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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
DNF.
Unfortunately, I'm having to DNF this book. It has a really strong concept - rival assassins being forced to work together, sapphic side plots - everything I usually love, but I'm really not enjoying this book.
From the start, I found the characters incredibly unlikeable. I don't think the characters are intended to be perfect - and nor would I expect them to be early on in a novel - but I found absolutely no attachment to either of them and found them to be quite two dimensional, with Valour's only defining trait being her lust for women, and Petrichor's only defining trait being his grumpiness.
I also found the writing to be incredibly heavy-handed. I love a book that will address political and social topics, but this book is just too heavy-handed and blunt with it, it takes away from the immersion of the story. The prose could definitely benefit with more polishing and better editing. I found the dialogue incredibly forced too, and that only made the characters more unlikeable, and again, took away from the immersion.
This book definitely wasn't for me, and unfortunately definitely needs some more reworking and editing.
DNF.
Unfortunately, I'm having to DNF this book. It has a really strong concept - rival assassins being forced to work together, sapphic side plots - everything I usually love, but I'm really not enjoying this book.
From the start, I found the characters incredibly unlikeable. I don't think the characters are intended to be perfect - and nor would I expect them to be early on in a novel - but I found absolutely no attachment to either of them and found them to be quite two dimensional, with Valour's only defining trait being her lust for women, and Petrichor's only defining trait being his grumpiness.
I also found the writing to be incredibly heavy-handed. I love a book that will address political and social topics, but this book is just too heavy-handed and blunt with it, it takes away from the immersion of the story. The prose could definitely benefit with more polishing and better editing. I found the dialogue incredibly forced too, and that only made the characters more unlikeable, and again, took away from the immersion.
This book definitely wasn't for me, and unfortunately definitely needs some more reworking and editing.
3.5 Stars
I've greatly enjoyed Emma Sterner-Radley's Mapmaking Magicians series, so I was very excited to see another adventure book by her. I will admit that I wish I had read the limited reviews that were avaiable when I picked this up. I am a mood reader, and knowing in advanced and preparing can be essential to my enjoyment.
This book follows Valour and Petrichor, trained assassins working for the local govenment to dispatch of unrurly individuals. Valour and Petrichor are some of the best assassins and have been given a job to kill the elusive drug kingpin, Brandquist. Valour and Petrichor spends the first part of their mission not wanting to work together but then reluctantly find themselves working well. To Valours delight and Petrichors dismay, they are jooined by Ingrid, a local heiress seeking adventure.
The story was exciting, with some mystery, action, and plenty of banter between the characters. What I wish I had paid attention to in the reviews is that this world is grim. It takes place in Sweden and is in small provadence that is surviving heavily from improvish conditions. The characters, while affective at their jobs and surviving in it, still feel broken.Beacuse of this, t took me some time to get into the book. The unhappy setting and characters who who are aware of the condition of the world but not having a way to effect it, was hard to get into , in my current mood. But once the characters started working together and the mystery started to show itself, did I really get into it.
The book was well written and the charqacters had wonderful depths. I'm not certain but I am pretty sure this would be a historical fiction book, despite thinking it was a fantasy book like the Mapmaking Magicians books.
I am really glad I picked this up and would recommend this for fans of darker historical advnture stories.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I've greatly enjoyed Emma Sterner-Radley's Mapmaking Magicians series, so I was very excited to see another adventure book by her. I will admit that I wish I had read the limited reviews that were avaiable when I picked this up. I am a mood reader, and knowing in advanced and preparing can be essential to my enjoyment.
This book follows Valour and Petrichor, trained assassins working for the local govenment to dispatch of unrurly individuals. Valour and Petrichor are some of the best assassins and have been given a job to kill the elusive drug kingpin, Brandquist. Valour and Petrichor spends the first part of their mission not wanting to work together but then reluctantly find themselves working well. To Valours delight and Petrichors dismay, they are jooined by Ingrid, a local heiress seeking adventure.
The story was exciting, with some mystery, action, and plenty of banter between the characters. What I wish I had paid attention to in the reviews is that this world is grim. It takes place in Sweden and is in small provadence that is surviving heavily from improvish conditions. The characters, while affective at their jobs and surviving in it, still feel broken.Beacuse of this, t took me some time to get into the book. The unhappy setting and characters who who are aware of the condition of the world but not having a way to effect it, was hard to get into , in my current mood. But once the characters started working together and the mystery started to show itself, did I really get into it.
