The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Summary from Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have crafted a gripping tale of magic and logic, fate and choice, and a deadly love. Perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and Brandon Sanderson.

Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate engines, powered by technology. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the Surface, responsible for providing answers, direction—hope.

North’s and Nimh’s lives are entwined—though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose between saving their people or succumbing to the bond that is forbidden between them.

Review:

I was super excited to get an ARC of this book. For starters, look at the gorgeousness of this cover! Also, I love these authors and I’ve been super impressed with them in the past. I practically hugged the book when I got it and almost dropped all the other books I was reading.

Sadly, I was a little disappointed. As I mentioned on Goodreads, …There were some stand out elements here, particularly the in-depth world building and the cat that saved the day on multiple occasions. The writing was excellent. However, there were so many YA tropes and plot arcs I’ve seen over and over again. I was hoping for something fresher.

I’ve read stories with a top world and bottom world already. I’ve also read stories now with rather religious characters. I’ve read a lot of YA chosen one stories. I’ve read so many stories where the two points of view characters fall in love. And I’ve read more than enough stories where the two love interests are not allowed to be together. And I guess the point I’m slowly coming to is, did they have to write soooooo many tropes in one? Like couldn’t they have just stuck with 1 or 2? Or I guess, if you’re going to write a book with so many well known plots, please make something in there more unique.

As I mentioned, the writing was beautiful. The world building was top-notch. However, I have seen absolutely everything done before, many, many times. I was hoping for more. And because of this lack of originality, it took me a long time to read. I had to make myself finish the book. I almost stopped a few times. I’m glad I finished it overall. I really loved the cat. And I really got lost in the setting. I wanted more from the characters. And I certainly needed more from the plot –thought it picks up a lot towards the end.

All in all, I give this a 6.5/10.