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silverleaf's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
p4g's review against another edition
4.25
isla you were so stubborn but amazing and you made me cry so i love you
7danut7's review
5.0
spooky celtic mythology flavoured queer urban fantasies are synonymous with my gender
emmascc's review against another edition
4.0
THOMAS YOU ARE THE MOST FRUSTRATING MC I HAVE READ IN A WHILE
somewhereperhaps's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you for writing characters that touch my heart. Making me yearn. I appreciate your books.
faust1ne's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bravo les lesbiennes! bravo les écossais! bravo les lesbiennes écossaises! + j’ai appris plein de trucs sur la mythologie écossaise c très intéressant ☝️🤓
noldorin's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I am not sure at all how I feel about this.
On the one hand I absolutely loved the folkloric magic, plot and the overall world building which I thought was very nice as well as the writing.
On the other hand, I almost dnf this solely due to Isla's character. I found her so infuriating (not sure what word to use to be honest) until around the very end of the book.
I'm well aware she's not human and therefore doesn't understand most things, however I doubt Selkies don't understand how horrible it can be to have a loved one trying to kill you, voluntarily or not.
Her comments about Thomas needing to stop being dramatic or such felt so unnecessary and just downright awful. At the very start she just seemed very pushy with no regards of Thomas opinion on the matter at hand.
Obviously Kit is her best friend and it's not just some random stranger so she's in distress and pretty new to navigating the world outside of what she knows of the Isle.
I still don't think that makes up for being very much not understanding of what Thomas has faced for years and how badly it affected him.
Aside from Isla that was very hard for me to love, I believe each character was pretty well written and the conflicts and links between each of them was very well done, I didn't mind the switch in narrators as much as I thought I would either.
On the one hand I absolutely loved the folkloric magic, plot and the overall world building which I thought was very nice as well as the writing.
On the other hand, I almost dnf this solely due to Isla's character. I found her so infuriating (not sure what word to use to be honest) until around the very end of the book.
I'm well aware she's not human and therefore doesn't understand most things, however I doubt Selkies don't understand how horrible it can be to have a loved one trying to kill you, voluntarily or not.
Her comments about Thomas needing to stop being dramatic or such felt so unnecessary and just downright awful. At the very start she just seemed very pushy with no regards of Thomas opinion on the matter at hand.
Obviously Kit is her best friend and it's not just some random stranger so she's in distress and pretty new to navigating the world outside of what she knows of the Isle.
I still don't think that makes up for being very much not understanding of what Thomas has faced for years and how badly it affected him.
Aside from Isla that was very hard for me to love, I believe each character was pretty well written and the conflicts and links between each of them was very well done, I didn't mind the switch in narrators as much as I thought I would either.
leahgray's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
killerwhalie's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
picked this up as someone once told me it reminded them of TRC. I think that came through the most in the way that Gilmartin describes the setting; Mab is as much of a character in this story as Henrietta is in TRC. you can really feel the environment around you in this, the frigid air, the drab skies, the sea crashing into the cliffs. I find I often struggle to truly feel the setting in novels, but here, Gilmartin had me chilled to the bone. the emotional core of the story was a bit lacking for me, though. I enjoyed the way that the mystery was crafted, but the payoff felt lacklustre, and because of that I didn't find the resolution of the character arcs fully satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed the world that was presented here and would gladly return if Gilmartin ever decides to expand the story. at the same time, I thought this was a good, contained standalone, and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in freezing isles, mystery mindfuckery, and friends that you might hate at first but whom you'll grow to appreciate, if not love.