A review by tallangryplanet
The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Mer lost her chance at a normal life the day people discovered she was a water diviner. She was taken into the prince's custody and used as a weapon in a war she wanted to have nothing to do with, and now that she has managed to flee all she longs for is a quiet and peaceful life. But when the prince's old spymaster comes to her with the opportunity of a lifetime, to ruin the prince and ensure her own safety, she cannot turn it away. 

This book is a completely wild ride. Even if you're acquainted with Welsh lore, the world-building is incredibly rich and filled with surprises, and if you aren't, it's like finding a treasure trove. One of my favorite aspects of it was the magic system. Although we only get to know it through the perspective of a water diviner and a "fae-touched" person, rather than seeing every single kind of magic, I felt like it had clearly defined limits, and it was nice that having magic didn't make Mer omnipotent, though it was frustrating to see it hindered in those moments where I was really rooting for her. 

As for the characters, like with most books, it's impossible to connect with every single one of them, but I found the protagonist to be very well developed and it was heart wrenching to read all she had suffered through. I loved the way she slowly realised she had more in common than she thought with the people she considered ruthless or "less good", and yet she still tried to do better every chance she got. This was a big theme throughout the book, the ways we can still hurt others even when we don't mean to, and how we must strive to be better today than we were yesterday, along with how far we can go for "the greater good", which I thought was really well explored. 

The story itself was really well crafted, with a couple of mind-boggling twists that actually made sense in retrospective. Some of the characters' actions were quite questionable, but I think that just added to their humanity. My only complaint is that I got a bit lost during the fight scenes, which is probably actually my fault as I tend to skim over those because it did get a bit gory for my taste, and that the tension felt a little dragged out in the grand finale. 

All in all, this was a really good read. If you like fantasy with some heist aspects, this book is for you. And if you're still not sold: there's an adorable dog character!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.