Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-jun took a single look at Wei Wuxian, this strong, badass, seemingly-alpha-coded-looking man, just dripping with power and darkness, with a wicked smirk on his face, death in his eyes and dead women basically clinging to his robes, and said "I'mma top that". And he did.

Recently finished reading the first installment of the Changing Waters series! And I have some thoughts, purely from a reader's perspective-

Me likey:

the magic concept and manifestations;

the relationship dynamics, especially the familial ones (danae & kostas wraaaa)

the interpersonal conflicts;

the creature descriptions and designs and the descriptors used to show emotion;

the focus on community and the fictional culture we've mostly got glimpses of;

accurate behavior for characters' ages within their circumstances / backgrounds

and the illustrations (especially the boat one).

Me not so likey:

the head hopping (is mostly fine but the indicators aren't effective enough so I have to go back many times because I get confused) which is a consequence to the story written more as a film than a book, without better use of techniques to emulate the visual medium to prose;

some characters could've been cut (Electa)

Dialogue and thought tags are mostly the same which once again had me confused at times.

*and the seeming lack of magic systems. I like whimsical magic without a system, or a combination... but the way the characters talk about the magic make it seem like there should be a system (guideline?) of sorts, yet the narrator nor the characters give me nor show me a clear answer/idea to how their magic works. This is a nitpick.... I'm torn on this one because we've been given some explanations and history...Hm

Other thoughts:

Aesop is my favorite character!

Second favorite may be the loser Nikolaus.

The last chapter had banger narration and writing all of a sudden. Like the best quality in the whole book. That and the end of prev

Some typos here and there. Didn't detract from the reading experience nor confused

Kostas is a great main character. Leander matches him well as the antagonist.

I really wish we had more physical descriptions of the characters. There was nearly none. Very few unique or plot relevant features mentioned, at least.

The mystery with Kostas' father has me hooked though, came up with theories.

I really like this story overall, man. Just didn't hook me, so I may not continue the series. But I don't usually continue series so it wouldn't be anything new.

Besides, I'm so looking forward to @sarnai4 's War Siblings next! Definitely reading that!

They know an assassination when they hear it XD

So I've just gotten to Will's dramatic confession. (Which, of course, closely follows Jem's proposal) And while yes, I'm still Team Will... Tessa is an absolute goddess for the way she's handled this.

She wants to run to Will. It's so obvious to me that she loves him like she's never loved Jem. And yes, her integrity in not kissing him and pushing away his advances is already good behavior.

But the line that has me screaming is:

I cannot sever them, one from the other.

Like- I watched The Summer I Turned Pretty. I read Powerless. There are so, so many stories featuring a girl in a love triangle who tears apart her two suitors.

And Tessa, for recognizing that Jem and Will's bond is so deep, so sacred that she could never be the one to break them apart.... It's so rare.