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bergamotbee 's review for:
The Enemy's Daughter
by Melissa Poett
Isadora lives in a community far from the edge of the civilization that previous generations enjoyed. They don't have electricity, running water, or any of the modern comforts her parents lived with before the bombs dropped. This is the only life she's ever known. So when her hand in marriage is offered to the one who brings down her clans biggest threat, she's not expecting it to trigger a series of events that may be her entire world's downfall.
*****
I'm a huge fan of Tristan and Isolde, so being offered to read this as a fantasy romance version immediately piqued my interest. I wouldn't actually say this is a fantasy though, as how the leads get their "magic" connection is assumed to be tied to gene mutation from nuclear bombs - which makes this more of a sci-fi/dystopian world instead. Either way, this one was captivating right out of the gates, although it took me a bit to realize we weren't in a pre-industrial world, but a post-war one.
Once that was settled, I was immediately drawn to Isadora - a brilliant and curious woman in a society that didn't allow her to be either. Her exposure to how others lived before the bombs dropped and in current day was so interesting to watch be revealed. Her reactions were visceral as she was torn between what she thought she knew, and what she was discovering.
I do wish we had more relationship development that didn't rely so heavily on the "connection". It was the entire reason she felt drawn to him, and it felt unbalanced when he very clearly was all in. That left a bit of a slower place in the middle of the book as she sorted herself out, but the latter quarter is full of action, twists, and scenes that had me tearing through it. I loved the main twist, and how everything she thought she knew turned on it's head. I didn't see it coming to that degree, and it had me hooked from there on out.
Overall this one was an interesting and captivating read, with beautiful writing that drew me in. I only wish it had been spread over a duology so we got a bit more world building and more explanation into the magical connection!
*****
Thank you to the author, Melissa Poett, for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
*****
I'm a huge fan of Tristan and Isolde, so being offered to read this as a fantasy romance version immediately piqued my interest. I wouldn't actually say this is a fantasy though, as how the leads get their "magic" connection is assumed to be tied to gene mutation from nuclear bombs - which makes this more of a sci-fi/dystopian world instead. Either way, this one was captivating right out of the gates, although it took me a bit to realize we weren't in a pre-industrial world, but a post-war one.
Once that was settled, I was immediately drawn to Isadora - a brilliant and curious woman in a society that didn't allow her to be either. Her exposure to how others lived before the bombs dropped and in current day was so interesting to watch be revealed. Her reactions were visceral as she was torn between what she thought she knew, and what she was discovering.
I do wish we had more relationship development that didn't rely so heavily on the "connection". It was the entire reason she felt drawn to him, and it felt unbalanced when he very clearly was all in. That left a bit of a slower place in the middle of the book as she sorted herself out, but the latter quarter is full of action, twists, and scenes that had me tearing through it. I loved the main twist, and how everything she thought she knew turned on it's head. I didn't see it coming to that degree, and it had me hooked from there on out.
Overall this one was an interesting and captivating read, with beautiful writing that drew me in. I only wish it had been spread over a duology so we got a bit more world building and more explanation into the magical connection!
*****
Thank you to the author, Melissa Poett, for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.