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sparroues's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.25
bex32's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I was enjoying this book up until we got to the last few chapters and the ending. I feel like this book could've been shorter. Also the whole Ravi thing didn't sit well with me. He was ready to kill millions and then suddenly changes his mind. With his power he can pretend to be anyone so it feels like he could've killed the murderers at any point but he decides to lie to Dee and pretend to be someone else for days while getting close to Dee again. Grasshopper is my favorite character in this whole book.
sbookreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
debster1982's review against another edition
3.0
Liked the found family part of the book. The humor was great . The different factions were a lot to remember
dedere's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
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? It's complicated
3.25
kylosten's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was ready to give this 5 stars because it was such a fun read up until an aspect of the ending pertaining to the L.I. that I will put in spoiler tag below.
I thought I was going to be lost at first because of how many characters there were (I struggle with remembering names) but the map and list of characters at the beginning helped a lot! I flipped back to both throughout the story.
I thought the way the author gave pieces to solve the mystery was good. Not telegraphing everything too much, but nothing came out of nowhere, either.
The relaxed writing style and angsty MC had me unsure if I was going to like this but it made this really easy to read and I ended up really enjoying it! The angst made sense for a 22 year old who has grown up with trauma.
If you like movies like Clue or Knives Out you'll probably enjoy the vibes of this (if you're also okay with some fantasy mixed in).
The chapters are on the longer side.
Ending spoiler:
I found it really odd the MC forgave the LI for going along with and being ready to participate in a genocide of all the people the MC cared about. It was pretty much completely disregarded and barely acknowledged.
I almost wish the LI would have died even though it would take away from the HEA.
I thought I was going to be lost at first because of how many characters there were (I struggle with remembering names) but the map and list of characters at the beginning helped a lot! I flipped back to both throughout the story.
I thought the way the author gave pieces to solve the mystery was good. Not telegraphing everything too much, but nothing came out of nowhere, either.
The relaxed writing style and angsty MC had me unsure if I was going to like this but it made this really easy to read and I ended up really enjoying it! The angst made sense for a 22 year old who has grown up with trauma.
If you like movies like Clue or Knives Out you'll probably enjoy the vibes of this (if you're also okay with some fantasy mixed in).
The chapters are on the longer side.
Ending spoiler:
I almost wish the LI would have died even though it would take away from the HEA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Blood, Xenophobia, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content
mabon's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.75
dannie86's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
videojames's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars!
Thank you to Frances White and MIRA for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
This super unique and super queer murder mystery fantasy romance on a boat...evidently is doing a lot. Don't let the page count intimidate you, I totally blew through this. The delicate balance of humor, world-building, and high-stakes conflict made this a really engaging read even if I felt a little off about the ending.
First, the good. I was a little nervous seeing all the characters in the opening glossary but the author did a great job of quickly establishing and differentiating them. In the same vein, I like the world a lot. Building an expansive fantasy world in a standalone can be very difficult, and while Concordia operates on some pretty simple systems the world-building doesn't feel stunted by this in my opinion. The writing is solid, with both funny and emotional moments that I felt very connected to. Dee is a very likable protagonist and he doesn't feel like a caricature to me. He doesn't made stupid decisions without reason, his interactions with other characters are meaningful and have impact on the story, and his insecurities have very genuine origins. The queer representation was great, and queer-normative worlds always strike a chord with me. There's also some disability/chronic illness representation by way of Wyatt and Tendai, which I always appreciate. The magic system was not great but its deficits weren't super distracting.
I have two main problems with this book. First, the mystery and the resolution was just okay. I didn't necessarily guess the twist but I wasn't shocked by it. Usually, I think twists are most effective when the author had the twist in mind from the beginning and wrote everything with that in mind. Here it felt like they figured it out part way and you could have switched it out with any other resolution with the same effect.
In the interest of remaining spoiler-free I'm going to be vague, because my second issue is with the ending of the book apart from the mystery. The whole book seems like it's arguing that the current political system in Concordia doesn't work and only hurts the people. In the end it is replaced...with essentially the same system, just with a different leader. Sure they make some different decisions, but I was lead to believe that the system was flawed, not the leader, so just replacing the leader doesn't feel adequate. It just kind of left me feeling strange, I'd like to hear others' thoughts on how that ended up.
Ultimately, I totally recommend this! There's no doubt that it's engaging and largely well-done, especially considering that it is a standalone fantasy with a major mystery and romance plotline. It delivers what it promises, and I think my issues with it are going to end up being more subjective depending on the reader. I look forward to seeing what this author writes in the future!
Happy reading!
Thank you to Frances White and MIRA for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
This super unique and super queer murder mystery fantasy romance on a boat...evidently is doing a lot. Don't let the page count intimidate you, I totally blew through this. The delicate balance of humor, world-building, and high-stakes conflict made this a really engaging read even if I felt a little off about the ending.
First, the good. I was a little nervous seeing all the characters in the opening glossary but the author did a great job of quickly establishing and differentiating them. In the same vein, I like the world a lot. Building an expansive fantasy world in a standalone can be very difficult, and while Concordia operates on some pretty simple systems the world-building doesn't feel stunted by this in my opinion. The writing is solid, with both funny and emotional moments that I felt very connected to. Dee is a very likable protagonist and he doesn't feel like a caricature to me. He doesn't made stupid decisions without reason, his interactions with other characters are meaningful and have impact on the story, and his insecurities have very genuine origins. The queer representation was great, and queer-normative worlds always strike a chord with me. There's also some disability/chronic illness representation by way of Wyatt and Tendai, which I always appreciate. The magic system was not great but its deficits weren't super distracting.
I have two main problems with this book. First, the mystery and the resolution was just okay. I didn't necessarily guess the twist but I wasn't shocked by it. Usually, I think twists are most effective when the author had the twist in mind from the beginning and wrote everything with that in mind. Here it felt like they figured it out part way and you could have switched it out with any other resolution with the same effect.
In the interest of remaining spoiler-free I'm going to be vague, because my second issue is with the ending of the book apart from the mystery. The whole book seems like it's arguing that the current political system in Concordia doesn't work and only hurts the people. In the end it is replaced...with essentially the same system, just with a different leader. Sure they make some different decisions, but I was lead to believe that the system was flawed, not the leader, so just replacing the leader doesn't feel adequate. It just kind of left me feeling strange, I'd like to hear others' thoughts on how that ended up.
Ultimately, I totally recommend this! There's no doubt that it's engaging and largely well-done, especially considering that it is a standalone fantasy with a major mystery and romance plotline. It delivers what it promises, and I think my issues with it are going to end up being more subjective depending on the reader. I look forward to seeing what this author writes in the future!
Happy reading!