which twins will prevail?
What truly matters in determining who a person will become?
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2021
16 people are currently reading
820 people want to read
About the author
Alex Myers
7 books148 followersBorn and raised in western Maine, Alex left his home state to attend Phillips Exeter Academy and went on from there to earn degrees from Harvard and Brown, where he studied Ancient Judaism.
Alex has taught high school English for over a decade and during this time earned an MFA in writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It was in this program that he started work on his debut novel, Revolutionary, which was published by Simon & Schuster in January 2014.
Currently, Alex teaches in New Hampshire.
Alex has taught high school English for over a decade and during this time earned an MFA in writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It was in this program that he started work on his debut novel, Revolutionary, which was published by Simon & Schuster in January 2014.
Currently, Alex teaches in New Hampshire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
August 27, 2021
I didn't like this book. It was boring, I had to force myself to finish it. Basically the plot was about two gods who made a bet who pisses further. They were supposed to raise twins and whose twins will beat another's twins will win and rule universe or something like that. I'm really trying to find something which wasn't boring, but I can't. There were too many descriptions, the whole book has like five chapters which I particularly didn't like because I prefer short chapter. Also I didn't care about characters and who will win. The end was predictable. 1/5 ⭐
Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.
Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.
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November 16, 2021Oh, god.
You know when you read a book that's so good it changes your life, and when you find out the author's done another book you nearly die of excitement? And then you get said book and for some reason don't get to it for two months and when you do pick it up you get a good chunk into it and persevere and persevere and it still just doesn't click?
Yeah. I love that a fantasy book about, like, the pressures of parenthood and how goddamn difficult it is to have children and the development of selfhood etc etc exists. I love that. But damn if it is not something even Alex Myers can make me interested in.
So no rating, not because it's a bad book, but because it's not for me. But if that is something that interests you, please do give this one a chance, because Alex Myers is a fantastic, ground-breaking, illuminating writer and I cannot wait to see what else he does in the future. The Story of Silence is still my book of the year and one of the best books I've ever read.
You know when you read a book that's so good it changes your life, and when you find out the author's done another book you nearly die of excitement? And then you get said book and for some reason don't get to it for two months and when you do pick it up you get a good chunk into it and persevere and persevere and it still just doesn't click?
Yeah. I love that a fantasy book about, like, the pressures of parenthood and how goddamn difficult it is to have children and the development of selfhood etc etc exists. I love that. But damn if it is not something even Alex Myers can make me interested in.
So no rating, not because it's a bad book, but because it's not for me. But if that is something that interests you, please do give this one a chance, because Alex Myers is a fantastic, ground-breaking, illuminating writer and I cannot wait to see what else he does in the future. The Story of Silence is still my book of the year and one of the best books I've ever read.
January 12, 2024
God damn it the ending fucked it. This was such a beautiful concept, great character development, some cringey bits relaying the most basic feminist concepts but overall a good idea executed well. But the ending was so frustrating. Obviously I didn’t want a fight to the death, but I also didn’t want the previous 270 pages to mean nothing because all they did was sit there and chat?? So annoying. What’s even the point of the whole competition if there is no meaning at the end of it? Disappointing truly.
I also didn’t like Nature being made out as a villain, that also felt like it defeated the purpose of the whole thing. But yeah. Very enjoyable until the end, would have given 4 stars if not for that.
I also didn’t like Nature being made out as a villain, that also felt like it defeated the purpose of the whole thing. But yeah. Very enjoyable until the end, would have given 4 stars if not for that.
September 25, 2021
I got to the end of this book and couldn’t help but wonder… what was the point of all this?
Two gods, Nature and Nurture, decide to have a competition to see who is more important. No reason, no exposition, just ‘let’s have a contest’. They are each going to pick a pair of twins to raise their own way, and those twins will be pitted against each other once they’re grown. (Side note: it’s not twins separated at birth, as you might expect. Just twins. They each get a set. No explanation.) And that’s… that’s it. That’s the plot.
Read this and more reviews on my blog!
It’s an interesting premise, but that’s where the positives ended for me. First of all: perspectives. The gods had very little nuance or interest to their characters; they had a goal, and they just did it. It would have been much more interesting to read from the perspectives of the humans, who don’t know they are being manipulated by gods until the very end.
It felt like the sort of book with lots of Important IdeasTM, but I got to the end and I still don’t know what they were. It was clear the author was trying to explore ideas of gender, but we were stuck in circles for the whole story. Nature and Nurture are genderless, but take on male and female forms respectively when they come down to earth. In dialogue they agree that gender is a human construct, but in the narrative we see the male Nature being violent and uncaring while the female Nurture is – you guessed it – nurturing and caring, almost smothering. Nurture tells us she pays little attention to the exact human form she takes, then immediately tells us all about her womanly curves and says ‘I shook my very dainty feminine fist at the world at large’. The two female twins, one raised by Nature, one by Nurture, are both painfully “I’m not like other girls” types, and when they eventually meet they actually argue about the right way to be not-like-other-girls. Every statement made in the characters’ dialogue or thoughts was immediately negated by the action, and we went round and round in circles for the whole book.
As for the world-building, I don’t know where we are or when we are. It seems to be generic dark ages, I briefly thought it might be set around the Crusades but I’m not 100% sure. Some of it seemed to be set in the Middle East, some of it in Western Europe, some of it on a tropical island with lions. It didn’t feel at all rooted in a particular setting which doesn’t always bother me, but in this particular case the story just felt very unmoored.
Nothing came together at all for me in this book. I got to the end feeling like nothing had happened. It’s clear that there were a lot of ideas that went into this book, but none of them were explored in a satisfying way.
I received a free copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
Two gods, Nature and Nurture, decide to have a competition to see who is more important. No reason, no exposition, just ‘let’s have a contest’. They are each going to pick a pair of twins to raise their own way, and those twins will be pitted against each other once they’re grown. (Side note: it’s not twins separated at birth, as you might expect. Just twins. They each get a set. No explanation.) And that’s… that’s it. That’s the plot.
Read this and more reviews on my blog!
It’s an interesting premise, but that’s where the positives ended for me. First of all: perspectives. The gods had very little nuance or interest to their characters; they had a goal, and they just did it. It would have been much more interesting to read from the perspectives of the humans, who don’t know they are being manipulated by gods until the very end.
It felt like the sort of book with lots of Important IdeasTM, but I got to the end and I still don’t know what they were. It was clear the author was trying to explore ideas of gender, but we were stuck in circles for the whole story. Nature and Nurture are genderless, but take on male and female forms respectively when they come down to earth. In dialogue they agree that gender is a human construct, but in the narrative we see the male Nature being violent and uncaring while the female Nurture is – you guessed it – nurturing and caring, almost smothering. Nurture tells us she pays little attention to the exact human form she takes, then immediately tells us all about her womanly curves and says ‘I shook my very dainty feminine fist at the world at large’. The two female twins, one raised by Nature, one by Nurture, are both painfully “I’m not like other girls” types, and when they eventually meet they actually argue about the right way to be not-like-other-girls. Every statement made in the characters’ dialogue or thoughts was immediately negated by the action, and we went round and round in circles for the whole book.
As for the world-building, I don’t know where we are or when we are. It seems to be generic dark ages, I briefly thought it might be set around the Crusades but I’m not 100% sure. Some of it seemed to be set in the Middle East, some of it in Western Europe, some of it on a tropical island with lions. It didn’t feel at all rooted in a particular setting which doesn’t always bother me, but in this particular case the story just felt very unmoored.
Nothing came together at all for me in this book. I got to the end feeling like nothing had happened. It’s clear that there were a lot of ideas that went into this book, but none of them were explored in a satisfying way.
I received a free copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
December 27, 2021
3.5stars
The author of The Story Of Silence is back,with a retelling of the Italian legend of Orlando Furioso—blending magic and myth into a complex tale of fate, duality and the path to self discovery.
Two Gods vie to rule the universe, eternally opposite and constantly in disagreement. One stands for nature—that everything is stamped in the flesh from birth. The other, nuture—the believe that all have potential, that true self can be coaxed out through love and living.
They make a bet. Each immortal picks a set of twins as their champions, whichever set prevails will decide which immortal rules...
In the west, a boy and girl are born to a noble family, raised by a mysterious teacher ready to love and instruct them in everything—despite society’s expectations.
In the east, a woman washes up on an island inhabited only by a sorcerer. With her dying breath she gives birth to twins. The girl and boy are raised with nothing but neglect from the sorcerer,surrounded not with love but with danger, magic and wildness.
The Gods care nothing for human norms, only raising these children for their own gains. Which twins will prevail? and What truly matters in determining who a person will become?
This was a really intriguing premise and the writing was really good but, the pacing was just too slow for me which, unfortunately hindered my enjoyment quite a bit. I did however, really love the theme of duality and opposites what was woven throughout the story and found it really resonated with me—especially in terms of the gender bias that both girl twins (Bradamante and Marfisa) endure.
It’s told from the POV of the God, Nurture,in a very stream of consciousness kinda a way that I wasn’t a huge fan of. I did enjoy reading this but felt a little let down by the pacing,if It’d been a little more concise (and with slightly shorter chapters) I feel it would’ve been perfect.
If you enjoy historical fiction with a slower pace, I’d definitely encourage you to give this a try but unfortunately I just didn’t enjoy as much as I’d hoped.
Also I just wanted to say a huge thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the digital arc.
The author of The Story Of Silence is back,with a retelling of the Italian legend of Orlando Furioso—blending magic and myth into a complex tale of fate, duality and the path to self discovery.
Two Gods vie to rule the universe, eternally opposite and constantly in disagreement. One stands for nature—that everything is stamped in the flesh from birth. The other, nuture—the believe that all have potential, that true self can be coaxed out through love and living.
They make a bet. Each immortal picks a set of twins as their champions, whichever set prevails will decide which immortal rules...
In the west, a boy and girl are born to a noble family, raised by a mysterious teacher ready to love and instruct them in everything—despite society’s expectations.
In the east, a woman washes up on an island inhabited only by a sorcerer. With her dying breath she gives birth to twins. The girl and boy are raised with nothing but neglect from the sorcerer,surrounded not with love but with danger, magic and wildness.
The Gods care nothing for human norms, only raising these children for their own gains. Which twins will prevail? and What truly matters in determining who a person will become?
This was a really intriguing premise and the writing was really good but, the pacing was just too slow for me which, unfortunately hindered my enjoyment quite a bit. I did however, really love the theme of duality and opposites what was woven throughout the story and found it really resonated with me—especially in terms of the gender bias that both girl twins (Bradamante and Marfisa) endure.
It’s told from the POV of the God, Nurture,in a very stream of consciousness kinda a way that I wasn’t a huge fan of. I did enjoy reading this but felt a little let down by the pacing,if It’d been a little more concise (and with slightly shorter chapters) I feel it would’ve been perfect.
If you enjoy historical fiction with a slower pace, I’d definitely encourage you to give this a try but unfortunately I just didn’t enjoy as much as I’d hoped.
Also I just wanted to say a huge thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the digital arc.
February 7, 2022
{4.5 stars}
Nature and Nurture are twin godlings in constant conflict over who should properly rule humans. They decide to make a wager, each will take a pair of twins and raise them using their distinct methods. When the stars properly align, the sets of twins will face off in a set of three competitions, the winners will determine which godling rules humanity for the coming era.
This is such a fun concept and the execution was even more lovely than I had hoped. We mostly follow Nurture, who true to their name spends every second they can caring for their twins and surprisingly, takes an interest in Nature's neglected twins as well. We see how each set grows and evolves. How they challenge gender norms, cultural expectations and the godling overseeing them. The ending was not at all what I expected and yet I totally get the direction it went.
I loved this book. The writing is transcendent, I felt like I was right there in the story. I loved the message within and each character was so unique and well-developed. If you like fantasy or mythology, do yourself a favor and check this one out.
Nature and Nurture are twin godlings in constant conflict over who should properly rule humans. They decide to make a wager, each will take a pair of twins and raise them using their distinct methods. When the stars properly align, the sets of twins will face off in a set of three competitions, the winners will determine which godling rules humanity for the coming era.
This is such a fun concept and the execution was even more lovely than I had hoped. We mostly follow Nurture, who true to their name spends every second they can caring for their twins and surprisingly, takes an interest in Nature's neglected twins as well. We see how each set grows and evolves. How they challenge gender norms, cultural expectations and the godling overseeing them. The ending was not at all what I expected and yet I totally get the direction it went.
I loved this book. The writing is transcendent, I felt like I was right there in the story. I loved the message within and each character was so unique and well-developed. If you like fantasy or mythology, do yourself a favor and check this one out.
August 17, 2024
the story had so many chances to say something meaningful, and then it never did. kinda crazy
August 8, 2024
This is probably the worst book I have every read. I'm not joking.
