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campbell_jae8's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kbrown's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
alimac713's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
michelejenn's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
👏ma👏gic👏heist 👏ma👏gic👏heist
beckahh_i's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
This was so unexpectedly fantastic, I loved it! Corgis, heists, cool water magic, Welsh mythology, creepy water horses... I went into this with pretty much no expectations and not really knowing anything about it and ended up loving it. Would definitely recommend. Also don't worry, nothing happens to the corgi, he's the best 🥰
cluelesswonder's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
thegoblinempress's review against another edition
2.0
Siiiiiiiiigh. I so wanted to like this, but if you're going to write a novel about a water diviner set in a fantasy version of medieval Wales and inspired by Welsh myth, at least get the Welsh word for 'water' right.
I'm not Welsh and I'm not a Welsh speaker, but I started my career in Welsh publishing and therefore spent a couple of years working with Welsh speakers who put up with my annoying questions. I'm always a little wary when I come across Welsh-inspired fantasy that isn't written by Welsh authors, because so few of them do their research and treat Welsh like a cute fantasy language when it's a living language that is still the first language of many communities in Wales, but I hoped this one would be different given Emily Lloyd-Jones's incredibly Welsh surname. 'Maybe,' I told myself, 'this is an author who grew up with the stories from Welsh myth, and an author who's really done her research.'
I repeat: Siiiiiiiiigh.
It's not like no research has been done - I do think there's a genuine love for Welsh myths coming through here - but enough wasn't done that made my teeth grind. For example, the Welsh language has no 'v'--this is why the Welsh version of Trevor is Trefor, the name of the undeniably cute corgi in this book. In Welsh, 'f' is 'v' and 'ff' is 'f'. The Welsh Otherworld, commonly known as 'Annwn', is sometimes called Annwfyn. So tell me why it's called Annwvyn here, when Welsh has no 'v' and we've already established that this is the case in this world when names are written as 'Trefor' rather than 'Trevor'.
The real kicker for me, though, is calling the Ceffyl Dŵr ('Dŵr' being the Welsh word for 'water') the Ceffyl DĐr. To my knowledge, 'Đ' doesn't exist in the Welsh alphabet and, by changing the spelling, the meaning is completely off. How can it be called a water horse without the Welsh word for water?
Yes, this is very much a fantasy version of Wales, but I'm so tired of authors playing around with Celtic languages and making them nonsensical for no reason. Perhaps I could have forgiven all of this it weren't for the fact that the novel uses Wales and Welsh place names as its setting, so why not just use the Welsh language properly?
(The history nerd in me also flinched every time characters mentioned they were drinking tea, despite the fact that tea wasn't drunk in the British Isles until the mid-17th century. A pretty unfair criticism when this is more fantasy than history, I know, but it did keep pulling me out of the story.)
All that aside, this is a YA fantasy that's perfectly fine. It's an easy enough read, but it felt too short for the scope of the world which meant, for me, the characters didn't have as much depth as I wanted them to. There's the shadow of a brilliant story in here, but sadly it wasn't one that swept me away.
I'm not Welsh and I'm not a Welsh speaker, but I started my career in Welsh publishing and therefore spent a couple of years working with Welsh speakers who put up with my annoying questions. I'm always a little wary when I come across Welsh-inspired fantasy that isn't written by Welsh authors, because so few of them do their research and treat Welsh like a cute fantasy language when it's a living language that is still the first language of many communities in Wales, but I hoped this one would be different given Emily Lloyd-Jones's incredibly Welsh surname. 'Maybe,' I told myself, 'this is an author who grew up with the stories from Welsh myth, and an author who's really done her research.'
I repeat: Siiiiiiiiigh.
It's not like no research has been done - I do think there's a genuine love for Welsh myths coming through here - but enough wasn't done that made my teeth grind. For example, the Welsh language has no 'v'--this is why the Welsh version of Trevor is Trefor, the name of the undeniably cute corgi in this book. In Welsh, 'f' is 'v' and 'ff' is 'f'. The Welsh Otherworld, commonly known as 'Annwn', is sometimes called Annwfyn. So tell me why it's called Annwvyn here, when Welsh has no 'v' and we've already established that this is the case in this world when names are written as 'Trefor' rather than 'Trevor'.
The real kicker for me, though, is calling the Ceffyl Dŵr ('Dŵr' being the Welsh word for 'water') the Ceffyl DĐr. To my knowledge, 'Đ' doesn't exist in the Welsh alphabet and, by changing the spelling, the meaning is completely off. How can it be called a water horse without the Welsh word for water?
Yes, this is very much a fantasy version of Wales, but I'm so tired of authors playing around with Celtic languages and making them nonsensical for no reason. Perhaps I could have forgiven all of this it weren't for the fact that the novel uses Wales and Welsh place names as its setting, so why not just use the Welsh language properly?
(The history nerd in me also flinched every time characters mentioned they were drinking tea, despite the fact that tea wasn't drunk in the British Isles until the mid-17th century. A pretty unfair criticism when this is more fantasy than history, I know, but it did keep pulling me out of the story.)
All that aside, this is a YA fantasy that's perfectly fine. It's an easy enough read, but it felt too short for the scope of the world which meant, for me, the characters didn't have as much depth as I wanted them to. There's the shadow of a brilliant story in here, but sadly it wasn't one that swept me away.
ramblingbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sarabook's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5