I sped through this book in two days and just now finished, so hopefully I'll come back and write a better review after I've processed more or maybe after I read it again more slowly, but I feel the need to write down my immediate reaction:

Overall, this story impressed me because it went places I never would have imagined, and that was fantastic. From a certain point onward, I had absolutely no idea what to expect or what would come next. There were also just really great poignant moments (potential spoilers, but I'll be vague: the Panther, the night club, and Otto looking in the mirror refusing to accept himself. All fantastic, especially the last one). I really just can't get over how much this thwarted my expectations, it was so shockingly original (I think I'm still in shock). I also LOVE the way Sheehan confronts the harsh realities in her world and how eerily similar these unfortunate realities are to things happening now. Some have called it dystopian, but this hits closer to home than a lot of dystopian I've read, which is really fantastic. After reading others' reviews, I'm surprised I didn't love Quin as much as everyone else. I didn't dislike him, but he wasn't the best part of the story for me as he was for others. I've read stories before where the romantic relationship got so twisted and messed up that I reached a point where it wasn't even worth it to me whether or not they would make it together; where I just didn't care what happened to them any more. I think this story had the potential to do that for me (especially since I fell in love with Otto in the first book) but surprisingly I still cared at the end, and the twistedness of it, I realize when looking back, was really a fun ride.

I'm pretty sure Sheehan is (and all authors are) tired of hearing this, but the sequel doesn't beat the first book for me, which is absolutely phenomenal in my opinion. But I still enjoyed this book, and it really did make me think. I'm endlessly glad she worked so hard to get this published, it's definitely worth it to me.

Last thing: I love the way Sheehan creates and confronts moral dilemmas. They're always multifaceted, and right versus wrong become completely muddled. It's very real, and rings true to life.

It says that it can be read as a stand alone novel, and so I read it like that. And it did work perfectly like that too. I never felt lost.

Of course that did not mean that I did not want to read book 1. To find out more about Rose and how she woke up from stasis. Mostly that to be honest, and about her parents.

But this book then. Set in the future, earth has colonies (well a corporation has), space travel is possible (but very slow). And the corporation mixed alien dna and human and we have Otto (and his many many siblings.)

This book is about Otto, who has human rights, but is not human. He has powers and he is dying. I liked him most of the time. But not when he used his sickness to get attention from a certain person. But then he was a teen.

Rose was strange, she should have been an old woman but had been in stasis most of her life. Now she is to inherit an empire, and hopefully be a good leader.

It shows daily life for these kids. And it shows how they go to find a cure and the civil unrest on the moon Europa. I liked that part. It shows however far you go there are still people trying to push others down.

I have conflicted feelings about this book...I loved A Long Long Sleep with all my heart, and I was excited to hear about a sequel. But I was a bit disappointed that it was from Otto's POV.

I can't comment on the different writing style, because it's been a solid four years since I read the first book, and while I remember the plot pretty clearly, the style of writing isn't something I can recall well. I will say that this book at times seemed a bit...info-dumpy? And I don't remember having that complaint with the first, though I have become pickier with time.

My main qualm was Quin. I a) literally do not remember him at all from the first book, so either he's a new character or he was unremarkable to me and b) hate him. The casual misogyny was too much for me. Stop calling my girl Rose a bitch and whore.

That, and there is a scene that made me very uncomfortable because

Spoiler

it's mildly...rapey. Otto guilts Rose into making out with him, basically, and while he assures us that he can feel in her mind that she wants it...her body language in the scene says otherwise, and I didn't know how to feel about that.

I assume there has to be a book after this? I'll definitely still read it, but I would very much like it to be from Rose's POV.

It might have gotten less stars had I not loved the first book so much. Not only did I not enjoy this book, it managed to highlight the flaws in the first book making me like that slightly less too. Really frustrating read. I was not there for the sketchy relationships.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I didn't expect all of which transpired to happen (42, Xavier, Otto and Rose). I really liked the ending but I was saddened when 'young Xavier' left with 42 because it felt like he died a second death. I really wanted Rose and Bren to get together but it makes sense that Rose would develop feelings for Otto. The ending really showed how much they really cared about each other and I could really relate.

I was afraid it won't live up to my expectations after [b:A Long, Long Sleep|10271616|A Long, Long Sleep (UniCorp #1)|Anna Sheehan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320556385s/10271616.jpg|10644254], but I was pleasantly surprised! It was everything I didn't know I needed: showing what damage love can do to us. It was heartbreaking, twisted, emotionally raw. I just envy Sheehan's talent depicting the nuances of different kinds of love. Though the end

Spoiler

especially the whole 'the Moon is alive' thing

felt a bit rushed to me, I loved this book nonetheless, and I can't wait for another UniCorp book.

Did not finish after three chapters. Ugg. I loved the first book so much. I don’t know if I changed too much since I first read this author’s work, or if this sequel is really very different. The writing style was not working for me, but what *really* bothered me was the way the narrator thought about his crush. It was very creepy and weird. And there was a scene where he withheld information from her and did something very telepathically intimate without telling her what it was. Consent is informed. She was uninformed, so she could not consent. That scene was super creepy.

So much better than the first book. We take a dive in the mind of Otto and it's an amazing journey. So well written you can actually feel all the emotions of the character.