Foolish little me picked up this book on sale around last Christmas due to finding the cover gorgeous and the blurb intriguing. Cut to me in march expecting it to be a quick read, and being very sad.
The whole premise of two Godlings (their words not mine) of Nature and Nurture deciding to host a contest to see which should rule over the new era is interesting, of a bit weird. Like why are these the two virtues that are going to rule? Each God picks a set of twins (not each getting a twin from a set to further implement the Nature vs Nurture debate, but a full set each) and disguising themselves as humans to teach them.
What I liked
The Cover
Me picking this book up due to the cover was not word of a lie. The starry background and constellation on the centre made my little space loving heart soar.
And that's about it. The rest of the book infuriated me so much that I can only think of one thing I liked. Oh dear.
What I didn't like
The Writing
This book somehow manages to be one of the most flowery pieces of literature I've read, yet also one of the vaguest. Even though I would consider myself a quite strong reader, even with odd prose, this book left me completely stumped on multiple occasions. This is the only book I've read that fed into the whole 'Men can't write women thing' because of one specific moment where a female character says (this is not an exact quote because I no longer have the book in my possession) that she could 'Feel her eggs glistening'
...What?
I understand that this character has just gone from an amorphous being to having a human body, but come on, that's is just a stupid line. This is about when in the book I realised I was in for a rough ride.
The book also never sates where or when it takes place. I know this may not be a gripe for some people, but it kind of lost me a bit. One of the gods ends up training her twins in what seems to be Western Europe I think. This is only a guess because the people in her area seem to be predominantly white, and one of the first things she witnesses is someone being burnt at the stake.
The other God originally ends up on some weird tropical island, but his twins get separated. The girl ends up being sold into slave labour in what I guess is the Middle East or Asia. This is because her job is to protect spices which at the time frame I think this book is going for, were more common to the east.
While the male from that set basically gets ignored the whole time, but seems to be in Africa possibly. This was my history nerd friends guess due to geography and some random kingdom being mentioned, and I trust her.
Things just aren't clear enough to understand.
The Message
The book really tried for a feminism lesson, but fell flat. The two women from each set of twins were much more defined by the men, but they both basically did the same thing. Both of the girls have an ambition to become a knight, but are constantly being knocked down by people around them. While this was an ok way to create conflict, the rest of the feminism message just came off as preachy.
The female godling is constantly being discredited because of her being a woman, but the book just doesn't shut up about it. It felt like every five to ten pages they were making a comment about how the men were all awful because they only focused on her breasts or how the girls were so disadvantaged in becoming a knight. I understand that that the message, but it came across so poorly that it just became annoying.
The Ending
The book could have been somewhat saved if the ending was tolerable.
Foolish little me picked up this book on sale around last Christmas due to finding the cover gorgeous and the blurb intriguing. Cut to me in march expecting it to be a quick read, and being very sad.
The whole premise of two Godlings (their words not mine) of Nature and Nurture deciding to host a contest to see which should rule over the new era is interesting, of a bit weird. Like why are these the two virtues that are going to rule? Each God picks a set of twins (not each getting a twin from a set to further implement the Nature vs Nurture debate, but a full set each) and disguising themselves as humans to teach them.
What I liked
The Cover
Me picking this book up due to the cover was not word of a lie. The starry background and constellation on the centre made my little space loving heart soar.
And that's about it. The rest of the book infuriated me so much that I can only think of one thing I liked. Oh dear.
What I didn't like
The Writing
This book somehow manages to be one of the most flowery pieces of literature I've read, yet also one of the vaguest. Even though I would consider myself a quite strong reader, even with odd prose, this book left me completely stumped on multiple occasions. This is the only book I've read that fed into the whole 'Men can't write women thing' because of one specific moment where a female character says (this is not an exact quote because I no longer have the book in my possession) that she could 'Feel her eggs glistening'
...What?
I understand that this character has just gone from an amorphous being to having a human body, but come on, that's is just a stupid line. This is about when in the book I realised I was in for a rough ride.
The book also never sates where or when it takes place. I know this may not be a gripe for some people, but it kind of lost me a bit. One of the gods ends up training her twins in what seems to be Western Europe I think. This is only a guess because the people in her area seem to be predominantly white, and one of the first things she witnesses is someone being burnt at the stake.
The other God originally ends up on some weird tropical island, but his twins get separated. The girl ends up being sold into slave labour in what I guess is the Middle East or Asia. This is because her job is to protect spices which at the time frame I think this book is going for, were more common to the east.
While the male from that set basically gets ignored the whole time, but seems to be in Africa possibly. This was my history nerd friends guess due to geography and some random kingdom being mentioned, and I trust her.
Things just aren't clear enough to understand.
The Message
The book really tried for a feminism lesson, but fell flat. The two women from each set of twins were much more defined by the men, but they both basically did the same thing. Both of the girls have an ambition to become a knight, but are constantly being knocked down by people around them. While this was an ok way to create conflict, the rest of the feminism message just came off as preachy.
The female godling is constantly being discredited because of her being a woman, but the book just doesn't shut up about it. It felt like every five to ten pages they were making a comment about how the men were all awful because they only focused on her breasts or how the girls were so disadvantaged in becoming a knight. I understand that that the message, but it came across so poorly that it just became annoying.
The Ending
The book could have been somewhat saved if the ending was tolerable.
September 28, 2021
“But why are there no stories about women who are hard on the outside and soft on the inside and who let softness win… without losing everything?”
***
I am really sorry to say that I didn’t like this book much. It may be a question of taste, but I think it was a poor choice to choose as POV Nurture. Being a sort of goddess (god?!) she is detached from the human world and even if the whole story is her living among humans and getting attached to them, I still think there was too much distance between the real main characters and the readers. Failing to read their feelings first hand didn’t let me appreciate the story that much and get attached to them as I would have if I had had their POVs.
Nonetheless I appreciated Little Mars and Bradamante, the two female characters of the book. They have the souls of warriors in a world that think women should just stay home and be good mothers. They defy the rules of their society and each one in her own way succeeds!
I especially appreciated Bradamante’s reflection about the fact that to be a good heroine in a story you must act like a man, being as fierce and strong and essentially deny the softest and most tender parts of yourself. Because in this world, people don’t take you seriously otherwise and this is intrinsically wrong. I loved her when she was strong and when she was fragile, what she went to battle and when she danced. Women, to be recognized, should never discard some parts of themselves because only when they really show everything they are they are really brave!
