Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Voyage of the Damned

This book was *gripping*, like can’t put it down, thinking about it when I’m not reading sort of adventure. I loved the characters, the world building, the humor, and the first 85% of the book. I think if I had gone in with the mindset of this being a New Adult rather than Adult book I would have appreciated the end more than I did. Still it was an incredible world and an absolutely wild mystery - and phenomenal writing. Between that and the incredible queer and disabled rep, White is definitely on my must-read author list now.

Content Warnings

cwallace1005's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

You know what... Yeah. I'll give it four stars. It was really fun! I do agree with other reviewers that it was YA, despite the protagonist being 22. I was actually expecting more blood and gore. There was some, but it wasn't out of control or uber graphic. The writing and execution of the plot were pretty simple. I think I liked reading this book so much because it's one I would have LOVED in high school. Snarky main character, murder mystery, charming relationships. It wasn't perfect, but it was really fun! And the cover is GORGEOUS

Content Warnings

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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

5.0

We can get murdered tomorrow. Tonight, we party.

It’s giving Danganronpa in the best way possible.

It probably says a lot about me, but I love a fun murder mystery. And God, this book was so fun. An ensemble cast of super powerful teenagers and young adults (and one amazingly insane six-year-old) stuck on a murder cruise? Filled with politics divides, generational disputes, social expectations and pressures, dangerous secrets, and loves worth killing and dying for? A perfect cocktail mystery, magic, and so much murder.

There were multiple times this book had me screaming. As in book closed, turning to my wife, ‘omg omg omg’ screaming. (Let’s just say a certain scene pertaining to secrets and fingers will go down as one of my top ten favourite scenes of all time.) And while I had a pretty solid idea of who was doing the killing by the time we entered the final quarter (thanks to obsessive autistic pattern recognition and a very quickly diminishing suspect pool), there were twists and turns in the final quarter of this book that had me going feral.

And I can’t talk about this book without talking about the oodle and oodles of representation. Causal and expansive queer representation in an incredibly well thought out queer normative fantasy setting. Not to mention the additional disabled, plus sized, POC, and chronically ill representation across the cast of multifaceted weirdos. Plus it gets mad props for including the most accurate line about bisexuality I have ever read: “why do I want women to beat me up and men to gently embrace me?” Same Dee. Same.

TL:DR - This book was so much fun. Dripping with representation in an ensemble cast of well-rounded and loveable (and sometimes hate-able) characters. (Nergüi really is ‘that bitch’ and I love them.) It is a rollercoaster of murder, mystery, romance, magic, and friendship. A story of self-discovery, self-worth, and kindness. I loved this book, and I fear my wife will have to listen to me ramble about it for some time to come.

Content Warnings

cozyreadergurl3's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful 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

2.5

Content Warnings

otterlost's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny tense 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

5.0

I loved the dynamics between the character's in this book! There's a lot of them to begin with and I think White perfectly balances between them. I loved the main characters humor and his relationships with the main characters. Lovely book, read it fast and really enjoyed it.

Content Warnings

quitegood's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think it pays to always read the acknowledgements for a book before you pass judgement. To understand why the author wrote the book. This book was a wonderful debut novel and I'm glad I read it. Dee and Grasshopper are so adorable and have stolen my heart. Dee is a little bit of gary stu at times, but also saw a lot of myself in him.... hmm. Always, well worth a read!

Content Warnings

More...