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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
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:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, War
3.5
Th first book in this duology (trilogy?) was one of my favorites but this just didn’t reach those heights for me. I still really enjoyed Simi and Kola, and all the other characters but something about the quest to stop the antigods fell flat for me. It might have to do with Simi’s approach to everything, and her lack of suspicion, that made the journey seem tedious for such a relatively short book. As always though, the mythology was brilliant and enlightening, I truly enjoyed the world Bowen created by weaving historical elements with African mythology. It is spell binding and magical with so many gods and creatures to learn about.
Th first book in this duology (trilogy?) was one of my favorites but this just didn’t reach those heights for me. I still really enjoyed Simi and Kola, and all the other characters but something about the quest to stop the antigods fell flat for me. It might have to do with Simi’s approach to everything, and her lack of suspicion, that made the journey seem tedious for such a relatively short book. As always though, the mythology was brilliant and enlightening, I truly enjoyed the world Bowen created by weaving historical elements with African mythology. It is spell binding and magical with so many gods and creatures to learn about.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
adventurous
emotional
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:
No
The ending brought it all together for me. Looking forward to a third installation!
adventurous
emotional
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:
No
First thoughts, oh my word such an effective and beautifully written novel. The prose is evocative and emotive and l was drawn into the world that Natasha Bowen has created. It is the second novel in a series and despite the potential drawbacks to a quick immersion into the world, any gaps in my knowledge were filled in deftly. What we have is Simidele our protagonist. A Mami Wata who at the beginning of the novel is trapped in service to a god of the dead.
Simi is a wonderful protagonist. She is forever trying to do what is right whether that bodes good or ill for her. Her desire to sacrifice what she wants for the greater good is admirable and causes some angst that anyone can relate to.
I loved the west african mythology threaded through the novel. I was already aware of Orisas and Mami Wata but this added to my scant knowledge and I felt it evoked strong images and even where the language wasn't familiar, I was still able to relate to characters and root for them.
My favourite character is Esu, mainly for being a trickster and agent of chaos. I do love a good trickster. Kola was everything you wanted for a love interest. The relationship between Simi and Kola is delicate and nuanced beautifully against their competing interests.
The plot is linear, and some of the twists were signposted quite well. And losses when they happened felt real and hit my feels as much as they did Simi. The journey Simi travels is both literal and metaphorical and by the end there is much that has been learned, lost and won.
I have gone back to seek out the previous novel Skin of the Sea so that I can fill in any gaps.
Simi is a wonderful protagonist. She is forever trying to do what is right whether that bodes good or ill for her. Her desire to sacrifice what she wants for the greater good is admirable and causes some angst that anyone can relate to.
I loved the west african mythology threaded through the novel. I was already aware of Orisas and Mami Wata but this added to my scant knowledge and I felt it evoked strong images and even where the language wasn't familiar, I was still able to relate to characters and root for them.
My favourite character is Esu, mainly for being a trickster and agent of chaos. I do love a good trickster. Kola was everything you wanted for a love interest. The relationship between Simi and Kola is delicate and nuanced beautifully against their competing interests.
The plot is linear, and some of the twists were signposted quite well. And losses when they happened felt real and hit my feels as much as they did Simi. The journey Simi travels is both literal and metaphorical and by the end there is much that has been learned, lost and won.
I have gone back to seek out the previous novel Skin of the Sea so that I can fill in any gaps.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book follows Skin of the Sea and together they share a story of nuance. I came away happy that in the end Simidele chooses herself and what she desires most. Through her journey I felt the tension of constantly being between two worlds and wanting things that seemed to oppose each other. In some ways I don’t know that she fully came to understand that her drive to help people was not her downfall. However, she seemed open to learning and seeing the world and her options in a more nuanced way. The mythology weaved in the story often spoke of balance and Simi seemed to be figuring out her own balance within herself and what she knows of the world.
I adored the relationships between Simi and her friends, old and new. They served to strengthen and support her. The loss of some of them emboldened her while she also held her grief for them. I appreciated that Simi takes so much space to grieve. Some authors might speed past a death in the middle of the battle but Bowen really spends time reminding us that every life lost, on either side of conflict, is still sacred life now gone.
A beautiful story of mythology and self discovery. I enjoyed the read. Thank you Natasha Bowen for your work.
I adored the relationships between Simi and her friends, old and new. They served to strengthen and support her. The loss of some of them emboldened her while she also held her grief for them. I appreciated that Simi takes so much space to grieve. Some authors might speed past a death in the middle of the battle but Bowen really spends time reminding us that every life lost, on either side of conflict, is still sacred life now gone.
A beautiful story of mythology and self discovery. I enjoyed the read. Thank you Natasha Bowen for your work.
I've been making an effort, recently, to actually read the sequels to books, since that's usually something I'm bad at. I read Skin of the Sea back in January or February so I'm happy that I finally got around to this. Overall, I enjoyed the first book much better, but it was nice to see these characters again.
The first small problem I had with this book was that I feel like Esu was just such a different person in this book. In the first book, he was treated as this big bad building - I mean, he'd literally kidnapped a pair of children, and was doing anything to prevent Simi and her friends from getting them back. But then, in this book, all of a sudden he's helping them, and sure he was a bit of a jerk at first, but there was no tricks, no backstabbing, he was just a helpful member of their crew.
I also feel like Simi didn't actually do much in this book. In the beginning, when she was underwater, sure. But after she helped trap the soul song, she kind of just stood there and told Kola or Esu what they should do in battle, but didn't actually do anything herself.
But, despite all my griping, this was an enjoyable book. I thought it was a good following story after book one, and the characters were excellent as always.
The first small problem I had with this book was that I feel like Esu was just such a different person in this book. In the first book, he was treated as this big bad building - I mean, he'd literally kidnapped a pair of children, and was doing anything to prevent Simi and her friends from getting them back. But then, in this book, all of a sudden he's helping them, and sure he was a bit of a jerk at first, but there was no tricks, no backstabbing, he was just a helpful member of their crew.
I also feel like Simi didn't actually do much in this book. In the beginning, when she was underwater, sure. But after she helped trap the soul song, she kind of just stood there and told Kola or Esu what they should do in battle, but didn't actually do anything herself.
But, despite all my griping, this was an enjoyable book. I thought it was a good following story after book one, and the characters were excellent as always.