The rest of the book is a sort of competition between Nurture and Nature (spoiler!!! Humans need both to be really complete). Again, there’s no point in denying one in favor of the other, we have to cultivate our natural talents in order to become good and find our own passions and live the best lives we can.
***
I am really sorry to say that I didn’t like this book much. It may be a question of taste, but I think it was a poor choice to choose as POV Nurture. Being a sort of goddess (god?!) she is detached from the human world and even if the whole story is her living among humans and getting attached to them, I still think there was too much distance between the real main characters and the readers. Failing to read their feelings first hand didn’t let me appreciate the story that much and get attached to them as I would have if I had had their POVs.
Nonetheless I appreciated Little Mars and Bradamante, the two female characters of the book. They have the souls of warriors in a world that think women should just stay home and be good mothers. They defy the rules of their society and each one in her own way succeeds!
I especially appreciated Bradamante’s reflection about the fact that to be a good heroine in a story you must act like a man, being as fierce and strong and essentially deny the softest and most tender parts of yourself. Because in this world, people don’t take you seriously otherwise and this is intrinsically wrong. I loved her when she was strong and when she was fragile, what she went to battle and when she danced. Women, to be recognized, should never discard some parts of themselves because only when they really show everything they are they are really brave!
The rest of the book is a sort of competition between Nurture and Nature (spoiler!!! Humans need both to be really complete). Again, there’s no point in denying one in favor of the other, we have to cultivate our natural talents in order to become good and find our own passions and live the best lives we can.
October 17, 2021
3.5 TheSymmetryOfStars is an intriguing read with an unusual story of two Gods; Nature and Nurture; that pit themselves against each other in a war of polar opposites - male vs female, light vs dark, water vs fire, young vs old - investing in two identical yet distinct set of human twins to prepare them for a battle testing mind, body and spirit.
With this premise laid out from the outset, we follow Nurture’s narrative to witness the journey of two sets of twins that have opposing upbringings, yet seemingly finding parallels in the challenges that each pair has, particularly from a gender perspective. Less a Nature vs Nurture perspective, the story seems to fall on the male / female divisions and stereotypes that were common in medieval times. I felt frustration for the strong minded female twin on either side of the fence, who both encountered limitations based on biological status, but as a result became more determined and resilient to change their future paths.
If you’re expecting full on fantasy, you will be disappointed. This reads like a fable and is philosophical in nature, addressing the age old question of whether traits, skills and behaviour are innate on birth or whether they can be nurtured and shaped. It soon becomes apparent how interconnected Nature and Nurture are, that one cannot exist without the other.
If you want a slow paced and thought provoking read, then you should pick this one up.
With this premise laid out from the outset, we follow Nurture’s narrative to witness the journey of two sets of twins that have opposing upbringings, yet seemingly finding parallels in the challenges that each pair has, particularly from a gender perspective. Less a Nature vs Nurture perspective, the story seems to fall on the male / female divisions and stereotypes that were common in medieval times. I felt frustration for the strong minded female twin on either side of the fence, who both encountered limitations based on biological status, but as a result became more determined and resilient to change their future paths.
If you’re expecting full on fantasy, you will be disappointed. This reads like a fable and is philosophical in nature, addressing the age old question of whether traits, skills and behaviour are innate on birth or whether they can be nurtured and shaped. It soon becomes apparent how interconnected Nature and Nurture are, that one cannot exist without the other.
If you want a slow paced and thought provoking read, then you should pick this one up.
December 23, 2022
I wanted to like this one, especially with a trans author and what I thought would be commentary in some way on gender, but it was boring and utterly pointless. This was a series of “fight me” scenes leading up to an unearned bonding moment and an uncharacteristic departure of the main characters. I genuinely don’t know what the point of this was. The writing and characters were not compelling and the world building did not work. The POV characters were basically whiny children who were angry they weren’t getting what they want all the time.
Marfisa and Bradamente felt a ton more fleshed out than any of the other characters but by the end Bradamente had entirely lost the spark that made her interesting and Marfisa was a one note character spewing boring lines. Both of their brothers might as well have not been there at all.
I don’t understand what the point was of the contest if they weren’t actually going to address more than the combat portion. You could maybe argue that they were all telling each other stories at the end but there was certainly not dancing which to me was the most compelling part. Having to dance specifically with “abandon” was an interesting idea that literally never went anywhere.
Extremely disappointing. I’m not sure how this got published if I’m being entirely honest, it doesn’t even feel finished.
Marfisa and Bradamente felt a ton more fleshed out than any of the other characters but by the end Bradamente had entirely lost the spark that made her interesting and Marfisa was a one note character spewing boring lines. Both of their brothers might as well have not been there at all.
I don’t understand what the point was of the contest if they weren’t actually going to address more than the combat portion. You could maybe argue that they were all telling each other stories at the end but there was certainly not dancing which to me was the most compelling part. Having to dance specifically with “abandon” was an interesting idea that literally never went anywhere.
Extremely disappointing. I’m not sure how this got published if I’m being entirely honest, it doesn’t even feel finished.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2021
First of all, I absolutely love the cover for this book. It's gorgeous! I was so intrigued by this book. Anything astrological, mythical and historical catches my eye instantly. The Symmetry of Stars is a story about the balance of Nature and Nurture. I found the concept to be brilliant and very unique. It's a sort of competition between the both, and evolution plays a big part in the plot.
There's a lot of back and forth between the characters, rather than action packed. The pace of this was a little off for me, and I would have preferred to focus on other parts of the story rather than the development of certain aspects.
I enjoyed the way this book makes you think of the impact Nature and Nurture impact everything around us.
I wasn't exactly gripped by this, but I enjoyed the read.
There's a lot of back and forth between the characters, rather than action packed. The pace of this was a little off for me, and I would have preferred to focus on other parts of the story rather than the development of certain aspects.
I enjoyed the way this book makes you think of the impact Nature and Nurture impact everything around us.
I wasn't exactly gripped by this, but I enjoyed the read.
August 12, 2022
I liked this story. The eternal battle of nature and nurture. This roots so deeply in things we know, in our feelings and experiences that it will be hard to forget even though it might not seem so original at first. It was written masterfully and I got carried away reading it.
I found some parts a tad boring. Found the names of the characters heavy and out of place. Not something you would remember easily and curtails hard to pronounce which felt unnecessary for such a flowing story.
The ending felt a rushed and too simple and a bit disappointing. It felt unfinished to me.
I found some parts a tad boring. Found the names of the characters heavy and out of place. Not something you would remember easily and curtails hard to pronounce which felt unnecessary for such a flowing story.
