Friday, March 18, 2022

"Secrets in the Mist" by Morgan L. Busse

About this book:

  “What’s lurking in the Mist is the least of their worries…
    In a world where humanity lives in the sky to escape a deadly mist below, Cass’s only goal is survival. That is, until she finds a job on the airship Daedalus as a diver. Now she explores ruined cities, looking for treasure and people’s lost heirlooms until a young man hires her to find the impossible: a way to eradicate the Mist.
    Theodore Winchester is a member of one of the Five Families that rule the skies. Following in his father’s footsteps, he searches for the source of the Mist and hopes to stop the purges used to control overpopulation. But what he finds are horrifying secrets and lethal ambition. If he continues his quest, it could mean his own death.
    The Mist is rising and soon the world will be enveloped in its deadly embrace, turning what's left of humanity into the undead.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Skyworld” duology.


Spiritual Content- There is a God in the story called “Elaeros” (some people believe He allowed the Mist as a punishment, other some He doesn’t care, and some do not believe in Him at all; Cass isn’t sure what she believes while Theo talks/prays to Him); Prayers to Elaeros (including ones that end with “Amen” and Cass asking Him to save her from a scary situation because she doesn’t know Him); A few talks/discussions about Elaeros and if He cares (Cass says that if she was the powerful, she wouldn’t allow the Mist, wars, or pain); A few talks that reference someone bigger than your problems and the Mist and that giving a man comfort (Cass isn’t sure what he means); ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to Elaeros; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of a church, a service, & a hymn (Cass is fascinated by the stained glass windows and wonders what happens in that building, however when she’s seen by those inside, some of them yell at and threaten her); A couple mentions of Cass wondering what happens to the souls of the Turned; A mention of going on a trip with someone’s love and Elaeros’s grace; A mention of Elaeros blessings someone’s travels; A mention of not being religious like someone else;
             *Note: A couple mentions of ghosts & spirits; A mention of someone going through literal hell; A mention of a hellish place; A mention of an accursed place. 
 
 
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘blazes’, a ‘confound it’, a ‘darn’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shoddy’, a ‘what in the Mist’, a ‘working your tail off’, two ‘what in tarnation’s, seventeen forms of ‘gales’; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Fighting, Being attacked/hit, Self-defense, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, & Injuries (semi-detailed); Those who have breathed in the Mist (deathly spores that are released into the air by government-like authorities) are called a Turned and are similar to zombies (the person has died and the body left behind is a mode of transportation for the spores); Seeing many Turneds, fighting them, shooting them with a fire gun, & seeing someone turn into one (including the zombie-like appearance and that are starting to decompose, semi-detailed); Cass has to steal food to survive; Many mentions of deaths, fires, burns/injuries, bodies burning, the smell of burning flesh, decomposed and mummified bodies, & bones (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths, accidents, & possible murders; Mentions of guns/weapons & firing them at the Turned (which will burn the body, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of screams & someone turned into a Turned (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars & battles; Mentions of violence, riots, fights, fighting, thugs, & gangs (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of thieves & stealing; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of an addiction, gambling, & debts; Mentions of beer, drinking, & pubs (Cass says she’s seen too many people enamored with drinking and wouldn’t be starting now); A few mentions of Cass wondering if she’ll be tortured or sold if she’s caught; A few mentions of lying & lies; A few mentions of pipes & smoking; A few mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of pushing people in the Mist. 
 
 
Sexual Content- Touches & Nearness; Blushes; Noticing, Staring, & Smelling (including him noticing her curves once); Cass is attacked by a group of men, and while it’s not said if their intent was sexual or to rob her, her blouse has a tear in it after the fight; A few mentions of a young man who knows he’s handsome and his flirting with young ladies (including blushes and kisses on the knuckles); A couple mentions of winks & flirting; A mention of Cass being concerned about will happen if a group of men discovers she’s a girl; A mention of fancy ships not taking girls on board at least, “not to do honest work, anyway”; A mention of a girl telling Cass to never trust a man (so she dresses as a boy).
 
-Cass, age 18/19 (?)
-Theo Winchester, age 20
                                P.O.V. switches between Cass & Theo
                                          Steampunk/Dystopian Setting
                                                        272 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens- 
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-

{ Minus a full star for those who do not like zombie-like creatures or mentions of dead bodies. }

Well, that was really interesting.

…I think I start off too many of my reviews that way. Oh, well. It was interesting.

I wasn’t sure what I would think about this book. I’ve read a few steampunk books before, but most of them didn’t have any faith content. This one did in a dystopian/allegory-like way (there’s another name for God), which worked well for the story. I look forward to seeing Cass grow more on this in the second book.

My main negative about the story would be the zombie-like creatures in it. Now, it is said that a Turned (a person who breathed in the Mist (the poisonous spores/air)) is just a mode of transportation of the virus, the actual person is looked upon as being dead and their soul is elsewhere. (Where exactly? Cass isn’t sure.) I’m so not into zombies or anything close to that, so I was really hesitating reading this book once I found out it had those elements in it. But, learning that it’s not an actual person anymore made it a bit more bearable to read about. But only a bit. Some of the descriptions of the decomposing of bodies were too much for my tastes, so warning to those who have active imaginations and weak stomachs like me. This is why I put the ratings a touch lower and have that note above.

Since this book ended on a cliffhanger and I’m very curious about what will happen next, I definitely plan on reading the sequel when it releases.

 
 
 
See y’all on Monday with a new review!


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

 

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