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themoonchild's review
3.0
I want to, thank NetGalley, the publisher "Dreamscape Media" and the author Kay Adams for providing this audiobook-ARC. I will be giving my honest and sincere review.
We follow two princesses, connected by the dark crimes of one of their Fathers, the King of Marama.
Princess Evhen of Vodaeard saw her parents die before her and she now only thinks of revenge.
Princess Evhen kidnaps Princess Kalei to punish the king for his greedy actions. but Kalei is so clueless about the King's affairs outside of their lands, trapped in a boat on the way to Vodaeard, she starts to see the cruel truth, leaving her to process the lies she was fed all her life, and fear of a truth related to her gift, that not even she will be immune to her father cruelty.
I feel that the story was unique we have a zombie concept with Kalei having moon powers to turn the dead into living again, but they don't come out how they were. I felt it, to be quite repetitive being a duo POV, The narrator did a good job. We see an enemy to lovers (Sapphic), and you can understand the attraction and the conflict from the beginning.
#HeirsofBoneandSea #NetGalley #bookstagram #bookaholic #bookreviewer #Bookreader
We follow two princesses, connected by the dark crimes of one of their Fathers, the King of Marama.
Princess Evhen of Vodaeard saw her parents die before her and she now only thinks of revenge.
Princess Evhen kidnaps Princess Kalei to punish the king for his greedy actions. but Kalei is so clueless about the King's affairs outside of their lands, trapped in a boat on the way to Vodaeard, she starts to see the cruel truth, leaving her to process the lies she was fed all her life, and fear of a truth related to her gift, that not even she will be immune to her father cruelty.
I feel that the story was unique we have a zombie concept with Kalei having moon powers to turn the dead into living again, but they don't come out how they were. I felt it, to be quite repetitive being a duo POV, The narrator did a good job. We see an enemy to lovers (Sapphic), and you can understand the attraction and the conflict from the beginning.
#HeirsofBoneandSea #NetGalley #bookstagram #bookaholic #bookreviewer #Bookreader
tidestriders's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
the dialogue was cheesy, the plot uninspired, and the leads had no chemistry. i really wanted to enjoy this, but it was not for me
quinzelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Grief, and Self harm
teacofe's review against another edition
2.0
Gay pirate romance? Enemies to lovers? Necromancy? This book has found it’s target audience. (Me. Hello. I’m the target audience.)
Maybe the concept got my hopes up a little too high but you can’t just lure me in with all my favorite buzzwords and then expect me to be unbiased. This book was, in a word, underwhelming.
⚜The… Romance
I wanted the romance to be good so bad, man. I’m still a little upset about it. Look, it wasn’t all terrible. There were moment that probably would’ve been really cute. If the romance was well written.
These girls had zero chemistry. For the entire book. The enemies to lovers tension was sort of there in the beginning but even then, it didn’t last long. The entire time the romance just felt so… Empty. As the characters became closer and the romance plot was progressing, the whole time I just kept wondering ‘Why do they even like each other?’
On paper it makes sense. They build trust over the course of the story, right? They get to know and understand each other. Sure. But there was never any romantic chemistry. Their bond felt more like vaguely friendly acquaintances for a majority of the book while acting like far more. Their actions felt so disconnected from the story because their romance just wasn’t that convincing.
⚜Pacing and Plot
The pacing of the romance was weird and stilted but the rest of the book wasn’t much better. The frequent changes in POVs probably didn’t help. I really felt each chapter, if that makes sense. There was a very clear beginning middle and end to each plot line. It was like I could see the author’s planning document ‘Chapter one: X happens. Chapter two: Aftermath of X. Chapter 3: Y happens.’
While we’re talking about plot- I don’t think the antagonist had a motive. They were just kind of… Evil. I think it was meant to be a ‘power corrupts’ type thing but if it was, it wasn’t done well.
The antagonist was boring. Not much else to say about that.
On a more positive note- I was promised an undead army and hey, spoilers, there was an undead army. Kalei’s magic was pretty sick. Some of the descriptions got a little repetitive but overall- I was having the most fun when Kalei was using her powers.
⚜The Audiobook
If you’re going to read this book, don’t listen to the audiobook. This is probably the first audiobook I’ve listened to that has made dialogue sound more unnatural than the written dialogue. There were multiple times (Mostly in very serious moments, unfortunately) Where they just miss the tone entirely.
While both narrators had this issue, at least Evhen’s voice actor seemed to fit the role. Kalei’s narrator was just a strange casting choice. Her voice was just too mature for the role and her weak voice acting skills totally killed the more emotional scenes. Sorry, girl.
⚜Final Words
Again, underwhelming. A sub-par romance lacking in chemistry. Characters with basically no depth. An okay plot. No amount of buzzwords or potential can make up for that in my opinion.