The ending felt a rushed and too simple and a bit disappointing. It felt unfinished to me.
January 22, 2023
I so enjoyed Myers’ book, Revolutionary, that I was excited to try another. I wasn’t sure how much I would like the style/genre, but that was better than expected. Not a fan of the interminable chapters, but that’s something I can get past. With about 25 pages left, I wasn’t sure how he was going to wrap up the loose ends in time. And then he sort of just…does? It wasn’t a particularly satisfying end, but since it was a relatively quick read throughout, it didn’t feel like any wasted time. Will certainly come back for more of Myers writing, but this wasn’t my cup of tea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2022
“In the stories… any child suckled by a wild beast was destined to become a hero.”
TITLE—The Symmetry of Stars
AUTHOR—Alex Myers
PUBLISHED—2021
GENRE—retelling; fantasy/mythology
SETTING—Europe, Africa, and the Middle East in the medieval era
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—Nature vs Nurture, gods & humans, gender identity and social & cultural expectations of gender conformity, philosophy, coming of age, twinhood/siblinghood, storytelling
WRITING STYLE—felt very YA-y most of the time, took a great chunk of the book for the writing to start flowing properly; strongest section was “Little Mars’s” story—it was actually so much stronger it felt almost out of place from the rest of the book…
CHARACTERS—unfortunately the MC/narrator was the weakest character so it kind of clouded how strong the four twins’ characters really were… I think if the narrator’s character development and growth were better handled and maybe more philosophically organized it would have been a MUCH stronger story… I loved the choice of character names though…
STORY/PLOT—somewhat unoriginal and even predictable for the first half though it became stronger later on—it depended on the characters and philosophical message being *very* strong, almost perfect, which unfortunately they kind of weren’t…
PHILOSOPHY—a bit contradictory and incomplete—hung up on the Western ideas of dualities in both the natural & spiritual realms… it didn’t work for me. There were sparks of valuable insight but not enough consistency. The reader had to do too much guessing I think… and judging by the reviews I’ve read, most readers weren’t given enough to get the author’s point. 🤷🏻♀️
“I do believe that Bradamante had just figured out exactly how unfair the world could be. Not a bad lesson to learn. Now, what would she do with it?”
As with any work that tries to present a revolutionary idea while continuing to subscribe to the beliefs and values of the systems that created the condition of oppression against which the work is rebelling, there are bound to be a lot of holes, contradictions, and inconsistencies in the ideas and thought processes presented. Myers’s attempts at even just defining the concepts of Nature and Nurture in the first place were largely flawed and while I think that this was partly intentional and supposed to contribute to the character development of the narrating character, I still got the sense that there was some inner confusion on the part of the author’s own understanding of the terms and the nature of the “age old” debate that he was handling.
Another confusing aspect was the existence of the gods—their own natures and identities and their relationship with humans, their roles both in relation to humans and to other supernatural extraterrestrial elements, was all too lightly touched upon and I thought it needed to feel a bit more grounded in order for it all to be less distracting or less destabilizing to the story.
Also an authoritarian god MC obsessed with ruling the human world and forcing upon them their own ideas and philosophies just seemed like the super wrong choice for a book whose entire purpose was as a morality tale dealing with the philosophical question of Nature vs Nurture in terms of uplifting & positively fulfilling human life?
So while this book was mildly interesting and at times the story could be absorbing there were just a lot of things that didn’t work for me. I’m a little surprised because I thought Story of Silence was very successful at all of the things TSOS seemed to get wrong… 🤷🏻♀️ At the very least this story could have benefited from more worldbuilding and scene setting. I just think in order to be successful in communicating its “message” it needed to feel more like a *novel* than just a parable or whatever you want to call it.
Although in a way the shortcomings of the book made me think even more critically of the philosophical debate going on between the pages which was kind of beneficial and had I the energy for it I’d like to write a more comprehensive essay collecting all the statements about Nurture and Nature and figuring out exactly where the inconsistencies were stemming from but… I too tired for that. 😂 I think this *would* make a good, rigorous bookclub read though tbh.
“The best stories are told together—one person listens, the other shares, then the listener retells it, makes it better, makes it truer. You can’t tell stories on your own.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW // misogyny, slavery, abduction (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)
Further Reading—
- The Story of Silence, by Alex Myers
- The Inheritance Trilogy, by NK Jemisin—the only book/s I’ve ever read with god characters that didn’t rankle me 😂
December 7, 2022
The premise of this plot... nature vs nurture. Now to be honest, first thought that leaps to mind in my head, is a quote from The Tempest about Caliban. "A devil, a born devil, upon who's nature nurture can never stick". But let's leave Shakespeare and all that in the past, because let's be honest, that quote means jack-sqaut to most of you.
This book tells the duality and differences brought about through nature and nurture. Two gods competing to see which wins. The prologue was the best part of this book, with Myers describing the concept of two sides of the same coin in a poetic, and even profound, way. These two gods choose human twins as their proxy for a challenge that culminates how they have been shaped by life.
I thought the plot was original and interesting. I liked the concept and how the book explored the topic of nature vs nurture that many others had not. The writing style was comfortable and vaguely humorous, and all the characters were original. I liked that it's not something you'd normally find in a book store.
However, I didn't like how the whole book followed Nurtures viewpoint. Of course her point of view would be much more involved than Natures, as this is the whole point of being nurturing. Of course she would send her twins on a journey and mould them to her shape that Nature would not. But, it would have been nice to see Natures observations of his set of twins, rather than Nurtures. They have very differring personalities and I wish we could fully grasp both sides of the coin. The pace of the book was also slow, and the whole plot only culminated in the last 50 pages of the book. I just wish I could have seen more of the challenges or more of the whole premise of the story explored, rather than briefly touched on through a 200 page journey.
The ending was a bit predictable, but it made sense in the context of the story that had taken place. I was actual quite content with how it ended because I felt like it stuck to the truths brought about in the argument of nature vs nurture. I also liked how Nurture observed that letting nature take its course, its a form of nurture. I also liked how Nurture recognized that she could only nurture the nature that was born within. For example, she couldn't turn Ricardetto into a fearsome warrior, as it was simply not his nature.
Now enough confusing nature vs nurture words. To summise, the good: an original plot and a pleasant read. The bad: went on for a bit too long and was found lacking. Overall, I think this book will truly speak to some and be meaningless to others. I would like to think that both your nature and nurture will work together to determine whether this is a good read for you or not.
