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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
An exciting ride from page one! I loved this cast, especially Buc, and I was swept away by the immersive setting and fantastic characters!
DNFed at page 236. I skimmed the rest, found more of the same, and figure I've given it a fair shot for 236 pages, and if I've nothing good to say now I might as well not waste any more time on it.
I was drawn in by the description and thought it looked fabulous, and so used my bookishfirst points to claim an ARC. Which I regret now, tbh.
At first I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and even found myself interested in the plot as it zipped along and growing slightly fond of Buc and Eld. That quickly soured. Buc is supposed to be this Sherlock Holmes character - and in some ways she is, from her rapid mind to her drug habit. But in other ways, she really isn't. She jumps to conclusions, refuses to take care of herself (causing her more problems later) and is so sure that she's brilliant when most of her successes seem to be down to dumb luck. The sheer improbability of the events that come rapid-fire on top of one another soon made me lose what little interest in the plot I had. But those aren't my main problem.
The biggest problem I have with this novel is the way it treats women. Now, you might say 'oh, but Buc is a woman! and the widowmaker as well!" and that's true. However.
-Buc seems to despise all women. She even calls one a c*** to her face which strikes me as a little over the top, even with the amount of profanity and crude language in the book.
-*Every* woman is beautiful and has a propensity to wear threadbare clothes and stand in front of bright lights... and has their figure described.
-Buc is scrawny and several times mentions her lack of breasts and then after being so ill she loses weight she thinks about how it all goes on her butt and now even that curve is lessened. She really doesn't come off as a street rat here.
-Aaaaaand the hints of romance.
-The ARC has a sticker indicating the ages are wrong and Buc is 17 and Eld 19 in the finished copy. Which would be fine but in the ARC they’re 16 and nearly 22 which is a bit... uncomfortable. The ages are also brought up repeatedly so I'm not sure how much they changed in the finished copy.
-Not only that, but Eld apparently rescued Buc from the streets when he was 19 and she 14. He wonders if he's a lecher for falling for her. Immediately afterward, she assures him 'age is just a number.'
It just comes off as creepy in a lot of places tbh and I have wasted enough of my life reading this improbable and uncomfortable book.
*thanks to bookishfirst and the publisher for an ARC
I was drawn in by the description and thought it looked fabulous, and so used my bookishfirst points to claim an ARC. Which I regret now, tbh.
At first I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and even found myself interested in the plot as it zipped along and growing slightly fond of Buc and Eld. That quickly soured. Buc is supposed to be this Sherlock Holmes character - and in some ways she is, from her rapid mind to her drug habit. But in other ways, she really isn't. She jumps to conclusions, refuses to take care of herself (causing her more problems later) and is so sure that she's brilliant when most of her successes seem to be down to dumb luck. The sheer improbability of the events that come rapid-fire on top of one another soon made me lose what little interest in the plot I had. But those aren't my main problem.
The biggest problem I have with this novel is the way it treats women. Now, you might say 'oh, but Buc is a woman! and the widowmaker as well!" and that's true. However.
-Buc seems to despise all women. She even calls one a c*** to her face which strikes me as a little over the top, even with the amount of profanity and crude language in the book.
-*Every* woman is beautiful and has a propensity to wear threadbare clothes and stand in front of bright lights... and has their figure described.
-Buc is scrawny and several times mentions her lack of breasts and then after being so ill she loses weight she thinks about how it all goes on her butt and now even that curve is lessened. She really doesn't come off as a street rat here.
-Aaaaaand the hints of romance.
-The ARC has a sticker indicating the ages are wrong and Buc is 17 and Eld 19 in the finished copy. Which would be fine but in the ARC they’re 16 and nearly 22 which is a bit... uncomfortable. The ages are also brought up repeatedly so I'm not sure how much they changed in the finished copy.
-Not only that, but Eld apparently rescued Buc from the streets when he was 19 and she 14. He wonders if he's a lecher for falling for her. Immediately afterward, she assures him 'age is just a number.'
It just comes off as creepy in a lot of places tbh and I have wasted enough of my life reading this improbable and uncomfortable book.
*thanks to bookishfirst and the publisher for an ARC
The cover was one of the things that wanted me to also read the book. It was so detailed.
I loved reading this book. It was a very pirate-y book which is different from books I normally read but it was great with the difference.
The plot was a nice adventure with a hint of mystery. Buc and Eld were the protagonists in the book. The story has been set in of island.
