A review by jonholdship
No Gods for Drowning by Hailey Piper

dark mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Twist, betrayal, twist, betrayal... this book is full of big moments that have no foreshadowing and often no actual impact on the story.

Worse, most of the major plot points in the latter half of the book aren't even hinted at earlier. We're suddenly supposed to care deeply about
the holy psychopomp tree
when it's just plucked from the air.

It's a shame because the first third of the book is solid. There's complex motivations to the characters and some really interesting world building. I should love a noir fantasy novel about living gods.

But the execut on is disappointing. The plot changes from the glories to this whole drama that feels rushed. The characters are utterly irredeemable, I do not know how anyone could like Lilac after finishing and everyone else is the most directionless shell of a person.