Reviews

This book needed A LOT more editing. The pacing is bad, the characters are bland, way too many different POVs, more telling than showing what's happening, so on and so forth.

The idea was very intriguing, but the book itself is so disappointing. Couldn't even get past 100 pages.

myjourneywithbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

lyndsayscan's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

thalia332's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-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? Yes

3.25

ladycroft33's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

fantasmic_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I had really high expectations for this, so maybe that was my downfall in the first place. This was good for a debut novel though, and I'm sure Eliza Chan can only grow from here the more experience she gains.

My first red flag was that I couldn't actually read this book; I had to listen to the audiobook because it felt as though the actual book was very convoluted and it messed with my brain a bit, though that may have just been the fact that there was a ton of worldbuilding to get through. I do really recommend the audiobook though because the narrator was extremely talented and really brought the world alive.

I didn't really like any of the characters except for Cordelia and Mira sometimes, I thought that Nami was awful and all of her decisions regarding Firth made me want to claw my eyes out. I really just hated her perspective on things and get parts also just felt really YA. Then again, a lot of the things that happened felt very YA and it wouldn't have surprised me if someone told me the characters were all 16.

The worldbuilding was really cool, I'll admit. I have a big softspot for aquatic fantasy, because I feel like the amount of things you can do with fantasy set under the water is fascinating. I enjoyed the descriptions of the folk and the city, as well as the dragon-born species and the classism.

I don't think I'll be reading the sequel, but the writing was great and the concept is cool, I think it just didn't hit the mark for me.

kit_fox's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional slow-paced

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

2.75

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