Scan barcode
A review by theamyleblanc
Game of Strength and Storm by Rachel Menard
2.0
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alas, another time when I fell victim to an alluring cover and intriguing synopsis! I thought a retelling of the labors of Hercules but with *magic* would be so cool.
It was not cool.
This book was both too long and too short, if that makes sense. The labors felt like they were too easily accomplished. But the storytelling was so repetitive that it made reading a slog. I skimmed a lot of it, to be honest. I wanted more depth, more world-building from this story. Sure, it's set in ancient Greece but it's an alternate ancient Greece and we needed more to firmly root us in the world.
The characters are universally weak. There are minimal character arcs, if they exist at all. Pollux's motivation for getting involved should have been something else and morphed into what it was. Otherwise, he has nowhere to go. Castor seemed like an underdeveloped Azula. There were parts that I'm sure were meant to be an emotional punch but they lacked any power because the characters are so hard to connect to. And the romance came out of nowhere! It's unbelievable.
It felt like the chapters were written episodically. It was almost as if someone thought the readers needed to be reminded of past events in every chapter. It was so tiring.
I know my rating for this book is in the minority and maybe I'm too old to enjoy this (like other reviewers have posited). But I think this has flaws that readers of any age will be annoyed by.
This one's a no for me.
Alas, another time when I fell victim to an alluring cover and intriguing synopsis! I thought a retelling of the labors of Hercules but with *magic* would be so cool.
It was not cool.
This book was both too long and too short, if that makes sense. The labors felt like they were too easily accomplished. But the storytelling was so repetitive that it made reading a slog. I skimmed a lot of it, to be honest. I wanted more depth, more world-building from this story. Sure, it's set in ancient Greece but it's an alternate ancient Greece and we needed more to firmly root us in the world.
The characters are universally weak. There are minimal character arcs, if they exist at all. Pollux's motivation for getting involved should have been something else and morphed into what it was. Otherwise, he has nowhere to go. Castor seemed like an underdeveloped Azula. There were parts that I'm sure were meant to be an emotional punch but they lacked any power because the characters are so hard to connect to. And the romance came out of nowhere! It's unbelievable.
It felt like the chapters were written episodically. It was almost as if someone thought the readers needed to be reminded of past events in every chapter. It was so tiring.
I know my rating for this book is in the minority and maybe I'm too old to enjoy this (like other reviewers have posited). But I think this has flaws that readers of any age will be annoyed by.
This one's a no for me.