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A review by ohmydemigod
Sands of Eppla by Janeal Falor
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
I was first drawn into this book by the beautiful cover and the cool baseline concept.
In a world where “elite” people known as amants fall in love at first sight in their teens, Cassandra is a blind, late-twenties woman doomed to never experience true love. Her world is flipped about when a warrior named Nikon stumbled into her home, wounded and near-death. Cassandra, assuming he’s an intruder, takes him as a prisoner until she can discern his lies from his truths.
I genuinely enjoyed this plot line, and unraveling the secrets between these two as the book went on. However, I struggled with the way this book seemed to have no overall plot direction.
At the start, there is a clear intent that Cassandra must decide if she trusts Nikon or not. Nikon introduces what is assumed to be the main plot, that he’s on the run and she needs to come with him to be safe, but there were many events that took the forefront of my attention as I read on and distracted me. The Sphinx plot line felt way more pressing to me than it seemed to the characters, despite the seriousness they impress upon the consequences of an incorrect answer. The fact that this arc was completely unresolved in the end of this book has me so confused. It felt so illogical and quite frankly unintelligent to me that neither Cassandra nor Nikon would even put in some thought to the riddle in the off-chance that the Sphinx would return.
There was a good chunk of this book that was very slow, where Cassandra is acclimating to a normal life and begins crocheting. This whole bit felt very different from the rest of the books pacing, and not in a good way. I also personally didn’t love that Cassandra and Nikon went from pretending to be siblings to husband and wife. The shift from their mundane life to having a great and sudden urgency to go to Antonina felt so strange to me as a whole. It again felt illogical that they would risk going to see her given the severe consequences they’d face if caught. Their plan felt too rushed in my opinion.
Cassandra and Nikon’s relationship development could have been done much better. It had potential to start with them going from rivals of sorts to friends, but I felt it was an odd jump when Nikon suddenly started to say she was the closest he think he’d feel to love. Beyond that, Cassandra’s reactions to his declarations were lackluster. No stomach flutters, so definitive internal dialogue that she felt something deeper than friendship for him. Although it started off strong, the jump to love felt like more of a show-rather-than-tell move.
Despite my qualms here, I think the heart of the novel was very interesting. I loved Cassandra’s adorable relationship with Tewy, and the way Tewy took to Nikon almost immediately. This trope melts my heart! I also loved how sweet Nikon was with Cassandra’s blindness, and how gently he was at times with helping her. I felt the author took some nice considerations to Cassandra’s disability here.
Overall, I was genuinely drawn into the book, and I’m glad I picked this up. I’m debating whether I’d like to continue on with the series, but I might do so later in the future just to see how things end!
In a world where “elite” people known as amants fall in love at first sight in their teens, Cassandra is a blind, late-twenties woman doomed to never experience true love. Her world is flipped about when a warrior named Nikon stumbled into her home, wounded and near-death. Cassandra, assuming he’s an intruder, takes him as a prisoner until she can discern his lies from his truths.
I genuinely enjoyed this plot line, and unraveling the secrets between these two as the book went on. However, I struggled with the way this book seemed to have no overall plot direction.
At the start, there is a clear intent that Cassandra must decide if she trusts Nikon or not. Nikon introduces what is assumed to be the main plot, that he’s on the run and she needs to come with him to be safe, but there were many events that took the forefront of my attention as I read on and distracted me. The Sphinx plot line felt way more pressing to me than it seemed to the characters, despite the seriousness they impress upon the consequences of an incorrect answer. The fact that this arc was completely unresolved in the end of this book has me so confused. It felt so illogical and quite frankly unintelligent to me that neither Cassandra nor Nikon would even put in some thought to the riddle in the off-chance that the Sphinx would return.
There was a good chunk of this book that was very slow, where Cassandra is acclimating to a normal life and begins crocheting. This whole bit felt very different from the rest of the books pacing, and not in a good way. I also personally didn’t love that Cassandra and Nikon went from pretending to be siblings to husband and wife. The shift from their mundane life to having a great and sudden urgency to go to Antonina felt so strange to me as a whole. It again felt illogical that they would risk going to see her given the severe consequences they’d face if caught. Their plan felt too rushed in my opinion.
Cassandra and Nikon’s relationship development could have been done much better. It had potential to start with them going from rivals of sorts to friends, but I felt it was an odd jump when Nikon suddenly started to say she was the closest he think he’d feel to love. Beyond that, Cassandra’s reactions to his declarations were lackluster. No stomach flutters, so definitive internal dialogue that she felt something deeper than friendship for him. Although it started off strong, the jump to love felt like more of a show-rather-than-tell move.
Despite my qualms here, I think the heart of the novel was very interesting. I loved Cassandra’s adorable relationship with Tewy, and the way Tewy took to Nikon almost immediately. This trope melts my heart! I also loved how sweet Nikon was with Cassandra’s blindness, and how gently he was at times with helping her. I felt the author took some nice considerations to Cassandra’s disability here.
Overall, I was genuinely drawn into the book, and I’m glad I picked this up. I’m debating whether I’d like to continue on with the series, but I might do so later in the future just to see how things end!