#Ettian Nassun

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Book names + authors under the cut

KJ Brandman/Mac Coyle- Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang

Ettian Nassun/Gal Ump Ember- Bonds of Brass/Bloodright Trilogy by Emily Skrutskie

Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus- The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir

Tennal Halkana/Surit Yeni- Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell

[madlovenovelist]

Book Review – ‘Bonds of Brass’ (#1 The Bloodright Trilogy) by Emily Skrutskie

Two boys taking on the galaxy… and maybe falling in love? Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Romance, LGBT+ No. of pages: 304 A young pilot risks everything to save his best friend–the man he trusts most and might even love–only to learn that he’s secretly the heir to a brutal galactic empire. Ettian Nassun’s life was shattered when the merciless Umber Empire invaded. He’s spent seven years putting…

[kingstoken]

The Bloodright Trilogy moodboard, created as part of the Snowflake challenge

Fancast:

Stephan James as Ettain Diego Tinco as Gal Chelsea Zhang as Wen

[keeping-tabs]

Bonds of Brass: a summary

[etuwubrutus]

ettian, internally: I love gal but I don’t know if I can trust him

ettian, to himself: it’s like everything I knew about him was a lie but at the same time he’s still the same boy I met five years ago

ettian, while on the run: I’m uncertain about what the future holds for us - him, an heir, and me, -

gal, to wen immediately: hELL YEAH we’re boyfriends totally

[courting-trouble]

bonds of brass and the mortifying ordeal of being known

[king-starkrogers]

‪i mean obviously the plot twist was so strategically placed (literally at the ending) and leaves so many unanswered questions and a very good way to end the first book of a trilogy BUT IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT HURTS ANY LESS ‬

[aleksandraveronica]

Finnpoe people! Might I suggest, that instead of buying Disney’s TROS-representation-doesn’t-matter-novelization we all collectively invest our money and time in Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie?

[trysting-foes]

I went into Bonds of Brass thinking it was going to be a friends-to-lovers story.

Little did I know it was friends-to-lovers-to-whatever-that-shit-at-the-end-was .

Still enjoyed it though. Easy five stars with hearbreak.

[evertheloser]

Bonds Of Brass by Emily Skrutskie 4.5/5

All in all, this is an all-around good book. I think the dialog is witty, the characters are bright and real, and the romance was a beautiful slow burn.

The twist at the end caught me super off guard, and my heart hurts. Ok moving on.

Honestly, as much as I'd love to have more to say about this book, it wasn't profound or awe-inspiring, it was simply a well written enjoyable book. It was a nice trip through space with three very likable characters.

Something I enjoyed immensely was the way it was written, the structure itself. Skrutskie has such a beautiful way of telling the story. From the way Ettian thinks and speaks, to the way the flight scenes are written, to even the things left unsaid. This book took me on a journey around space and worlds unseen by our eyes and I am truly happy to say I've read it. I will definitely be continuing the series and maybe even picking up some of her other stuff.

Also, side note I listened to the audiobook and it's definitely worth it, James Fouhey is an amazing narrator.

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Zurah Saint Joseph- The Tarot Sequence by KD Edwards

Ettian Nassun- Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie

Zhao Yunlan- Guardian / Zhen Hun by Priest

Blue- This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone & Amal El-Mohtar

[is-there-gay-in-it]

Ettian Nassun

Title: The Bloodright Trilogy

Category: Book

Author: Emily Skrutskie

Status: First Billed

Orientation: mlm - NOS

Orientation Confirmed: Book One, Bonds of Brass

Check the read-more to see if Ettian is alive

Ettian is alive

[mybookshelf]

Why did you have to hurt me like that? @skrutskie

[hopelikethemoon]

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this incredible novel! If you love Star Wars and FinnPoe -- this novel is for you!

Please give my review a read! (seriously page clicks help me continue to get work and this is how I’m surviving currently)

[etuwubrutus]

‘Gold One’

[Ettian, from @skrutskie‘s ‘Bonds Of Brass’]

[tometalk]

Read 4/17-4/18

Five Stars

I have been so bad at writing reviews this year. Partly because when I have free time I want to spend it reading and partly because sitting down to write reviews just takes a little more energy and time than I've wanted to extend. However, this book demands I review it! I was completely blown away by this story! I finished this a few days ago now and my brain is still mush trying to talk about it. I just want to gush about so much.

I'll break it down as best I can so let's start with characters. There are three main characters though the third probably doesn't come into play until the first quarter or so of the book has passed. Our first main character and narrator throughout this wild adventure is Ettian Nassun. Ettian's world imploded seven years ago when the Umber Empire invaded the Archon Empire and made him a war orphan. He's spent the last two years on his home planet training at an Umber military academy and trying to leave his past in the past. When his best friend and roommate, Gal, is revealed to be the heir to the empire that caused all of Ettian's suffering he still does everything he can to protect him. I loved Ettian so much! I loved his constant struggle between his loyalty to Gal, the boy he loves and his old loyalty to the empire he grew up in. Gal was such an interesting character for me. We see early on at the academy Gal has always been a pacifist. When his parentage is revealed it's clear he has a much different plan for the empire than his mother, the empress. This pacifism is what makes it so easy for someone with Ettian's background to follow Gal. He believes in the future Gal is intent on creating. Without going too far into spoiler territory I did love some peeks we got into Gal's true character. Though he may have different ideas from his ruthless parents, growing up knowing you're the heir to a massive empire does create some character flaws. I loved seeing Gal's perfect veneer crack occasionally. Also the straight up dramatic mutual pining between Gal and Ettian had me screaming and on the edge of my seat throughout this book. Finally we meet Wen Iffan, an orphan living in the Corinthian Empire. The daughter of a a crime boss Wen has spent her childhood surviving on the streets and forced to work for those that killed her mother and took over her criminal empire. She's run into a bit of trouble when she meets up with Ettian and Gal. I loved her snark and quick mind. Whenever she was on the page it was clear that something exciting was going to happen. I also loved the bond that quickly grew between Wen and Ettian because of their shared experiences. This character bit is already too long but the side characters are just as fantastic.

The world building in this book was epic. There are three empires, Umber, Archon, and Corinth. Umber and Archon seemed fairly similar. Both ruled by a dynasty of Emperors and Empress'. Corinth however is ruled by an Emprex that is elected instead of ruling through a bloodright. There was this little detail I loved that each empire had a specific metal and gemstone that represented it. It's little things like that that really helped flesh out the world and make it easier for me to fall into.

I am completely in love with this book and have no idea how to wait for the sequel beyond the obvious of keep rereading Bonds of Brass until there's new content. Some of my main highlights from Emily Skruskie's impressive trope graphic include: forbidden romance, there's only one bed, mutual pining, fake dating, weaponized umbrellas, and the best non-human character imaginable--the minivan of starships. Seriously stop reading this review and go pick up a copy of this book, you won't regret it.