This book tells the duality and differences brought about through nature and nurture. Two gods competing to see which wins. The prologue was the best part of this book, with Myers describing the concept of two sides of the same coin in a poetic, and even profound, way. These two gods choose human twins as their proxy for a challenge that culminates how they have been shaped by life.
I thought the plot was original and interesting. I liked the concept and how the book explored the topic of nature vs nurture that many others had not. The writing style was comfortable and vaguely humorous, and all the characters were original. I liked that it's not something you'd normally find in a book store.
However, I didn't like how the whole book followed Nurtures viewpoint. Of course her point of view would be much more involved than Natures, as this is the whole point of being nurturing. Of course she would send her twins on a journey and mould them to her shape that Nature would not. But, it would have been nice to see Natures observations of his set of twins, rather than Nurtures. They have very differring personalities and I wish we could fully grasp both sides of the coin. The pace of the book was also slow, and the whole plot only culminated in the last 50 pages of the book. I just wish I could have seen more of the challenges or more of the whole premise of the story explored, rather than briefly touched on through a 200 page journey.
The ending was a bit predictable, but it made sense in the context of the story that had taken place. I was actual quite content with how it ended because I felt like it stuck to the truths brought about in the argument of nature vs nurture. I also liked how Nurture observed that letting nature take its course, its a form of nurture. I also liked how Nurture recognized that she could only nurture the nature that was born within. For example, she couldn't turn Ricardetto into a fearsome warrior, as it was simply not his nature.
Now enough confusing nature vs nurture words. To summise, the good: an original plot and a pleasant read. The bad: went on for a bit too long and was found lacking. Overall, I think this book will truly speak to some and be meaningless to others. I would like to think that both your nature and nurture will work together to determine whether this is a good read for you or not.
September 8, 2025
This book is deeply layered and a fantastic commentary on gender, history, and development. The whole thing centers around two gods, Nature and Nurture, deciding to have a contest to figure out which one of them is better, each of them picking a pair of twins and raising them in their own way. Through that, we get a lot of commentary on how women are viewed in medieval times, and the parallels with contemporary times are impossible to ignore. It makes for a fascinating, layered book where I almost fully agree with the message behind it.
But talk about fumbling an ending, man. And for that, let's go to the spoilers.
Earlier in the book I was struggling a bit with perspective, as I would've preferred being in the head of one of the twins, but that was mostly a me thing. I can imagine others like that a lot.
If you're looking for a nuanced perspective on gender, and having a book that is very layered in its messaging and themes, this is the book for you. But be aware: it does not stick the landing.
But talk about fumbling an ending, man. And for that, let's go to the spoilers.
Earlier in the book I was struggling a bit with perspective, as I would've preferred being in the head of one of the twins, but that was mostly a me thing. I can imagine others like that a lot.
If you're looking for a nuanced perspective on gender, and having a book that is very layered in its messaging and themes, this is the book for you. But be aware: it does not stick the landing.
October 9, 2021
Two gods, Nature and Nurture, siblings by any other sense who couldn’t be any more at odds, both wish to rule the earth in its next age. But as they can never keep out of each other’s affairs, they decide that this time it must be absolute rule, with the other one banished for the age. And to decide who wins, they will each select a set of twins due to be born soon - one set will be left to their own nature, and the other will be nurtured. After a certain time the two sets will meet to do battle, and decide which god will rule, once and for all…
So I loved the premise of this novel, and was hoping for some mythology along with plenty of action and adventure. What it was instead was more of an exploration of gender stereotypes, which delved quite deeply into gender identity and the assumptions made. This was demonstrated in the gods themselves, who do not class themselves as man or woman, but also in the sets of twins who break all of the traditional rules of the women keeping house whilst the men fight. In this sense I thought it was really brilliant and thought provoking, especially as someone who doesn’t have a personal understanding of the subject.
Unfortunately I was a little underwhelmed by the writing itself, which felt like it lacked a little maturity…it was almost too simple for a fantasy novel if that makes sense?! I think it would’ve helped to have a dual narrative from both Nature and Nurture, for a better rounded argument and point of view.
Having said that, it definitely had some really exciting scenes, and I thoroughly enjoyed following the actual twins and their journeys. The female twins especially were so fierce and fearless and I loved their refusal to conform in a time where expectations were much stricter. I also thought it tied things up nicely, in quite a hopeful way.
Also, the cover is bloody stunning 🔥
September 13, 2021
"The twins will compete in the three areas of human ability - strong body, strong mind, strong spirit."
Personal rating: 3/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Two godlings, Nature and Nurture. Both can't live without each other. However, both were set to want to rule the world. With that in mind, they would bet their reign over the world by choosing themselves, each a set of twins for them to compete with one another at a certain age. One set was brought up by Nature, another by Nurture. We would read the book from the perspective of Nurture.
I feel that this was an okay read. Not the best, but not the worst. It was enjoyable but unfortunately not memorable. Best believe by the end of the week, I will forget what happens in this book.
Although the theme was Nature vs Nurture, I was rooting for all four twins. Marfisa and Ruggiero were brought up by Nature, with them calling him a demon. Then we have Ricardetto and Bradamante who were basically royals in some distant kingdom.
That's the thing, there is little to no world-building. All I know was that at one point their lives would intersect with one another and they will battle it out.
Honestly, there is a good premise to this story. However, I do think there were a lot of missed opportunities from world-building, character development, and the in-depth personality of every character.
Would I recommend this to anyone? Not really. As I said, it wasn't memorable as I wished it to be.
Thanks though, Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with this digital ARC. Deuces✌
Personal rating: 3/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Two godlings, Nature and Nurture. Both can't live without each other. However, both were set to want to rule the world. With that in mind, they would bet their reign over the world by choosing themselves, each a set of twins for them to compete with one another at a certain age. One set was brought up by Nature, another by Nurture. We would read the book from the perspective of Nurture.
I feel that this was an okay read. Not the best, but not the worst. It was enjoyable but unfortunately not memorable. Best believe by the end of the week, I will forget what happens in this book.
Although the theme was Nature vs Nurture, I was rooting for all four twins. Marfisa and Ruggiero were brought up by Nature, with them calling him a demon. Then we have Ricardetto and Bradamante who were basically royals in some distant kingdom.
That's the thing, there is little to no world-building. All I know was that at one point their lives would intersect with one another and they will battle it out.
Honestly, there is a good premise to this story. However, I do think there were a lot of missed opportunities from world-building, character development, and the in-depth personality of every character.