The book was well written and the charqacters had wonderful depths. I'm not certain but I am pretty sure this would be a historical fiction book, despite thinking it was a fantasy book like the Mapmaking Magicians books.
I am really glad I picked this up and would recommend this for fans of darker historical advnture stories.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
DNF
I'm just not interested enough to continue. The characters felt two-dimensional and were starting to annoy me with their banter. There were touches of humour that I liked, and when the MCs were alone and not talking about the other, it was enjoyable. But it wasn't enough to keep me hooked sadly
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc
I'm just not interested enough to continue. The characters felt two-dimensional and were starting to annoy me with their banter. There were touches of humour that I liked, and when the MCs were alone and not talking about the other, it was enjoyable. But it wasn't enough to keep me hooked sadly
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
This was the first book I read after not reading for months due to school, and it was absolutely an amazing start. The murder siblings are very very dear to me, and so is Ingrid. Such a delightful book. I read it all in one night, staying up until almost 1am to finish it.
I was kicking myself for not seeing several twists coming, which is a testament to the skill of the author at walking the line between foreshadowing being too subtle or too obvious.
I was kicking myself for not seeing several twists coming, which is a testament to the skill of the author at walking the line between foreshadowing being too subtle or too obvious.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really didn’t enjoy this book. Topic could have been very exciting. But found it so dull and pretty 1 dimensional. Even the twist at the end couldn’t save it. Only 5 characters had time in the book so it was bound to circle back to them. So much time wasted on how much they hated each other and wasn’t much spent on the plot.
This title was on my radar for a few months, the delight I felt when my ARC request got approved ! Described as "The princess bride" met "Six of Crows", Snowblooded is a tale of assassin who doesn't shy away from the darkness and grittiness of the world, without being overwhilming in said darkness. The story is centered on Valour and Petrichor, assassins of Vinterstock Assassin Guild (a city in Sweden, the delight to have a change of scenery in a fantasy !) and who can't stand each other, having been raised against each other. They have to work together (or not) to complete an order, which revealed itself to be harder and with more ramification that expected, especially with Valour entangling herself with Ingrid, an aristocrat.
I enjoyed the world created with this story, the 'ness dealing, the winter vibe and the realities of a world where the wealthy strive and the poors struggle. It's a nice canva to reveal more about Valour and Petrichor past, see their relationship unravel and become less tense. It is, I think, the core of the story, what kept me going the most, since I guessed a few twist ahead of time. The mystery is still an interesting one, interspersed with action and emotional relief moment, while maintaining that darkish element. Valour relationship with Ingrid was quite well manage to my taste, present, driving some part of the story but not all of it.
I love the queernormative setting and how easily Valour and Petrichor can live their life in that regard. After all, their lifes are already hard, no need to add another layer.
All in all, an enjoyable story, with well built characters, interesting world and intrigue !
,
I enjoyed the world created with this story, the 'ness dealing, the winter vibe and the realities of a world where the wealthy strive and the poors struggle. It's a nice canva to reveal more about Valour and Petrichor past, see their relationship unravel and become less tense. It is, I think, the core of the story, what kept me going the most, since I guessed a few twist ahead of time. The mystery is still an interesting one, interspersed with action and emotional relief moment, while maintaining that darkish element. Valour relationship with Ingrid was quite well manage to my taste, present, driving some part of the story but not all of it.
I love the queernormative setting and how easily Valour and Petrichor can live their life in that regard. After all, their lifes are already hard, no need to add another layer.
All in all, an enjoyable story, with well built characters, interesting world and intrigue !
,
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Final booWhat a huge disappointment this book was. It sounded right up my street: assassins, criminals, queer love story, secrets. Sadly, it fell terribly flat. The main characters are pretty two-dimensional, they're meant to be the best assassins in town, yet all they do is blunder, and they spend more time bickering than planning their next move. The world is barely sketched, I couldn't get a feel for it at all, and the fact that the author switches between "ye olde English" and modern slang made me feel confused. The pacing is uneven and the intrigue doesn't get intriguing until maybe 150 pages in (and even then, it's pretty easy to figure out where this is going).
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced