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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Also posted on my Instagram atale_as_old_as_book_reviews
[Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy to read and review.]
It’s 2094, and the Arcadia, once a luxury cruise ship, now floats on the coastline of the Federated States with passengers who are in “Quarantine” from a deadly virus. It’s been forty years since passengers have been allowed to make landfall, and some passengers are tired of being controlled by the Federated States. Esther is a loyal citizen trying to pass to become a medic so she can leave the ship, but when something happens, she’s pulled into a world she didn’t know existed.
When I started this (I read this book in 3 days), it started off a bit slow. I didn’t know where it was trying to go. But as you moved further into the story, you realized a few things that really grip your interest until the very end. The writing style was easy to read, the characters were easy to love and hate, depending on the character, and the storyline itself was very unique. There are plenty of stories out there that have to do with a virus and quarantining but not on a cruise ship, so that in and of itself is unique and made me enjoy the story even more.
I’m going to try and keep this review as spoiler-free as I can, so I don’t want to say too much. But as we move through the story, you really get to see Esther change from a loyal citizen to someone who doesn’t want to put up with the Federated States any longer. She really has great character growth throughout the story.
Nik is another character in the story who we read from their perspective. The story moves through a few different perspectives, which I found easy to follow and really enjoyed. But something happens toward the end of the book, and I can see how it hurts Nik, but he blames Esther completely and yells at her, and I didn’t like that too much. There’s too much blame on Esther throughout this book, and I thought that was unfair. But that makes for great writing, right?
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it! Thank you again to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for giving me this arc to read and review honestly. It was one I definitely enjoyed, and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out!
[Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy to read and review.]
It’s 2094, and the Arcadia, once a luxury cruise ship, now floats on the coastline of the Federated States with passengers who are in “Quarantine” from a deadly virus. It’s been forty years since passengers have been allowed to make landfall, and some passengers are tired of being controlled by the Federated States. Esther is a loyal citizen trying to pass to become a medic so she can leave the ship, but when something happens, she’s pulled into a world she didn’t know existed.
When I started this (I read this book in 3 days), it started off a bit slow. I didn’t know where it was trying to go. But as you moved further into the story, you realized a few things that really grip your interest until the very end. The writing style was easy to read, the characters were easy to love and hate, depending on the character, and the storyline itself was very unique. There are plenty of stories out there that have to do with a virus and quarantining but not on a cruise ship, so that in and of itself is unique and made me enjoy the story even more.
I’m going to try and keep this review as spoiler-free as I can, so I don’t want to say too much. But as we move through the story, you really get to see Esther change from a loyal citizen to someone who doesn’t want to put up with the Federated States any longer. She really has great character growth throughout the story.
Nik is another character in the story who we read from their perspective. The story moves through a few different perspectives, which I found easy to follow and really enjoyed. But something happens toward the end of the book, and I can see how it hurts Nik, but he blames Esther completely and yells at her, and I didn’t like that too much. There’s too much blame on Esther throughout this book, and I thought that was unfair. But that makes for great writing, right?
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it! Thank you again to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for giving me this arc to read and review honestly. It was one I definitely enjoyed, and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out!
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
slow-paced
I’ve seen a word used over and over in the reviews for this book, and that word is “underwhelming“. I heartily agree with this assessment. The book was just, I don’t know, kind of boring.
My biggest issue with the book was our fmc, Esther. She was just portrayed as so wholesome and law abiding, and I don’t really get that in a dystopian novel. I mean, this ship full of unvaccinated, essentially plague carriers, has been flushed down the proverbial toilet by the government. So the time for being polite has passed, honey.
Thank you to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Fire for this advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Frustrating that the heroes and the villain literally had the same goal: to get off the ship. But the villain was a psychopath I guess. It just didn't really make sense to me. Like they literally all wanted to get off the ship but they couldn't work together??
Overall I enjoyed reading this. The plot was something fresh and new, it took place in this utopia but on a cruise ship called The Arcadia. We have Esther, a combat medic in training, and Nik, a rebel. Then we have the POV of a cop, which is not mentioned in the blurb, but was still fun to read nonetheless. There are officers onboard the ship referred to as "coalies", working under the rule of said cop. The plot is not cliche at all, Esther is held accountable for her actions. I don't know why, but I got a mix of Titanic, Manifest, and Call of Duty vibes from this book like I was in a video game.
OK… This was a quick one. Even though it’s about 450 pages, I read it in three days because it was just that fast paced. YA dystopian fiction set on a stranded cruise ship where people have been living for 40 years with a dictator-like government. It does have a sequel, which I’m a little disappointed to hear about because I was hoping it would wrap up, but it was enjoyable enough (and I like this kinda world) that I am going to be putting the sequel on my list to read later. Lol.
Review below but here’s the tldr version:
Overall: 3.5⭐️ (a bit more engaging than a 3⭐️ but not good enough for 4)
Worldbuilding: 9/10
Romance(ish): 8/10
Plot: 7/10
Character arcs: 9/10
Writing: 8/10
Would I recommend? yes if you like that stuff and want a fast-paced easy read.
Will I read the sequel: possibly
Worldbuilding: it’s like Snowpiercer but on a boat. It’s a cool idea, and the details of life on the ship were well thought out. A few tech items weren’t well enough explained and I thought there were a couple of inconsistencies, but overall they painted a very good picture of the world 70 years from now.
Plot was decent. There were a few things that were fairly predictable about it, though the ending was a bit of a surprise. It focused on two perspectives: Esther and Nick. The unique thing about this one was that both of those perspectives were told in the first person. Sometimes it got a little confusing based on whose perspective it was, even though each chapter was labeled with the name but I guess I would say that overall it worked fine. There was a third perspective from the antagonist that was told in third person. I didn’t like those chapters as much, because the guy was just awful and cringing and cruel… But they also kind of gave away some parts of the story that would have been better as a reveal. so, the book might’ve been fine without them. Also, he did feel like a very smart antagonist, which I guess is good, but in a sense, maybe he was almost too smart…? It just seemed like the protagonists were continually getting screwed over, and didn’t really have much of a moment of victory in the middle, which would have made their next failure even more dramatic. Instead, it just felt frustrating, but maybe that’s what the author was going for.
Also, I feel like both pros and even some side characters sustained a lot of injuries (some kinda bad) but most of them they just seemed to shake them off, which was a little annoying. It’s like, why even have them get hurt if you’re not going to comment on it later? But I guess that’s a minor irritation in the grand scheme of things.
Character arcs: I think the author did a pretty good job with the protagonists, though the antagonist seems like he had no arc at all and just stayed super awful throughout the whole thing. I’m not sure how much I care about that, because the protagonist is supposed to be disliked, so I guess that’s whatever. There was one major side character that I really hoped would have a redemption arc, but didn’t and that was a little disappointing. Also, It doesn’t fall into the same cringey YA romance trope of the insta-fall-in-love, which I appreciated but it does have the “I did something stupid for my girl/boyfriend and endangered us all” trope. However, the latter definitely seems more realistic.
Review below but here’s the tldr version:
Overall: 3.5⭐️ (a bit more engaging than a 3⭐️ but not good enough for 4)
Worldbuilding: 9/10
Romance(ish): 8/10
Plot: 7/10
Character arcs: 9/10
Writing: 8/10
Would I recommend? yes if you like that stuff and want a fast-paced easy read.
Will I read the sequel: possibly
Worldbuilding: it’s like Snowpiercer but on a boat. It’s a cool idea, and the details of life on the ship were well thought out. A few tech items weren’t well enough explained and I thought there were a couple of inconsistencies, but overall they painted a very good picture of the world 70 years from now.
