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cerys_isabel's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up, loved Kindreds story and ending but not sure about the storytellers ending or how that all fits in - didn’t really feel as if the storyteller added anything overall but overall a great book
bookfeyreads's review against another edition
4.0
The world build is absolutely fantasmic. The ‘sea’ is actually a never ending expanse of mile high prairie grasses and wild flowers. I liken it to what The Great Plains of the North America in its virgin state but bigger bolder and much much deeper. Miles deeper in fact!
The ships are kept afloat the vast prairie with bone magic performed by the hearthkeeper who is also our main character. The winds of the prairie fill the sails of the ship giving them motion.
The societies in this world are sustained by what is harvested from the praries, the flowers and creatures. Fresh water is a constant concern.
The plot revolves our Kindred the hearthkeeper. She is part of an all female crew as was the previous ship run by her grandmother.
We see Kindred evolve over the course of the book and lead us to the precipice of the second book.
The first half of this book gave me heavy Escaping Exodus (Nicky Drayden) vibes with the strong female-centric sailing community and a world that is personally unfathomable and wonderful to me. The second half of the book we meet new characters and the plot furthers along well.
As the first of a series, this lays an excellent foundation. While we are left with many unanswered questions the conclusion of this book left me satisfied in a way that I will be returning for the second installment.
I will say that by the end of the book I realized that this visually played out in my head like a Hayao Miyazaki film. Something about the way the prairie blooms would arc through the air as the ships passed, the way the different cultures lived either concentrically or not with nature, and the vivid daily life imagery of these societies. I think listening to Philip Glass while reading sparked that mental journey for me.
The world is beautiful, the cover is gorgeous, the women are strong and courageous.
A new world has been laid out for the reader and I look forward to see where Kindred goes next.
The ships are kept afloat the vast prairie with bone magic performed by the hearthkeeper who is also our main character. The winds of the prairie fill the sails of the ship giving them motion.
The societies in this world are sustained by what is harvested from the praries, the flowers and creatures. Fresh water is a constant concern.
The plot revolves our Kindred the hearthkeeper. She is part of an all female crew as was the previous ship run by her grandmother.
We see Kindred evolve over the course of the book and lead us to the precipice of the second book.
The first half of this book gave me heavy Escaping Exodus (Nicky Drayden) vibes with the strong female-centric sailing community and a world that is personally unfathomable and wonderful to me. The second half of the book we meet new characters and the plot furthers along well.
As the first of a series, this lays an excellent foundation. While we are left with many unanswered questions the conclusion of this book left me satisfied in a way that I will be returning for the second installment.
I will say that by the end of the book I realized that this visually played out in my head like a Hayao Miyazaki film. Something about the way the prairie blooms would arc through the air as the ships passed, the way the different cultures lived either concentrically or not with nature, and the vivid daily life imagery of these societies. I think listening to Philip Glass while reading sparked that mental journey for me.
The world is beautiful, the cover is gorgeous, the women are strong and courageous.
A new world has been laid out for the reader and I look forward to see where Kindred goes next.
kejuka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
shakodey's review against another edition
2.0
DNF. I could not connect with this very strange world or the characters. The magic system is interesting but I did not enjoy reading about it. I found I did not care what would happen to anyone about halfway through so I put it down.
Just not for me but I imagine there are those who would enjoy this type of story.
Beautiful cover though
Just not for me but I imagine there are those who would enjoy this type of story.
Beautiful cover though
mrstufflestin's review against another edition
Really well written. I love the writers imagination, and their word of play but struggled to pull myself into the theme of the book, which is mainly pirates. If it were more of a fae themed book, I would have read it for sure.
wandertheworlds's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Good lore and interesting characters. Very captivating and the b plot romance was very sweet and leaves you waiting for book 2. Only complaint is how the MC has chosen one vibes where they are just naturally good at the magic and always knows what to do.
readspastbedtime's review against another edition
4.0
I *really* wanted to give this book all five stars. Unique setting and magic. I didn't connect with the characters enough for the book to earn the fifth star. The characters in general fell slightly flat for me although I can't say why exactly. I've seen a lot of complaints about the pacing of the book, but that wasn't as big a concern for me. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Planning on continuing with the series when another books is released.
bookfey's review against another edition
4.0
The world build is absolutely fantasmic. The ‘sea’ is actually a never ending expanse of mile high prairie grasses and wild flowers. I liken it to what The Great Plains of the North America in its virgin state but bigger bolder and much much deeper. Miles deeper in fact!
