I've read a few new release YA heist stories this year, and I'm happy to report that this one is so far my favourite!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In the world of 'Until We Shatter', some are born with magic. There are seven types of magic, each name after a colour and their holders collectively known as 'Shades'. Shades are capable of entering another world, a shadow of the real-world known as the Grey, where they can travel undetected by those outside. Those born between the forbidden union of Shades and typical people are known as 'Hues', and have a diluted form of magic that manifests in a single magical ability based on the Shade parent's colour. Hues can also only spend limited time in the Grey, and they do so at the risk of being 'shattered' by the shadows that rebel against their non-magical blood.

Our hero is Cemmy, a Hue with the ability to affect things in the real-world from within the Grey. With an ailing mother and little money, Cemmy uses her ability to steal and keep them afloat. On her latest ill-timed lift, Cemmy is captured by a Shade who blackmails her and some of her other Hue friends into joining a high-risk heist against the Church - the very group intent on removing all Hues from the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interesting magic system in this book. It was a little difficult to get my head around first, but after sticking through the first few confusing chapters I quickly got a grip on how things worked. The main drawback for me personally was how frequently certain things were repeated. Because at least one past event was mentioned so many times, it essentially spoiled one of the main plot twists as it was really hammered down in a way that felt like "you better remember this! It might be important later" and resulted in the big reveal becoming easily predictable.

However, with an interesting magic system, a fun heist plot and diverse cast I think I could definitely see this becoming a new favourite for readers in the YA genre. As someone *cough* slightly outside of this target audience, I still had a lot of fun reading this and will continue with any sequels.

Took me a week to read this gripping story, the start was slow but it built up quickly! I love the character build and storyline all together!

The ending has me in tears still! It was amazing!

Until We Shatter is an enjoyable, fairly typical YA fantasy.

there was a lot to like about this - specifically, the magic system. it's been a while since i've read of such a unique, particular magic system. Kate Dylan meticulously lays out the rules of the world, and it's evident that a lot of care went into developing it. even though certain elements - like the In-Between / how Cemmy 'anchors' - were complicated, the author's writing simplifies things majorly & brings the reader completely into the world. the book moves at a (mostly) fast pace, is filled with action, and has a cast of entertaining (but typical) characters. i enjoyed Dylan's precise descriptions and refreshingly snappy dialogue - Until We Shatter is a very assured novel, and Kate Dylan knows exactly what she's going for. Cemmy is a pretty conventional YA heroine, but she feels thought-through and it's very easy to empathize with her, even when she does something stupid. i really enjoyed the scenes between Cemmy and Chase - their chemistry was excellent.

as with YA, however, there is a certain superficiality to some of this book. Dylan focuses the most on Cemmy, and i came away feeling like i know very little about the other characters. by extension, i don't care much for them either. they all feel archetypal, and not as complex as Cemmy herself. Until We Shatter tends to give most of its page-time to fleshing out the world & the romance, and much less to defining its characters and their relationships. there are also portions where it feels like the book is doing too much, and the middle ends up dragging a little bit. this is where the book didn't fully work for me, and i wish the author had started the heist slightly earlier in the novel.

overall, though, i do think that a lot of my reservations come from the fact that i've outgrown this kind of YA fantasy and not through any real fault of the book itself. this is evidently written to be part of a very specific genre. i settled at three stars - but i think this would be a great read for someone younger, just getting into the genre, who is looking to explore books that tackle magic / fantasy in a way that is a little bit more outside the box.

thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

Until we shatter is about a young woman, Cemmy who’s life has been in danger from the moment she was borned because she is a half blood. Her mother has been on the run since her father was killed to teach her mother a lesson. When her mother gets sick, Cemmy knows that she most find a job to save her mother, while risking to get exposed and even killed.

This book is full of action, fantasy, magic and romance with enough danger to keep you reading.

At the beginning of the book, in a foreword, the author tells us she hopes we will forgive her, and for the life of me, I was sure I would never forgive her. But well, at the end turns out I don't hate her that much any more and forgiveness is growing in my heart. 

I absolutely loved this book, while the notion of the heist is not new, the magic system and the in between were interesting and original, and have me absolutely obsessed. The found family trope is one of my favourites and is perfectly done. The characters are real and flawed, their mistakes, lies and betrayals not only serve the plot, but make sense, they are realistic mistakes that match each personality and growth. 
The writing is fabulous, flows in a way that has you turning pages so fast you don't even realise, and there you are halfway through the book in blink. 
The world building is rich, well explained and not heavy. Things are easy to remember and understand.

The stakes are high in this book, the characters likeable and real, the world building and magic system fantastic, with found family, and LGBTQ+ main character. If you like books like six of crows and a tempest of tea, I am pretty sure you will love this one even more.

