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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
This is an intriguing book. A beautifully written and wonderfully imaginative story with a serious fantasy element, mostly set in Australia. The book is relatively short and is a quick read. Hold on for a slightly mind bending story line. I enjoy fantasy and thought the fairy tale element mixed with very down to earth war time setting and the tribulations that entails.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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
Fascinating story about New Zealand, WWII land girls, creatures of myth/legend, surviving as queer, and any number of other details. I can't find much to say that isn't full of spoilers, so I'll limit myself to: the characters were fabulous and fascinating; the world-building was complex, nuanced, and carefully limited to as not overwhelm the plot; the writing was good; I think that the plot was good but I did rather get lost as to what was happening at times, which took an otherwise 5 star book down, because I had to keep rereading sections to understand what was happening (mostly 'where are we, how did we get here, and how many people are in this scene?')
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Racial slurs
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
I really wanted to like this book a lot more, but the writing was confusing at times and it had a lot of really big themes that were just brushed off after introducing them.
The story itself is beautiful and the themes very interesting, it just didn't come together for me.
The story itself is beautiful and the themes very interesting, it just didn't come together for me.
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Complicated
I like the magic system! The topic of race and sexuality nicely woven together with the subject of war and duty!
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes