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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
Glad I was finally able to get back to this one and finish it! I wouldn't call it a retelling of Beowulf exactly, but as someone who loves Beowulf I did enjoy seeing where he drew inspiration from it.
I read a lot of fantasy stories so I'm used to instinctively understanding the 'rules' of how various worlds work, but this one hurt my brain a bit at first. This book is not just set in swamp country but steeped in it. I don't know swamps at all, so this world and it's rules were totally foreign to me, and a bit hard to grasp, but it also made the book very atmospheric without spending an undue amount of time on descriptions.
In terms of content I'd say it's appropriate for the intended age group, and might even work well for younger readers (for instance as a family read aloud) as long as they can handle some really tense action adventure parts and animal death. There are also references to domestic abuse and blended family structure (though to be clear I actually loved how these parts were handled in the story).
Original DNF review:
I was enjoying this one, and will definitely be coming back to it. It was just in a batch of books that had to be suddenly returned to the library for an emergency trip.
I read a lot of fantasy stories so I'm used to instinctively understanding the 'rules' of how various worlds work, but this one hurt my brain a bit at first. This book is not just set in swamp country but steeped in it. I don't know swamps at all, so this world and it's rules were totally foreign to me, and a bit hard to grasp, but it also made the book very atmospheric without spending an undue amount of time on descriptions.
In terms of content I'd say it's appropriate for the intended age group, and might even work well for younger readers (for instance as a family read aloud) as long as they can handle some really tense action adventure parts and animal death. There are also references to domestic abuse and blended family structure (though to be clear I actually loved how these parts were handled in the story).
Original DNF review:
I was enjoying this one, and will definitely be coming back to it. It was just in a batch of books that had to be suddenly returned to the library for an emergency trip.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Violence
Minor: Domestic abuse
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