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laurolly's review against another edition
1.0
1 Star. This was a slog to get through. Our main character, Arden, was just plain unlikeable. It seemed she was constantly thinking about how different she was because she is brave and makes her own mind up about things; for example refusing to believe the rumours about her murderous neighbour. But then moments later, Arden describes the Fictish people as brutish (a rhetoric created by the aristocrates on a different island) and how scared she is whenever her neighbour is nearby. The ‘romance’ was founded on nothing and the spice was boring and at times crass. There was several instances of sexual assault and/or attempted sexual assault, and the main character seemed to have a desired to be ‘taken’ by her love interest. I absolutely hated the Lion Society, which was a eugenics group, since they supposedly had all this power and yet from what we saw they were pretty useless. One thing I did like, was the sea monsters and I wish we had seen more of them and how this world treats them.
sarahp85's review against another edition
2.0
And I am being generous. The cover is pretty though!
Maybe I've read too many epic books right before I picked this up but even at 2x speed (I did this as an audiobook) it felt like it took FOREVER
Maybe I've read too many epic books right before I picked this up but even at 2x speed (I did this as an audiobook) it felt like it took FOREVER
capnlinnius's review against another edition
2.0
Rated 1.5/5, rounded up.
I received an uncorrected proof of this book from the publisher as part of me working in a book store. Nobody was interested in it when it arrived, and to be quite honest, it's not what I usually read, but I leafed through it and figured why not.
Several months later I remembered this book, and decided I'd give it a try.
The prose really lends itself well to shorter fiction, and I understand that the author usually writes short stories. That's not to say it doesn't hold in full-length novel format - on the contrary, it definitely does - but I feel that a lot of flowery prose of this sort is difficult to handle while also having meaningful plot, and I think the part that suffered the most was the world building. It is far too vague in my opinion, too centered around misogyny and how people in general, and the female body in particular, is owned and ruled by the state? government? the powers that be? whoever is in charge. All I was really able to gather was that this is some magical steampunk-equivalent where genetics contain talent or no talent, and your blood can or cannot enable you to practice one single form of magic. There's an organization that controls who has children and who doesn't (one of the supporting cast has been sterilized to prevent her from carrying a child), there's an organization that controls all those gifted, and of course one that is sort of like a secret service that keeps an eye on you to make sure you're not out of line.
This book felt as though it couldn't decide on what it wanted to be. On the one hand, it reads like a historical romance drama, and on the other hand, it is more a low fantasy mystery drama. On the whole, there was so much misogyny that it made me uncomfortable at times. The main character, a woman, is put through sexual harassment repeatedly by a man in a power position, she is told she's not safe and that her speaking up for herself means she deserves to be assaulted. She is blackmailed and threatened with sexual assault unless she does as this or that man says, and even the women around her are so conditioned into this way of being treated that they have deeply set internalized misogyny in many of their opinions and actions. The one man everyone warns her away from is of course not a horrible man, and as such is the love interest.
This is what bothered me the most, to be honest. Sure, there is some representation of queer romance, and queer baiting between the main character and her assistant (the sterilized woman who says she has laid off men and only go for women now), but it's only mentioned in passing.
If you want an engaging historical romance with a dash of fantasy, I'd suggest Gabaldon's Outlander, over this. If you want a fantasy mystery similar to this, I'd recommend Bardugo (author of the Grisha-verse).
The rating is mostly because I enjoyed the writing, and it was a very quick and simple read. It also had a plesiosaur cub and that's a plus. The book has a very open ending, and perhaps there will be sequels. I most likely won't be reading them.
I received an uncorrected proof of this book from the publisher as part of me working in a book store. Nobody was interested in it when it arrived, and to be quite honest, it's not what I usually read, but I leafed through it and figured why not.
Several months later I remembered this book, and decided I'd give it a try.
