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isaiahdelune 's review for:
Motheater
by Linda H. Codega
DID NOT FINISH: 72%
DNFed at 72%
I really, really wanted to love Motheater. It had everything I could want: an ancient witch, nature versus industry, a little mystery and sapphics, all set in Appalachian mountains. What's not to love?
Well... a lot. Despite a relatively strong start, it started to drag rather quickly. I found myself delaying the next reading session because I knew I would make pitiful progress and not even enjoy what I was reading.
Bennie, the main character, was pretty boring; and so unreliable in her personality I couldn't keep up. One moment she'd be endearing or interested in Motheater and the next she'd be angry, seemingly for little reason if at all. Her constant reminders of her dead best friend felt like the author did not trust the readers to retain the character's main motivation.
Motheater was better, despite being pretty blank as a character in the Bennie chapters. Where she really shined were her own chapters as Esther, which were the most interesting part of the book.
My main issue was probably the pacing: I was expecting and actual fight of nature against industry, but it was all dragged out in the chapters where it actually happened, and the rest (most of the book) was just the main character talking in circles.
Bennie and Motheater's romance, of which I haven't read much, was all to predictable and yet unbelievable. Nothing about it felt natural to me, rather its arrival in the plot seemed very sudden and not at all in line with the behaviours of the characters prior to that point.
I won't speak of the religious aspect of the magic, as I am much too ignorant on its basis in actual practices; but I do wish we were given more information on it, rather than just thrust into events or recollections with no idea why the characters do what they do. The magic system, though mentionned at length, also remained pretty vague throughout.
Motheater was unfortunately huge disappointment for me. I think it has a strong foundation but would have benefited from more thorough editing in terms of pacing and character development.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an e-arc!
I really, really wanted to love Motheater. It had everything I could want: an ancient witch, nature versus industry, a little mystery and sapphics, all set in Appalachian mountains. What's not to love?
Well... a lot. Despite a relatively strong start, it started to drag rather quickly. I found myself delaying the next reading session because I knew I would make pitiful progress and not even enjoy what I was reading.
Bennie, the main character, was pretty boring; and so unreliable in her personality I couldn't keep up. One moment she'd be endearing or interested in Motheater and the next she'd be angry, seemingly for little reason if at all. Her constant reminders of her dead best friend felt like the author did not trust the readers to retain the character's main motivation.
Motheater was better, despite being pretty blank as a character in the Bennie chapters. Where she really shined were her own chapters as Esther, which were the most interesting part of the book.
My main issue was probably the pacing: I was expecting and actual fight of nature against industry, but it was all dragged out in the chapters where it actually happened, and the rest (most of the book) was just the main character talking in circles.
Bennie and Motheater's romance, of which I haven't read much, was all to predictable and yet unbelievable. Nothing about it felt natural to me, rather its arrival in the plot seemed very sudden and not at all in line with the behaviours of the characters prior to that point.
I won't speak of the religious aspect of the magic, as I am much too ignorant on its basis in actual practices; but I do wish we were given more information on it, rather than just thrust into events or recollections with no idea why the characters do what they do. The magic system, though mentionned at length, also remained pretty vague throughout.
Motheater was unfortunately huge disappointment for me. I think it has a strong foundation but would have benefited from more thorough editing in terms of pacing and character development.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an e-arc!