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abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱
I liked this book more after re-reading it. The writing style kept me engaged and the plot was interesting. I liked the characters and the their relationships.
⭐️⭐️⭐️-November 2023
📱
📱
I liked this book more after re-reading it. The writing style kept me engaged and the plot was interesting. I liked the characters and the their relationships.
⭐️⭐️⭐️-November 2023
📱
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, and Blood
Minor: Child death and Suicidal thoughts
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I am a sucker for stories with Cymraeg in them and those which are based on welsh folk tales such as this one. Seeing my country's language and cultural tales in a book is always an amazing feeling.
Six of Crows meets Welsh folk tales in this short YA standalone. The last water diviner is on a quest to overthrow the Prince with a group of misfits: a thief, a spy, a scholar, a soldier, a ring-fighter, and a corgi who loves cheese. I mean really, what is ther not to like?
Some parts of the story do feel like they go on a bit but overall the story was well-paced with some great characters and some great twists.
Six of Crows meets Welsh folk tales in this short YA standalone. The last water diviner is on a quest to overthrow the Prince with a group of misfits: a thief, a spy, a scholar, a soldier, a ring-fighter, and a corgi who loves cheese. I mean really, what is ther not to like?
Some parts of the story do feel like they go on a bit but overall the story was well-paced with some great characters and some great twists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism and Vomit
j_emerson18's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
5.0
OH. MY. GOD. This book is everything to me. The connections to the previous book was unmatched. Emily Lloyd Jones stands as my top three favorite author. She's phenomenal. The characters drive me crazy and have me so invested in their well being. The banter is top tier. Dear God this was such an amazing read. So incredibly invested in this fictional universe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Child death, Blood, Violence, Vomit, Torture, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol and Abandonment
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to NOVL for sending me an ARC of this book long ago! This book was pretty lackluster for me, which feels overly critical because there's nothing inherently wrong with it. It just felt like a book I had read before, with characters I've read before. Mer had powerful magic and was snarky, Fane was quiet and brooding, Ifanna was also snarky, and the corgi was a cute animal sidekick. Mer is bisexual but the romance featured in the book was both straight and bland.
On the other hand, the audiobook narration was great and I really enjoyed the writing style and all the nods to Welsh mythology. There were also some sections within the book where I was fully engaged (like the cave scenes) and the ending was sweet, setting aside the overall plot. So I miiiight try Lloyd-Jones' companion novel to this one? But the plot and characters here didn't impress me.
On the other hand, the audiobook narration was great and I really enjoyed the writing style and all the nods to Welsh mythology. There were also some sections within the book where I was fully engaged (like the cave scenes) and the ending was sweet, setting aside the overall plot. So I miiiight try Lloyd-Jones' companion novel to this one? But the plot and characters here didn't impress me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Blood
chronicacademia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
leonormsousa's review
adventurous
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Animal death, Child death, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Blood, and Violence
avacadosocks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Death, Child death, Blood, and Torture
koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a stunningly beautiful and enchanting fantasy book and I absolutely adored it!!! This was a buddy read with my Darling Richard and was meant to be an experience to draw me into Audiobooks. All I can say is I might not be fully converted but if this is what I have been missing out on in Audio - I need to rectify that as soon as possible!!!!
What really drew me into this was how strong the atmospheric ambience of the story was. The overall feeling of fairytale-esque magic and charm weaved into the mood, characters, tone and plot! It was just utterly delightful and whimsical at times (especially in the scenes with Trefor - the little corgi "spy"), that I found myself at times just mesmerised as I sat back and just enjoyed it.
This story is loosely based on the myth of cantre'r gwaelod - which is like a Welsh "Atlantis" and follows a girl called Mer, who happens to be one of the last Water Diviners (this means she has the ability to magically control water). For years she was a tool, used by the Prince, and exploited for her power... until she escaped. Now her past has caught up to her. The old spymaster who originally stole her from her home, all those years ago, has come to find her again. Only this time he has a proposal for her... one that includes a plan to get back at the evil prince.
I am quite glad that I experienced this story as an Audiobook, because Emily Lloyd-Jones does not go easy on the reader with all the Welsh names of people and places. I actually had to look up the spelling of half the things, cause my mind alone would not be able to piece them together without help!!! I mean there were the normal ones - Mer, Fane, Ifanna but then there were also Renfrew, Garanhir, Caer Wyddno, Gwaelod and then castell which in WELSH "ll" has a [ɬ] sound it so sounds like "Castethhh"....
The characters in this were lovely; however, we are still meeting most of them after halfway in the book, so it can feel a little slow in terms of plot progression and can make the characterisation feel weak because we don't actually spend too long with the characters before the main plot starts progressing really quickly in the second half. As such this does not give enough time to fully develop all the characters!
