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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Like Hild but with witches and in Ireland. I loved the story being driven by mothers. One who’d lost her daughter and the other driven to so much cunning through trying to keep her son with her forever.
Soft DNF. I think I may just physically read this some day. The 1st person POV is really throwing me off
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
5⭐️ Audiobook
Entertaining, enjoyable characters, great plot, smart bread crumbs - excited to see where this story goes!
I purchased this audiobook at the recommendation of a couple booktok influencers and it did not disappoint! Not sure I’d get the same enjoyment out of reading it as I have been listening.
It’s an easy to follow story that draws you in and has you guessing where it’s going to take you. Immediately starting the 2nd book also on audio!
Entertaining, enjoyable characters, great plot, smart bread crumbs - excited to see where this story goes!
I purchased this audiobook at the recommendation of a couple booktok influencers and it did not disappoint! Not sure I’d get the same enjoyment out of reading it as I have been listening.
It’s an easy to follow story that draws you in and has you guessing where it’s going to take you. Immediately starting the 2nd book also on audio!
Fantasy and Magic meet the Viking era, mythology and Celtic Ireland. It should have been the perfect mix and I started reading the book thinking I had found MY book of 2023, particularly considering all the rave reviews. Hence the intense disappointment.
First, very little actually happens in the book. There are tensions, conflicts, secrets, schemes and yet nothing much happens at all. The pace of the action is extremely slow, which would not necessarily be an issue if other aspects of the book compensated it, but there are none.
The universe building lacks in details and imagery to immerse the reader into the unique setting the author intended to create. Everything remains broad and vague, just like the whole fantasy/magical elements that are supposed to be at the core of the book and its story. By the end of book 1, we don’t know much more than after reading the book summary and first few pages. It feels as though the author has had this brilliant idea but it remained just this – a vague idea – and was not developed in any way throughout the book.
Even if the author’s intention was to set the frame for the story she wanted to unfold, this certainly did not require a whole book, or should have been done with the use of flashbacks and historical references that would have brought insight into the current situation.
The lack of action and true universe building is partly due to the insistence of the author on characterization, and this would be all very well if this is had been done in a more subtle way. Both female protagonists end up being complete clichés – which is such a shame considering the author is a woman – and failed attempts at a feminist book (or at least I think that is what it was). There are countless repetitions about them, which went from useless to annoying and counterproductive. (Yes, we did understand the first time that Gormflaith is cold and conniving while Fodla is good-hearted, no need to repeat it a billion times throughout the story in case we forget, that is pretty much all they are reduced to anyway). The problem with characterization is also partly due to the writing style which, even if we forget the innumerable repetitions, is quite bland.
The only character that looked interesting was Rónnat, hence her use by the author at the very end of the book to bring a suspenseful twist supposed to make you want to read book 2.
Unfortunately, it arrives too late to salvage anything.
First, very little actually happens in the book. There are tensions, conflicts, secrets, schemes and yet nothing much happens at all. The pace of the action is extremely slow, which would not necessarily be an issue if other aspects of the book compensated it, but there are none.
The universe building lacks in details and imagery to immerse the reader into the unique setting the author intended to create. Everything remains broad and vague, just like the whole fantasy/magical elements that are supposed to be at the core of the book and its story. By the end of book 1, we don’t know much more than after reading the book summary and first few pages. It feels as though the author has had this brilliant idea but it remained just this – a vague idea – and was not developed in any way throughout the book.
Even if the author’s intention was to set the frame for the story she wanted to unfold, this certainly did not require a whole book, or should have been done with the use of flashbacks and historical references that would have brought insight into the current situation.
The lack of action and true universe building is partly due to the insistence of the author on characterization, and this would be all very well if this is had been done in a more subtle way. Both female protagonists end up being complete clichés – which is such a shame considering the author is a woman – and failed attempts at a feminist book (or at least I think that is what it was). There are countless repetitions about them, which went from useless to annoying and counterproductive. (Yes, we did understand the first time that Gormflaith is cold and conniving while Fodla is good-hearted, no need to repeat it a billion times throughout the story in case we forget, that is pretty much all they are reduced to anyway). The problem with characterization is also partly due to the writing style which, even if we forget the innumerable repetitions, is quite bland.
The only character that looked interesting was Rónnat, hence her use by the author at the very end of the book to bring a suspenseful twist supposed to make you want to read book 2.
Unfortunately, it arrives too late to salvage anything.
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved this book. The POVs alternate between two woman whose races hate each other, it’s unclear how they will meet but obvious that eventually it happens. I loved one and hated the other. I’m so desperate for Fodla to break free of what she has previously learned and let go. Gormflaith I can’t stand. Initially it’s clear that she loves her son and would do everything for him but at some point it seems her own greed and ambition becomes intertwined with that. While she seems to truly love her son she is also desperate to be loved
Lost interest, too tropey, weak characters arc