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theunfriendlyghost's review
5.0
Tess of the Road was the best book I read in 2019(?), and to no one’s surprise the sequel was the best I’ve read this year.
It’s so incredibly long, but it was so deep and beautiful and true that I didn’t resent its length.
I probably cried at least once every chapter.
This is the most convicting and eye-opening novel I’ve ever experienced, and I truly wallowed with the characters in their self discoveries.
I will be reading this book again and again, just like the first one, and I’ll recommend to those who want fantasy that will tear them apart and challenge their identity and then build them up again.
I cried almost every chapter, I’m sure I’ll cry again on round two.
This is an incredible testimony of healing, pain, war, and white saviourism.
I have too many words, and none at all.
It’s so incredibly long, but it was so deep and beautiful and true that I didn’t resent its length.
I probably cried at least once every chapter.
This is the most convicting and eye-opening novel I’ve ever experienced, and I truly wallowed with the characters in their self discoveries.
I will be reading this book again and again, just like the first one, and I’ll recommend to those who want fantasy that will tear them apart and challenge their identity and then build them up again.
I cried almost every chapter, I’m sure I’ll cry again on round two.
This is an incredible testimony of healing, pain, war, and white saviourism.
I have too many words, and none at all.
cort_kaye's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
slow-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
4.0
h0pesheart's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
johanna2030's review
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
rainyoctober's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
amazing amazing book - just not what i was expecting from hartman and tess! the moral lessons felt a bit on the nose at times and i wish there had been more moments that weren't, like, huge bummers, but i'm glad this exists & am sure i'll revisit it.
mikhaylovam's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
5.0
lizbethandthelifeinbetween's review
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book failed to capture me and keep me interested, making it hard to get through. I felt no desire to pick it up and read it most of the time, and when i did, it was usually motivated by a feeling of needing to finishing the book.
There was something about Hartman's writing style that never truly worked for me in "Seraphina" and "Shadow Scale". The matter-of-fact nature and academic tone helped to build a world from Seraphina's point of view, as being half-dragon (they have their own word for it, and while I never questioned it before, the amount of new worlds for things we already say started to feel more tedious than interesting world-building in this novel) made her much more of a clinical thinker. This does not work for Tess, who is human.
Beyond the writing and style, what bugged me the most was the lack of adventure in the sea-faring, world-exploring novel. I know the author is capable of thrilling adventure; I was enthralled with "Tess of the Road". This book spent too much time on politics which was not explored enough in the first three books. That meant that where we were being promised a thrilling sea-faring novel, we spent a lot of time on the politics of the matter, with locations we don't care about and have never visited and have no emotional connection with beyond what the characters are learning about in the books.
Reading this after Kristin Cashore's "Seasparrow" was not helpful, as these books have a lot of similar ideas and themes, but Cashore's was executed so much better (Go read that book instead if you're interested in "In the Serpant's Wake" it's written as a stand-alone so you don't need to catch up on the entire series!). The stakes of the political conflicts were something that anyone could care about, as they mirrored issues I'm sure most have been exposed to before. In addition, they did not overshadow the adventure and survival aspects of the story. Both books have a long ship journey. Both have queens who the main character is loyal to having to deal with political issues. One managed to make the ship a character in its own right, the other could have been taking place in a grey-walled room.
There was something about Hartman's writing style that never truly worked for me in "Seraphina" and "Shadow Scale". The matter-of-fact nature and academic tone helped to build a world from Seraphina's point of view, as being half-dragon (they have their own word for it, and while I never questioned it before, the amount of new worlds for things we already say started to feel more tedious than interesting world-building in this novel) made her much more of a clinical thinker. This does not work for Tess, who is human.
Beyond the writing and style, what bugged me the most was the lack of adventure in the sea-faring, world-exploring novel. I know the author is capable of thrilling adventure; I was enthralled with "Tess of the Road". This book spent too much time on politics which was not explored enough in the first three books. That meant that where we were being promised a thrilling sea-faring novel, we spent a lot of time on the politics of the matter, with locations we don't care about and have never visited and have no emotional connection with beyond what the characters are learning about in the books.
Reading this after Kristin Cashore's "Seasparrow" was not helpful, as these books have a lot of similar ideas and themes, but Cashore's was executed so much better (Go read that book instead if you're interested in "In the Serpant's Wake" it's written as a stand-alone so you don't need to catch up on the entire series!). The stakes of the political conflicts were something that anyone could care about, as they mirrored issues I'm sure most have been exposed to before. In addition, they did not overshadow the adventure and survival aspects of the story. Both books have a long ship journey. Both have queens who the main character is loyal to having to deal with political issues. One managed to make the ship a character in its own right, the other could have been taking place in a grey-walled room.