The characters were very well defined and it was an enjoyable read. The characters are well descriptive. Buc is a 17 year old smart and brave character and Eld is a 19 year old mysterious and polite character. I love this because in many books I read, the characters are never described which makes it harder on me to know who they really are.
The opening chapters had all left me wanting to read more of the book and I am glad that I was able to read and review this book. Can't wait to read more works by Ryan Van Loan!
I loved reading this book. It was a very pirate-y book which is different from books I normally read but it was great with the difference.
The plot was a nice adventure with a hint of mystery. Buc and Eld were the protagonists in the book. The story has been set in of island.
The characters were very well defined and it was an enjoyable read. The characters are well descriptive. Buc is a 17 year old smart and brave character and Eld is a 19 year old mysterious and polite character. I love this because in many books I read, the characters are never described which makes it harder on me to know who they really are.
The opening chapters had all left me wanting to read more of the book and I am glad that I was able to read and review this book. Can't wait to read more works by Ryan Van Loan!
There could possibly be a lot to like here, but I just don't think this book is for me. It's a lot of nonstop action and fighting scenes, and I just...don't like that. By the end I found myself skimming.
I did enjoy Buc, though - she's pretty much Alexander Hamilton (the musical version) in that she's brilliant but rash and unlikable and overbearing, which made for a pretty interesting character. It was exhausting being in her head, though; there was just something off about the narration that made it difficult to understand what was going on in her head, or what was happening with the plot. I think I would have liked this book a lot more if it had been told from another POV.
And that's my main issue - I don't know if I'm just groggy these days or what, but I struggled to follow along with much of the worldbuilding and the mystery. It felt like a lot of stuff happened at random or very coincidentally and none of the characters' motivations really made sense to me. Buc herself has such lofty desires (she wants to...take over the world and change it, basically) that they mean absolutely nothing at all, practically speaking, and it made it hard to take her (or Eld) seriously. So, when I got to the end, it felt like I was still waiting for something to be explained to me, and there was little to no payoff.
Still, there were some portions that were entertaining and there was a certain quality to the story that kept me reading, so it's a 2.5 stars from me, but I won't be continuing with the series.
I did enjoy Buc, though - she's pretty much Alexander Hamilton (the musical version) in that she's brilliant but rash and unlikable and overbearing, which made for a pretty interesting character. It was exhausting being in her head, though; there was just something off about the narration that made it difficult to understand what was going on in her head, or what was happening with the plot. I think I would have liked this book a lot more if it had been told from another POV.
And that's my main issue - I don't know if I'm just groggy these days or what, but I struggled to follow along with much of the worldbuilding and the mystery. It felt like a lot of stuff happened at random or very coincidentally and none of the characters' motivations really made sense to me. Buc herself has such lofty desires (she wants to...take over the world and change it, basically) that they mean absolutely nothing at all, practically speaking, and it made it hard to take her (or Eld) seriously. So, when I got to the end, it felt like I was still waiting for something to be explained to me, and there was little to no payoff.
Still, there were some portions that were entertaining and there was a certain quality to the story that kept me reading, so it's a 2.5 stars from me, but I won't be continuing with the series.
Dnf at 119
I was excited to start The Sin in the Steel when I discovered it was a Sherlock Holmes retelling.
I’ve had good luck with the majority of Bookishfirst titles I’ve won or bought with points on the site.
However, I ended up not finishing this one. I gave the novel 100 pages but decided it was not for me. I did not connect with the writing style, the plot, and struggled to understand the world it was set in. I also was not connecting with the characters.
It is disappointing because I really did enjoy the first 50ish pages and was getting into the story. I started to not enjoy the story and would rather pick up something I like than reading the rest of this one.
Thank you bookishfirst and publisher for the chance to check out this upcoming novel. I’m sorry that it was not for me.
I was excited to start The Sin in the Steel when I discovered it was a Sherlock Holmes retelling.
I’ve had good luck with the majority of Bookishfirst titles I’ve won or bought with points on the site.
However, I ended up not finishing this one. I gave the novel 100 pages but decided it was not for me. I did not connect with the writing style, the plot, and struggled to understand the world it was set in. I also was not connecting with the characters.
It is disappointing because I really did enjoy the first 50ish pages and was getting into the story. I started to not enjoy the story and would rather pick up something I like than reading the rest of this one.
Thank you bookishfirst and publisher for the chance to check out this upcoming novel. I’m sorry that it was not for me.
