ARC Review: Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances

Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a short novella, the second in a spin-off series that focus on this particular couple, Thuan and Asmodeus, characters that featured in another, bigger series. I read the first novella about them, but didn't read the original series. I feel like each one is self-containing, as far as the mystery and the main plot goes. All the relevant world-building is there too, but it's still obvious it's only a part of something much bigger. That's even more obvious if we take the romance, as we are clearly missing the origins of this couple. But I would say that it's easy, from the two novellas, to pick up on their dynamics and go with the flow. Even though they are married, I wouldn't say they're really an established couple yet, so we still get a lot of tension and animosity coming from them, which was fun. The best part of those novellas though, is the world-building. Vietnamese-inspired, but in an underwater Paris, with murder, political intrigue, and lots of fantasy elements. What a creative atmosphere!

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