ARC Review: The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses

Release Date: June 10th, 2025

Rating: 5/5

I have enjoyed every book I have read by Dr. Older, and this one was no exception. Witty, emotional, and gripping, I found myself once again engrossed in the world of Mossa and Pleiti on Giant. This boook was cozy and heartwarming as always, but it definitely took a journey to get there. The book centers on the relationship between Mossa and Pleiti. The previous books touched upon each woman's anxieties about their deepening relationship, and this one followed that up with a deep exploration of emotions and what it means to commit to another person. I hope that everyone gets the pleasure of reading a love as gentle and genuine as that between Mossa and Pleiti.
The mystery of this book was well written, and I enjoyed the suspense of the "whodunit?" The extension of the worldbuilding off our familiar world of "valdegeld" to a new platform was a fun exploration into a speculative future that Dr. Older has clearly spent a significant amount of time developing.
Lastly, the linguist in me adored the way that language was crafted in this book. In imagining a future where humanity has homogenized out of necessity for survival, Older played on the very realistic human tendency of linguistic dispersion and seamlessly melded words from English, Spanish, Italian, French, and various other languages to create a unique dialogue style that was as much a part of the story as the events itself.