The Sin in the Steel was quite a fun read! I won an ARC from a Goodreads Giveaway. I sat down to read it last night and found myself unwilling to put it down. The story is well paced and clips along nicely. There is a lot of information to learn, but Van Loan does a good job of not doing large swaths of exposition or info-dumping.
Buc is clearly a Holmes-style savant, with Eld as her staid and reliable Watson. Van Loan does a good job of making those comparisons clear without being heavy handed or boring - Buc and Eld are their own characters, drawing elements from Holmes and Watson.
Buc is clearly a Holmes-style savant, with Eld as her staid and reliable Watson. Van Loan does a good job of making those comparisons clear without being heavy handed or boring - Buc and Eld are their own characters, drawing elements from Holmes and Watson.
A fast paced, action packed, gripping and entertaining read.
I liked the good world building and character development and the excellent storytelling.
I can't wait to read the next installment.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I liked the good world building and character development and the excellent storytelling.
I can't wait to read the next installment.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The Sin In The Steel is a fantastic debut, full of twists and turns and excellent world building. "A Sherlockian teenager determined to upend her society"? Sign me up! I absolutely adore when authors blend classic mystery elements with a deeply engaging fantasy world, and Ryan Van Loan didn't disappoint in either department. As a huge sucker for any book that features pirates and unique fantastical religious entities, TSITS was right up my alley. The only thing that kept me from giving this the full 5 stars is that the pacing in the second half of the book is noticeably slower than in the first, but there is a banging ending that left me incredibly hungry for the next installment in the series.
Won via raffle on Bookish First!
Won via raffle on Bookish First!
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book had me from the start - a dangerous mission, a whip-smart and acid-witted teen and her hardened ex-soldier companion, and...pirates?? This all had me sold from the start, but after the first third of the book, my interest started to wane. It wasn't that the pacing was slow - far from it. Buc and Eld get tossed from danger to danger within each short chapter. What was missing for me was a buy-in of the characters. We learn so little of Eld, with only a couple of chapters from his perspective, and Buc's hardened attitudes and actions come across as less and less sympathetic as the story goes along. There is hints that she had some earlier trauma with losing her sister, and the full details of this are revealed in a flashback crammed in towards the end of the book. By the time it's there, it feels ineffective and underwhelming.The worldbuilding also felt a bit lacking - I had no sense of the geography or history of this world. By the time the gods get introduced toward the end, I didn't feel the stakes. This book was a fun adventure in places, but without the solid world and characterizations, it all felt a bit hollow and made it hard for me to stay invested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood
4/5 Stars
Two ruffians for hire. Missing shipments belonging to a very powerful group. Old and New Gods locked in a battle for millennia. What could go wrong?
This novel was a whirlwind of a story. Every time the characters think they know what they are getting into, something more happens. I very much enjoyed that there was no simple answer to the mysteries laid before Buc and Eld. The complexities were intriguing but not over the top.
Since I had received an ARC of this novel, there was a matter of their ages since there was a bit of a love story trying to brew. However, I think it was good on the author to make Buc and Eld closer in age-17 and 19 respectively, as opposed to the original 16 and 22. Had the author stuck with the original ages, I would have loved a more sibling esque relationship as opposed to romantic inclinations.
Where this story left off leaves many questions, but thankfully that just tempts me to buy the second book once its published. I love when the unanswered questions roll around in my mind so I can make inferences and hypotheses before the next novel.
I cannot wait for more.
Disclaimer: Thanks to BookishFirst I received an ARC to read
Two ruffians for hire. Missing shipments belonging to a very powerful group. Old and New Gods locked in a battle for millennia. What could go wrong?
This novel was a whirlwind of a story. Every time the characters think they know what they are getting into, something more happens. I very much enjoyed that there was no simple answer to the mysteries laid before Buc and Eld. The complexities were intriguing but not over the top.
Since I had received an ARC of this novel, there was a matter of their ages since there was a bit of a love story trying to brew. However, I think it was good on the author to make Buc and Eld closer in age-17 and 19 respectively, as opposed to the original 16 and 22. Had the author stuck with the original ages, I would have loved a more sibling esque relationship as opposed to romantic inclinations.
Where this story left off leaves many questions, but thankfully that just tempts me to buy the second book once its published. I love when the unanswered questions roll around in my mind so I can make inferences and hypotheses before the next novel.
I cannot wait for more.
Disclaimer: Thanks to BookishFirst I received an ARC to read