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fareehareads's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I almost didn't finish this book. I nearly dropped in several times. But something propelled me forward to just blaze through it in one sitting after days of going back and forth with it.
The story itself follows Joan Sands and her brother James, two fae living in the Elizabethan era and working as a part of Shakespeare's acting company. James is an actor and Joan is the swords expert that teaches everyone how to fight. Their family are blessed by the Orisha, meaning all of them have special abilities, for Joan it's the ability to manipulate iron and other metals. There is a political plot in this, a group of actors with wild personalities, a male and female love interest for Joan, and some fae deaths that lead to an investigation and further choas.
All around the premise sounded so promising but where it felt flat for me was the worldbuilding and convoluted plot. It was very clear that the author was setting up this book to have some larger implications that wouldn't be explored till the next book and I wish it was less heavy handed. The focus of the task at hand kept getting lost and while Joan's motivations weren't unclear, her desires felt very strained and pulled in too many directions. She was clearly meant to be an honorable character with a sense of justice and care for her fellow family and friends. Yet she often acted for her own self interests and didn't actually make any real effort to find out why she was the only one from her family other than her uncle with the specific very important ability that could change everything. It came up and was dropped like it meant nothing.
Also her parents didn't make a lot of sense to me, her mother was hell-bent on keeping Joan from knowing things by saying "she's too young" and that didn't feel like the strongest argument considering how she was killing monsters every other day and supporting her brother completely. It felt like Joan was carrying a lot but there was 0 acknowledgment of that from everyone around her. Also Shakespeare himself being an active character was an interesting choice, but I almost wish it didn't happen at all.
I had a lot more complaints about this than I thought. Anyway a lot of this book had potential, but it really didn't stick the landing.
The story itself follows Joan Sands and her brother James, two fae living in the Elizabethan era and working as a part of Shakespeare's acting company. James is an actor and Joan is the swords expert that teaches everyone how to fight. Their family are blessed by the Orisha, meaning all of them have special abilities, for Joan it's the ability to manipulate iron and other metals. There is a political plot in this, a group of actors with wild personalities, a male and female love interest for Joan, and some fae deaths that lead to an investigation and further choas.
All around the premise sounded so promising but where it felt flat for me was the worldbuilding and convoluted plot. It was very clear that the author was setting up this book to have some larger implications that wouldn't be explored till the next book and I wish it was less heavy handed. The focus of the task at hand kept getting lost and while Joan's motivations weren't unclear, her desires felt very strained and pulled in too many directions. She was clearly meant to be an honorable character with a sense of justice and care for her fellow family and friends. Yet she often acted for her own self interests and didn't actually make any real effort to find out why she was the only one from her family other than her uncle with the specific very important ability that could change everything. It came up and was dropped like it meant nothing.
Also her parents didn't make a lot of sense to me, her mother was hell-bent on keeping Joan from knowing things by saying "she's too young" and that didn't feel like the strongest argument considering how she was killing monsters every other day and supporting her brother completely. It felt like Joan was carrying a lot but there was 0 acknowledgment of that from everyone around her. Also Shakespeare himself being an active character was an interesting choice, but I almost wish it didn't happen at all.
I had a lot more complaints about this than I thought. Anyway a lot of this book had potential, but it really didn't stick the landing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Murder, Colonisation, Blood, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Hate crime, Bullying, and Gaslighting
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Classism
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