The Gaslight Dogs | 
pickOnce again, I'm torn. I'm marking this as a pick because I think it's absolutely worth reading. It's set in a secondary world reminiscent of 19th century Canada, complete with complicated (and painful) settler/Indigenous relations, and Lowachee sells it very well indeed. I mostly enjoyed it and would definitely read a sequel if one appeared.
I almost marked it so-so, though, because the balance between the personal and the mythic skews toward ⬇️
xicanti (Cont) the latter during the last third. Much as I love fantasy, I NEED the personal element to be at least as strong as the magic, and I struggled with the book once it lost that balance. The ending also feels very much like the beginning of a larger story, not like a conclusion in its own right. It's unsatisfying, especially since the reader can tell pretty early on that there'll be no true resolution. 5y
