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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
It was terrible. Super difficult character names and poor dialog
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It took me a little while to get used to the 2 different POVs of Gormflaith and Fodla - very different women (one a queen, one a healer), but both trying to survive in a bleak and brutal world of men, kings and Vikings.
Historical fantasy is definitely one of my favourite sub-genres, and this hit a lot of high points for me - I loved the setting and the politics with all of the clans and kings over Ireland. I enjoyed the characters, although I did get them mixed up at times. The pacing and writing were great, and I especially enjoyed listening to this one on audio, to hear the Irish names pronounced correctly (instead of being butchered in my head!).
I'll be reading book 2 very soon.
Historical fantasy is definitely one of my favourite sub-genres, and this hit a lot of high points for me - I loved the setting and the politics with all of the clans and kings over Ireland. I enjoyed the characters, although I did get them mixed up at times. The pacing and writing were great, and I especially enjoyed listening to this one on audio, to hear the Irish names pronounced correctly (instead of being butchered in my head!).
I'll be reading book 2 very soon.
The dialogue is some of the worst I’ve ever encountered. Characters constantly explain the basic lore of the world in every chapter, turning most conversations into awkward exposition dumps. This not only makes the dialogue feel unnatural but also makes the characters come across as outright dumb. While the setup is intriguing, the writing lacks the skill needed to bring it to life.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a hard book to rate. I didn’t enjoy it at all but I also didn’t hate it. It was just kind of…there. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and many of them felt so bland and one-dimensional that I couldn’t tell you anything about them. The same goes for the story in general. Again, it was just…there. The pace picks up in the last 25% or so of the book but it doesn’t really make up for the other 75% which is a complete slog - albeit a fairly well written one.
