Reviews

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

emily_mh's review against another edition

From the very first page I thought this might be a DNF. This is supposed to be an adult fantasy, but the reality is anything but. The writing style reads like YA in the sense that it is too juvenile for its adult audience. The worldbuilding is utterly lacking for something aimed at adults too, and it is delivered in vague info-dumps that the author honest-to-God ended in “Got it?” one time. There are also awful anachronisms, like thinking “walking away from explosions without looking back” is “undeniably cool”, or the MC Dee’s statement that “asking a Blessed what form their Blessing takes is like asking someone’s bra size.” 

But the thing that cinched the DNF for me was the way the MC Dee thought and talked about a chronically ill SC. It was so disparaging and disrespectful and outright ableist, and I’m honestly surprised that no one has mentioned it (that I’ve found). Essentially Dee would mock the fact that SC Wyatt’s chronic illnesses were killing him. Dee would also mock Wyatt’s symptoms and the fact that the Blessing (magic power) went to him instead of one of his five healthy brothers. Based on some reviews I’ve read I think the MC might hopefully stop being so disgusting, but forgive me if I, a chronically ill reader, don’t want to read a book where the abled MC learns the error of their ableist ways.

Even at that, it seems like an abled character pretends to BE the chronically ill disabled character I mentioned, which feels gross to me.

mariaw20's review against another edition

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

4.5

Such a cool concept to do a locked-room murder that has fantasy elements AND is funny!

I was very entertained during the whole book. The twists were great, the characters felt unique and the romance sub plot was also very sweet.

Dee was a beautifully written character, despite being funny he was a character that had to deal with his flaws and overcome them.

mattieee's review against another edition

2.0

Was the writing good? Nope, not really. But did I have such I good time I was able to ignore that (for the most part)? Yeah, good time I recommend 

cords's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-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

4.0

catread2023's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

chronicallyhanreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

ash_na61's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

meganders22's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hea0's review against another edition

5.0

Oh my, this was a fun read! Fantastic characters, lots of humour, and with a plot twist I absolutely did not see coming. I'm almost sad it's over.

I highly recommend it.

rainaespinoza's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was surprisingly really good. It started out kind slow and not super interesting. But as the story progressed it got me hooked. And everytime I thought I had it figured out, it turned out I was VERY wrong. My only wish is that there was more spice.