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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
For anyone who loves TVD - this is a must read! It's the first book in a Fantasy series but Emma Noyes does so well with the world-building that I didn't get lost and I didn't get confused.
Amare's story is a great read. It's a bit more YA than I'm used to but that's definitely not a bad thing. I needed a break from the spicy romantasy books I've been reading! I wish we had gotten just a bit more depth for the other characters in the story (like Cora) but I love the friendship between Amare and Shoa! I look forward to learning more about the magic system, too!
Overall - I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the next one!
Amare's story is a great read. It's a bit more YA than I'm used to but that's definitely not a bad thing. I needed a break from the spicy romantasy books I've been reading! I wish we had gotten just a bit more depth for the other characters in the story (like Cora) but I love the friendship between Amare and Shoa! I look forward to learning more about the magic system, too!
Overall - I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the next one!
adventurous
fast-paced
I was going to rate this one a little lower, but the ending was actually pretty solid so it's getting a 3 from me. The high concept had me really interested, but the worldbuilding for the undersea parts of it felt a little lazy and came off as a basic modern-day novel that happened to have mild pirate and ocean themes, especially the club and Finn's band. A lot of the pacing felt odd, too, more like an author was checking off little boxes of things that novels have, including a chosen one prophecy, the enemies-to-lovers trope along both legs of a sudden love triangle, and a bad boy antihero who flips sides more than most people flip characters in a game of Guess Who.
There was also a lot of telling and not showing. Everything about Lukas came off as a lot of, "Okay, Finn is now infodumping about his missing brother. Oh, there he is, what a coincidence. Look at him brood. Wouldn't it suck if Amare fell for him." But I definitely appreciated that I didn't have to deal with multi-POV whiplash.
I really liked the beginning, and I really liked the ending, but the middle bits fell really, really flat. I'm interested in what happens next though, so that's a win! As long as it isn't drawing out the love triangle further, that would be a pretty big let-down. Mush just isn't for me, and I'd have been more interested in an underwater city that was more different from where most YA novels are usually set anyway.
There was also a lot of telling and not showing. Everything about Lukas came off as a lot of, "Okay, Finn is now infodumping about his missing brother. Oh, there he is, what a coincidence. Look at him brood. Wouldn't it suck if Amare fell for him." But I definitely appreciated that I didn't have to deal with multi-POV whiplash.
I really liked the beginning, and I really liked the ending, but the middle bits fell really, really flat. I'm interested in what happens next though, so that's a win! As long as it isn't drawing out the love triangle further, that would be a pretty big let-down. Mush just isn't for me, and I'd have been more interested in an underwater city that was more different from where most YA novels are usually set anyway.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Yes
I have to say, this story was definitely unique. It was a bit jarring to go from nineteenth century pirates to a twenty-first century underwater world, but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the story. On a personal note, I hate love triangles - so that was annoying to me. I can't wait to see what the next book brings.
What a ride! Pirates, monsters, magic, beautiful worldbuilding, love (triangle
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated