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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Soul of the Deep started off strong. But halfway through I began to lose interest. I was hoping that the mami wata would have more of a presence in this book, but most of the story took place on land. The internal conflicts Simi was dealing with seemed to pile up, and the end result did not seem to match her character. The ending was not satisfying, and I don't know if this means there will be a 3rd book, or if that was the intent of the author.
While this sequel isn't quite as engaging as the first, I still really liked learning more about the Yoruba culture and religion. It started to drag at certain points and felt repetitive, but overall I'm really glad I got introduced to this world!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
Actual 3.5 - Beautifully written and I loved the narrator of the audiobook. My rating comes down to my current mental state which is why I rated 4 vs 3 - not the author or the books fault just me. The book felt like a slow burn. So slow in fact that I felt myself getting distracted a lot, which lead to me missing key points/events. There was action sprinkled throughout which helped, but it didn’t start until 30-40% into the book. I also think too much time has passed since I read the first book because I did NOT remember a lot of things (I also have the memory of a goldfish so that’s on me). The last 15% was good HOWEVER I am a little salty about that ending…
For a full review of my thoughts, watch Who Picked This Book? Club’s discussion here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2LbrV9BWz9E
For a full review of my thoughts, watch Who Picked This Book? Club’s discussion here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2LbrV9BWz9E
adventurous
emotional
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
For the writing, I gave that a 7 out of 10. There was nothing wrong with the writing, but some of the story was pretty passive. However, it was a little better than book one where it was more active in it’s story-telling so I was more engaged.
For the plot, I gave that a 7 out of 10 as well. I did like the plot far more than in book 1. It was more straight-forward but also more interesting, in my opinion. The threat of essentially the warlords of the apocalypse was so cool, and I liked that she had to team up with Esu and forgive him a little for his previous misdeeds. The book is YA but it felt more adult in this book because morality was much more blurred than it was in book 1.
For the characters, I gave them a 7 out of 10. Simi is much more fleshed out in this book because of the fact that she has regained all her memories. I find that she is much more decisive and more of an active member of her own life. Kola, on the other hand, I do not like him. Him and Simi do have a romance and start to form a relationship, but I could not get on board with it. He was so rude to Simi for the first half of the book. He blamed her for everything that was happening and the ajogun almost being released, but none of that was her fault. She made a deal with Olokun to save Kola’s life, and Olokun was the one who broke that deal. That’s why she was able to leave. Then, he essentially loses it and says Simi is on Esu’s side. As if she had a choice? He’s the only one that can bind the ajogun, so what is she supposed to do? Then there was Ara. I knew I didn’t trust that bitch because what do you mean she escaped the temple and conveniently ended up in the city with Kola? Then, she was the last person with Folasade and we are supposed to believe she wasn’t evil? Yeah, right.
Lastly, I gave the world-building a 9 out of 10. I loved the world-building aspect of this book. The author was so detailed about the Orisa and the mythology that inspired the book. I love the idea of the ajogun and how they are so inhuman looking. We didn’t expand as much of the world-building as we did in book one, but I still really enjoyed it.
Overall, I gave this 3.75 stars. I liked it more than book one, but I’m still annoyed that this is meant to be a mermaid book and she still spends so little time as a mermaid. She could have not been a mermaid and I feel like we would have had the same story.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Power corrupts.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Across two books, the author teaches us what the pursuit of power does. How it influences, infiltrates and destroys everything around it. While love heals and forgives.
This book picks up where the end of Skin of the Sea leave us. Simi is now at the side of Olokun as a servant or companion, we don’t know. She’s deeply unhappy and Olokun understands this because he is as unhappy as Simi is. He’s lonely and angry too. I won’t go in to detail but Simi leaves Olokun in his loneliness.
I had a few issues with this book. First, how come none of these Orishas have real power? They can’t summon the Supreme Creator, they don’t summon each other when in need. It’s confusing to me. Secondly, the way the humans treated Esu was problematic to me. He was still a deity. They knew he had a trickster spirit, but they treated him like he was human, too. There was no respect for him at all.
And because I don’t want to go on too much of a rant I will say I absolutely hated the ending of this book. Kola sacrificed all that for the story to end that way. I’m angry about it.