This an absolute fantasy you expect it to be. And the fact it's about a new faction named shade , mostly it's vampire, fae, werewolves etc but shades are new which makes it even more intriguing.

The characters in the story are really fascinating belonging to various shades as in colors which comes along with different abilities linked with their shade. Green, orange, yellow, violet, blue, red,indigo are pure blooded and are considered most powerful among all the shades and half blooded are mixed and create shades like bronze , gold, amethyst, sapphire etc they are known as hue and as they are mix blooded they should remain hidden as if they are discovered by the government they would be faced with cruel death.

The thrill you feel the entire book that you couldn't guess the next chapter because something unexpected might happen is what makes you stick to the book and binge read it.

It's more of an adventure than romance.

There are a lot of occasions for empathy like killed parents, abandonment, threatening life so they would obey you , mention of losing someone, it's all there and the book it's not the kind that is full of banter.

The story follows their adventure to glow up and find the way to stay alive in different circumstances as yes being a hue has its disadvantages like the efforts shall be triple but the result won't be enough.

Camilla isn't some heroine who suddenly had a glow up and level up her character and chase isn't someone to shy away from his purpose, it tends to make it more real than romance genre.

Overall It's a really good story and i absolutely loved it but I gave spice 2 cause i don't need it at all, I could go with the whole story without even romance. Even though it has romance but I still would have loved it even if it didn't had any.

It's definitely a must read book💒

The magic system was super interesting and unique. It was a highlight for me in this story. I liked all the characters and their development was done well. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read an early copy.

What did I like about Until We Shatter? The biggest selling point for me was the very unique magic system. It stands out from every other magic system I've read. Magic is divided into seven colors, and every full-blooded magic user (shade) has one of them. The children of a magic user and a non-magic, like our main character, Cemmy, are called hues, and they have unique dilutions of that color. Another thing that I enjoyed was that I was actually surprised by several of the book's twists and appreciated that I could look back and see that they were hinted at subtly. I also enjoyed the main character, Cemmy, 's budding relationship with Chase; it felt like an obvious direction to take the story, but obvious in a way that made it easy to root for.

What didn't I love? The book's premise is a heist, and while that is true, it isn't the story's primary focus. More focus is spent on the main character working through (or not rather) her trust issues and learning about her magic. The problem with that heavy focus was that other relationships besides Cemmy and Chase felt like afterthoughts. Instead of getting found family vibes, I felt like it worked in the opposite way, wherein the beginning of the book told me, rather than showing how close she and her friends all were, "like family!!!" but as the book progressed, I was less and less convinced of that.

While I thought the magic system itself was unique and exciting, the color naming system for explaining magic, as well as some of the terminology "shattering," "shades," and "and hues," all felt very immature. The story suffers from complex political and religious tensions that are not fully realized or explained, resulting in a unique premise that unfortunately fell flat for me and made it hard to buy into the world.

Bottom line: I enjoyed parts of the book, but as a whole, it could have been longer with more world-building. The characters and relationships felt underdeveloped to me. That said, I think it will find its audience, and it kept me interested enough that I thought it was worth the read.

Who's it for? If you're looking for a Young Adult book with a really unique magic system, this may be for you. However, if you're easily frustrated with incomplete world-building or adolescent characters, I would skip it, as these characters are 19-year-olds who deal heavily with themes of jealousy and trust.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for the eARC; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an early e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun book! I loved the world-building and the magic system. The found shades and hues abilities and limitations very interesting. The concept of the Gray and the in-betweens were a little confusing at first, but once I got into the book I picked it up pretty quickly.
I loved the eclectic cast of characters. Cemmy is a wonderfully complex main character. I love how her, Cassiel and their group of friends are morally-grey but still relatable and easy to root for. The heist plot was very fun.
I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read more from this author :)

What a great book and what a great plot! I loved the idea of the protagonist being „forced“ into becoming a thief, because of her mothers illness.
I loved reading this book, feeling like I‘m a part of it and just enjoying.

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Hodderscape. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Until We Shatter.]

Rating: 3.5/5

What happens when you combine a setting reminiscent of Red Queen with the fantasy heists from Six of Crows? You’ll get something like Until We Shatter, a technicolour adventure overflowing with betrayal, tension, and magic. In this book, Kate Dylan takes us down a winding path filled with twists and turns that will leave you second guessing every new reveal, and that will no doubt tug on some heartstrings as situations grow more and more perilous. For the most part this is a pretty fun ride and the magic system is fascinating, but unfortunately I found myself a little bored throughout the story and wondered more than once if perhaps this wasn’t the book for me.

Until We Shatter is set in a world ruled by division. There’s the people that are either magic wielding Shades or ordinary Typics. There’s a world of colour and its greyscale mirror. And then there’s what lies in between the divide, a space inhabited by Hues, those with half the magic of a Shade and a large target on their backs. This is where we find our main character, a Hue/thief called Cemmy. When she jumps at the offer to take a job that could solve all of her problems, Cemmy finds herself between the truth and lies, family and friendships, and even the limitations of her own magic.