One day I’ll read the lesbian pirate love story of my dreams and it will destroy my life. This one was just too good to be true.
Maybe the concept got my hopes up a little too high but you can’t just lure me in with all my favorite buzzwords and then expect me to be unbiased. This book was, in a word, underwhelming.
⚜The… Romance
I wanted the romance to be good so bad, man. I’m still a little upset about it. Look, it wasn’t all terrible. There were moment that probably would’ve been really cute. If the romance was well written.
These girls had zero chemistry. For the entire book. The enemies to lovers tension was sort of there in the beginning but even then, it didn’t last long. The entire time the romance just felt so… Empty. As the characters became closer and the romance plot was progressing, the whole time I just kept wondering ‘Why do they even like each other?’
On paper it makes sense. They build trust over the course of the story, right? They get to know and understand each other. Sure. But there was never any romantic chemistry. Their bond felt more like vaguely friendly acquaintances for a majority of the book while acting like far more. Their actions felt so disconnected from the story because their romance just wasn’t that convincing.
⚜Pacing and Plot
The pacing of the romance was weird and stilted but the rest of the book wasn’t much better. The frequent changes in POVs probably didn’t help. I really felt each chapter, if that makes sense. There was a very clear beginning middle and end to each plot line. It was like I could see the author’s planning document ‘Chapter one: X happens. Chapter two: Aftermath of X. Chapter 3: Y happens.’
While we’re talking about plot- I don’t think the antagonist had a motive. They were just kind of… Evil. I think it was meant to be a ‘power corrupts’ type thing but if it was, it wasn’t done well.
The antagonist was boring. Not much else to say about that.
On a more positive note- I was promised an undead army and hey, spoilers, there was an undead army. Kalei’s magic was pretty sick. Some of the descriptions got a little repetitive but overall- I was having the most fun when Kalei was using her powers.
⚜The Audiobook
If you’re going to read this book, don’t listen to the audiobook. This is probably the first audiobook I’ve listened to that has made dialogue sound more unnatural than the written dialogue. There were multiple times (Mostly in very serious moments, unfortunately) Where they just miss the tone entirely.
While both narrators had this issue, at least Evhen’s voice actor seemed to fit the role. Kalei’s narrator was just a strange casting choice. Her voice was just too mature for the role and her weak voice acting skills totally killed the more emotional scenes. Sorry, girl.
⚜Final Words
Again, underwhelming. A sub-par romance lacking in chemistry. Characters with basically no depth. An okay plot. No amount of buzzwords or potential can make up for that in my opinion.
One day I’ll read the lesbian pirate love story of my dreams and it will destroy my life. This one was just too good to be true.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Loved reading this book, loved this world and these characters, it was such a great story!
sapphicneverafter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
minipanda's review against another edition
2.75
Lots of potential...
Princess Evhen of Vodaeard was driven by a deep desire to avenge the tragic death of her beloved parents. She swore to kill the King of Marama. Her journey took an unexpected turn when she unexpectedly crossed paths with Princess Kalei of Marama. At first, Evhen intended to kidnap Kalei as part of her plan to punish the King of Marama for his atrocities. However, she realized that the princess had no knowledge of the king's evil deeds. In a twist of fate, the two princesses decided to join forces and together, they planned to put an end to the King's reign of terror.
I must say, the concept and idea of the story is great. The magical powers of Kalei and the inclusion of sirens is a great touch. However, I believe the execution of the story could have been better. As some other reviewers have also pointed out, the plot seemed stagnant and uninteresting at times. It would have been great if the story had more world-building and character depth and development, as the characters felt somewhat one-dimensional. Overall, I think the story has potential and with some refinement, it could be a great read.
***Thank you to NetGalley, Kay Adams, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***
Princess Evhen of Vodaeard was driven by a deep desire to avenge the tragic death of her beloved parents. She swore to kill the King of Marama. Her journey took an unexpected turn when she unexpectedly crossed paths with Princess Kalei of Marama. At first, Evhen intended to kidnap Kalei as part of her plan to punish the King of Marama for his atrocities. However, she realized that the princess had no knowledge of the king's evil deeds. In a twist of fate, the two princesses decided to join forces and together, they planned to put an end to the King's reign of terror.
I must say, the concept and idea of the story is great. The magical powers of Kalei and the inclusion of sirens is a great touch. However, I believe the execution of the story could have been better. As some other reviewers have also pointed out, the plot seemed stagnant and uninteresting at times. It would have been great if the story had more world-building and character depth and development, as the characters felt somewhat one-dimensional. Overall, I think the story has potential and with some refinement, it could be a great read.
***Thank you to NetGalley, Kay Adams, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***
beesreadingshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.75