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A review by majaingrid
Hope and Red by Jon Skovron
4.0
3,5 stars but rounding up because the great fun I ended up having reading this
This could probably be a solid 4 star, but I had issues getting into this book, partly because how unimpressed I was by the writing. This is Skovron's first adult (fantasy) book, having previously only written YA, which sometimes shows in the way he writes. It was fine when the characters were 8 and 16 but at 18 the writing made them feel so young. Another issue I had was that when there's was a big time jump between the different parts in the book, Skovron doesn't immediately point out how many years have passed but you find out by the characters telling you somewhere in the chapter.
I didn't like Hope very much. I didn't find much at her other than her revenge at the biomancers. I did grew to like Red. A young, charismatic, high-ego thief, dark hair and stuff - I'm weak for that. He's also a soft-heart which just adds to it. And the people around him: precious Filler, Sadie and Nettle, loved them all.
The plot was great fun. We meet Hope and Red when they are mere 8 years old and being introduced to their new lives after both being orphaned. Hope growing up at a monastery and secretly learning their ways, and Red growing up in the slums becoming a thief and con-man. They don't meet until about halfway into the book - Hope seeking revenge on the biomancers that murdered her whole village, and Red bringing up an army to revolt on the leader of his district when it's revealed said leader is into shady business. More adventures follows as Red joins Hope in her revenge at the biomancers. The plot was a little messy, but it all worked out in the end. The biomancy really intrigued me. Like, the human and biological experiments with magic was fucked up and i loved it.
This could probably be a solid 4 star, but I had issues getting into this book, partly because how unimpressed I was by the writing. This is Skovron's first adult (fantasy) book, having previously only written YA, which sometimes shows in the way he writes. It was fine when the characters were 8 and 16 but at 18 the writing made them feel so young. Another issue I had was that when there's was a big time jump between the different parts in the book, Skovron doesn't immediately point out how many years have passed but you find out by the characters telling you somewhere in the chapter.
I didn't like Hope very much. I didn't find much at her other than her revenge at the biomancers. I did grew to like Red. A young, charismatic, high-ego thief, dark hair and stuff - I'm weak for that. He's also a soft-heart which just adds to it. And the people around him: precious Filler, Sadie and Nettle, loved them all.
The plot was great fun. We meet Hope and Red when they are mere 8 years old and being introduced to their new lives after both being orphaned. Hope growing up at a monastery and secretly learning their ways, and Red growing up in the slums becoming a thief and con-man. They don't meet until about halfway into the book - Hope seeking revenge on the biomancers that murdered her whole village, and Red bringing up an army to revolt on the leader of his district when it's revealed said leader is into shady business. More adventures follows as Red joins Hope in her revenge at the biomancers. The plot was a little messy, but it all worked out in the end. The biomancy really intrigued me. Like, the human and biological experiments with magic was fucked up and i loved it.