Let’s start with the positives. I loved the magic system in this book and can imagine it developing in really fun ways as we get further into the series. I also loved the hidden Grey, the magical world overrun by shadows that the characters often have to journey through. These elements were enough to hook me into the story and although there were some areas that, for me, didn’t strike the balance between too much and too little information, my interest never dipped when it came to finding out more about this fascinating magic.

Unfortunately, this is where the positives ended for me. Outside of the magic and the core cast, I felt that the world they lived in lacked the necessary depth to back up various elements of the plot. For example there’s many high stakes situations that the characters find themselves in but I rarely felt the full weight of peril that should have accompanied them. I also wasn’t completely sold on the romance, but it’s still early days and I’m sure it’ll continue to develop in the sequel.

Although this wasn’t the perfect book for me, if you love fantasy heists, the found family trope and high stakes situations, then I’d definitely recommend adding this to your tbr.

Until We Shatter is written from the POV of Cemmy, a half-shade who spends much of her time trying to hide her existence from the Church and the Council of Shades who believe that Half-shades, or Hues as they are called here, should not exist. In this world, there are typics - people without magic- and Shades - those with magic, who operate their magic in The Gray. When a typic and a Shade have a a baby, a Hue is made. But the Council of Shades has made this illegal and Hues are hunted. And in Until We Shatter, Cemmy and her small band of found family - other Hues - are forced into a high stakes heist.

I was so excited to receive this ARC as I am huge fan of Kate Dylan and this did not disappoint. I would say that the first part can be a little tricky to get your head around as the magic system is complex and I'm not sure that I ever fully got it. However, it didn't detract hugely from my enjoyment of this. I found it a slow start to get into but by the last half, I couldn't put it down. I also wonder if my slow start with this book is because I recently read a YA fantasy heist novel (Tempest of Tea) which may have made it feel less fresh.

Things I loved:
- A true conflicted, slow-burn enemies to lovers plot line.
- Morally grey band of misfits
- Genuine high stakes that have huge consequences for all the characters
- Some compelling and unexpected twists in the final stretch
- Complex and tricky characters, all of the characters are flawed, bold and compelling - I was happy spending time with any of them.
-Beautiful writing and messaging. The quote "I am the violence the world made of me" is going to stay with me for a very long time.
- A small stage - I love fantasy books that stay in one place and this world was vividly rendered.
- I'm fully obsessed with Chase and his rainbow veins!
- The magic -the concept of the rainbow colour magic was brilliant and so compelling; I'm dazzled by it!

What stopped this from being a 5* for me:
- I found Cemmy to be very frustrating at times and am surprised her friends didn't throttle her more than once.
- Some of the reveals (the crystal, the totem) I could see coming from a long way.
- As much as I loved it, because of the complexity of the magic, I never felt fully immersed in the story in the way I would like as I felt like I was trying to catch up a lot.

Overall, this was such a good story. The magic system felt very fresh and the heist was laced with very high stakes, which really helped add tension to the story. The character development is top-notch and the message of the dangers of misinformation feels vital. I really recommend this!

I haven't been the luckiest with my reads this year (especially with ARCs) so I always dive in expecting the worst, but this book absolutely slayed.

Until we shatter is a classic YA fantasy, with a heist main plot, extremely high stakes and a found family.

The writing style is very well executed, captivating and entertaining from the very first page. The magic system, with powers based on colours, is super unique, although the worldbuilding was a little dense, especially in the first 30%.
The plot was a little predictable, but with enough twists and turns to make reaching the end really satisfying. The ending, even if it felt a bit rushed, wraps up the story very nicely.

About some things I didn't like so much, in YA novels the characters somehow always end up giving the the ick, mainly because they all make extremely stupid decisions (that might be a me problem since I'm now 22, but even when I was the "right age" I always had issues with this so...). Anyway, besides the stupidity excused by young age (I hope), the main characters all have distinct personalities and satisfying story arcs.

Overall, I had so much fun reading this book and I'm looking into other books by the same author.

A solidly plotted fantasy heist novel with a diverse cast of characters, including Deaf representation, and a few twists that caught me by surprise. Until We Shatter spent a lot more time than I expected on the set up of the heist than the heist itself, with a large focus on the relationships between characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

A magical heist with high stakes, what a fun read! While heavy topics like fear, trauma, and prejudice were present… the author did a nice job showing it.

Until We Shatter was so much fun to read! I love the pacing of the book and the writing was so dynamic, with characters that were easy to love. Looking forward to more from this author!