I really enjoyed Mer though. She was caring, determined, and just utterly amazing. She carries a lot of guilt based on the atrocities she had a hand in when being used by the Prince, and so has a strong moral desire to do good and right. Fane was also spectacular and his arc was heartbreaking and still sweet to see unfold. The romance between the two of them is cute, adorable and very understated - this is almost the perfect type of romance for anyone. It's a great experience for readers who don't like romance in their books, as it's not the main plot or subplot. BUT it also gives us romance lovers at heart our little squeals of delight!
The best character in this book however is TREFOR....yes the Corgi! He is basically adorable and funny. The scenes when he was described added youthful humour and comedic relief to the dark seriousness of the main tale. He reminded me of every Disney princess having a silly sidekick and all I want right now is my own little "other-folk" spy!
One of the reasons why this wasn't a five-star for me...BUT might actually be something that could be a 5 Star for some people is to do with the plot... Firstly the main plot centres around a "heist". I am not typically into these types of books as I don't particularly enjoy this type of story - HOWEVER, I know people are dying to find this "trope" in books.
This was one of the books that I did not see the twist coming and when it happened I was stunned into shock and questioning my reality! The last 30% of this book is amazing, fast-action-paced and really does shoot up this story to new heights!
Overall I would strongly recommend this read if you are looking for a cosy, magical fantasy that interweaves lore, myth and legend into an atmospheric and delightful comfort that is perfect to cosy up to on a rainy day!
What really drew me into this was how strong the atmospheric ambience of the story was. The overall feeling of fairytale-esque magic and charm weaved into the mood, characters, tone and plot! It was just utterly delightful and whimsical at times (especially in the scenes with Trefor - the little corgi "spy"), that I found myself at times just mesmerised as I sat back and just enjoyed it.
This story is loosely based on the myth of cantre'r gwaelod - which is like a Welsh "Atlantis" and follows a girl called Mer, who happens to be one of the last Water Diviners (this means she has the ability to magically control water). For years she was a tool, used by the Prince, and exploited for her power... until she escaped. Now her past has caught up to her. The old spymaster who originally stole her from her home, all those years ago, has come to find her again. Only this time he has a proposal for her... one that includes a plan to get back at the evil prince.
I am quite glad that I experienced this story as an Audiobook, because Emily Lloyd-Jones does not go easy on the reader with all the Welsh names of people and places. I actually had to look up the spelling of half the things, cause my mind alone would not be able to piece them together without help!!! I mean there were the normal ones - Mer, Fane, Ifanna but then there were also Renfrew, Garanhir, Caer Wyddno, Gwaelod and then castell which in WELSH "ll" has a [ɬ] sound it so sounds like "Castethhh"....
The characters in this were lovely; however, we are still meeting most of them after halfway in the book, so it can feel a little slow in terms of plot progression and can make the characterisation feel weak because we don't actually spend too long with the characters before the main plot starts progressing really quickly in the second half. As such this does not give enough time to fully develop all the characters!
I really enjoyed Mer though. She was caring, determined, and just utterly amazing. She carries a lot of guilt based on the atrocities she had a hand in when being used by the Prince, and so has a strong moral desire to do good and right. Fane was also spectacular and his arc was heartbreaking and still sweet to see unfold. The romance between the two of them is cute, adorable and very understated - this is almost the perfect type of romance for anyone. It's a great experience for readers who don't like romance in their books, as it's not the main plot or subplot. BUT it also gives us romance lovers at heart our little squeals of delight!
The best character in this book however is TREFOR....yes the Corgi! He is basically adorable and funny. The scenes when he was described added youthful humour and comedic relief to the dark seriousness of the main tale. He reminded me of every Disney princess having a silly sidekick and all I want right now is my own little "other-folk" spy!
One of the reasons why this wasn't a five-star for me...BUT might actually be something that could be a 5 Star for some people is to do with the plot... Firstly the main plot centres around a "heist". I am not typically into these types of books as I don't particularly enjoy this type of story - HOWEVER, I know people are dying to find this "trope" in books.
This was one of the books that I did not see the twist coming and when it happened I was stunned into shock and questioning my reality! The last 30% of this book is amazing, fast-action-paced and really does shoot up this story to new heights!
Overall I would strongly recommend this read if you are looking for a cosy, magical fantasy that interweaves lore, myth and legend into an atmospheric and delightful comfort that is perfect to cosy up to on a rainy day!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Torture
Minor: Child death and Blood
abbyschalupa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Enjoyable, but fell flat. Simplistic writing, flat characters, had little invested in the story. Ended up skimming and skipping entire areas due to boredom. The end was good, but the pace until then was slow. The characters were under developed and bland. Felt more juvenile with its writing
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture
booksthatburn's review against another edition
This feels similar to THE BONE HOUSES in many of the ways that made it just okay for me. In particular I find myself disliking the animal companion, this time it’s a Corgi. I want the guy to be broody instead of just quiet, I have very little sense of what anyone thinks, and I’m just not having a good time, so I’m stopping.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Torture
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Animal cruelty