Would I recommend this to anyone? Not really. As I said, it wasn't memorable as I wished it to be.
Thanks though, Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with this digital ARC. Deuces✌
March 11, 2022
A conceptually interesting novel with noticeable imperfections that reads a bit like a book someone might be assigned to read in AP English.
For the most part, I really enjoyed it, but the pacing was uniformly slow...until the end, which felt really rushed. That said, the writing was highly enjoyable and imaginative and I can find no fault with the moment-to-moment feel of reading the book. Maybe a bit literary. Which some people will like more than others.
I had an issue accepting Nurture being represented by a woman, because in all my life I have never had any contact with a cisgender woman whom I found at all nurturing. But I have known (literally) countless men who've had this quality. My boss. My best friend. My father. Several of my favorite teachers. I could go on. Not a single cis woman. The book might have been more appealing if done the other way. Readers will never know.
The historical period (I'm guessing Crusades?) is especially interesting, especially from an outside perspective, not dissimilar from The Doomsday Book (Willis), but from an even more outsider-y voice. That said, all the character names were borderline cringe.
Overall, it is worth reading because it's very different/unique and because it reads well. A twin may enjoy it more? Not sure on that point.
For the most part, I really enjoyed it, but the pacing was uniformly slow...until the end, which felt really rushed. That said, the writing was highly enjoyable and imaginative and I can find no fault with the moment-to-moment feel of reading the book. Maybe a bit literary. Which some people will like more than others.
I had an issue accepting Nurture being represented by a woman, because in all my life I have never had any contact with a cisgender woman whom I found at all nurturing. But I have known (literally) countless men who've had this quality. My boss. My best friend. My father. Several of my favorite teachers. I could go on. Not a single cis woman. The book might have been more appealing if done the other way. Readers will never know.
The historical period (I'm guessing Crusades?) is especially interesting, especially from an outside perspective, not dissimilar from The Doomsday Book (Willis), but from an even more outsider-y voice. That said, all the character names were borderline cringe.
Overall, it is worth reading because it's very different/unique and because it reads well. A twin may enjoy it more? Not sure on that point.
did-not-finish
October 19, 2021Unfortunately, I abandoned this book around the 45% mark. I really liked Myers' The Story of Silence, and was happy to be offered a review copy, but this one didn't live up to my expectations.
I think this book would have made a really interesting short story exploring the concepts set out, but there simply isn't enough substance to warrant a full-length novel. The idea of Nature and Nurture setting itself a challenge felt rather meaningless without any world-building to explain the existence of Gods in this world, why they care about humans, or what it means to be exiled. Our narrator is detached, and details the lives of their test subjects in a dispassionate way that makes it hard to care about them, either. Even when down on what is presumably Earth, there was simply not enough detail to contextualise the lives of the twins or how their environments might shape their journey.
I did like the idea to explore gender identity through the lens of nature vs nurture and to poke at and experiment with many of our engrained ideas about gender, but I'm just not sure this was the right format.
November 14, 2024
I don’t really know what to say about this.
The characters’ names were weird and didn’t match with the cultures I think they were coming from, then you have the human name of Nurture — Melissa? Really? And then Nature had the super cool human name of Atlante? All the other names sounded Italian, even though they were all from different cultures which were hard to decipher and never fully mentioned.
Nature at the end seemed to have a quick second where they were trying so hard to be the bad guy and everyone just looked at them like, “Huh? Lame.” Then Nature dashed off.
There was no real resolution. The twins all had a magical feast in what my brain interpreted as the middle of the battlefield, during a battle, when one of them had just gotten a major head injury from one of the other twins? Then Nature and Nurture just floated—but the next sentence said walked—off into the sunset? I skimmed the last 30% of this book because whereas it started off strong, it got progressively more difficult to read. What got me the most were the odd and unnecessary parenthetical statements that sounded like a young teenager wrote them.
Anyway it just wasn’t for me. I loved the concept but it wasn’t executed in a way that did the idea justice.
I’m sure lots of people loved this book though!
The characters’ names were weird and didn’t match with the cultures I think they were coming from, then you have the human name of Nurture — Melissa? Really? And then Nature had the super cool human name of Atlante? All the other names sounded Italian, even though they were all from different cultures which were hard to decipher and never fully mentioned.
Nature at the end seemed to have a quick second where they were trying so hard to be the bad guy and everyone just looked at them like, “Huh? Lame.” Then Nature dashed off.
There was no real resolution. The twins all had a magical feast in what my brain interpreted as the middle of the battlefield, during a battle, when one of them had just gotten a major head injury from one of the other twins? Then Nature and Nurture just floated—but the next sentence said walked—off into the sunset? I skimmed the last 30% of this book because whereas it started off strong, it got progressively more difficult to read. What got me the most were the odd and unnecessary parenthetical statements that sounded like a young teenager wrote them.
Anyway it just wasn’t for me. I loved the concept but it wasn’t executed in a way that did the idea justice.
I’m sure lots of people loved this book though!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2025
repetitive. 90% is descriptions of what the characters are wearing, and I usually like descriptions but not when they don't add anything to the story - such is this case. a lot of it felt like that "just found out women have periods, I hate that they go through that pain, they don't deserve that" meme. chapters are (literally) 40 pages long which is insane for a book that doesn't even total 300 pages. the ending is ???? the entire book builds up to an (obvious) consensus of nurture/nature type of ending but not even that is properly developed; it's genuinely giving "she woke up in a hospital bed and it was all a dream". on the minor side, these two beings have no gender but kept calling each other "brother" and "he", and this wouldn't even annoy me that much if not for the fact that in the prologue they both used "they" pronouns. the lack of consistency is the problem here - that and the fact that "Melissa" states several times how that body is confining and shows discontent with it (but also, when talking to themself in bird form called themself "Melissa" ... so do you like your human form and feel content in it or is it confining? pick one). finally the constant use of parenthesis..it gets to a point where it's not fun anymore, it's just annoying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
January 11, 2024Given I really enjoyed Myers' previous novel, I really wanted to like this, but I was dubious from the start given the concept.
A pair of twins each? It just doesn't make /any/ sense. We have a scientific method that allows us to compare the effects of nature vs. nurture, and they're called 'twin trials', but this is not how that works AT ALL.
If they had split the pairs of twins and taken one each, it might've made some sense. But just taking two separate pairs doesn't logically achieve anything. They may as well have taken a single child each. Absolutely infuriating.