Plot was decent. There were a few things that were fairly predictable about it, though the ending was a bit of a surprise. It focused on two perspectives: Esther and Nick. The unique thing about this one was that both of those perspectives were told in the first person. Sometimes it got a little confusing based on whose perspective it was, even though each chapter was labeled with the name but I guess I would say that overall it worked fine. There was a third perspective from the antagonist that was told in third person. I didn’t like those chapters as much, because the guy was just awful and cringing and cruel… But they also kind of gave away some parts of the story that would have been better as a reveal. so, the book might’ve been fine without them. Also, he did feel like a very smart antagonist, which I guess is good, but in a sense, maybe he was almost too smart…? It just seemed like the protagonists were continually getting screwed over, and didn’t really have much of a moment of victory in the middle, which would have made their next failure even more dramatic. Instead, it just felt frustrating, but maybe that’s what the author was going for.
Also, I feel like both pros and even some side characters sustained a lot of injuries (some kinda bad) but most of them they just seemed to shake them off, which was a little annoying. It’s like, why even have them get hurt if you’re not going to comment on it later? But I guess that’s a minor irritation in the grand scheme of things.
Character arcs: I think the author did a pretty good job with the protagonists, though the antagonist seems like he had no arc at all and just stayed super awful throughout the whole thing. I’m not sure how much I care about that, because the protagonist is supposed to be disliked, so I guess that’s whatever. There was one major side character that I really hoped would have a redemption arc, but didn’t and that was a little disappointing. Also, It doesn’t fall into the same cringey YA romance trope of the insta-fall-in-love, which I appreciated but it does have the “I did something stupid for my girl/boyfriend and endangered us all” trope. However, the latter definitely seems more realistic.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Not badly written, and the world-building is pretty interesting, but I did not vibe with any of the characters. They are confusing and kind of annoying.
-- Light spoilers below --
Take Esther for example. She is young (15 or 16, I think), and everyone close to her, specifically her sister and boyfriend, treats her like she is incapable of looking after herself. Which is really never given any basis other than the ship being dangerous. But most of the danger Esther finds herself in, at least in the beginning, (the leaflets, the kidnapping, going to the dentist, being given the tools to cheat on her exam) is because of the people around her. Again, specifically her sister and boyfriend. And when Esther is in danger by herself, she handles herself pretty well. Like, during the kidnapping, she generally keeps a very cool head and is very logical and forward thinking. But she's kind of a mess when she is with other people. Like, when the boyfriend (whose name escapes me) takes her to the dentist, she's kind of a mess. She doesn't push to ask questions, she doesn't think things through until they are pointed out to her. The two scenes felt like reading two completely different character perspectives.
This happens with a lot of the other characters as well. The only character who's pretty consistent is Hadley, and that's largely because he is very boring. Like, we get it, you're terrible and selfish and vindictive and you have some kind of tragic back story. Boo hoo.
I would have liked more clear characterization, especially at the beginning, because then there is room for the characters to develop and become more nuanced. By being very wishy-washy right from the start, it is almost impossible for the characters to have any valid growth because anything they do could be chalked up as having been a part of them the whole time.
-- Light spoilers below --
Take Esther for example. She is young (15 or 16, I think), and everyone close to her, specifically her sister and boyfriend, treats her like she is incapable of looking after herself. Which is really never given any basis other than the ship being dangerous. But most of the danger Esther finds herself in, at least in the beginning, (the leaflets, the kidnapping, going to the dentist, being given the tools to cheat on her exam) is because of the people around her. Again, specifically her sister and boyfriend. And when Esther is in danger by herself, she handles herself pretty well. Like, during the kidnapping, she generally keeps a very cool head and is very logical and forward thinking. But she's kind of a mess when she is with other people. Like, when the boyfriend (whose name escapes me) takes her to the dentist, she's kind of a mess. She doesn't push to ask questions, she doesn't think things through until they are pointed out to her. The two scenes felt like reading two completely different character perspectives.
This happens with a lot of the other characters as well. The only character who's pretty consistent is Hadley, and that's largely because he is very boring. Like, we get it, you're terrible and selfish and vindictive and you have some kind of tragic back story. Boo hoo.
I would have liked more clear characterization, especially at the beginning, because then there is room for the characters to develop and become more nuanced. By being very wishy-washy right from the start, it is almost impossible for the characters to have any valid growth because anything they do could be chalked up as having been a part of them the whole time.