Book Review #16: Broken Aether by S.G. Bacon

Hello Dear Reader!

Fun fact about this read: This book is by an author whose book I’ve reviewed before, so S.G. Bacon is the first author ever to have more than one review on this blog! This book is quite different from her fantasy trilogy The Prophecy War, as its genre is more historical fiction, but before I get into that, here’s the back-cover summary (found on Amazon):

For Rena Jones, an invitation to the Society of Aristotelian Pursuits is the most exciting opportunity she’d had in her nineteen years of life. With her boundless optimism, the ambition of others at the Society, and the most sophisticated scientific instruments she’s ever used, nearly anything is possible.

Unfortunately, that turns out to be exactly the problem. When the three most powerful people in the Society invite Rena to join them in creating aether, Aristotle’s unattainable essence, something just doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t take long for her suspicions to be confirmed. Rena, along with Fin, her unlikely ally, soon finds that being against the Society is a dangerous position to be in. Regardless of the danger, Fin and Rena know that they have to do everything they can to prevent the creation of aether and the absolute power it would bring. With aether in their grasp, the Society would be able to conform the world to their idea of what it should be… and a world in which only certain people matter is a cruel world indeed.

That’s the end of the back-cover summary. Now, let’s get into the review!

Broken Aether mainly centers around bubbly ray of sunshine Rena Jones, a young lady full of positivity and creativity. Owner of a big brain, Rena stands out in society because of her passionate love for science and education, something that is unusual for women of her time. Joining her is the subtly sweet and caring Fin Smithy, metalworker who works in the underground factory of the Society. Together, they make a very sweet and collaborative pair who compliment and support each other very well. Witnessing their friendship blossom into something just a bit more had me rooting for them throughout the book. They definitely play into my preference of cute and wholesome couples.

Surrounding these two main characters are a varied cast of personalities! For example, you have the more stoic professor and the sweet caretaker. There’s also the seemingly perfect guy who turns out to be mediocre at best. Finally, you have the entitled aristocrats who believe they should become gods of a new world… which really isn’t too far off from the goals of the villains of this book. I went to liking them to being wary of them to disliking them, which was definitely the intent of the author. I really enjoyed this cast of supporting characters, and I only wish I got to learn more about them!

This book takes place in the city of Great Helmsford, which has a similar name to a city called Chelmsford, which is east of England. While the city itself isn’t described in great detail, all the small sections where the characters go to are very well described. The author does a great job of making these smaller places within the city come to life without paragraphs upon paragraphs of description, which is something I personally love.

There is only one major criticism I have about this book, and I honestly can’t really call it a criticism. It’s the book’s length. Broken Aether is pretty short at about 180 pages long. This is probably due to some conversations and the passing of a day or two being condensed into a summary that spans a few pages. While this is the case, it didn’t take away from the reading experience at all, at least for me personally. Yes, I would’ve liked to have more dialogue between main characters Rena and Fin, but the way these summaries were written were very charming and provided enough for me to be satisfied. Other than that, the book was just a tad bit rushed in my opinion, but that didn’t take away from the reading experience either.

So, Broken Aether rating:

9/10 and would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a more casual, charming read that is relatively short. Even though this book is short, I think the characters is what makes it such a great read. I feel in love with Rena and Fin while I read this book, and I hope you do too if you give it a try! And if you want to learn more about the author S.G. Bacon, you can find her on Instagram @sgbaconwriter!

That’s all for this book review!

Thanks for reading!