Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books 
 The Fifth Season blew my entire weekend. I had plans. I was supposed to, at least at some point, get out of bed and take a shower. Instead I stayed in my blanket fort and devoured this book. The most I managed to accomplish was feeding the cat and tweeting about how much I loved this novel. 
 This was my first Jemisin, but lordy, it will not be my last. Not least of which because I cannot wait for the sequel to this book to come out. I need it in my hands RIGHT NOW. 
 The Fifth Season takes place on a future (or alternate) Earth that's plagued by extreme weather and seismic events. There is one continent, and humanity is primarily clustered along the equator, with some comms (communities) existing in the outer reaches, an area known as The Stillness. Time is broken up into Seasons, periods when disaster (be it from earthquake, volcanic eruption or pole shift) causes mass causalities and usually atmospheric occlusion. Humanity has learned to survive through the storing of food caches, communal support and Stonelore-societal rules passed down through generations. Humanity has even evolved another sense that allows them to feel vibrations in the earth, a process known as sessing. 
 Jemisin's world-building is so deep and immersive that I found it impossible to pull away from the book. There's almost no exposition-everything you learn about this unique world happens through action, through story, but never once did it feel confusing or obscure. Jemisin has this remarkable way of peeling back the story layer by layer, making you think you understand where things are going, then revealing another key piece, another plot twist that makes the book all the more delicious. 
 Even after 500-some pages, there's much I don't know and want to know about the world she's built. For example there are giant stone obelisks that float-yes float-in the sky, remnants of a dead civilization. No one is sure what they are or what they do, but they are clearly important and I NEED TO KNOW RIGHT NOW! There is a race of statue-like creatures known as stone eaters that is largely a mystery. There are adorable otter-like domesticated animals and I need one of them to be my friend. 
 The Fifth Season is also a relatively quick read. It opens with a cataclysmic disaster and doesn't slow down its pace. Its characters travel widely. My only word of warning is that the book ends on a massive cliffhanger. Fortunately the sequel, The Obelisk Gate, will be released in August. After finishing this book I'm making desperate grabby hands for the next one. 
 If you like immersive, action-driven fantasy and if you want a fantasy world that's not Euro-centric-or if you just love a really, really good story-I cannot recommend The Fifth Season enough. 
 - Elyse