If you’re looking for a high stakes fantasy with incredible imagery and beautiful story to go alongside it, then you need to pick this up immediately. I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with these characters, and I think other readers will too, plus the premise is just *chef’s kiss*. Two civilisations that have existed entirely apart until North and Nimh meet? There’s action, danger, romance, the end of the world, and it’s all told through North and Nimh’s perspectives. I’m desperate to find out what’s going to happen next because that ending had some very wicked things going on in there. You’re definitely going to want to buy, request, or add this one to a reading list because it was unlike anything I’ve read this year.
Prince North’s home is in the sky. His home is a city powered by engines and technology, that no one understands very well anymore. Nimh is a living goddess and the hope of her people on the surface, she’s the one they’re looking for direction, answers, and most important of all, hope. While North and Nimh’s lives are entwined, their hearts can never be. They’ll have to choose between the duty of saving their people, or succumbing to the dangerous fate that would come from falling in love.
My goodness, this novel is such a stunner. As you might guess, this story is told in both North and Nimh’s perspectives, and you couldn’t have two more different people telling this story and I was HERE for it. There’s a good set up leading to North and Nimh meeting, and their respective homes are fascinating. North has been raised in the sky with logic, technology, and everything can be easily explained by science.
On the other hand, Nimh is a living goddess and the last of her line. She uses magic and her land is very volatile due to mist storms that affect the land. I feel like this helps explain their personalities very well. North has to have reason, explanation, and justification for what is happening. He is passionate though, and willing to learn. Whereas Nimh is accustomed to the unknown. As a living goddess, she lives behind a mask most of the time and when it comes off, it is a fascinating study into what this kind of life can do to a person. The best way I think this is showcased is when North and Nimh meet and magic and technology are introduced. I personally preferred Nimh’s perspective more than North until the end.
Both are dealing with factions of their community that are looking to be rid of them, for reasons mostly unknown. This mystery only deepens with the prophecy that Nimh has discovered, and is now being hunted down for (with North along for the ride). This makes the story fairly fast paced, and with the chapters feeling relatively short, I managed to read this in under four hours.
One of my favourite parts of the story is the fact that these two characters are dealing with a pretty significant culture clash. Despite that, North and Nimh don’t judge one another for not having the knowledge of the culture, but instead, they treat each other with respect and curiosity that allows the reader to find out more about each culture without denigrating the other. Even when there is an issue (food for example), they’re able to talk it out reasonably without too much disrespect toward the other person. I think that this really allows for a beautiful way to explore the people of the sky versus the people of the surface and how it all relates to the prophecy. The prophecy is explored beyond the superficial words and while some of this story feels a little heavy, there’s a significant amount of hope infused in the story that propels the characters and readers along.
I was genuinely curious how this romance was going to develop because of certain things going on in the story, but I really liked where it was going. North is nursing a bit of a broken heart, while Nimh is innocent toward the feeling of love. What looms over their romance is the past as well as the prophecy that intertwines their lives together, but not their hearts. I’m not always the biggest fan of star-crossed lovers romances, but Amie and Meagan have nailed this for me. I’m in love with both of these characters, and I genuinely can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in the next book. Everything has been left in a bit of a cliffhanger of sorts, and I’m very curious if we’ll be seeing another perspective in the next book.
I’m a pretty easy person to please when I read, and this story really captivated me from the start. I found myself drawn to Nimh and North, the world of the surface, but especially the cat. The cat certainly made the story much more interesting and I loved the name that North gave the cat at one point. Please make sure to go read it, and come tell me what you loved, or if you disagree with me! I’d love to know what you think and I hope you’ll consider adding this to your list.
The Other Side of the Sky is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | 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.