Magic is in the blood of Isitar and its residents, but the Council of Shades is systematically hunting down anything less than a full Shade. Cemmy and her friends are all Hues, the name given to half-Shades, forced to live and operate in the shadows, a lifestyle which lends itself to a few particular skills. The crew are dragged into a rogue Shade’s scheme to save the magic of the world, using their colour-specific magical talents, in a life or death heist with a dash of romance.

This book promises a lot for its relatively short length. The grey and the in-between magic are creative and relatively unique, and who doesn't love a found family story? The story also features queer (wlw) and disabled representation (a deaf character), although this feels a little heavy handed at times (no pun intended) when a very clunky and pointed conversation comes up about how to make it easier to communicate with said deaf character, making it very clear to all that she does not need “fixing”. The pacing was also comfortable, with no moment lingering too long, and the plot carrying on at a steady trot towards a fast climax.

The romance between Cemmy and Chase was a standout of this book. I've not read anything else by Kate Dylan but it definitely felt like this was where she was most comfortable and confident with her writing, perhaps she is used to writing more spicy scenes as it certainly felt like it was heading there at times. As the best written parts, I felt like they could have been more of a focus of the book or be given some more space. Despite this, however, the other relationships in the story felt tenuous - there was a tendency to tell rather than show how the friends felt about each other, and history was stated rather than shared in memories. It’s difficult to buy into existing relationships that started before the opening act of the story, and I don’t feel like the author particularly succeeded here.

Despite the premise of the unique magic system, I also feel that the colour/metal naming conventions were a little juvenile and not particularly helpful with reader comprehension. I’ve finished the book and I think I could only tell you what a handful of the colours actually mean (gold, bronze, maybe green?). The story would have benefited from either from simplification, or a lot more depth being given to the worldbuilding of the magic system, even to the fear of “shattering”, which should have been ever prevalent. Perhaps if there were more examples pre-Chase of the crew running jobs together, or using their talents in interesting ways.

Similarly, I struggled to remember any detail about the power structures of the city and/or world - even now, writing this review, I’m having to check back to the book to remember that they are Council (pro-Shades) and Church (anti-magic). I think it was vaguely mentioned that there were three gods, but I couldn’t tell you any other features of the Church. It seemed that they were important to the world (country?) rather than just the city, and yet the pivotal members were here in this city. The on-the-run teens also knew each Council/Church member by name and face, despite being disaffected and constantly in hiding from any of them. It felt like there was a lot of contradiction between the accessibility or transparency of the various wielders of power. In line with the colours, this could either have had more time spent explaining it, or been stripped back and simplified to fit the length of the book.

The majority of my frustration or even boredom from the book came from the above, but it also didn’t help that Cemmy just fundamentally didn’t feel like an interesting main character. She wasn’t particularly likeable, and unnecessary miscommunications were used in abundance - notably about Magdelena but another more spoiler-y plot hole (in my opinion) regarding her mother.

Unfortunately overall for me personally this book was a miss. It had a lot of promise and some of the writing was really enjoyable, but I felt on the most part like I was observing it happen outside a bubble rather than being swept up in the action. It’s been a while since I’ve read YA, and while I don’t think the issues I have with the book are a fault of the genre, I do wonder if this book would have been better given a much higher word and page-count. Perhaps I’m just not the audience for this book. I do think it deserves 3 stars as I believe there are many people who would enjoy this book, especially those who are fans of shorter, quicker stories with less detail and development.

I really loved Kate Dylan previous series, this is very different, but just as captivating.
I really love books with found family, and this had that. I really love Kaye Dylans ability to really bring her characters to life!

Kate Dylan is an auto-buy author and with her first fantasy novel, she does not disappoint! Clever world building, a gripping heist, found family ... This book was a joy to read and I enjoyed every moment!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Why do I let Kate Dylan keep doing this to me?! I honestly cannot take much more of these amazing stories with so much heartbreak but there is also so much fun too. On top of that we now have impossible heists, amazing queer and disability representation and found families with a group of misfits. It’s like Dylan is purposely drawing us in to break us and then rebuild us or should I say shatter? No I shouldn’t because I am still emotionally shaken from this book after four days of finishing it.

Needles to say I loved this book so much. The characters are perfect but also imperfect in the sense that they are very, very human. Cemmy is a dream and I loved her so much. I always seem to love Dylan’s heroines because they are so badass but also have moments of fragility and nearly always have imperfections that make them all that more likable. We don’t get the perfect chosen one trope with her heroes and this makes them perfect to me.

On top of a fantastic and memorable cast of characters and their amazing found family dynamics we have a magic system that I adored and a world that you can’t help but get hooked in. It was clear this world, story and the characters have been lovingly created and crafted to make the perfect tale.

As always with Dylan there’s a bit of heartache along the way but I think, after recovering from it, this makes the story all the better. You feel and realise how dire the world and situation is, how impossible the odds and how badass the characters for continuing on regardless of this. If you love heists, found family, magic and unforgettable characters this is for you.