And then the prose was surprisingly trite, cliche, and frankly boring - not to mention inconsistent (the POV 'God' is basically omniscient and has knowledge of all time, but doesn't know the word for 'helmet'? Inconsistencies like that make them seem either idiotic or poorly written).
To me, the book read like either a first novel (started when the author was very young) or something thrown together in the space of a month.
Super underwhelming and I, unfortunately, did not finish (hence no star rating).
A pair of twins each? It just doesn't make /any/ sense. We have a scientific method that allows us to compare the effects of nature vs. nurture, and they're called 'twin trials', but this is not how that works AT ALL.
If they had split the pairs of twins and taken one each, it might've made some sense. But just taking two separate pairs doesn't logically achieve anything. They may as well have taken a single child each. Absolutely infuriating.
And then the prose was surprisingly trite, cliche, and frankly boring - not to mention inconsistent (the POV 'God' is basically omniscient and has knowledge of all time, but doesn't know the word for 'helmet'? Inconsistencies like that make them seem either idiotic or poorly written).
To me, the book read like either a first novel (started when the author was very young) or something thrown together in the space of a month.
Super underwhelming and I, unfortunately, did not finish (hence no star rating).
March 5, 2023
When I picked up this book, I remember saying 'This will either be transphobic or will be the best nonbinary book I've stumbled across' and I'm happy to say it was the latter. (I figured that part out on page 2.) Structurally I think I had a hard time working out what the message was supposed to be, but there were some chapters that made me wish I could share them with my mom while she was raising me, if that makes any sense. Even though the ending lacked cohesion, never since reading the Book Thief have I read a book that's main characters are metaphysical concepts. It couldn't quite do what the book theif did- the characters still felt confined to roles in society even when they broke free of metaphysical destiny- but to narrate a plot from the point of view of an idea is so difficult that I respect him just for finishing a book length story this way.
Final note: Support trans authors! Reading the about the author page of this book might have been the best part.
Final note: Support trans authors! Reading the about the author page of this book might have been the best part.
July 3, 2024
From the Amazon blurb: From the author of 2020's astonishing The Story of Silence comes another retelling of a chivalric legend, full of magic, myth and self-discovery.
“Utterly enchanting”
Publishers Weekly
Beyond the stars, two gods vie for rule of the world.
One stands for Nature – the belief that everything is stamped in flesh from the start. The other, Nurture – the belief that all is potential, that the true self is coaxed out through love and living.
Better than I thought it was going to be but not quite worth 4 stars. Had some really interesting ideas and the story flowed well and I liked the twins the gods picked to be their 'warriors/tools/whatever', but didn't get enough of the twins "Nature" picked because Nurture was telling the story and she didn't look in on the enough.
Not sorry I bought it (which I was afraid I was going to be after the introduction) but really not going to read again.
“Utterly enchanting”
Publishers Weekly
Beyond the stars, two gods vie for rule of the world.
One stands for Nature – the belief that everything is stamped in flesh from the start. The other, Nurture – the belief that all is potential, that the true self is coaxed out through love and living.
Better than I thought it was going to be but not quite worth 4 stars. Had some really interesting ideas and the story flowed well and I liked the twins the gods picked to be their 'warriors/tools/whatever', but didn't get enough of the twins "Nature" picked because Nurture was telling the story and she didn't look in on the enough.
Not sorry I bought it (which I was afraid I was going to be after the introduction) but really not going to read again.
Read
June 27, 2024i only picked up this book because of the cover. is beautiful 😋
- the book started out interesting enough, the concept was new and not something i'd read about before. but the pacing was a little off so i got slightly bored. i found myself skipping pages because of too much description. it was less than 300 pages but took me longer than i thought to get through.
- i'm not really sure what the point of this book was? the whole book was supposed to revolve around nature vs nurture and which set of twins would win the battles. but because of the ending,
- reading about the way society affected the girls growing up was the best part of the book. i enjoyed how feisty both of the girls were, and i would have wanted to see how the girls fared in the battles but ah well 😐
- the book started out interesting enough, the concept was new and not something i'd read about before. but the pacing was a little off so i got slightly bored. i found myself skipping pages because of too much description. it was less than 300 pages but took me longer than i thought to get through.
- i'm not really sure what the point of this book was? the whole book was supposed to revolve around nature vs nurture and which set of twins would win the battles. but because of the ending,
- reading about the way society affected the girls growing up was the best part of the book. i enjoyed how feisty both of the girls were, and i would have wanted to see how the girls fared in the battles but ah well 😐
May 8, 2022
This very much felt like a tale, both in the narration and because the fantastical elements were very abstract. I really enjoyed feeling like I was being told a story and getting to navigate across time and space to visit the characters.
Bullet review:
- Concept of gender
- Nature versus nurture
- Fairytale narrative
- Sibling dynamics
As with Myers' first book, I loved the themes explored here, but the story felt less polished.
I really wish it had been longer to really get more invested in the characters.
Bullet review:
- Concept of gender
- Nature versus nurture
- Fairytale narrative
- Sibling dynamics
As with Myers' first book, I loved the themes explored here, but the story felt less polished.
I really wish it had been longer to really get more invested in the characters.
June 25, 2025
Rating: 2.5 stars
Audiobook narration: 5 stars
Myers did this story a disservice by writing it in the first person. Whenever Nurture spoke about anything other than the twins, I wanted to wring her neck and DNF the book.
Nature/Nurture are written as one dimensional as the twins are complex and alive. I was enthralled by both sets of twins and their life and personality, but really could have done without the high powers. They, overall, were flat and needed far more depth in person than they were given.
Also, the ending was meh.
Audiobook narration: 5 stars
Myers did this story a disservice by writing it in the first person. Whenever Nurture spoke about anything other than the twins, I wanted to wring her neck and DNF the book.
Nature/Nurture are written as one dimensional as the twins are complex and alive. I was enthralled by both sets of twins and their life and personality, but really could have done without the high powers. They, overall, were flat and needed far more depth in person than they were given.
Also, the ending was meh.
October 11, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I haven’t read many books that are based on Gods, after reading this I will be exploring more.
I loved not only the basis of twins, but that of ‘nature vs nurture’ and how this can impact on a person. Myers brings fantasy in to a interesting subject.
I preferred reading about Bradamante and Ricardetto and following their childhood.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy celestial and fantasy reads.
I loved not only the basis of twins, but that of ‘nature vs nurture’ and how this can impact on a person. Myers brings fantasy in to a interesting subject.
I preferred reading about Bradamante and Ricardetto and following their childhood.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy celestial and fantasy reads.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews