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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
***Thank you to Knopf for providing a copy of Navola via NetGalley. My review, however, is based on my experience listening to the audiobook and contains my honest thoughts and feelings.***
I was so excited to read Navola. Unfortunately, so many things about the book just did not work for me. I lost count of the number of times I fell asleep while listening to the audiobook. The first half of the book was so boring. I considered DNFing it multiple times because I just did not care about the characters or what was happening to them. The second half of the story did pick up and held my interest a bit more. However, many of the problems I had with the first parts remained. I did enjoy the style of the writing, though, which is one of the main things that kept me going.
One of my biggest gripes about Navola was the lack of world-building. I was looking forward to learning about a world inspired by Renaissance Italy. There just wasn't much depth to the world-building. I never got a good sense of what the city of Navola was like or how it differed from the other cities. I was also so excited to learn about the dragon's eye. Frustratingly, it ended up being nothing more than a glorified paperweight for most of the story. In general, I just didn't find the world very interesting, which was a big disappointment.
Navola also promised lots of political scheming with the comparisons to Game of Thrones. It managed to disappoint on that front, too. There was plenty of scheming in the story. The reader just didn't get to see any of it take place. There was only one POV in this entire novel, and he was nothing but a pawn of the real major players. So, we ended up seeing the results of all the political maneuvering without getting to experience any of it firsthand. It left me very frustrated with the story at times, and I often wished there had been at least one other POV.
It didn't help that I felt absolutely nothing for Davico other than mild annoyance. The story focused so intensely on his coming-of-age and the mundanities of his life, especially in the first half. I found him to be spoiled, naïve, and extremely ungrateful for his privileges. I wish I could say my opinion of him changed by the end, especially given how dramatically his entire life fell apart. However, I still could not make myself root for him. I did love his dog, though.
Overall, Navola was just a miss for me. There were two major problems that kept this book from meeting my expectations: the lack of depth to the world-building and the singular POV being outside the political action. It didn't help that the main character was just not someone I cared about. All of those factors coalesced into an extremely slow, and often boring, tragedy that I had no stake in. Therefore, I rate Navola 3 out of 5 stars, which is frankly me being generous.
I was so excited to read Navola. Unfortunately, so many things about the book just did not work for me. I lost count of the number of times I fell asleep while listening to the audiobook. The first half of the book was so boring. I considered DNFing it multiple times because I just did not care about the characters or what was happening to them. The second half of the story did pick up and held my interest a bit more. However, many of the problems I had with the first parts remained. I did enjoy the style of the writing, though, which is one of the main things that kept me going.
One of my biggest gripes about Navola was the lack of world-building. I was looking forward to learning about a world inspired by Renaissance Italy. There just wasn't much depth to the world-building. I never got a good sense of what the city of Navola was like or how it differed from the other cities. I was also so excited to learn about the dragon's eye. Frustratingly, it ended up being nothing more than a glorified paperweight for most of the story. In general, I just didn't find the world very interesting, which was a big disappointment.
Navola also promised lots of political scheming with the comparisons to Game of Thrones. It managed to disappoint on that front, too. There was plenty of scheming in the story. The reader just didn't get to see any of it take place. There was only one POV in this entire novel, and he was nothing but a pawn of the real major players. So, we ended up seeing the results of all the political maneuvering without getting to experience any of it firsthand. It left me very frustrated with the story at times, and I often wished there had been at least one other POV.
It didn't help that I felt absolutely nothing for Davico other than mild annoyance. The story focused so intensely on his coming-of-age and the mundanities of his life, especially in the first half. I found him to be spoiled, naïve, and extremely ungrateful for his privileges. I wish I could say my opinion of him changed by the end, especially given how dramatically his entire life fell apart. However, I still could not make myself root for him. I did love his dog, though.
Overall, Navola was just a miss for me. There were two major problems that kept this book from meeting my expectations: the lack of depth to the world-building and the singular POV being outside the political action. It didn't help that the main character was just not someone I cared about. All of those factors coalesced into an extremely slow, and often boring, tragedy that I had no stake in. Therefore, I rate Navola 3 out of 5 stars, which is frankly me being generous.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Beautiful prose - I didn’t mind the slower pace. Definitely more historical lit fiction with a dash of fantasy. Tons of political intrigue!
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
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
There were all these teasers of possible storylines that never came to fruition. Another day and another day. I read to page 243 and there was no rising action. Yawn.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Not really a fantasy. It’s a political drama with heavy Medici and renaissance Italy vibes. And the entire book is told through the male gaze in a way that it’s beating you over the head with it. I went in expecting dragons and magic and high fantasy and was left wanting. This book just wasn’t for me.
I was told this book was like game of thrones and it’s far from that.
It’s far from calling it a fantasy apart from the Dragon eye that’s used as a paperweight and set in a secondary world.
The characters lack any depth and thus I wasn’t compelled to follow. The is one female character that appears(that I loved) and I thought for a moment is when the story is going to pick up
I was wrong
There isn’t any plot and from looking at other reviews they say it doesn’t pick up until the 70% mark. I am not suffering through this to that point for it to ‘get good’
I believe this book will suit people who prefer literary and historical fiction to fantasy.
What a disappointment and the marketing team needs to re-evaluate their decisions.
It’s far from calling it a fantasy apart from the Dragon eye that’s used as a paperweight and set in a secondary world.
The characters lack any depth and thus I wasn’t compelled to follow. The is one female character that appears(that I loved) and I thought for a moment is when the story is going to pick up
I was wrong
There isn’t any plot and from looking at other reviews they say it doesn’t pick up until the 70% mark. I am not suffering through this to that point for it to ‘get good’
I believe this book will suit people who prefer literary and historical fiction to fantasy.
What a disappointment and the marketing team needs to re-evaluate their decisions.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes