Precise Rating - 3.5 Stars rounded to 4 Stars.
The Enpirion Project is dazzlingly charming in places, and equally slow-placed in others. There were parts of this story that I really loved and enjoyed and some that I struggled to get through or just did not care enough!
To begin with, I absolutely loved the mental health representation. Piri's situation and background are extremely challenging and sad. In that sense, the story does highlight several times throughout the book about his difficulties.
Since we are talking about Piri, I feel that his character and all others were extremely complex and layered. Even the side characters were mostly fun to follow. The found-family trope is one of my favourites and I was cheering all the way for these wonderful people to get together!
The main antagonist of the story is well set up. I can't say much about it apart from the fact that I was genuinely thinking it to be someone else and then BOOM! It was all a lie! It turned out to be someone who was far more dangerous! And I loved it!
The world-building is intricately drawn. Had the writing style been in the third person, I would have probably not enjoyed it. Since we got a first-person POV, it was easy to follow and get into. But besides that, I do feel that the introduction to this world could have been done a lot better.
For the first 100 pages or so, I was struggling to figure out what is exactly is happening. I of course understood stuff in bits and pieces, and I don't necessarily want to be spoon-fed with information but I was genuinely confused and lost. We are thrown right into the action with little to no context. It reminded me a lot of how Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - a book that everyone loved but me, started.
The pacing of the book is all over the place. While the second half, especially towards the end is very fast-paced and action-packed, the first half is slow and meandering.
I absolutely despise books with INSTA-LOVE/FRIENDSHIP tropes because they just seem very unreal to me. And here, Piri and Neph have something which can be categorised as INSTA-friendship/love. While it was arguably handled a lot better than what I have read, it wasn't the best. The romance for me did not work for the first half of the book! Only until something major happens and I can't say what because of SPOILER ALERT, I felt some real attraction towards them as a couple.
Having said all of those things, I absolutely couldn't stop gushing about how adorable the illustrations were. Bossi has painstakingly illustrated characters and scenes from the story and while you're reading, it all comes to LIFE. I have not read anything other than the Harry Potter illustrated editions in this format, so this was very very cool! Not only were the illustrations beautifully succeeding in capturing the given moment, but they were also just so well drawn and detailed. Just holding the book in my hand flipping through the pages felt so wholesome! Ugh!
Despite the flaws, The Enpirion Project is highly ambitious and by the end of the story, I was hooked! When is Book 2 coming? Haha!
According to me, this would appeal to the fans of Shaun David Hutchinson, Eliot Schrefer, and Adam Silvera. Oh, for the illustrations Alice Oseman too! So, if you like any of these authors and their work, then you absolutely shouldn't miss out on this book!
Thank you to L.Bossi, the author for generously providing me with an ARC of this book!