Reviews with content warning for Murder - Soul of the Deep

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Soul of the Deep by Natasha Bowen

8 reviews

mj_86's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.0

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seregelda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Book trigger warnings: violence, enslavement, death. I would add CW: undead

The story was more confusing than the previous one, but I liked the ending.

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.25

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5

The novel started off a bit rough, but it quickly cleaned up into some very clean and clear prose. She handles complex plot points with precision and foreshadows the progression clearly enough that you’re not caught off guard, even if you are still surprised.

Characters: 4.25⭐️/5

I felt like the characters suffered a bit when compared to the first novel. Now, don’t misunderstand me, the characters were still very well-written and well-developed, but they lacked a bit of development that I remember being so prevalent in the first book. Some of the twists and turns also felt a bit fast, happening without understanding the characterization that forced or pushed them in that direction.

Plot: 4.25⭐️/5

The overarching plot of the world and the novel is still stunning. I applaud how Bowen weaves serious topics with fantastical elements, maintaining levity at the right moments, and depth at others. Mostly, I felt the ending was a touch rushed in several spots. Again, I wanted a bit more time to understand the development, whereas everything felt so rushed towards a specific ending that certain sections definitely felt a touch forced. Overall, an enjoyable end to a series though, even if it was not perfectly happy.

Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5

**Spoilers**

I don’t want to hate that the characters didn’t end up immediately together, but I do. Felt like a bit of a forced ending to have them not together.

Who Should Read This?

Those who read the first book in the series
Fans of The Little Mermaid
Fantasy readers
Young adult readers 14+
Fans of mythology-inspired stories

Final Rating: 4.25⭐️/5

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calamitywindpetal's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

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paigeinabook's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

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stardust_heidi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

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maaikereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Many thanks to Penguin Random House Children’s UK and Natasha Bowen for the advanced copy of Soul of the Deep via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

Soul of the Deep is the sequel to Skin of the Sea. I had not realised this upon beginning the book and found it difficult to get into the story and would say it’s difficult to read as a stand-alone. I ended up getting Skin of the Sea from the library, reading it, and then picking up Soul of the Deep again at 25% in and it finally made sense.

Unlike the previous book, the author was more adept at weaving the folk tales and histories into a compelling narrative in this sequel. In the previous book, the information felt a bit ‘crammed in’ and forced, but it flowed more naturally into a cohesive narrative in this story.

Although the story was interesting, it still lacked something for me. I prefer character development over plot in my reading, and this book is definitely much more plot-driven than character-driven. There is very little character development. Although there is talk of feelings and love between different characters, everything feels very shallow, and although there are many memory scenes played out, even these feel opaque and lack depth of feeling.

For plot and research, this book is rich and well-thought-out. For character-development and emotion, however, it is lacking and flat.

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