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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Lawless did a a fantastic job of blending Irish mythology and history. I loved every element that this story had to offer, from the battles and political striving, to the Vikings, to the magic. I think historical fiction mixed with fantasy is such a powerful sub-genre and Lawless balances perfectly in this story. The principal characters are intriguing and complex, and there’s always something in the plot to keep you hooked. I am very eager for the next installment.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
medium-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:
Yes
I'm very glad to have gotten this book off my TBR after it languished on there for about two years. Also (as has been the case recently), I decided to listen to the audiobook which turned out to be a great decision. Highly recommend if you're interested in picking this book up.
Anyways, this book follows two immortal women in 990 CE Ireland. Gormflaith is one of the last Fomorians, a race of fire-wielding people, while Fódla is a healer and a Descendent of the Tuatha Dé Danann. These two immortal races have been enemies forever, but these two women do not know each other and have their own goals. Goals that don't necessarily align with the rest of Ireland.
My interest in their POVs changed from beginning to end. In the first half, I was more interested in Gormflaith because she had more going on as she schemed her way through the years. Around the halfway point, though, my interest waned as her personality started to grate on me. I think it's on purpose, and there's a lot to be said about what kind of women she has made herself to be in a world dominated by selfish, arrogant men. Fódla, on the other hand, came to be more interesting as she took the role of a healer amongst Brian Baru's court. Though she started a little boring (that didn't really change tbh, but the circumstances around her did), I thought her POV had a little more for my brain to chew.
One of the main points of failure of this book for me was the pacing of the plot. It felt like almost constant setup/execution for the first half, which might be a consequence of having two immortal characters. Time means next to nothing to them, so we see plans schemed one chapter, then a neat little time skip to see those plans paid off. It just doesn't make for the most engaging book content. I think this gets better in the second half when the time jumps slow down, but it did make it hard for me to really feel engaged for a good portion of the book. When I really step back and ask what happened during this book, I'm left feeling like it was mostly setup for something grander in the sequel.
That being said, I did like learning more about Irish history, of which I knew basically nothing before. Also, I liked seeing both characters' opinions on mortal men (and mortal in general). There's a lot to be revealed about them as people based on how they treat others (pawns vs injured feral dogs).
The writing was okay. Occasionally there was a line that felt jarringly contemporary compared to everything else. The environmental descriptions were sometimes lacking (in the sense that we didn't get any or only got minimal). I'm not sure I'm going to read the sequel, but I'll keep it on my radar in case it fulfills a reddit bingo prompt, maybe.
Anyways, this book follows two immortal women in 990 CE Ireland. Gormflaith is one of the last Fomorians, a race of fire-wielding people, while Fódla is a healer and a Descendent of the Tuatha Dé Danann. These two immortal races have been enemies forever, but these two women do not know each other and have their own goals. Goals that don't necessarily align with the rest of Ireland.
My interest in their POVs changed from beginning to end. In the first half, I was more interested in Gormflaith because she had more going on as she schemed her way through the years. Around the halfway point, though, my interest waned as her personality started to grate on me. I think it's on purpose, and there's a lot to be said about what kind of women she has made herself to be in a world dominated by selfish, arrogant men. Fódla, on the other hand, came to be more interesting as she took the role of a healer amongst Brian Baru's court. Though she started a little boring (that didn't really change tbh, but the circumstances around her did), I thought her POV had a little more for my brain to chew.
One of the main points of failure of this book for me was the pacing of the plot. It felt like almost constant setup/execution for the first half, which might be a consequence of having two immortal characters. Time means next to nothing to them, so we see plans schemed one chapter, then a neat little time skip to see those plans paid off. It just doesn't make for the most engaging book content. I think this gets better in the second half when the time jumps slow down, but it did make it hard for me to really feel engaged for a good portion of the book. When I really step back and ask what happened during this book, I'm left feeling like it was mostly setup for something grander in the sequel.
That being said, I did like learning more about Irish history, of which I knew basically nothing before. Also, I liked seeing both characters' opinions on mortal men (and mortal in general). There's a lot to be revealed about them as people based on how they treat others (pawns vs injured feral dogs).
The writing was okay. Occasionally there was a line that felt jarringly contemporary compared to everything else. The environmental descriptions were sometimes lacking (in the sense that we didn't get any or only got minimal). I'm not sure I'm going to read the sequel, but I'll keep it on my radar in case it fulfills a reddit bingo prompt, maybe.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I have to admit I wasn't convinced at the very beginning. I'd say it takes about 30% to take off, though the beginning was still nice.
I didn't know much going in, and thought this would have a lot more supernatural elements than it has - and less politics ? But I really enjoy political intrigue so it was nice to read. I have to say I'm curious enough to read the rest.
At the beginning I enjoyed Gormflaith's POV more than Fodlà's, but it reversed around 50% in the book - Gormflaith though an interesting character was becoming too mean for me to follow, and I had a harder time empathizing with her motivations. Fodla's chapter were a bit boring at the beginning but I really enjoyed her in the second half of the book !
On a side note, I didn't enjoy the aspects of the book about women's struggles, their relation with power, their place in society, motherhood... while interesting, these are things I usually avoid in books, as I think I see those enough in real life. Being historical fantasy I understand it was a bit unavoidable though.
I didn't know much going in, and thought this would have a lot more supernatural elements than it has - and less politics ? But I really enjoy political intrigue so it was nice to read. I have to say I'm curious enough to read the rest.
At the beginning I enjoyed Gormflaith's POV more than Fodlà's, but it reversed around 50% in the book - Gormflaith though an interesting character was becoming too mean for me to follow, and I had a harder time empathizing with her motivations. Fodla's chapter were a bit boring at the beginning but I really enjoyed her in the second half of the book !
On a side note, I didn't enjoy the aspects of the book about women's struggles, their relation with power, their place in society, motherhood... while interesting, these are things I usually avoid in books, as I think I see those enough in real life. Being historical fantasy I understand it was a bit unavoidable though.
Dog I could do with less modern dialogue in my medieval Irish fantasy. WHERE THE PANTHEON AT?! I was lied to!
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
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