The prose really lends itself well to shorter fiction, and I understand that the author usually writes short stories. That's not to say it doesn't hold in full-length novel format - on the contrary, it definitely does - but I feel that a lot of flowery prose of this sort is difficult to handle while also having meaningful plot, and I think the part that suffered the most was the world building. It is far too vague in my opinion, too centered around misogyny and how people in general, and the female body in particular, is owned and ruled by the state? government? the powers that be? whoever is in charge. All I was really able to gather was that this is some magical steampunk-equivalent where genetics contain talent or no talent, and your blood can or cannot enable you to practice one single form of magic. There's an organization that controls who has children and who doesn't (one of the supporting cast has been sterilized to prevent her from carrying a child), there's an organization that controls all those gifted, and of course one that is sort of like a secret service that keeps an eye on you to make sure you're not out of line.
This book felt as though it couldn't decide on what it wanted to be. On the one hand, it reads like a historical romance drama, and on the other hand, it is more a low fantasy mystery drama. On the whole, there was so much misogyny that it made me uncomfortable at times. The main character, a woman, is put through sexual harassment repeatedly by a man in a power position, she is told she's not safe and that her speaking up for herself means she deserves to be assaulted. She is blackmailed and threatened with sexual assault unless she does as this or that man says, and even the women around her are so conditioned into this way of being treated that they have deeply set internalized misogyny in many of their opinions and actions. The one man everyone warns her away from is of course not a horrible man, and as such is the love interest.
This is what bothered me the most, to be honest. Sure, there is some representation of queer romance, and queer baiting between the main character and her assistant (the sterilized woman who says she has laid off men and only go for women now), but it's only mentioned in passing.
If you want an engaging historical romance with a dash of fantasy, I'd suggest Gabaldon's Outlander, over this. If you want a fantasy mystery similar to this, I'd recommend Bardugo (author of the Grisha-verse).
The rating is mostly because I enjoyed the writing, and it was a very quick and simple read. It also had a plesiosaur cub and that's a plus. The book has a very open ending, and perhaps there will be sequels. I most likely won't be reading them.
hannah_reads_2020's review against another edition
2.0
A great concept that fell flat.
This book throws you in the deep end of a fantasy world, where some peoples blood has magical properties. The story follows Arden Beacon, who's blood can produce cold fire. She is part of one the more powerful blood families but was late to demonstrate her abilities. She is stationed in a small fishing town to tend to the lighthouse. The premise of this book promised sea monster and epic, gothic fantasy, but fell incredibly short. It was hard to follow the world, with many universe specific terms thrown around with little to no explanation. At times, I felt like I'd missed something important, but on rereading the previous few paragraphs, the information just isn't there.
This book had the ingredients to be fantastic, but was just poorly executed. It felt like a first draft rather than the final copy.
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book throws you in the deep end of a fantasy world, where some peoples blood has magical properties. The story follows Arden Beacon, who's blood can produce cold fire. She is part of one the more powerful blood families but was late to demonstrate her abilities. She is stationed in a small fishing town to tend to the lighthouse. The premise of this book promised sea monster and epic, gothic fantasy, but fell incredibly short. It was hard to follow the world, with many universe specific terms thrown around with little to no explanation. At times, I felt like I'd missed something important, but on rereading the previous few paragraphs, the information just isn't there.
This book had the ingredients to be fantastic, but was just poorly executed. It felt like a first draft rather than the final copy.
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
jilligin's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this. It was so well done and I enjoyed the characters so much!
alicelost's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.5
bsu2bf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nisha13's review against another edition
3.0
I was really intrigued by the worldbuilding, a technologically more advanced society rather than the typical medieval fantasy, magic controlled through blood. for the setting alone I'd give 5 stars.
Sadly, the interesting world isn't explored nearly enough and shoved aside in favor of one of the most lackluster romances I have ever read. it's a good example of the old "show dont tell". the text SAYS they're in love, but I don't feel it. they dont have enough interactions to even develop a chemistry, they never get to know each other, not a single conversation. just some good sex and suddenly she thinks about building a life with him.
Overall I'm not intrigued enough to read the next book.
Sadly, the interesting world isn't explored nearly enough and shoved aside in favor of one of the most lackluster romances I have ever read. it's a good example of the old "show dont tell". the text SAYS they're in love, but I don't feel it. they dont have enough interactions to even develop a chemistry, they never get to know each other, not a single conversation. just some good sex and suddenly she thinks about building a life with him.
Overall I'm not intrigued enough to read the next book.
nixicat1's review against another edition
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75