This book follows three people linked through time—one in 1906, one in 2006, and one in 2106. In the future, a cosmic event called the Bloom has awakened psionic abilities in some of the population, but it’s also caused a minor apocalypse. Maida, one of the psions, has the ability to see the history of objects she touches. When she picks up a tea cup, she glimpses the lives of two strangers from the past, setting the stage for three interwoven and compelling storylines.

I really enjoyed this book—it kept me engaged the whole way through. Each character’s journey was interesting, but Li Nuan’s stood out the most to me. Her fight to free herself from indentured servitude had real emotional depth, and I was most invested in her chapters. Nathan was fun; his “awakening” to the environmental consequences of 21st-century life was interesting but had the lowest stakes of the three which made it a little less engaging. Maida had some of the coolest moments, thanks to her powers and relationships with other characters, but her sections also had a lot of “tell instead of show.” There was a fair bit of lore dumping about how the future is somewhat of a collectivist utopia (despite the world having been mostly wrecked - people come together in times of need it seems), which slowed things down for me, especially at the very beginning and very end

Overall, this was a solid read with engaging characters and an interesting premise. If you like time-spanning narratives, speculative fiction, or stories about characters navigating shifting realities, this is worth checking out. Also the cover is really pretty.

It should be mentioned that this book includes abuse, slavery and sexual assault (including of minors, some graphic), as well as drug use and death.