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A review by libraryofabibliotaph
A Sea of Eternal Woe by R.L. Davennor
4.0
Original combination of two popular fairytales (Peter Pan and the Little Mermaid)
After having read both the prequel and book one of this series, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to read this sequel too. The writing style is still really fluent and straightforward, which makes it easy to be carried along in the story. Unfortunately, this is somewhat (I repeat somewhat, definitely not entirely) negated by the fact that the content of the story seems to have been stretched a bit. In number of pages, this book is much thicker than the first book, in my opinion it could have been a bit shorter, more in line with the first one (for example, in the first hundred pages it takes a while before anything really happens). But nevertheless the story was well developed, the characters (and their maelstroms of inner thoughts) were also given more attention in comparison to the previous book. It's nice to get more insight in both Wendy and Cedric through the dual POV, in what they think, why they do certain things, ... Their hostility towards each other is also nicely worked out, but in the end it drags on a bit too long in my opinion. Miscommunication as a trope is very clearly present here (unfortunately, it's a trope I don't really like myself). I also continue to find the character of Peter (and Tink) very interesting, a lot of question marks are raised in this book, which are only partly answered by the end. This makes me very curious about the next book in the series. The mythological elements and recognisable elements from the classic stories are also nicely combined here. The fact that the book is advertised as dark fantasy with LGBTQ+ elements is entirely true, and this is also woven in nicely. Once you get to the end of the book, the epilogue, I was a little surprised, in a positive sense. It is written a little differently than the other chapters, but wow, it really makes you want to start reading the third book right away. Be sure to take the time to read the author's note as well, it is very sincerely written and gives a lot of insight into the author behind this story (R.L. Davennor, you are doing a great job, writing amazing stories that leave your readers asking for more, remember that and never give up). The biggest drawback for me personally with this book is that I don't really feel a click with any of the characters, even though they are well conceived and fleshed out. But that is something very personal to me as a reader, who needs to feel a connection with the characters.
So if you like such retellings, with a twist, with dark fantasy vibes and LGBTQ+ representation, I definitely recommend checking this series out. Because if what the epilogue promises is yet to come... it's going to be a wild ride, in the best way possible.
I received an advanced copy of this book for review.
After having read both the prequel and book one of this series, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to read this sequel too. The writing style is still really fluent and straightforward, which makes it easy to be carried along in the story. Unfortunately, this is somewhat (I repeat somewhat, definitely not entirely) negated by the fact that the content of the story seems to have been stretched a bit. In number of pages, this book is much thicker than the first book, in my opinion it could have been a bit shorter, more in line with the first one (for example, in the first hundred pages it takes a while before anything really happens). But nevertheless the story was well developed, the characters (and their maelstroms of inner thoughts) were also given more attention in comparison to the previous book. It's nice to get more insight in both Wendy and Cedric through the dual POV, in what they think, why they do certain things, ... Their hostility towards each other is also nicely worked out, but in the end it drags on a bit too long in my opinion. Miscommunication as a trope is very clearly present here (unfortunately, it's a trope I don't really like myself). I also continue to find the character of Peter (and Tink) very interesting, a lot of question marks are raised in this book, which are only partly answered by the end. This makes me very curious about the next book in the series. The mythological elements and recognisable elements from the classic stories are also nicely combined here. The fact that the book is advertised as dark fantasy with LGBTQ+ elements is entirely true, and this is also woven in nicely. Once you get to the end of the book, the epilogue, I was a little surprised, in a positive sense. It is written a little differently than the other chapters, but wow, it really makes you want to start reading the third book right away. Be sure to take the time to read the author's note as well, it is very sincerely written and gives a lot of insight into the author behind this story (R.L. Davennor, you are doing a great job, writing amazing stories that leave your readers asking for more, remember that and never give up). The biggest drawback for me personally with this book is that I don't really feel a click with any of the characters, even though they are well conceived and fleshed out. But that is something very personal to me as a reader, who needs to feel a connection with the characters.
So if you like such retellings, with a twist, with dark fantasy vibes and LGBTQ+ representation, I definitely recommend checking this series out. Because if what the epilogue promises is yet to come... it's going to be a wild ride, in the best way possible.
I received an advanced copy of this book for review.