The ships are kept afloat the vast prairie with bone magic performed by the hearthkeeper who is also our main character. The winds of the prairie fill the sails of the ship giving them motion.
The societies in this world are sustained by what is harvested from the praries, the flowers and creatures. Fresh water is a constant concern.
The plot revolves our Kindred the hearthkeeper. She is part of an all female crew as was the previous ship run by her grandmother.
We see Kindred evolve over the course of the book and lead us to the precipice of the second book.
The first half of this book gave me heavy Escaping Exodus (Nicky Drayden) vibes with the strong female-centric sailing community and a world that is personally unfathomable and wonderful to me. The second half of the book we meet new characters and the plot furthers along well.
As the first of a series, this lays an excellent foundation. While we are left with many unanswered questions the conclusion of this book left me satisfied in a way that I will be returning for the second installment.
I will say that by the end of the book I realized that this visually played out in my head like a Hayao Miyazaki film. Something about the way the prairie blooms would arc through the air as the ships passed, the way the different cultures lived either concentrically or not with nature, and the vivid daily life imagery of these societies. I think listening to Philip Glass while reading sparked that mental journey for me.
The world is beautiful, the cover is gorgeous, the women are strong and courageous.
A new world has been laid out for the reader and I look forward to see where Kindred goes next.
The ships are kept afloat the vast prairie with bone magic performed by the hearthkeeper who is also our main character. The winds of the prairie fill the sails of the ship giving them motion.
The societies in this world are sustained by what is harvested from the praries, the flowers and creatures. Fresh water is a constant concern.
The plot revolves our Kindred the hearthkeeper. She is part of an all female crew as was the previous ship run by her grandmother.
We see Kindred evolve over the course of the book and lead us to the precipice of the second book.
The first half of this book gave me heavy Escaping Exodus (Nicky Drayden) vibes with the strong female-centric sailing community and a world that is personally unfathomable and wonderful to me. The second half of the book we meet new characters and the plot furthers along well.
As the first of a series, this lays an excellent foundation. While we are left with many unanswered questions the conclusion of this book left me satisfied in a way that I will be returning for the second installment.
I will say that by the end of the book I realized that this visually played out in my head like a Hayao Miyazaki film. Something about the way the prairie blooms would arc through the air as the ships passed, the way the different cultures lived either concentrically or not with nature, and the vivid daily life imagery of these societies. I think listening to Philip Glass while reading sparked that mental journey for me.
The world is beautiful, the cover is gorgeous, the women are strong and courageous.
A new world has been laid out for the reader and I look forward to see where Kindred goes next.
kristinakaldenbach's review against another edition
3.0
Ugh, this was disappointing. I honestly hadn't heard anything about this before picking it up. The summary just made it sound so interesting. I found this concept of sailing across a sea but the sea is made of grass instead of water fascinating. And I will say, the world-building here is wonderful. I could envision the sea in my mind and it was beautiful. I loved how the ships worked and the magic of the hearthfire keepers. I also really enjoyed the Once City. That place was so cool.
But I found that I could not get connected to the story. I couldn't figure Kindred out. I didn't understand or really agree with what she was doing. Her motivations didn't make sense. There were also a lot of repeated lines throughout the story. Kindred kept repeating the same things over and over again and I didn't like it.
It wasn't that long of a book, but I found I was struggling to get through it. And what was up eith the storyteller parts??? That made no sense to me and there were no answers to that. Which I understand this is the first in a series, but it did not hook me enough to want to keep reading.
But I found that I could not get connected to the story. I couldn't figure Kindred out. I didn't understand or really agree with what she was doing. Her motivations didn't make sense. There were also a lot of repeated lines throughout the story. Kindred kept repeating the same things over and over again and I didn't like it.
It wasn't that long of a book, but I found I was struggling to get through it. And what was up eith the storyteller parts??? That made no sense to me and there were no answers to that. Which I understand this is the first in a series, but it did not hook me enough to want to keep reading.