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3.05 AVERAGE
3.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyable adventure and I think people have missed the point in having a perspective switch in the story.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Firstly, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Canongate for supplying the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
On the south coast of England, there lies a town called Winchelsea. In the year 1742 smuggling is rife, and there are dangerous groups seeking to control the goods and the profits coming through the nearby Cinque Ports.
We meet Goody, a girl of 16, who witnesses the brutal murder of her father and the disfigurement of her mother, at the hands of one such group. Forced now to fill her father's shoes, helping the smugglers through the tunnels beneath the town, she and her adoptive brother seek revenge on the men that tore their family apart.
This book is split into three parts. The first one tells Goody's story in her own words, as she enters the dangerous world of smugglers, and embarks on adventures on both sides of the Channel. She grows and changes but her development feels beliavable.
Whilst a little slow to start, this section is enjoyable and kept me interested, although I confess a bias to tales of pirates and sailing. There is some interesting LGBT+ representation, which, whilst inkeeping of the time period, felt compassionate.
The relationships between Goody and her adoptive mother and brother are complex and well constructed. Her mother, although a supporting character, is not pushed to the side, and is clear she has a complex inner life that is not forgotten about as the book goes on. Whilst some of the developments with the brother are uncomfortable, they didn't spoil the book for me, although it might for some others.
Where I struggled was when I got to about two thrids of the way through the book, and it takes an extreme right turn for the second part.
Now we meet an entirely new character, and see Goody through his eyes, as she goes off to join the Jacobite rebellion and Bonny Prince Charlie, which her deceased father held so much faith in. As a stand alone section it was decently written, but the whole part seemed to rush through a big period of time, and the relationship between Goody and the newcomer felt slightly disingenuous at worst and shallow at best.
The third section takes another wild change of direction and tells the next part of Goody's story though via a supporting character we met earlier in the book.
Both of these later sections do the overall book a disservice. If these had been split out and expanded (especially the scottish sections), they could have easily filled a second novel, and allowed more time to genuinely explore Goody's later life.
Overall, I would say it is a reasonably enjoyable book, that keeps you interested, but I wish they had written it as two instead of one.
On the south coast of England, there lies a town called Winchelsea. In the year 1742 smuggling is rife, and there are dangerous groups seeking to control the goods and the profits coming through the nearby Cinque Ports.
We meet Goody, a girl of 16, who witnesses the brutal murder of her father and the disfigurement of her mother, at the hands of one such group. Forced now to fill her father's shoes, helping the smugglers through the tunnels beneath the town, she and her adoptive brother seek revenge on the men that tore their family apart.
This book is split into three parts. The first one tells Goody's story in her own words, as she enters the dangerous world of smugglers, and embarks on adventures on both sides of the Channel. She grows and changes but her development feels beliavable.
Whilst a little slow to start, this section is enjoyable and kept me interested, although I confess a bias to tales of pirates and sailing. There is some interesting LGBT+ representation, which, whilst inkeeping of the time period, felt compassionate.
The relationships between Goody and her adoptive mother and brother are complex and well constructed. Her mother, although a supporting character, is not pushed to the side, and is clear she has a complex inner life that is not forgotten about as the book goes on. Whilst some of the developments with the brother are uncomfortable, they didn't spoil the book for me, although it might for some others.
Where I struggled was when I got to about two thrids of the way through the book, and it takes an extreme right turn for the second part.
Now we meet an entirely new character, and see Goody through his eyes, as she goes off to join the Jacobite rebellion and Bonny Prince Charlie, which her deceased father held so much faith in. As a stand alone section it was decently written, but the whole part seemed to rush through a big period of time, and the relationship between Goody and the newcomer felt slightly disingenuous at worst and shallow at best.
The third section takes another wild change of direction and tells the next part of Goody's story though via a supporting character we met earlier in the book.
Both of these later sections do the overall book a disservice. If these had been split out and expanded (especially the scottish sections), they could have easily filled a second novel, and allowed more time to genuinely explore Goody's later life.
Overall, I would say it is a reasonably enjoyable book, that keeps you interested, but I wish they had written it as two instead of one.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, War
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
From what I had been promised in the blurb/themes, this had a lot less smuggling, a lot less piracy and a lot more incest than I thought was going to be included.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-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
Not too impressed. Found it slow abd hard to get into.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated