Reviews with content warning for Murder - Tress of the Emerald Sea

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Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

35 reviews

kaylaswhitmore's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? No

4.0

a wonderfully delightful read that will satisfy people who like to dream about going on adventures in far off lands. sanderson crafted a really unique and magical world here, and it was truly an endearing journey from start to finish. personally, i found the narrator to be a bit distracting at times—what with the sudden first person accounts—but i respect sanderson’s vision for the story and how he was willing to take a risk with it. i didn’t find it to detract from the story much at all, it just took some getting used to. i can already envision myself reading this story to my hypothetical children sometime in the future, and i think it will be beloved by all ages. def recommend if you prefer whimsical, heartwarming stories with pirates and magic!

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

This was such a fun read!! Sanderson is an excellent writer and I loved all the little bits of wisdom or humour he chucked in. I was a tad confused with the narrator at the start but I might have missed something while I was reading it, otherwise, very wholesome

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kylaeduff's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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spootilious's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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? No

4.0

Read: September 12, 2023
Title: Tress of the Emerald Sea
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
Review:

The biggest take away for this review is that this novel was loads of fun with such a unique world and wonderful characters.

The details: I am no stranger to Brandon Sanderson. I adore his work! That being said Tress of the Emerald Sea, which having the feel of many of his other works, is something unto itself.

The novel is fun and whimsical, with characters that are so lovable it hurts and villains that are just as loath-able. The nods to other worlds and characters in the cosmere is ever present which could be a bit confusing to a casual Sanderson reader (rather than the dedicated ones) but not so much so that it takes too much away from the story.

Sanderson has always had a talent for writing women and there is no exception here.

The world building is stunning (as expected) and so unique (also as expected).

Now, despite all of this it is not a 5 star book in my opinion. The ‘twists’ of the novel are extremely predictable. Perhaps this might be because I have read too much of Sanderson’s works but regardless, I found more of the world building (particularly the spores and interactions with them) far more surprising and intriguing than the actual plot ‘twists’. Though, I find that I am very rarely surprised but plot twists now a day, so perhaps it is just me.

I will also say that one of the signatures of a Brandon Sanderson book is it’s explosive and captivating ending. It is something I have come to expect and is typically delivered, and while the ending of this novel is fast paced and entertaining I would not categorize it as explosive (at least not figuratively) nor captivating. That is not to say that it wasn’t good, far from it, the ending was practically perfect. It was simply not what I had come to expect from a Sanderson novel, it seemed to fall just a tad bit short of my expectations; the book as a whole however met them all head on.

I loved this novel and will be recommending it as a wonderful first step into the Cosmere!

Minor TW: Death, Self harm, Vomit, Confinement, Murder, Slavery, War, Violence, Suicide, Classism, Blood, Guns.

Quotes:

If you wish to become a storyteller, here is a hint: sell your labor, but not your mind.

One of the great tragedies of life is knowing how many people in the world are made to soar, paint, sing, or steer—except they never get the chance to find out.

If bravery is the wind that makes us soar like kites, fear is the string that keeps us from going too far.

More twisted than a librarian’s love life (trust me, they’re a strange bunch)

You can’t taste a memory without tainting it with who you have become.

Memories are fossils, the bones left by dead versions of ourselves.

Worry has weight, and is an infinitely renewable resource.

After spending ages walking around with everyone piling bricks in your arms, it can throw you off balance when someone removes a brick to carry for you.

If we let it, memory can make shadows of the now, as nothing can match the buttressed legends of our past.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? No

5.0

This book was whimsical, funny, and surprisingly poignant. I loved seeing Tress’s story unfold and how she grew into her own in a way that stayed true to her original character. So many great one liners from the narrator that were hilarious and thought-provoking! I would love to learn more about this world as the details we saw were fascinating. This was a fantastic cozy fantasy.

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imds's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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adventurous

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Having read the book now, I think the comparison to The Princess Bride holds up, specifically in the tone of the story (along with certain plot points). Unfortunately, I wasn’t as sold on the romance. But other aspects of the story were certainly compelling: the piracy, the spores and the sprouting, the secret king’s assassin, the zombie. Fun read overall.

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bergha1998's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad 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? No

4.0

It felt a bit different from Sanderson’s typical work, with Hoid being the narrator. I of course loved seeing this different, magical world through one of the most beloved character’s eyes. It made for deep discussions and no shortage of humor. The pace for me felt a bit off, otherwise I loved it.

Fantasy, Found Family, Romance subplot

“One of the great tragedies of life is knowing how many people in the world are made to soar, paint, sing, or steer—except they never get a chance to find out.”

“‘Doesn’t it seem like things were better when you were younger?’ Huck asked. ‘Did life make more sense then?’”

“‘I remember thinking I understood how my life would go.’”

“‘And because we couldn’t see the troubles,’ Huck agreed. ‘Maybe we didn’t want to see them. When you’re young, there’s always someone else to deal with the problem.’”

“What else would she have never known about herself, if she hadn’t left her home island? Worse, how many people like her lived in ignorance, lacking the experience to fully explore their own existence?”

“When one abandons certain fears and assumptions, the whole world opens up.”

“We make of our memories the gods which judge our current lives.”

“We must take care not to let the bliss of the present fade when compared to supposedly better days. We’re happy, sure, but were we more happy then? If we let it, memory can make shadows of the now, as nothing can match the buttressed legends of our past.”

“Those memories aren’t alive. You are.”

“She… didn’t need to do this all on her own. That shouldn’t have been such a revelation for her. But after spending ages walking around with everyone piling bricks in your arms, it can throw you off balance when some one removes a brick to carry for you.”

“She had gone not because she assumed she would succeed, but because something had to be done.”

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shaipanda's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely lovedddd this!!!
I’ve never read any of Brandon Sanderson’s other work but this was completely ridiculous and exactly the kind of thing I love :) I’d absolutely read a book from Hoid’s POV if he writes that at some point but in the meantime this is making me mildly tempted to finally delve into the rest of his work 👀

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twistykris's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 stars is not enough. This will probably be in my Top 5 of the year. I love that Brandon Sanderson wrote this for his wife, after they wondered what would have happened in The Princess Bride if Buttercup had set out to find and save Westley herself.

A rat. Found family. Pirates. A dragon. A sorceress. Humor that made me laugh like an idiot. This book truly swept me up in the story and the characters.

This was my first Brandon Sanderson book and I'm so glad it was. It felt like a wonderful introduction to his other works, which I look forward to reading in the future.

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