Reviews with content warning for Death - Tress of the Emerald Sea

Whimsical
Fairytale adjacent without being very young
Writing/ storytelling style
Humour and the random tangents (reminded me of Hitchhiker's)
Characterization
World-building
Lots of well developed female characters
Disability inclusion, they had a Deaf sensitivity/ representation reader, so cool!

What I didn't love:

I didn't find the actual story that compelling after about chapter 8.
When I realized Tress was staying on the ship the entire novel and the story was going to go pretty predictably - she's obviously going to go get Charlie and have some form of happily ever after
Lack of tension
Felt the pace could've been faster/ the pace was a little inconsistent/ slogged a bit after chapter 8

This was my first Sanderson novel so I'm definitely going to check out some more as I've heard they vary a lot in tone.

We want to imagine that people are consistent, steady, stable. We define who they are, create descriptions to lock them on a page, divide them up by their likes, talents, beliefs. Then we pretend some—perhaps most—are better than we are, because they stick to their definitions, while we never quite fit ours. Truth is, people are as fluid as time is. We adapt to our situation like water in a strangely shaped jug, though it might take us a little while to ooze into all the little nooks. Because we adapt, we sometimes don’t recognize how twisted, uncomfortable, or downright wrong the container is that we’ve been told to inhabit.

Content Warnings

nicjmorrow's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

This book surprised me. I never thought I would read a Brandon Sanderson novel let alone love it as much as I loved this book. I will think about Tress and her adventures and also how big her heart is for a very long time!

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nbreezy17's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

As someone who has not read the majority of Sanderson's works, I can safely say this isn't a bad place to jump in if you're not familiar with the world. Much like Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, this is referencing things from the Cosmere universe Sanderson has created, but you can get by without getting the references. It seemed to me maybe there were more connections in this one? But I'd have to read more to know for sure.

I loved the vibes of this book, a bit of Princess Bride set at sea. But the sea isn't what you think it is. Sanderson is truly creative with his worlds, and the world building is fascinating and so well done. Will it spur me to read more Sanderson in the future? Only time will tell.

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